Why I Voted "No" on the MPS Referendum.

To my surprise & excitement, the recent operating referendum proposed by Marshall Public Schools has been shot down, and I wanted to explain why I voted "no."

Take this all with a grain of salt, because 1) I'm not a property owner and probably won't be one soon, 2) I'm relatively unfamiliar with referendum history in the Marshall area, and 3) I'm relatively unfamiliar with referendums in general.

But I feel confident in voting "no." First: some (very) quick details on the referendum itself. 

WHAT IT IS
The referendum would endure for 4 years, increase general education revenue by $150 per pupil, and run side by side the existing referendum passed back in 2011. The priorities would be two-fold: improve educational technology and update security infrastructure.

HOW IT WOULD HAVE WORKED
Property tax increase.

WHY I VOTED 'NO'

1. Half of the funding needs should have been budgeted well in advance. 
I'm talking technology here. From Moore's Law, to the rise of Apple, to the greatness that is Wikipedia, technology is rapidly changing all. the. time. While often unpredictable how things will change, one thing's for sure: it's going to happen. 

That said, there should have been an existing budget in place for technological improvement years ago. I don't know the budget, I don't know the numbers. But there was nothing in the sales pitch to suggest that there was such a budget, or even an admittance that it was just poorly planned and didn't meet unexpected needs. That said, the best I can assume is that tech budgeting didn't happen at all. 

And now taxpayers are being asked to make up for that mistake.

2. I felt as if marketing for the referendum was trying to hide that it'd be a tax increase.
Reading through the website, the mailings, the newspaper articles, much time was spent on talking about a net tax decrease. While the actual property tax increase (the true part of the referendum) was barely mentioned at all. Loosely suggesting (in my mind) that this referendum won't raise taxes. Which is technically wrong. 

Make no mistake. The referendum was a tax increase. But bond debt refinancing has decreased that tax by a greater margin anyway, and so in conjunction with the referendum, there would have been an overall tax decrease. 

But no credit goes to the referendum for that. Regardless of the referendum, taxes would have been lowered. In fact, taxes are even lower now that the measure failed. Even so, throughout the months of marketing, I got this weird, disconcerting vibe that if you wanted your taxes lowered, you should vote 'yes.' Which is sort of misleading. Maybe that's just me, but it's not. 

And by the way, telling me "Taxes are going to be lowered anyway" is a poor justification for passing a referendum. 

3. I was unmoved by the "Hey, these schools are doing it!" rationale. 
Playing a pretty hefty role in the case for the referendum, promotional material was very clear that area schools were also voting on referendums, and that several were already in place. 

In short, "Hey, they're doing it -- so should we!"

But I care neither about how many schools are doing it, nor how many pass. If it's such a good deal, there should be much better reasons to convince me. Until I hear those, I'm not going to succumb to what I think is a bad idea just because other people are doing it.

4. I get this unsettling vibe that all referendums are inherently good. 
And I hate that. Because it's just not true.

I heard virtually no public opposition to the referendum in the press or anywhere else (maybe that's my own fault). It was all skipping through daisies, free unicorn rides, and candy for everyone. 

But if something's so darn good that no one has any criticism or skepticism for it, it's probably not that darn good. At least from my experience. 

5. I felt uncomfortable supporting another referendum to fund a broken system. 
Easy stab back: "So, why are you punishing the schools? It's not their fault."

True. But messages are sent through the polls. The message is this: Something's got to be done to prevent the need for future referendums. I have ideas of where to start, but those are for a different day.

I really do sympathize with the district upon hearing about the results of the vote. But I can't regret voting 'no.'

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Perhaps next time, the two items of technology and safety should not be paired together. I did see some justification for additional funding for security measures, mainly because of unpredictable, awful events that happened recently. But combining that 'need' with something many perceived as more of a 'want' probably held a lot of people back.

I know there's a need for money in the schools right now. I know the people who put the referendum together sincerely felt a need for what they were asking. But in the end, I still wasn't persuaded.

Why a "Create Your Own" Marriage Terrifies Me.

I'm not the biggest fan of Dan Savage. If you're unfamiliar, he's a fairly well-known author, speaker, and prophet of "tolerance," but also has quite the reputation to blatantly mock & ridicule Christians. (If he registers as an "anti-bullying" role model in your head, undo that by performing a quick YouTube search.)

But I came across a video of him that's been making its way through social media, and instead of immediately dismissing it, I wanted to be open minded.

In it, he offers an interesting (and for many, attractive) redefinition of marriage -- one that's completely defined by the individuals and no one else.

No restrictions. 
No boundaries. 
100% "Create Your Own."

Initially, it really does sound freeing, liberating, and empowering. But shortly after thinking about it, I'm concerned.

I'm concerned not because I believe marriage is defined as between a man and a woman in a life-long relationship (I do), not because I'm worried about the further breakdown of an important, purposeful institution (I am), and not because I just have this huge distaste for Dan Savage (that's a given).

I'm concerned because I don't think there's as much freedom in Savage's definition as he touts. Rather, no freedom, no liberation, no empowerment.

Just slavery to uncertainty. 

Beginning at about 4:06 in the video, he says,

This idea that if you buy into marriage, you're buying into some gendered, patriarchal institution... Wake up and pay attention. Marriage is what the two married people in any individual marriage say that it is. 

It can be monogamous or not, children or not, religious or not, for life or not.
Each individual couple... gets to create their own marriage. [emphasis my own]

Awesome! My wife and I have full power to make marriage exactly what "we" want it to be.

Until one of "we" expects something else out of it.
Until one of "we" says it means something else.
Until one of "we" decides to create something the other doesn't want to create.

And all with no reference point. 

Savage's definition is a constant fight against sinking sand. The unknown of how one of us could begin to see the marriage differently. No standard, no foundation, no unchanging path for us to pursue or for it to guide.

Nothing to hold us accountable in one of the most important relationships of our lives.

This definition won't work in a world of imperfect people. It won't last. It won't hold meaning. In a marriage completely & exclusively created by the couple itself, a deep vulnerability exists that will ultimately pull the couple apart.

My marriage needs a foundation. Something to guide us when things are rough. Something to hold us to a standard not set by ourselves. Something less fragile, more enduring, and so much greater than either one of us.

This is why I don't want a "create your own" marriage. And I hope you don't either.

Below is the video, and here's where I came across it.

What I've Learned Being Married to Health Nut.

I'm nervous to say this, but my pre-Hannah life (how dark & dreary it was) consisted of some pretty serious assumptions about organic/health food enthusiasts. Loopy, progressive, obsessed, hippie, a hint of crazy -- all words that pretty easily fit the bill.

But being married to one, and having been awoken to the powerful impact cibarious (I literally looked up that word about 45 seconds before writing it; not positive it even works) consumption can have on my life, I've had the opportunity to see things from a new, 'fresh' (I'm good) perspective. 

I'm no expert (I'm actually still a pretty stubborn, resistant, hard-headed, know-it-all critic about a lot of it), but here are a few of the things I've picked up on.

Note: I'm generally talking about organic, unprocessed foods here (including no gluten, MSG-free, etc.), not "healthy" food as in whole grain Cheerios with 11 essential nutrients as indicated by some emblem on the box. Moving on. 

1. Healthy/organic food can actually be a good financial investment. 

For the past year and a half, I've been on the Dave Ramsey kick, which means we live on the street and scavenge for food.

And also budget, live on less than we make, and other common sense financial tricks. 

Some (my wife) might even think I can go overboard on all this. The number of times the question "Why would we spend 78% more on wheat-free noodles?" has been asked in our home may be greater than three.

In reality, the math can actually be on yours & your budget's side. Super simplistic version: 

healthy food = better health + better mood + higher productivity = return on investment (THAT'S MORE MONEY)

It's early on, and so we haven't seen this principle be brought to ultimate FRUITion (and again!), but I'm seeing some pretty tangible hints. 

2. Healthy food can open the door to a whole new amazing menu of amazing tasting food. 

There was this huge bonus I got in marrying Hannah Banana: she can cook like a goddess (rumor is they're good cooks), and she cares about what she cooks. And because she cares, she loves to experiment with new recipes that won't lead to one of my organs malfunctioning. 

And wowzers. Do my taste buds consistently sing praises. I'd love to post those classic blog photos of great dishes, but to your benefit, I don't have any. So just take my word on this & use your imagination. Chicken noodle soup... fish... stir fry... Ah. Yes. If 'health' food will always taste like this, bring. it. on. 

3. Healthy food can shed some light on intolerances you never thought you had. 

Just recently, Hannah's discovered some issues she has with wheat/gluten, as well as a couple of other food things. Nothing I would call 'serious', but still significant. And a lot of it wasn't even noticeable until she became more conscious about what she was consuming every day.

It's almost like our bodies are dependent upon what we put in them or something. 

And she's not the only one! I've noticed some things about myself I had no clue about before, regarding wheat, sugar, and some other junk. 

I'm willing to bet... if you clean up what you consume and start over, you'll notice some things. 

4. Healthy food can teach you to be resourceful! 

If #1 was more strictly about $$$, this one's about being able to use what you have efficiently. Like making (from scratch) chocolate chip cookies granola stuff (not the trade name) for a weekend trip, or figuring out how to most efficiently allocate food for an event. Or even coordinating meals so nothing in your fridge is put to waste.

Rather than just defaulting to the standard, often expensive means of preparing food or planning for something, when you think about your food, you become resourceful with it. Totally weird. 

5. It... can.... be.... interesting. 

Said it, though not yet proud of it. And I refuse to use the word "fun." But I've found myself intrigued in some of the info Hannah digs up, and might have even Googled the phrase "rise of organic food industry" once or twice. Voluntarily.

Anyone else on a health kick similar to Hannah's (I still can't bring myself to claim it as my own, so for now it's just Hannah's)? Have you picked up on some similar things mentioned here, or completely disagree with everything I said?

Now, off to take some fish oil before bed.

Mopeding through a Minnesota winter.

I'm sitting here with a pounding head, soar throat, and all the disgusting rest of the package. I really wish I could play the innocence card and draw pity... but I don't deserve it.

Why?

I've been riding around in near-freezing weather on a 50cc moped.

Here's my baby. 

This is the first sniffle (ha.) in my plan to ride him as long as snow is off the road. My hope is that my body will develop an immunity to get me through this winter, and my riding habits won't have to be reconsidered. Or worse... eliminated. 

Assuming all goes well, here's my beginner's plan to weather-proof myself and my moped. 

1. 3-inch layer of clothing covering every square inch of my body. 

3 inches may be an exaggeration, but you get it. Snow pants, winter coat, sweatshirt, hat, scarf, I'll need it all. I've experimented with this in pouring rain and cold temps. It worked well! The only problem was water seeping through, which will be less of a problem in the winter. (BECAUSE IT DOESN'T RAIN IN THE WINTER. Usually.)

2. My moped becomes a house pet. 

Our garage is pretty warm, even in the winter, so storing my moped in there overnight will hopefully keep it start-able in the brisk morning.  At work, you can bet I'll try to convince Jacob & Maxx to let me roll in my moped. There are clear advantages to this over a pet. No peeing on the carpet, no obligation to play with it, and it's quiet. There's no good reason to say turn me down on this.

3. If needed, I tuck him in with an electric blanket. 

In the dead of winter, not even a sort-of insulated garage will be able to ward off Jack Frost. I've done my deep web forum research, and very credible anonymous sources say electric blankets work great. Good enough for me. 

4. Chains for his tires. 

Consider these the gloves for his delicate hands. I'm looking into this one. More to come. 

5. Adjust fuel/air ratio screw. 

Yeah, I don't know about that one. Like, anything. Just read it somewhere and it topped the list off @ 5 things.

Need your help: If you've spent a winter mopeding around town and have some helpful tips, I'm looking for a friend. Please share!