My Voting Thoughts

By
now if you are anything like me you are sick of the political rhetoric that is
going on with the Presidential or Senatorial races.  If you haven’t made
up your mind by now, then you are a glutton for punishment.  I have tried
to keep politics out of my blogs this election season, other than my campaign
to get informed on your own rather through the television, I think I have done
a pretty good job.

One
thing I would like to talk about today that I believe are being ignored  through all of the political mudslinging, are the
ballot questions.  I am going to give my opinion on the questions and
which way I will be voting.  This is in no way meant to entice you or
persuade you.  This is just a guy writing a blog the day before the election.

I
feel the ballot questions do not get enough play in the public, and I am not
sure why that is.  Is it because ballot questions are usually a result of
a petition from special interest groups, and then those interests groups scare
voters into voting that way?  For instance the vote on banning dog racing
a few years back.  I voted no on that question because I apparently
understood what would happen if race tracks closed more than the MSPCA.
 The only ones that would have their jobs spared in such a ban would be,
you guessed it, the dogs.  They would just get shipped off to states that
had dog racing.  Jobs and tax revenue gone from Massachusetts, because the
MSPCA spent a large amount of money scaring the public into thinking they were
saving the lives of these dogs.  Wrong!

Anyway,
this year’s three ballot questions are three pretty good ones and to be honest
I really went back and forth on these as two of them really test your view on
values.

Question 1:  Right to Repair – this one is a no brainer for me.  I don’t take
my car to the dealership anyway.  The fact that an industry that needed a
huge taxpayer bailout 5 years ago should not be able to dictate where I bring
my car, (which I paid for, to make AND drive) to be serviced.  Not to mention the fact that GM
also has in their warranty that if you don’t used their specific
“dexos” oil when getting oil changes, then it voids the warranty.
 Guess what, they make you pay for that too. I will use whatever oil I so
choose.  My Vote: a
resounding YES

The next two weren’t as easy.

Question 2: Prescribing Medication to End Life – Before reading the proposed law, and I am not quite
certain I got the whole thing, I was on the fence with this.  But in the
end my Pro-Life stance overcame me.  Now I have no problem with Do Not
Resuscitate orders because that isn’t speeding up death.  If people want
to go home and die, that’s fine too, but getting a drug to do it is no
different than buying a lethal mix of something off the street.  The law
has way too many holes in it and the fact that there is no psych consult and
physician administering the medication just turned me away from it.  There
needs to be more physician involvement on this for me to even consider it.
 My Vote:  NO

Question 3: Medical Use of Marijuana – This question is the one where my beliefs truly don’t come
out in this law.  Like Question 2, this law also has holes in it.
 However, I honestly feel
that gambling and marijuana should be legalized.  They are two large tax
revenue streams and could possibly eliminate some illegal activities.  But
this law is too wide open and vague for its intent.  It allows people to
grow their own marijuana for medicinal purposes.  In a time of serious
economic down turn, isn’t that just adding to the criminal element? 
According to the studies it helps and I am all for a drug that helps.  My
Vote: a reluctant YES, but could be a NO by tomorrow morning.  That’s how
on the fence I am with this one.

So,
there you have it, 3D’s take on the ballot questions.  If you disagree
with me on these, then check the other box.  If you are not sure, then
there is still time to get informed and I urge you to do so.

3D

If
you don’t take it from me, ask my wife.