Redistricting and Torture

Two quickies:

Redistricting

So everyone knows by now that Gov. Schwarzenegger's entire slate of initiatives was defeated on Tuesdy, which was a clear statement by the electorate that $50 million for an off-year election was a waste of government money and we won't stand for it. My first inclination, in fact, was to do exactly what the state as a whole did, and just vote against everything. But in the end I just can't help myself: I studied these proposals just as I study all of them, and read the little pamphlets they send, and in two cases voted Yes. Once was for the second of the prescription drug proposals; the other, which was decidedly against the wishes of the state Democratic party, was in favor of redistricting.

Now I don't know for sure whether this was, on its merits, a good or a bad proposal. Maybe three retired judges, picked by the legislature with apparently little or no oversight, would have ended up doing just as bad a job as the legislature in drawing district lines. But it seemed to me that anything that takes redistricting powers out of the hands of politicians can only be a good thing. And Democrats should be the first to applaud: if they want to regain control of the Congress, there needs to be some serious redistricting across the country. Every single legislative district is so appallingly gerrymandered that even with sentiment rising massively against incumbents in general and Republicans specifically, it's a safe bet that neither house will change hands in 2006. There are simply too few contestable seats to be had. It's good for the politicians already in office, and certainly the Democrats lobbied me hard against this proposal; and had it passed, Democrats would have probably lost a couple of California congressional seats to Republicans, which would not thrill me. But the big picture seems so clear to me that I would have voted for any redistricting proposal. And if a bandwagon should ever start to develop for the idea, you can count on me to bang the drum.

Torture

Even more brief: torture is bad. End of sentence. The idea that my government would in any way resist legislation that clearly says so is simply appalling. But don't take my word for it, go read this spot-on editorial in The Economist instead.

Thank you, and good night.