Spontaneous Derivation

Warning: language.

The first and national item is that voting for the President was obviously important. Obama won. And in Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Florida, Virginia, and New Hampshire, voting really mattered; it was OH, PA, and FL that finished off McCain. In Missouri, Montana, Arizona, and other traditional red states, where red had a hard time fighting blue, voting still sent a clear message—if you want to impress us, said the American people, please fucking address this fucked-up economy. Oh, and get around to Iraq. Soon. And this torture shit needs to stop.

The second item, local to California but of grave interest to the nation, was Proposition 8, which outlawed gay marriage. It passed—and unfortunately while the margin was thin, it was still a margin that passed the amendment to the state’s constitution. Voting again really mattered.

The third and last item, local to Washington and of a little bit of interest to the nation, was Initiative 1000—the right to assisted medical suicide. Like many controversial laws and amendments, this also passed with a thin margin, though not as thin as that of Proposition 8.

My personal tally: (1) Obama for varoius reasons people are tired of hearing, (2) n/a though I wished I could vote NO for various reasons people are likewise tired of hearing, and (3) I voted YES, because death by bleach is not a pretty thing, and people who really, really, really want to commit suicide due to medical reasons tend not to be stopped by laws that ban suicide. What interests me is that some people would say it’s not proper to vote YES, not so much because it’s OMG suicide, but because this is submitting a moral issue through humiliating medical and legal processes unnecessary if medical prescription laws did not require doctor’s approvals. Which I do agree with to some extent, but still: better than fucking bleach.

Addendum: Looking back at 10 years of Oregon’s Death with Dignity Act.