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Just got our general election book today. It's even bigger, but it's much better put together than our county guide. For one thing, it has a TOC on the first page, and the page numbers are just normal integers. Seems to be a lot less wasted space, and the order in which things appear makes more sense.
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Oct 17, 2016 19:52
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Leperflesh posted:Just got our general election book today. It's even bigger, but it's much better put together than our county guide. For one thing, it has a TOC on the first page, and the page numbers are just normal integers. Seems to be a lot less wasted space, and the order in which things appear makes more sense. I had a single book that contained both my county, local and state stuff in one. Does every county do this differently?
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Oct 17, 2016 20:06
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Based on what I know about county government and how it operates, I think the general shittiness is probably more due to it being put together by barely qualified interns with zero background in design or information management with inadequate resources rather than any attempt at obfuscation. These people generally do care about democracy and want to do a good job (at least at the level below management) but they're only rarely given what they need to do the best possible job.
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Oct 17, 2016 20:06
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Oh I'm sure that's the case, yeah. It's not malicious, just unfortunate. Especially since you could hire a good editor for maybe two weeks' work and turn out a much better product, and that would cost maybe $4k or so. Counties aren't rolling in money but there's gotta be a way to find that much in an elections budget.
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Oct 17, 2016 20:15
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ShutteredIn posted:Laws are complicated, friend. Also everyone waits until a presidential election to get more votes on progressive things. Not just that, but the signature threshold for ballot initiatives is based on the number of voters in the previous gubernatorial election. 2014 had one of the lowest turnouts in some time thanks to it being the first top-2 gubernatorial race with a Democratic incumbent, so everyone is getting in on it while they can. You can likewise expect a poo poo-ton of conservative ballot measures to vote on in 2018 when they take advantage of the still-low signature threshold combined with the more conservative voting bloc of midterms.
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Oct 17, 2016 20:37
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Leperflesh posted:Argument from authority is a fallacy but I'm gonna do it anyway: Heh, I actually agree with you here. I'm a designer by trade, so I won't deny that the information architecture and page layout leave a lot to be desired. But, I also know how hard it is to get something like this through the gauntlet of stakeholders and reviewers. I can only imagine the process that leads to these guides -- insufficient funds to bring in professionals, undertrained but eager interns, a thousand petty (or malicious) outside groups looking for "bias," multi-lingual requirements, arcane and contradictory legal provisions to satisfy, access requirements precluding the ability to bury poo poo online, district-level variations, cost and print considerations, readability and legibility requirements, etc. Viewed through that lens, I think the ballot guides are actually fairly well done.
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Oct 18, 2016 03:53
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The fact there are many lovely conditions in the way of the writers is an excuse for why my county guide is bad; but it's still bad. I did not assign blame. It may be that the crappy guide I got represents a heroic effort by saints... but it's still poor as a document, evaluated on objective criteria, and that's all I ever claimed.
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Oct 18, 2016 08:38
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I got my mail-in ballot and have been procrastinating researching all my choices. Glad this thread exists to get me started in the right direction. Still gonna vote for the cigarette tax, though.
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Oct 19, 2016 03:05
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Here's the ACLU Northern CA voter guide.
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Oct 19, 2016 04:29
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Hmm. Ballot was mailed out on the 15th apparently for me from CA. I wonder how long they take to get here?
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Oct 19, 2016 05:20
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Okay, ballot's mostly filled out, just have a few things left that I'm unsure about or wavering on. Two things I'm trying to figure out are these county measure, Measure T and Measure U. From what I can tell, T changes who appoints the local probation officer, lets them be fired (unless I'm misinterpreting "serve at the pleasure of"), and applies retroactively so it can affect the current holder as well as future ones (making this kind of seem like an attempt to get rid of the current guy), while U clarifies and modifies several parts of the charter, moving power around and getting rid of a useless office. Thing is, I don't quite know what the effects of this will be, being a bit new to politics and all. I can't tell if these are reasonable changes or political bullshit (though making Public Administrators appointed rather than elected seems suspicious). Anyone here willing and able to offer more insight into these?
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Oct 19, 2016 06:19
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one of the people on my ballot has "BART director" as their occupation, the poor bastard they stand no chance
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Oct 19, 2016 06:24
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Roland Jones posted:Okay, ballot's mostly filled out, just have a few things left that I'm unsure about or wavering on. Seems like your Measure T is about this guy.
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Oct 19, 2016 06:24
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ComradeCosmobot posted:Seems like your Measure T is about this guy. Oh, huh, I was right, then, it is an attempt to get rid of/get power over the current guy. Interesting. Well, time to look into him some more, and also weigh if that transfer of power is a good idea or not regardless of whether the current holder deserves to be booted, I guess.
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Oct 19, 2016 06:33
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Man, this is frustrating. One of these measures is people trying to get rid of a guy in a he-said-she-said situation as to what he's actually done and how bad it is, and the other seems to be several things piled together, one of which seems reasonable, to hide power being transferred away from the voters. Neither of these feel like things that the average voter could possibly have the knowledge to make an informed decision on. I know my lone votes here aren't going to be the deciding factors or anything, but I still want to vote "right" here, but lack the necessary information and experience to do that. It kind of feels like Measure U, is being put to a vote like this because people are relying on the above, though, and hoping to get it through based on people not knowing what they're voting for. Then again I could just be reading into things and assuming all politicians are bastards. Edit: Oh, this is interesting. Measure T might actually be to protect the guy, not get rid of him, as the Board of Supervisors is pissed at the court for keeping them out of the loop, which is why they made the measure. Though given him being put back on the force this measure might be irrelevant now, since it was proposed while he was still on paid leave. And the club that people are pissed about caters to LGBT people (and isn't even "erotic-themed", according to some comments on the articles about this), which might be part of why complaints relating to it were filed. Hm. Well, what I'm getting from this is that politics is messy and petty and ridiculous even at the local level. Edit again: Well, ballot is filled out and sealed in its envelope, which has been signed and dated. Will mail it soon. Roland Jones fucked around with this message at 10:09 on Oct 19, 2016 |
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Oct 19, 2016 07:43
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So what's the deal with Prop 52? On balance it seems fine, but it seems like it makes itself harder to change, which is one of the things I hate about the proposition system.
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Oct 21, 2016 04:00
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Also, one of the ballot guides has this to say about Prop 51:quote:In addition, Proposition 51 would allow developers or homebuilders to pay only half the cost of a school construction project, even if that project benefits their housing development.* How much do they pay now?
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Oct 21, 2016 04:09
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Artificer posted:Hmm. Ballot was mailed out on the 15th apparently for me from CA. I wonder how long they take to get here? Mines took like five days to get to Santa Monica from Alameda County
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Oct 21, 2016 04:31
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I'm trying to figure out what Prop 58 is trying to do exactly. It sounds like it wants to stop the ESL (English as a Second Language) classes in schools in favor of bilingual classes, but it doesn't seem like there is any incentive to replace the classes once they're gone.
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Oct 21, 2016 19:16
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Hitlers Gay Secret posted:I'm trying to figure out what Prop 58 is trying to do exactly. It sounds like it wants to stop the ESL (English as a Second Language) classes in schools in favor of bilingual classes, but it doesn't seem like there is any incentive to replace the classes once they're gone. Right now under proposition 227, schools' hands are tied, because they are required to only teach in english, and cannot offer bilingual education at all. 58 gets rid of 227 and lets the schools decide what method to use, so ESL classes will still exist, but it'll be better integrated with the rest of the curriculum.
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Oct 21, 2016 19:36
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Instant Sunrise posted:Right now under proposition 227, schools' hands are tied, because they are required to only teach in english, and cannot offer bilingual education at all. Okay, cool. I was having trouble with all the lovely legal speak. Plus you got the fear-mongers going "IT WILL BRING BACK SPANISH IN SCHOOLS!!!!!11111oneoneone"  But my 11th grade English teacher in high school was the (un)lucky teacher to teach ESL at my school and I remember her talking about how little supplies she would be given to teach them, let alone accommodate non-Spanish speakers.gently caress 227.
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Oct 21, 2016 19:50
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I don't know what it's like in other areas of the state, but LA at least has a huge push to help EL (English learner) students, with an additional EL acquisition class or supports mandated by the district. Part of this is because the district realizes their bread and butter for the foreseeable future are kids with IEPs/Learning Disabilities and EL populations (which mysteriously aren't well represented in charters). In some cases that means hiring additional TA staff that speak Spanish or (Language) so that they can give kids some semblance of guidance when the teacher gives instruction. prop whatevs would let teachers do a Cat = Gato lesson, instead of "CAT! C is for Cat. C-A-T! Repeat now please!"
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Oct 23, 2016 06:46
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Thousands of California soldiers forced to repay enlistment bonuses a decade after going to war I wonder how this will shake out over the years as the National Guard tries to sweep this under the rug as fast as possible.
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Oct 23, 2016 18:30
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It's really lovely that California is refusing to absorb this expense considering they are the ones ultimately at fault. I've already seen some people blame Obama though
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Oct 23, 2016 21:36
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Squeegy posted:It's really lovely that California is refusing to absorb this expense considering they are the ones ultimately at fault. Its not just CA. quote:The National Guard Bureau, the Pentagon agency that oversees state Guard organizations, has acknowledged that bonus overpayments occurred in every state at the height of the two wars. Since the Pentagon is doing this right now, Obama should be addressing this as a national issue. Obama has had no problem handing (vastly larger sums of) money to bankers and justifying the reasons that their various crimes are just fine, he could proactively decide to speak up on this issue as PR-guy Commander in Chief (regarding relatively little money to the Pentagons bloated budget to begin with) and try and make it not ruin the affected soldiers lives.
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Oct 23, 2016 21:55
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Bbbbut letting every one of them keep the money would cost a whole F-35! How would our military manage without that???
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Oct 24, 2016 02:20
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One of the reporters on KQED Newsroom just said that some likely voter models predict that Trump will become the first Republican presidential nominee to lose Orange County since 1936. if true.
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Oct 24, 2016 04:17
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ComradeCosmobot posted:One of the reporters on KQED Newsroom just said that some likely voter models predict that Trump will become the first Republican presidential nominee to lose Orange County since 1936. A monster too inhuman even for the soulless house-wives of Orange County. The Aardvark posted:Thousands of California soldiers forced to repay enlistment bonuses a decade after going to war At the height of the wars, the various branches were positively making GBS threads out money for re-ups and enlistments. I knew a guy out of high school who re-upped and got paid $60k bonus during 2007. Not exactly surprising that they're going through the records now and going "Holy gently caress, we paid morons waaaaay too much money to re-up to loving National Guard".
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Oct 24, 2016 04:59
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So I just discovered that my actual local rep (apparently Nunes represented where I lived in college, but not where I live now or where I will be moving hopefully), David Valadao, had the good sense to unendorse Trump and say he wouldn't support him back in June. Makes sense given that this district is extremely Hispanic, and probably shows that he's probably better than the average Republican (looking up his record he also pushed for immigration reform, voted against food stamp cuts, and tried to push back against the shutdown threats over the ACA), so I wouldn't be surprised if he managed to hold on to his seat. Maybe he'll reach across the aisle if there isn't a blue House after this election. I still hope that Nunes gets thrown out on his rear end though. He realized that the Tea Party and its ilk were insane, and yet he still tried defending Trump as recently as a few months ago, though I can't find if he's said anything following the tapes. Sadly, looking at how his district's voted in the past, I bet he'll hold on to his seat too.
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Oct 24, 2016 07:33
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My neighbor and I both voted by mail, and both our ballots didn't go through. Goddamn it election office, I might actually have to vote like a dirty pleb.
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Oct 25, 2016 04:15
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This has been the worst year for political phone calls for me I feel like a senior citizen
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Oct 25, 2016 04:28
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Has anybody been able to find any decent literature on San Jose's Measure E? It sounds good on paper, but without really understanding what's under the hood, I don't know how to vote. I can't seem to find the full text of the measure anywhere, and it's not on Ballotpedia. All I've been able to find are this list of measures that provides a high level blurb, and an Editorial published by Mercury News ( ) that doesn't really say much of anything beyond the usual "think of the small businesses!" talking point.
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Oct 25, 2016 04:35
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Sydin posted:Has anybody been able to find any decent literature on San Jose's Measure E? It sounds good on paper, but without really understanding what's under the hood, I don't know how to vote. I can't seem to find the full text of the measure anywhere, and it's not on Ballotpedia. All I've been able to find are this list of measures that provides a high level blurb, and an Editorial published by Mercury News ( I think I found the actual text on the San Jose government website.
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Oct 25, 2016 05:11
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Finished filling in my ballot. Time to send it in tomorrow. 
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Oct 25, 2016 05:49
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Their Yes On page seems to have a nice mix of unions and democratic orgs for endorsements http://opportunitytowork.org/endorsements/
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Oct 25, 2016 05:51
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computer parts posted:I think I found the actual text on the San Jose government website. Thanks. Really the only issue I'm seeing is that before hiring somebody new a business has to provide a paper trail proving they've tried to offer every part time worker in their employment additional hours and are hiring only as a last recourse when they have no employees with available hours left and/or part time employees turned the hours down. Still I think I'm going to vote yes since an extra layer of bureaucracy in the name of getting part time employees loving hours and benefits is worth it IMO. FCKGW posted:Their Yes On page seems to have a nice mix of unions and democratic orgs for endorsements AFL-CIO is a big proponent which is what clued me in that it'd probably be a yes vote, but I wanted to double check that it wasn't another "good intentions, terrible execution" measure ala Prop 61.
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Oct 25, 2016 07:24
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Listening to the morning news and the hand-wringing about pot legalization was mostly about "drugged driving" and the inability to really assess it. How much of a problem is it anyway? Specifically, the news segment was about Walnut Creek's council voting against the proposition. Some lady on that council was interviewed, and her worry was that somehow pot legalization would bring an unsavory element into what she thinks is their very nice community. What is the real worry with pot? I'm just saying some of the arguments seem a little bullshit, so I'm wondering what is behind the dog whistle. Apparently traffic accidents in states that have newly legalized pot have gone up, but I haven't seen anyone say by how much or what they mean by terms such as "marijuana involved".
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Oct 26, 2016 15:09
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A lot of people are REALLY committed to the War on Drugs, notably the police organizations, which are lobbying against. The traditional But The Children argument is being rolled out, as is the Gateway Drug argument. It is true that there have been accidents in Colorado and elsewhere with children eating edibles that were cunningly designed to look like traditional candy; this marketing practice has to stop IMHO. Drugged driving is a problem, accidental consumption of edibles is a problem, but mostly it's the War on Drugs.
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Oct 26, 2016 15:18
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Also weed makes our women want to lie with negros.
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Oct 26, 2016 15:31
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Bast Relief posted:Listening to the morning news and the hand-wringing about pot legalization was mostly about "drugged driving" and the inability to really assess it. How much of a problem is it anyway? Specifically, the news segment was about Walnut Creek's council voting against the proposition. Some lady on that council was interviewed, and her worry was that somehow pot legalization would bring an unsavory element into what she thinks is their very nice community. Actually, traffic fatality rates have either stayed the same or dropped in legalized states. The problem is that unscrupulous anti-legalization advocates deliberately confuse the issue by pointing out that traffic fatalities "involving" marijuana have increased sharply. Which is true, but rather meaningless: for one thing, legalization has caused state LEO agencies to devote more resources to catching stoned drivers(meaning that more stoned drivers are getting caught and more fatal traffic accidents are being scrutinized for marijuana involvement) and for another, these studies fail to distinguish between the presence of inactive marijuana metabolites(which can stay in one's system for up to a month after smoking cannabis) and actual intoxication. As a greater percentage of the adult population dabbles with marijuana, it's inevitable that a higher percentage of those killed in car crashes will show signs of having smoked marijuana at some point in the past month. quote:It is true that there have been accidents in Colorado and elsewhere with children eating edibles that were cunningly designed to look like traditional candy; this marketing practice has to stop IMHO. This is also blown way out of proportion. Yes, the number of kids admitted to the ER for accidental marijuana consumption has increased, but it's still a tiny number, far lower than the number of kids who have to be hospitalized for eating, say, multivitamins or OTC medicines or batteries or laundry detergent pouches(all of which can kill kids, not just make them feel really confused and lethargic for 10 hours or so.) All cannabis edibles in CO (and I believe most other states) are already sold in child-resistant packaging with prominent warnings.
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Oct 26, 2016 15:50
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