Foo Bar and Grill

I voted today and sent in my absentee ballot. Here's my take on things...

Prop 73: Abortion waiting period and parental notification

This one was tough, although I voted against. I am not a big "pro-choicer" or "pro-lifer" (and I'm religiously agnostic), and am aware that situations exist where late-teen girls get in situations where they would have at least felt in danger if they were pregnant and were found out by their families. "Honor" killings of teenage girls are not unknown in California. Kill the kid or the mother? A devil's choice, I voted No.

Prop 74: Public school teachers, waiting period for tenure

Frankly, anything so opposed by the educracy has to be good. I don't support tenure for non-professors, so making it harder to get is a good thing: I voted Yes.

Prop 75: Union dues, restrictions on political contributions

We need to clean up California and weaken the iron grip the civil service unions have on the political system. There's lots of elements to this - including term limits - but weakening the influence of union money is crucial. I voted Yes.

Prop 76: State spending and school funding limits

This is similar to the "TABOR" limit in Colorado, and balances power better between the Legislature and the Governor. I voted Yes.

Prop 77: Change redistricting from legislature to judges

Personally, I'd like to see a random map generate the districts, subject to a minimum of clear and obvious guidelines. In any case, politicians shouldn't be allowed to choose their "voter set"; I voted Yes.

Prop 78, 79: Proposals for discount drugs via various methods

I voted No on both; this needs to be addressed at the national level or not at all.

Prop 80: Electricity Regulation

This has both good and bad elements; and is the highly complex sort of stuff that if we actually had a functioning Legislature, they'd be able to tackle. Also, a rule of thumb: when in doubt on complicated initiatives, my rule is to vote No. So, I voted No.