How I'm voting on the propositions

Prop 1A: Yes
Considering all the places the government spends money,
reducing congestion on the freeways and saving fuel is
definitely worth it though it may take a generation or more
before the rail system breaks even. California needs this.

Prop 2: No
Requiring farms that could normally support 15,000
chickens to suddenly only carry 5,000 would really be
difficult to overcome. If people want "ethical eggs,"
they should buy from farms that cater to that but farms
should not be forced to.

Prop 3: No
There are numerous good causes deserve money, a bond
initiative effectively locks in where money will be spent. If
people think that hospitals should be a priority, elect politicians
that think like they do. This doesn't mean that hospitals won't
get funded, it just means that we need to prioritize where money
is spent by the politicans.

Prop 4: No
This is bad on many levels. People under 18 have rights and should get
the option on whether to tell their parents they want an abortion. It sets
a bad precedent that could be used to further cut back abortion rights.
It will cause more coat-hanger abortions. Vote No.

Prop 5: Yes
More rehabilitation and less jail time for non-violent offenders. Putting
someone in jail because he likes to smoke a little weed?

Prop 6: No
My problem with this one is essentially the same as with Prop 3. We
already have a budget and we elect politicians to allocate our tax money.
Ballot measure that force money to be spent in certain areas reduce
flexibility to allocate money where it is needed.

Prop 7: Yes
California is already heading this way, but spending money on domestic
infrastructure and more renewable energy instead of foreign oil?
It all seems good as long as there is a solid plan for where the money
is allocated.

Prop 8: No
I think we all know how I feel about this.

Prop 9: No
No, this is the other prison prop by another name

Prop 10: No
This is similar to the other renewable energy one. But I don't like the 3.5
billion in subsidies, which fuck with the economy.

Prop 11: No
Is gerrymandering really that bad? I'm fine with politicians drawing
the districts.

Prop 12: Yes
Veterans are pretty important, we need people willing to die for
George Bush's whims. This is a small price to pay to reward the
people who have to go to crappy countries and kill or be killed.

Basketball predictions

Basketball is back! As much as it sucks to see baseball go, basketball softens the blow. Here are my predictions

Western conference:
LA Lakers
Utah Jazz
Houston Rockets
New Orleans
Phoenix Suns
Dallas Mavericks
San Antonio Spurs
Portland Trailblazers
Denver Nuggets
Golden State Warriors
LA Clippers
Minnesota Timerwolves
Memphis Grizzles
Sacramento Kings
Oklahoma City Thunder


Eastern Conference
Detroit Pistons
Boston Celtics
Cleveland Cavs
Philadelphia 76ers
Toronto Raptors
Orlando Magic
Indiana Pacers
Washington Wizards
Chicago Bulls
Atlanta Hawks
Miami Heat
Milwaukee Bucks
New York Knicks
New Jersey Nets
Charlotte Bobcats

Sarah Palin links

Some funny links. Palin is an easy target.

http://beat.bodoglife.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/spdebateflowchart.jpg

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/10/22/chris-matthews-battles-na_n_137030.html

Jason Mraz: 0 - me: 1

So everyone has heard of the Jason Mraz song, "i'm yours"

Its a pretty good, I like it. But there is one lyric that incites my ire, "and its our god-forsaken right to be loved loved loved."

God forsaken? That makes no sense. Why on earth is the right to be loved god forsaken? Put in some effort Mraz
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Apparently Jason Mraz got the message. On his album, there is a live version where he changes the words!

It goes, "and its our god-intended right to be loved loved loved"








I win

Discussion: Is healthcare a right?

So I wanted to start a discussion about whether universal health care was a "right." But I decided that the line was too blurry between "Yes, health care for everyone is a good thing so the government should give it to everyone," and "The right to health care is implied in the the right to life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness and therefore is a constitutional right.

What do people think? Should access to basic health care be a constitutional right for all people?

I was planning to argue the side of no, while I wouldn't be opposed to health care for all, i don't think that the right of "pursuit of life" includes health care but its hard to say why. II'm worried about a health care that doesn't penalize people for abusing the system. I'm worried that people would go see a doctor for a common cold. And even the poorest of people have access to clinics. So while it would be nice to make health care avaliable to more people, I will be skeptical of any plan for universal health care until I see it work.

What do you thiink?

I'm Back

Google stopped being bitches so I'm back posting.

SCHEDULE for the rest of the week

Wednesday: Review of baseball games and the first part of a series in which I tell you an interesting story that shows I'm not all white bread

Thursday: Palin Biden debate live thoughts and analysis

Financial Stuff

Have you seen the commercials for the companys that say, "Do you owe the IRS more than 10,000?you can settle your debt for a fraction of the cost!"?

Stop and think about that for a second. There is a hypothetical person who owes the IRS 50,000 dollars and this company says he can settle it for 10,000. This is a huge problem for the government and something that needs to be addressed if America is going to solve it's budget crisis.

Lawyers, are going to screw the IRS and ultimately you and me out of 40,000 by finding a tiny loophole in tax law or encouraging their client to threaten bankruptcy. In this system, the government doesn't get the money that rightfully goes to them and lawyers get rich exploiting a flawed system. The IRS needs to rethink its tactics and skip the middlemen to work out payment schedules with people and business who owe large sums of money. Yes, some will declare bankruptcy and won't pay the IRS, but its no wonder the US is so broke (besides the fact that we'll spend a trillion to kill Saddam) if they can't collect the money thats owed to them.

Microblogging: Today I met the CEO of my company

And the only thing I could think of while I was talking to him was, "Why the hell did I wear my lime/light green shirt today? Which got me thinking about how the roughest part of my day was freaking out that I was wearing a lime green shirt.

Why I want to be black: Part 1 in a 127 part series

White people can't name their kids Desean, or Lamarcus, or Jaquizz, or any other cool name like that. All the stuffy white women I had to meet at Cotillion would have had seizures if I'd introduced myself as LaDainian. I've always really like the name's Antawn and Niko for boys. Thats even too out of the ordinary for a white person. It's not fair. I don't have a rant except to complain its not fair. Maybe I'll get a dog and name it Niko while my kid gets an ordinary name.