Everybody happy with the results from yesterday?

[Omaha Steve]

Most of those I voted for with 3-4 exceptions won.

[NEDem]

1. one exception

The people of Lincoln are complete tightwads. They'll vote no on any bond issue. Tuesday we had an option on funding a new jail, vote yes and our property taxes would go up 34 a year, vote no and they'd go up 66 a year. These uninformed hillbillies voted No, thinking that it was going to cancel the project. Now we have to pay more.

I'll admit it was confusing, but the Lincoln paper did a great job explaining the issue, these people decided to avoid being educated and just instinctively voted no. Sad.

There is a huge difference between Lincoln and Omaha when it comes to bond issues. It's really pathetic down here.

[residentfan]

3. Pathetic?

I am becoming increasingly concerned over the prison culture we have developed in this country. It was my understanding that this jail would hold up to 1000 inmates. Was I wrong about that? Why does a county the size of Lancaster need such a large facility?

It is my understanding that the United States is the leader in prison populations in both actual numbers and in percentage of incarcerations per the actual population. We have less than 5 percent of the world's population, but 25 percent of the worlds prison population. (see http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/04/23/america/23prison.php )

My vote against this jail was a blow in the direction of trying to reverse this trend. We don't need more prisons. We need thoughtful and effective ways to return offenders to the community in a way they can become useful for the community. Building a damned jail isn't going to do it, it's the easy way out... and I wasn't going to be a part of that!

[NEDem]

4. Yes, pathetic.

The jail is going to be built whether you like it or not, that just how it is. It's going to be built, it was always going to be built.

The Yes or No vote was on funding options. Voting No was NEVER going to stop it from being built. All voting No did was increase the property tax burden on people of Lancaster county by double. So voting NO was an uninformed move and yes pathetic.

[residentfan]

5. What is pathetic

.. is that we have been hoodwinked into believing that jails are the ONLY way to deal with crime. And that we do not have the imagination to go beyond funding these projects. Did you bother to read the article? The numbers are appalling. Who's going to have the courage to stand up to this crap?

[NEDem]

6. I'll tell you

What is pathetic is voting on an issue that is not on the ballot.

The issue of whether or not there are too many people in jail WAS NOT on the ballot. The issue of whether or not the police state has determined that anyone who commits a petty 'crime' should be locked up and throw away the key, WAS NOT on the ballot.

The issue on the ballot was funding, of a jail that was going to be built whether we liked it or not.

If you voted for a funding issue based on some pie-in-the-sky belief that voting No was going to stop the project, then that is what I call being uninformed.

We had no say in whether they were going to build this thing, we WERE given an opportunity to say how we would pay for it. And a bunch of uninformed people voted No.

This kind of voting pattern that is the basis for a wonderful book called "What's the matter with Kansas?" The book deals with how people vote on something based on emotion rather than approaching it rationally and actually taking the time to understand what their votes mean. More importantly how their votes affect their personal interests, in this case, my property taxes, and how people find themselves constantly voting against their self interests because of emotion.

I'm not the kind of person to rant about my taxes, hell I honestly don't mind paying them (strange for a Nebraskan huh). If the schools needed another $70 a year, I wouldn't tell them no, if the roads dept needed another $70 a year I'd give it to them, if the parks dept needed another $70 I hand it over with a smile. What pisses me off more than anything is that because people were uninformed I now have to pay more for something I don't think we need in the first place.

[residentfan]

7. Inevitable?

It's only inevitable because people are not informed enough about the issues. I'm not ashamed to admit I voted "no" on the issue, and I gave you the reason. And now I'm being called some kind of ding-a-ling. You want to know why the Dems can't get ahead in this state? Look at your answer to my concerns. Look at your attitude towards what is going on in this country. It's all "inevitable" if you vote your conscious you're a ding-a-ling. Yeesh, I can see now where the November election is going to go for the Dems in Nebraska with that attitude.

[LiberalAndProud]

8. Complete tightwads might be an overstatement.

Bond issues for education and infrastructure have fared well in this town. You are right about uninformed votes, though. People really didn't seem to understand what the alternative to the bond issue would be.

[TheFarseer]

2. little disappointed Obama won by so few votes

other than that, very happy.