What happened to California? Every right wing proposition passed.

[Hekate]

25. I keep trying to tell you guys, California is not the solid liberal paradise you think it is...

While I’m at it, may I point out that taking so much out of the Legislature and putting it up for direct popular vote (the “Propositions”) is a fricking stupid idea. We elect legislators to get into the details and legislate. Oh wait, we voted for term limits so just when an elected official is getting a good grasp on things, they get turfed out of office and like as not go find a job as a lobbyist.

My husband and I did what we always do: took all the recommendations from the Los Angeles Times (gravitas), the Santa Barbara Independent (liberal), and the League of Women Voters (impartial) and compared them. We looked at who is endorsing each Proposition: cui bono? We discuss it with each other.

The dialysis centers are a case in point. Prop 23 is something the Legislature should have hammered out, but it came up “from the people,” i.e. those who could raise enough money to get enough signatures on petitions. As near as we can tell, the bottom line is that trained sub-professionals are fully capable of running a modern dialysis center, and Prop 23 would have mandated that each one have an MD, NP, or PA on site. We are short of doctors, NPs, and PAs, and that would actually cause closures. You would not believe how many people are on dialysis to stay alive after their kidneys fail (often from the diabetes that is running rampant in the US).

But wait, there’s more. The Indy said vote Yes. The League of Women Voters was Neutral. The LA Times said they would not endorse because there was no evidence it would help patients, but was in fact being used improperly as a labor organizing tool. Say what? We ended up leaving the damn thing blank. We are pro-union as all get-out, but this is not the way to get there.

I’m not as grumpy as I sound just now & I didn’t mean to jump on you. This day when Joe Biden finally became the President-Elect has been emotionally exhausting, starting with tears and hyper-ventilation when I turned on the news early in the a.m., and ending with more tears watching Kamala and Joe speak in Delaware, and I have not slept well for 4 years anyway. Immediately after dinner I crashed on the couch and slept for 6 solid hours. My husband finally woke me up after 1 a.m. and suggested I go to actual bed. Now that I’ve done a few things, I will do that. It’s 3 a.m.