The State Propositions

My general approach to propositions, when in doubt vote No.

I actually hate the trend we have in the state to put a lot of pretty technical and complex issues on the ballot. If this is the trend, then why do we have a legislative branch? Why not get rid of it and vote for laws by ballot measure exclusively?

Its tiring and ridiculous. Having said that, I did get talked into one yes vote, but my yes is very tentative, I could easily be talked into a no.

I'm a bit torn on the union measure and on the affirmative action measure. I could be talked into a yes on either to tell you the truth.

Mostly, do, my no's are pretty firm.

The Propositions

Proposition	My Vote	Arizona Republic's Opinon	Brief Explanation
106: Healthcare Freedom Act for Arizona	No	No	I strongly disagree with this - its a backdoor way to use the state constitution to weaken Obama's health care law. Federal law over-rules state law and it will waste our resources. By the way, we need mandates - everyone needs to pay for health care if we expect the guarantees we expect and demand.
Proposition 107: Arizona Civil Rights Initiative	No	Yes	I'm soft on this one. Are we passed the need for affirmative action? I personally am not so sure.
109: Arizona Hunting and Fishing Amendment	No	No	Making it a constitutional right to hunt and fish? Unnecessary.
110: Arizona State Trust Lands	Yes	Yes	Seems reasonable to me.
111: Arizona Lieutenant Governor	No	Yes	The idea is a good one, this law is poorly written - it will provide a barrier for independents to run
112: Arizona Signature Filing	No	Yes	There are already too many initiatives on the ballot.
113: Arizona Save Our Secret Ballot	No	Yes	I don't have a strong opinion on this (right now)..
203: Arizona Medical Marijuana Act	No	No	This is just an excuse to make marijuana legal
301: Arizona Land Conservation Fund Transfer	No	No	We can't balance the budget on the backs of our most precious resources. State lands need to be protected
302: Arizona First Things First Program Repeal	No	No	And we can't balance the budget on the backs of our children.

Central Arizona Water Conservation District

Wow, today in The Arizona Republic on the front page, there is a rather disturbing article.

That basically the tea part coalition is charging into the Central Water Conservation board elections:


"Most of the tea-party-backed candidates lack experience in managing natural resources. They are campaigning almost solely on fiscal issues, arguing that the district needs to cut costs, rein in spending and reduce the property taxes levied in Maricopa, Pima and Pinal counties to support water deliveries in the CAP Canal."


This is incredibly disturbing on so many levels. I understand we want our government operating as efficiently as possible. But isn't it obvious that water management is a government responsibility? Clean, accessible water has to be managed responsibly especially in a desert. We can't play politics with these kind of positions.

In the words of Sharon Megdal:
"'Our board is a nonpartisan board,' said Sharon Megdal, a University of Arizona water researcher who represents Pima County on the board. 'We don't run with any party affiliation, and I think that's for a good reason. The issue of providing reliable water in a responsible manner is not a partisan issue.'"

Obviously.

So, here are some people NOT to vote for. These are people with no relevant experience who are running on a platform of narrow ideology:

Cynthia Moulton - a retired nurse

John Rosado, a retired software engineer

T.C. Bundy, a business consultant

Raymond Johnson, an insurance broker

This is so disturbing to me.

So, more importantly, who should you vote for:

Well, the Arizona Republic has some recommendations.

Here's some information on Jim Holway.

I'm not sure who I'll vote for, but now I know who I won't be voting for.

Another Alternative to Graduate School

Seth Godin wrote an alternative to graduate school a while back. I'm casually reading a book called "The Art of Non-Conformity and came across another less daunting alternative to graduate school in this book:

Copied directly from the book, pages 118, 119:

• Subscribe to the Economist and read every issue religiously.


• Memorize the name of every country, world capital, and current president or prime minister in the world.


• Buy a round-the-world ticket or use frequent flyer miles to travel to several major world regions, including somewhere in Africa and somewhere in Asia.


• Read the basic texts of the major world religions: The Torah, the New Testament, the Koran, and teachings of Buddha. Visit a church, a mosque, a synagogue, and a temple.


• Subscribe to a language-learning podcast and listen to each 20-minute episode, five times a week, for the entire year. Attend a local language club once a week to practice


• Loan money to an entrepreneur through Kiva.org and arrange to visit him or her while you're abroad on your big trip.


• Acquire at least three new skills during your year. Suggestions: photography, skydiving, computer programming, martial arts. They key is not to become an expert in any of them, but to become functionally proficient.


• Read at least 30 nonfiction books and 20 classic novels


• Join a gym or heatlh club to keep fit during your rigorous independent studies.


• Become comfortable with basic presentation and public speaking skills. Join your local Toastmasters club to get constructive, structured help that is beginner-friendly.


• Start a blog, create a basic posting schedule, and stick with it for the entire year. You can get a free blog at WordPress.org. One tip: don't try to write every day. Set a weekly or biweekly schedule for a while, and if you're still enjoying it after three months, pick up the pace.


• Set your home page to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Randompage. Over the next year, every time you open your browser, you'll see a different, random wikipedia page. Read it.


• Learn to write by listening to the Grammar Girl podcast on iTunes and buying Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott.


• Instead of reading the entire Encyclopedia Britannica, read The Know-It-All by A.J. Jacobs, a good summary

You can spend one year on this for a total cost of $10,000 or less.

Much less than a typical graduate school program and much more valuable.