I have a love/hate relationship with voting.

I love voting and I love people who vote because I think it's everyone's social responsibility to vote their opinion. For instance, I think it's really great that California is leading the country in stem cell research. Not only will it re-stimulate the economy (I'm thinking Silicon Valley might soon be called Stem Cell Valley), but I think it's technologically and socially progressive. We want to grow as a society in both directions, and the stem cell proposition that passed last year, I thought, was indicative of that fact.

I hate the current system of voting because I think it pits one party against the other instead of allowing people to truly vote their conscience. Someone might have Green party tendencies, but they can't vote for the Green candidate because their vote will be essentially worthless. They have to choose the lesser of two evils instead. (For the record, I did not for Arnold, I voted my conscience: Camejo. However, Arnold will still probably win the re-election because he's the incumbent, as well as the Kindergarten Cop, I mean Terminator.)

However, I hate it when stupid propositions get put on the ballot. I hate it even more when they pass.

Okay, so I'm not for sex offenders. But California might stupidly vote to pass a law collaring sex offenders for life.

• Increases penalties for violent and habitual sex offenders and child molesters.


• Prohibits registered sex offenders from residing within 2,000 feet of any school or park.


• Requires lifetime Global Positioning System monitoring of felony registered sex offenders.


• Expands definition of a sexually violent predator.


• Changes current two-year involuntary civil commitment for a sexually violent predator to an indeterminate commitment, subject to annual review by the Director of Mental Health and subsequent ability of sexually violent predator to petition court for sexually violent predator’s conditional release or unconditional discharge.

I don't care what kind of criminal you are--even if you've murdered someone in an extremely violent fashion--no one deserves to be collared for the rest of their lives if they've been released from prison. Does no one believe in the ability of people to rehabilitate or change? And oh my god, what about "offenders" who didn't really offend anyone? What about jilted lovers or students or others who make faulty accusations, but the victim gets convicted anyway? And what does "expand the definition of sex offender" mean? Could that be more vague? Why would I want to allow people to expand the definition without them telling me what that definition might entail? I can only hope that the courts deem this proposition unconstitutional. I mean, what is this freakin' country's platform? Freedom, right? Can we please try not to be hypocrites?

Furthermore, that stupid Parental Notification on Abortion Proposition is back on the ballot again this year. Dear lord, people, we just voted it down last year during the impromptu elections. Thank everything that is right in the world that this proposition so far is, again, not passing--even if it's a slim margin.

Stupid Wisconsin, South Carolina and Virgina and their ban on gay marriage. Isn't it great when we choose to strip human beings of their basic civil rights? Awesome.

Here's hoping that 8.7% of the currently reporting precincts is just a blip on the map. Here's hoping that regular Californians don't want to take away the basic rights of individuals. (By the way, I'm still upset by the fact that back in 2000 California banned gay marriage. So I should call it Stupid California, along with Stupid Wisconsin. But here's hoping that our stupidity is dissipating rather than gathering momentum.)

Labels: abortion, news, stupid laws, voting

( 8comments )

at November 11, 2006 12:51 AM  Anonymous said...

I so love the way you always TOUT your opinion YET give no recommendations or suggestions on how to go about creating change. Why don't you GET OFF YOUR ASS and do something about it other than making a post on a blog?

I'll tell you why. Because in the end, you're simply like everybody else out there. As long as you can play your video games, drink your coffee, rent your NetFlix, yada, yada, yada, you're basically just a HAPPY COMPLAINER.

And the audacity of calling states STUPID. Who do you think you are? Sure, it's a free country but when all you do is sit on your ass an complain and rationalize instead of GETTING IN THERE AND GETTING DIRTY, why should WE give a shit what your opinion is?

Remember, this is a BLOG. You obviously want your 15 minutes or you wouldn't be doing this online -- you'd keep a diary instead.

You're BORING. You call yourself a WRITER? Why don't you fucking write SOMETHING?

KeesterGirl

 

at November 11, 2006 1:07 AM  Princess Blogonoke said...

Wow, that's pretty hostile.

I wonder if KeesterGirl copies that comment for every blog she sees.

 

at November 11, 2006 1:22 AM  Samantha said...

Dear Annoymous Middletown, New Jersey AT&T Worldnet User Whose IP Address is: 12.196.212.2,

I should ask you the same question, dear Middletownian. I should ask what are you doing to effect change besides attempting to affect change through copying and pasting (or flaming) what I have no doubt is the same comment on every blog you despise? I should care that someone as petty and myopic as you thinks I'm boring. I should care that a total stranger felt the need to deface my face blog or shame me into... into... I don't even know what.

I should care.

But I don't.

Instead, I find your petty hostile attitude vastly amusing instead. To evoke such bitter and rancorous emotion enough to splooge all over my blog. It must mean that I'm on to something here to elicit such malcontent. Ya know... like effecting change.

 

at November 11, 2006 5:50 PM  Anonymous said...

Spoken like a true liberal.

As a matter of fact, I busted my ass over the last several months to get people registered to VOTE. I did that while holding down a full time job. I did it as a volunteer and not for a little extra income.

By the way, I use Privoxy so you have NO idea where I'm at. You just see the IP address, City, State, and internet provider I want YOU to see.

Glad to see it's working.

Trust me little girl, you are not EFFECTING change. LOL. I've pretty much read your entire blog because it was in fact amusing.

I'm a psychologist and from what I've read thus far, you need serious help. You definitely need to go seem someone about the following:

Anthropophobia
Arrhenphobia
Atelophobia
Athazagoraphobia
Atychiphobia
Aulophobia
Automysophobia
Autophobia
Cacophobia
Caligynephobia
Catagelophobia
Decidophobia
Dementophobia
Ergophobia
Gamophobia
Graphophobia
Gymnophobia
Hominophobia
Hypengyophobia
Kakorrhaphiophobia
Katagelophobia
Lockiophobia
Maniaphobia
Meningitophobia
Mnemophobia
Obesophobia
Oneirophobia
Ouranophobia
Pedophobia
Pentheraphobia
Polyphobia
Prosophobia
Ranidaphobia
Samhainophobia
Scolionophobia
Scopophobia
Scriptophobia
Soteriophobia
Syngenesophobia
Theophobia
Topophobia
Vitricophobia

I'm not joking either. Your EGO suffers from all the above yet you seem to think you are God's gift to the world. Yes, I was curious after reading some of your RANTS so I went ahead and used a program to SPIDER your entire site. I have now saved it as an ebook.

You obviously have a TALENT but yet you are deathly afraid that your talent isn't going to get you to where you want to be which in turn is very interesting since you obviously do not know where you want to be.

You apparently need CONSTANT stroking and cannot handle any type of CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM because you think you already know it all.

From additional reading, it's apparent that you were given too much false praise as a child and when you tried it out in the real world and couldn't make it, you ran.

The good news is that nobody cares WHY you ran because it was in conjunction with certain events so you're secret is safe with me however, I think the people that are the closest to you REALLY do in fact know the truth.

You may very well have a chemical imbalance since so much of what you write conflicts with itself so damn often.

Seriously SAMANTHA, you need help and you need it fast.

KeesterGirl

 

at November 11, 2006 6:18 PM  Anonymous said...

Okay, far be it from me to deny that Samantha does, indeed, need some therapy now and then, but seriously... why go off on her? Last I checked, this was HER website, which SHE set up for her own use. Seriously, when you see something you don't like on TV, don't you just change the channel like everyone else? Also, this isn't being broadcast into your home... you actually have to look for it.

If you disagree with her, disagree with her. There's no harm in that. Hell, make your own "I Hate Samantha" page and post all the reasons you dislike her on there, if you feel that strongly about it. But seriously, what do you hope to accomplish by being abusive? People can benefit from constructive criticism, but your posts hardly qualify as criticism, no less the constructive sort. You're no less of a complainer than she is.

Oh, and good for you for volunteering your time for something in which you believe. However, if you use your volunteering as a weapon against others, or as a means of thinking yourself superior to others, it defeats the whole purpose of volunteering. You're being paid the wages of pride, KeesterGirl, and not the "job well done" kind of pride... the sinful kind.

Gungadin

 

at November 15, 2006 1:54 PM  Jezebelsriot said...

Oh Samantha, please do not listen to the rantings of the anonymous psychologist. I have loved your writing and I think you approach your subjects with enough with and sense of humor to deem them relavent and insightful. It's pretty amazing that you have invoked such strong vehemence through your blog.

I had a similar situation with a rather hurtful and hostile blog commentor that really only sought to hurt my feelings and attack my writing as a means, I believe, to assuage their own insecurities about their abilities. There's really no need to target such hatred toward someone you have never even met.

And you better keep on writing dammit, you're wonderful at it.

 

at November 29, 2006 2:47 PM  Ish said...

So the blog is boring, but you've read the entire thing and copied it into an ebook. Right.

Seriously, who needs professional help here? (Isn't that the reason people become psychologists? So that they can obsess over other peoples problems and ignore their own?)

 

at November 30, 2006 7:46 PM  Lindsi Dawn said...

Wow! I haven't read your blog in a few... really shocked me to see what was written here. Pretty amusing. I love how the "annonomous" person says all these things that "must" be true yet are completely the opposite of what you are! hahaha. I wish I was there when you first read this, that would have been fun! :O)