Yup. Filled out the old absentee ballot, put it in the pink envelope, and sent it back to the homeland. I was very happy to vote for Barbara Boxer. She’s one of the few people in the U.S. government at any level that I actually like, as opposed to just hating less than the others. I was a bit less enthusiastic about my vote for Maxine Waters. She’s a bit of a crook but mostly the help-out-her-family-members with sweetheart deals type of crook. The numbers pale in comparison to what the Republicans do. So, I’d prefer someone a bit more ethical representing me but in the battle for lesser of two evils, it ain’t even close.
Ambrogio Lorenzetti, Allegory of Good Government, 1338
Unfortunately, because I live permanently abroad, the good state of California doesn’t let me vote in the state elections, so Jerry Brown is on his own. I hope he can pull it off without me.
I actually don’t buy the premise that “every vote counts.” I believe that “whoever you vote for, the government wins.” There are people in power and they aim to stay in power. There are others who want to get into power. Most of them just want to be exactly like the ones who are in power. A handful may want to really change the way things work, to do good for the people, to be a breath of fresh air, the new broom that sweeps clean. They generally don’t have much success. The shitpile is too deep and any one person’s shovel is too small.
There are 8 billion people in the world. The vast majority of us will never have any impact on history, on world governance, even on the world of literature or the arts. Gotta keep trying, though.
www.gurukalehuru.com 
I don’t have Maxine Waters on my ballot. Is that a write in?
I see, it’s a different district. Barbara Boxer is opposed to prop. 19 and says she will resist efforts to legalise marijuana. I think I’ll vote green, but now my ballot has disappeared.