{"id":32210,"date":"2012-11-05T10:17:55","date_gmt":"2012-11-05T17:17:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/uprisingradio.org\/home\/?p=32210"},"modified":"2012-11-05T10:17:55","modified_gmt":"2012-11-05T17:17:55","slug":"sonalis-recommendations-on-the-california-ballot-propositions-of-2012","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uprisingradio.org\/home\/2012\/11\/05\/sonalis-recommendations-on-the-california-ballot-propositions-of-2012\/","title":{"rendered":"Sonali’s Recommendations on the California Ballot Propositions of 2012"},"content":{"rendered":"

While I cannot legally endorse any candidates, I CAN recommend positions on ballot measures. <\/p>\n

DISCLAIMER: My recommendations are based on my interpretation of the language of the measures and the guest experts and organizations I trust, which are necessarily influenced by my own personal political views. Additionally, my views and recommendations do NOT necessarily reflect the views of Pacifica, KPFK or any other program or programmer on KPFK or anyone associated with or representing this station.<\/p>\n

However you choose to vote, please educate yourself before you make any decisions one way or another \u2013 ultimately your vote is yours and yours alone. <\/em><\/p>\n

On propositions 30 and 38, the taxation and education funding initiatives, I\u2019m definitely for a YES vote on 30 as it saves public education. However, recommending NO on 38 is tough even though I don\u2019t agree with it. That\u2019s because if both 30 and 38 get more NO votes than YES, K-12 public education is left without any funding at all. Therefore I wholeheartedly recommend YES on 30 and grudgingly recommend YES on 38. My preference is for 30 to get more YES votes than 38. <\/p>\n

Proposition 31 is the most difficult one to decide. I can see some value in both sides. However, the sheer complication built into it moves me to vote NO on 31 even if some of the provisions may be noble. In my view, it\u2019s better to reject a complicated proposition than to pass it now and try to reform it later. <\/p>\n

Proposition 32 is, in my view, one of the most important ballot measures and I recommend a resounding NO vote on it. It is a measure actively designed to fool California voters who care about campaign finance into stripping unions of their political power. If corporations have first amendment rights, unions, who actually represent real people, have them too. Besides, union members can already opt out of paycheck contributions to political causes under current law. <\/p>\n

I take my cue from Consumer Watchdog on Proposition 33 \u2013 the Mercury Insurance sponsored proposition designed to trick voters and recommend a clear NO vote. <\/p>\n

Proposition 34, which would ban the death penalty in California is also a no-brainer for me as I am morally opposed to the death penalty. So I recommend voting YES on prop 34 as it would ensure California never executes an innocent person. <\/p>\n

Proposition 35 is a complex issue. While I am obviously opposed to human trafficking like most people of conscience, I feel it is too broad. We already over-criminalize and over-imprison in this state and the added opposition from prominent members of the anti-trafficking community and of sex-workers moves me to recommend a NO vote on Prop 35. <\/p>\n

Proposition 36 is a weak reform of the Three Strikes Law. The law, in my opinion, needs a much greater overhaul, which was narrowly rejected by voters some years ago. If 36 passes, it\u2019s a start. I strongly recommend a YES vote on Prop 36 to allow re-sentencing of non-violent third strikers. <\/p>\n

Proposition 37 is arguably the most important ballot measure tomorrow, especially if you base it on how badly big business wants it to fail. It\u2019s not just about GMO labeling, it\u2019s about asserting our rights over what we want to put into our bodies and a vote for something Monsanto is against, is again a no-brainer. I recommend a YES vote on 37. <\/p>\n

Proposition 39 is perhaps the only measure supported by a wealthy individual that I also support. It\u2019s a win-win for California tax payers and small businesses based in this state and a potential windfall for the state\u2019s economy and especially a green economy. Let\u2019s close corporate tax loop holes \u2013 I recommend a YES vote on 39. <\/p>\n

And finally, proposition 40, a measure that should never have stayed on the ballot. A YES vote preserves the more democratic and representative Senate redistricting methods that voters already adopted. I recommend a YES vote on prop 40. <\/p>\n

SUMMARY OF SONALI\u2019S RECOMMENDATIONS: <\/p>\n

Proposition 30 YES
\nProposition 31 NO
\nProposition 32 NO
\nProposition 33 NO
\nProposition 34 YES
\nProposition 35 NO
\nProposition 36 YES
\nProposition 37 YES
\nProposition 38 YES
\nProposition 39 YES
\nProposition 40 YES<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

While I cannot legally endorse any candidates, I CAN recommend positions on ballot measures. DISCLAIMER: My recommendations are based on my interpretation of the language of the measures and the guest experts and organizations I trust, which are necessarily influenced by my own personal political views. Additionally, my views and recommendations do NOT necessarily reflect […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32210","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-announcements"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/uprisingradio.org\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32210","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/uprisingradio.org\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/uprisingradio.org\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uprisingradio.org\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uprisingradio.org\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32210"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/uprisingradio.org\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32210\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32224,"href":"https:\/\/uprisingradio.org\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32210\/revisions\/32224"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/uprisingradio.org\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32210"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uprisingradio.org\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32210"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uprisingradio.org\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32210"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}