Presidential endorsement: Gloria La Riva

So I received my mail-in ballot today and was confronted with a few propositions and a choice of Peace and Freedom Party candidates for president. Dismayed by the pitting of interests against each other in several budgetary issues, and by a rather blatant effort to transfer more money from Indian gaming enterprises into the state’s general fund, I voted no on all the propositions.

No, I do not think that money for roads should come at the expense of public transportation (Proposition 91). Rather, it should, at minimum, be the other way around, and preferably at the expense of certain other wasteful government programs, like our endlessly expanding wars.

No, I do not think that money for elementary and secondary education should come at the expense of community colleges (Proposition 92). As a teacher of public speaking at a university, I view it as my job to undo damage done at the primary and secondary levels, and while I generally support funding for education, I certainly cannot endorse further subsidization of this damage at the expense of institutions that seek to reverse that damage.

And, no, I do not see that term limits have improved the governance of California (Proposition 93). The problem lies not in term limits which force the replacement of experienced elites with inexperienced elites, but in the exclusion of non-elites–through the high price of admission for media access–from the political process.

Finally, I was immediately comfortable with Gloria La Riva’s involvement in several causes, including Act Now to Stop War and End Racism, efforts against terrorists under protection of the U.S. government, and relations with Cuba.

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