I live in a VERY liberal suburb of a big city in the Midwest. Let's call it Oakey Oaks. Think Birkenstocks, Dansko clogs and Keens, tote bags at the grocery store, and organic everything. It is a place where every Saturday at the Farmers Market (since 2000, I think) there is a petition to impeach Bush. Every Thursday, rain, shine, or snow, a group of protesters gather near the train stop and the expressway to promote peace. Their signs say "Honk for Peace" and most cars do. We have a huge recycling program, and I saw only one McCain yard sign in the past two years. My town is truly racially integrated and has been since the 60's. I think we have the greatest concentration of smart cars and VW beetles per capita than most of America. We are a nuclear free zone, and have the signs to prove it.
So when I got to the end of the ballot, there were some interesting referendums. First, our town is attempting to single handedly end the war in Iraq. Yep. The referendum was for the pursuit to use all means necessary to limit federal military spending in Iraq and Afghanistan to bringing the troops home. Not sure what this means in the larger political arena, but interesting. The second was a referendum to phase out nuclear power, replacing it with wind and solar energy. Seriously. And not just in Oakey Oaks, but the entire state. The third was a referendum requiring all contractors and subcontractors who do work for our town and businesses receiving funds from our town to pay a living wage to their employees, indexed to inflation, with health benefits and time off. Hmmm, and people say Americans don't embrace socialism.
No word yet on the success or failure of these referendums, but I give our citizens props for being engaged and interested. If you'll excuse me, I need to go figure out how to get some solar panels for my roof.
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