It's time to punch the ballot, so here are my picks

"So tell us how you really feel this Election Day."

That's what one reader asked me to do, suggesting perhaps that I rarely share my feelings.

"Good idea," I replied. "The beauty of publishing a newspaper is that I get the final say. I'll wait until the other political pundits have propped and kicked the candidates and issues to death and then slide in on the final day for a final word.

Let's see...

Medical marijuana? That's the one where they want to make it legal to smoke dope if you're dying from cancer or are suffering serious pain from some other disease.

I say go for it. You haven't lived until you've seen someone die from cancer. It isn't pretty and if marijuana makes that final journey a little less painful, so be it. I'm punching the "yes" button on that one. Until they find a cure for cancer, I say smoke away.

The marriage proposal? Now that's a tough one. I can't remember if that one's designed to make it illegal to marry a cousin, or just someone who looks like you. No. That's not it.

Let's see... That must be the one that says you can't marry more than one person at a time? No. That's Utah. Hmmmm. I got it. That's the one that says you can't marry a person of the same sex. Yeah. That's the one. Last time I heard Nevada already had a problem with that, although I suspect you can find a chapel in Vegas that would marry just about anyone for the right money. They'll even dress you up like Elvis.

Moving down the list we've got the Carson City school bond proposal. That seems like a no-brainer, unless you don't think kids need heating or air conditioning in their classrooms. If you vote against this one you've probably already shot down the dope and the gay marriages.

Carson City mayor? We got some flak for running a photo of Mayor Ray Masayko on the floor drinking a beer with an arrow in his back. Let's be honest. How many chances do you get like that? It's what photographers live for.

For the record, Mayor Ray was on the floor for a good cause. It was some sort of murder mystery, I believe. And an arrow in the back is bound to make a mayor thirsty.

But that's got nothing to do with my decision to vote for Tom Tatro. I'm voting for Tom because I think he's a little more open and even than Ray is. I'm not a fan of back-room deals or heavy-handed government. And I think Tom would bring a "kinder and gentler" approach to city government.

And until they start paying a lot more for the mayor's job, I don't have a problem at all with a guy having another gig. Not unless we want to start limiting the mayor's position to retirees, or those wealthy enough to live on the pittance we pay a mayor in Carson City.

The supervisor's race? Verne Horton is a solid human being with lots a good visions for Carson City. But vision only gets you so far in life. At some point you need action and Richard Staub seems to be decisive and direct. And that would be refreshing on a board often prone to beating dead horses, or speaking for the sake of hearing itself speak.

Assembly race? Incumbent Bonnie Parnell works hard for Carson City, which shows you can hold a full time job and serve at the same time. If it ain't broke...

U.S. Senate? I believe John Ensign is, by trade, a trained veterinarian and I think it's high time we sent a vet to the Senate. As I've said before, with so many horses' asses in D.C., there's a real need for a skilled vet.

The alternative is Edward M. Bernstein and our nation's capital has already met its quota of ambulance chasers.

Bush or Gore? McCain is still my choice and probably still more popular than either one of the front-runners. But our political process doesn't much care for popularity.

So it comes down to company and I like the company Bush keeps. Colin Powell, for example, is a man of integrity and tremendous strength and if he's going to be keeping Bush company for the next four years this country will be in pretty good hands.

There you have it. In the end, it really doesn't matter how I vote, so long as I vote. I'm certain most of my revelations today have firmly convinced you to vote the opposite anyway, which is fine with me, so long as you vote.

See you at the polls.

Jeff Ackerman is publisher and editor of the Nevada Appeal.