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| Thread: My First Time |  This thread is pages long: 1 2 · NEXT» |
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violent_flower
Promising
Supreme Hero
Almost there.
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posted October 25, 2006 02:41 AM |
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My First Time
My first time, I know what you were thinking!!! Sicko!!!!
So in the mist of enlightenment I find it pertinent to share with you my disgust in the latest political ploy from Bush. Talk about political hype, this takes the republican cake. Now he decides to set this timetable for withdrawing the troops. How convenient to start adapting what the democrats have been saying for months. This is what was proposed as a get in, get out mentality by the democrats and Bush was all about, stay there and prevail.
I have to say that I was never one to race to the deceiving voting booth of America just simply because I had the right. I have worked on the campaign trail before and found it exciting and disappointing all at the same time. I have yet to get my voters card since I have lived here in Illinois. Seeing as the candidate receiving the majority of the votes in the Electoral College wins the election, as opposed to individual votes, I found no reason to stand in line and basically have my vote null and void. This year I have got to attend the political game and at least send my colored circle to the box.
I was not raised a democrat, however I have adapted the democrats way of rationalizing subject matter and finding feasible answers without always screwing the little man. So anyway, this is my announcement that this is the first time that I have voted in years since a third party vote I participated in long ago. My BF will be very proud!!! This ones for you..Oh and as my BF would say, "Bush can pack sand for all I care"..I will add that this is probably the one thing he is good at..Stick to what you know jack***!!
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Learn how to duck and weave because I will throw truth at you all day!
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friendofgunnar
Honorable
Legendary Hero
able to speed up time
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posted October 25, 2006 02:44 AM |
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One of these days I'll get around to voting in a primary for the first time. 
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Aculias
Responsible
Undefeatable Hero
Pretty Boy Angel Sacraficer
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posted October 25, 2006 02:54 AM |
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Take a #
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Dreaming of a Better World
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violent_flower
Promising
Supreme Hero
Almost there.
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posted October 25, 2006 02:57 AM |
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Oh goody I'm not the only one...
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Learn how to duck and weave because I will throw truth at you all day!
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MightyMage
Honorable
Legendary Hero
of INSANITY and DELICIOUSNESS
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posted October 25, 2006 08:04 AM |
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Pfffffft, I'm personally sick and tired of having to choose between dumb and dumber when it comes to an election. Bush is retarded, at least to a degree (oh don't start crying bleeding hearts). Kerry wasn't much better in my personal opinion. When on TV they both managed those dumb @$$ looks on their faces. People have called me liberal before, which I can't quite say I'm that exactly but I have never aligned myself with just one party. And now? Now I've gotten to the point where I'm thinking of writing my own fricken name down on the ballot. Yeah, I've thought about it. It would be useless, a wasted vote, and it wouldn't really prove a point but I know one thing, It would sure as hell make me feel better about things.
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Though I must still bow
in awe for the awesomeness that is
MightyMage. For he is all I could ever
want to be! - OhforfSake
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antipaladin
Promising
Legendary Hero
of Ooohs and Aaahs
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posted October 25, 2006 08:13 AM |
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well i got an idea,if bush and kerry are both incompetnet,praphes we need a ediffernt age of presitinatial,such as 5..?
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types in obscure english
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MightyMage
Honorable
Legendary Hero
of INSANITY and DELICIOUSNESS
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posted October 25, 2006 08:19 AM |
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Kerry doesn't matter anymore. He lost and Bush won...again. I still like to gripe how much I hated that election though.
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Though I must still bow
in awe for the awesomeness that is
MightyMage. For he is all I could ever
want to be! - OhforfSake
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russ
Promising
Supreme Hero
blah, blah, blah
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posted October 25, 2006 06:10 PM |
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Quote:
My first time, I know what you were thinking!!! Sicko!!!!
Made me look! 
I've voted in every election as soon as I could, both Russian and Canadian. (Well, except for mayoral elections - noone ever votes in those anyways  )
I voted for the liberal candidate - he got elected, but his party is still a minority (since all the hicks voted for the Conservatives). Now Canada is building up its military and trying to do smth in Afghanistan (WTG, Canada!!! England, USSR and USA failed - surely Canada knows something they all didn't know!!!)
I think if I lived in USA, I'd be very frustrated with voting - you have 2 political parties with very similar agendas who differ only in little details. And even if one of them is more appealing to you, you can still have a country ruled by a president who got 26% of the votes and not the president who got 74% of the votes.
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Leo_Lion
Honorable
Supreme Hero
The 5th Element & 6th Sense!
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posted October 26, 2006 02:52 AM |
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MightyMage said:
Now I've gotten to the point where I'm thinking of writing my own fricken name down on the ballot. Yeah, I've thought about it. It would be useless, a wasted vote, and it wouldn't really prove a point but I know one thing, It would sure as hell make me feel better about things.
I like that approach...I really do.
I actually have a plan to start off in municipal politics and eventually build my way up to the federal stage, so I have considered legitimately putting my name on a ballot, but your idea should do just fine until then.
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*The end to no beginning...
*Take care, Leo
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Khaelo
Honorable
Supreme Hero
Underwater
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posted October 26, 2006 03:27 AM |
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My dad is in his 60s and just voted in a primary for the very first time. He personally dislikes the leading Democratic candidate for governor but politically dislikes the incumbant Republican. So the Dems' primary was his only chance to vote *against* the Democrat without risking a Republican victory.
The younger American generation is pretty cynical, I think. I only vote because it's the "responsible" thing to do, not because I think it makes a jot of difference. The politicians are just going to lie to us in their campaigns, do whatever they want to in office, then lie to us about what they did. Going through the motions of democracy is my last snatch of idealism in the system.
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 Cleverly
disguised as a responsible adult
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MightyMage
Honorable
Legendary Hero
of INSANITY and DELICIOUSNESS
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posted October 26, 2006 05:52 AM |
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You know what I find utterly amazing about America's Democratic system is the fact that our government (and a bunch of others as well) insist that it is our DUTY as free Americans to bring Democracy to those third world countries who are void of the freedoms we have. I just can't wait to see how we do it considering only about 30% of us actually vote. That's right, have some Democracy. It's great because you don't even have to do anything.
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Though I must still bow
in awe for the awesomeness that is
MightyMage. For he is all I could ever
want to be! - OhforfSake
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Leo_Lion
Honorable
Supreme Hero
The 5th Element & 6th Sense!
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posted October 26, 2006 08:40 PM |
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Edited by Leo_Lion at 20:44, 26 Oct 2006.
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I think that Democracy is becoming synonimous with "Bourgeoisy", considering that you have to be (as Chris Rock puts it) wealthy...not rich...to get elected. Either that or sell-out your principles to those who are wealthy and will finance your campaign. Then you can pass laws & enact policies that propagate this "illusionary" system of government to other parts of the world...in the end, making you wealthy as well.
All of this reminds me of how the Greeks' Democracy used to function, when it was first created. If my history is correct, rich white men used to sit on hilltops and discuss politics, while their women & slaves stayed at home doing the "real work".
Sounds Republican familiar, doesn't it?! 
P.S. Khaelo, what's with the new avatar?
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*The end to no beginning...
*Take care, Leo
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Khaelo
Honorable
Supreme Hero
Underwater
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posted October 27, 2006 12:08 AM |
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Edited by Khaelo at 00:14, 27 Oct 2006.
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Quote:
All of this reminds me of how the Greeks' Democracy used to function, when it was first created. If my history is correct, rich white men used to sit on hilltops and discuss politics, while their women & slaves stayed at home doing the "real work".
Sort of. There wasn't a property requirement in Athens, unlike the early US. You had to be a male citizen (free offspring of two citizens). They also had very large quotas for a lot of civic actions. Juries, for example, consisted of 500 citizens. One problem was that politics took a lot of time, time which lower class citizens couldn't afford to take off from their work. At one point, they instituted a payment system for jury duty so that farmers could afford to show up once in a while. The US has that too, but I think most people still lose money when they get called up for jury duty.
When they really couldn't get enough people to meet a quota, a couple officials would show up at the crowded agora (~town square/marketplace/forum) with a rope covered with colored chalk. They'd stretch the rope across the northern(?) end of the agora and then walk southward. This forced everyone towards the political hill. If you got nailed with the rope, you were a marked democracy-dodger. IIRC, there was a fine for that, but it was certainly dishonorable.
OT: Fixed sig to explain avatar.
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Cleverly
disguised as a responsible adult
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violent_flower
Promising
Supreme Hero
Almost there.
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posted October 27, 2006 02:56 AM |
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Quote:
You know what I find utterly amazing about America's Democratic system is the fact that our government (and a bunch of others as well) insists that it is our DUTY as free Americans to bring Democracy to those third world countries who are void of the freedoms we have.
I agree with that 100 percent. We feel like we have some responsibility to hang our heads down when we see other countries going without or not having the freedoms that we fought for. The fact is that they are becoming resentful of this and they will all start to turn on us. The Chinese are slowly making their rounds and it won’t be too long before our so called special military becomes last on the list. We need to spend less time and money on their problems and lack of resources and start really looking at our own problems. If we have children in America starving and dieing from abuse then we take care of those issues with taxpayer’s money first.
We have people standing here in food lines, jobs that don’t pay enough to live on, and children living on the streets. To top it all off we allow our borders to just hang wide open so anyone can just come and take pilot lessons and learn how to fly our planes into ******* buildings. Lets be the country that invites diversity with no limitations so the border jumpers can come over and then have our governor support those that are here illegally by offering them free health care. NICE!
We will end up the third world country, the very same one that our government shows pity on. Our children will be the ones with no social security and paying for us to eat because we will have exhausted our resources and played into the fact that this country is so damn great. We are a nation of consumers. We produce little to none. We export all of our raw goods cheap and then turn around and buy back the finished product and at a ridiculous cost. How does this make good sense, it doesn’t. We need to get out of the UN and we need to get our people more self reliant and stop depending on other countries for our gas. WINDMILL fields baby….
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Learn how to duck and weave because I will throw truth at you all day!
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Binabik
Responsible
Legendary Hero
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posted October 27, 2006 03:53 AM |
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What's with people giving up. The choices are:
1) Vote
2) Don't vote
3) Screw 1 & 2 and start a revolution
Which one will it be?
When there is sufficient numbers and organization for #3, let me know and I'll join you. Until then it's either 1 or 2.
If you don't vote, you have no right to complain. Yea, people are frustrated and apathetic. So am I. But I refuse to be so damn apathetic that I can't take a half hour to go out and vote twice a year. Come on now, it's only half a freekin hour for most people, one hour tops. That's less time than most of us spend at HC in a single day. Not voting is apathy to the extreme.
As for primary elections, in some ways we have more say during primary elections than in the final elections. For example the last presidential election. The Democrats lost in the primary, not the final election. The primary is when they picked Kerry who lost mainly because he was too far left. If during the primaries someone moderate had been elected, the Demos would have easily won the presidency. I don't say this to start another debate about Bush vs Kerry. I say it to illustrate a point that the primary election is critical to the process. During the primary we can vote for a candidate who represents our ideals. Or we can vote for a candidate who can win. The two are not usually the same.
<<<<Well, except for mayoral elections - noone ever votes in those anyways>>>>
I do.
Again, these elections are important. Bottom line is that people vote selfishly. They vote for things that affect them personally, or at least what they perceive affects them. If I am average Joe Voter and ask myself, "what has Bush done to affect me personally?", I would scratch my head and think for a while before realizing I didn't have an answer.
I might look around me at vast amounts of land that used to be cornfields and open land when I was young....now covered with ugly malls and ugly Wallmarts and ugly sprawling housing developments. The President and federal Congress had nothing to do with that. It was the Mayor and City Council who approved all that stuff. As average Joe Voter it's the things that I can see and feel and touch on a daily basis that affect me most.
When a federal plane flies over I can point at it and say I paid some fraction of a cent for that plane. On the other hand, I paid $1426 in taxes for the local schools in the last year. I can drive by a local school and point -- *THAT* is where my money went. I can go to the city council meeting and point -- *YOU* are the one responsible for spending the $1426 I paid for schools. And they know most people don't bother voting in small local elections, but this guy probably does. And they also know those local elections are often decided by just a couple dozen votes. You're darn right I'm going to vote.
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Consis
Honorable
Legendary Hero
Of Ruby
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posted October 27, 2006 05:37 AM |
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Edited by Consis at 05:42, 27 Oct 2006.
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*sigh*
I really don't want to post in this thread but . . . a member whom I deeply respect (binabik) has decided it's worth the time. Therefore I shall include my thoughts (however insignificant on the matter).
We supposedly have a constitutional democracy. Our highest laws were designed (at Independence Hall in Philidelphia) to limit the executive power. The founders believed that any single person or group had the ability to behave tyrannically; like a dictator. We also supposedly have a majority rule with minority rights. We also supposedly have free market, trade, and the ability to travel from state to state.
As a regular average Joe-Bag-Of-Doughuts . . . I feel it is my duty to stand up for what's right when I see it. That is my duty as an American. I'm not sure the elections make much of a difference. Neither am I certain that revolution is the answer to a seemingly warlike president. Neither will I simply sit by and idly ignore the growing sentiment of my neighbors and friends.
And so, I have decided for myself that I will vote based on what I believe . . . regardless if it helps change the country the way I want or not. Too many heroic men, women, and previously thought "degenerates" have fought the good fight to keep the right to vote sacred. I often find myself not wanting to vote. But every time I think of it, I am then drawn back through history to every soldier who fought for this right, every man & woman who peacfully protested, and every slave that chose to stay with us during the revolution.
During the revolution many slaves did in fact leave for the British lines in hopes of a life free of the shackles . . . not simply men either -- but also women and their children. Thousands upon thousands did this. And when I think about it, I must conclude that they had every God-given right to do so. Then I'm led to ask the next logical question: Why would they stay, those whom did? Could it be that they were simply too afraid? Could it be that they were physically incapable, having been actually chained and imprisoned?
Well I must say that I do believe many were indeed stopped by force and threat of death. But any logical conclusion would lead me to believe that some might have actually stayed regardless of chains and death threats. Some of these very human of beings actually had other reasons for staying despite the obvious. And it is to them that I wonder and seek to question. But they aren't here are they? Neither do any records exist that were left behind by such people. No records, no witnesses, and no answers . . . or could it be that they passed down their beliefs to their descendants. I'm talking about descendants like Frederick Douglas . . . slaves that actually knew something about the world in general.
Why is any of it important? Why read history? Who cares? What will it accomplish?
I'll tell you what.
Every time you Americans lose hope and despair that the system is a complete failure, I challenge you to take a moment to reflect and remember the sacrfices of our people. Think about the revolution, the constitution, the declaration of Independence, George Washington's choice to step down from ultimate power, Thomas Jefferson's line that was crossed out by Franklin, Madison's weaknesses, Lincoln's emancipation proclamation & dismissal of post war crimes courts, FDR's disability, Ike's ordering of troops to stand guard outside a common school in Alabama, Martin Luther King Jr's assasination & every time you ever heard a black man say these words: "Any man who can't vote ain't no man". I hope you remember your history. I hope you remember that no government anywhere in the world is perfect.
It stands to reason that we might actually have a fairly decent nation. It is also a choice of personal nature. I choose to vote simply because I will never forget what those people, who have come before me, comitted to history. These people are not so different from the one I am today. I will vote in honor of their memory . . . it's the very least I should do for the things I believe in.
If you are a person who believes the system is inexorably flawed then you should do what you can to improve upon it. Not voting is like not existing. There is a saying, "It's not enough to simply exist". But before you can even utter those words, one might think he or she should consider the question of their own existence.
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Roses Are Red And So Am I
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violent_flower
Promising
Supreme Hero
Almost there.
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posted October 27, 2006 06:09 AM |
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Thank you for taking the time away from your vanity thread (LOL) to comment on this thread. I appreciate your thoughts and I do agree with you on many points. I have not voted in recent election due to the lack of positive response that I would see from my vote; selfish, self-absorbed, and ignorant of the voting process? Yes!
My BF has given me a bit of different attitude about it. I will try to fill my mind with the knowledge of government and have made a vow to attempt to learn this to best of my ability. I hope to open my eyes to our government, although this thought freaks me out because I’m afraid of what I will find.
I will vote this election year and I don’t know what my feelings will be about it. I will however take into consideration the points that you have made while the circle is colored in.
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Learn how to duck and weave because I will throw truth at you all day!
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Consis
Honorable
Legendary Hero
Of Ruby
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posted October 27, 2006 03:16 PM |
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All You Need To Do . . .
Is establish that you exist. Then establish that you are a human being with inalienable rights. The right to vote can no more be taken from you than the right to inhale fresh air. There are many definitions of our existence. One of those is "I think therefore I am" . . . cognitive self realization that establishes consciousness of thought. You know you are yourself and no other. You are alive and you are unique among billions on a world in an infinite span of limitless galaxies and distance.
You are unique. You have substance. There is only one of you and you have a value equal to 1 . . . something versus nothing. And you are all things of a person contained in one being. Of these qualities that describe our place . . . lies the individual. Human life itself is based upon our understanding of the possibilities.
When you hear someone say, "Everyone deserves a chance, folks need a shot at life, never give up", or "He didn't mean nothin by it" . . . that's what they mean. Every person from the youngest to the oldest has the right to exist. Many of the innate things we often ignore go unnoticed far too often. Breathing, eating, and voting go hand in hand.
Take but a single one of those natural-born God-given innate qualities away and you take away our humanity. If a person's definition of his or her self lacks voting then they also lack a piece of humanity.
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Roses Are RedAnd So Am I
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Karashan
Hired Hero
aura runs core not hollow
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posted October 27, 2006 06:53 PM |
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when i saw the title i didnt honestly bother to open this thread at first [no dis to violent_flower (actually quite the opposite), it was my misunderstanding - i thought it was of a personal nature]
vote but vote in non-electronic booths. As long as the source code is closed and not properly audited by a independent group, this process is as easy to manipulate as a gambling machine in a casino, or a common user changing a desktop screensaver (for a few of codeworthy ability).
wether you believe the process works or not - out of respect
vote in memory of all the troops that have fought & died for
this freedom (& what remains of it) and yet never knew who
you were that they died for
"im michael tuck*... and thats my perspective"
*some anchorperson for a newscast back in the early 90s
when the news was trying to give the impression that they
could separaate unbiased facts from opinion
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i dont know
nor do i claim to
its just an idea
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Consis
Honorable
Legendary Hero
Of Ruby
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posted October 27, 2006 07:01 PM |
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Edited by Consis at 19:07, 27 Oct 2006.
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Best Thing Is . . .
It really has nothing to do with being American. Not every country in the world gives each their own people the right to vote; usually being an edic to women first. I believe Kuwait is one example in which women can't vote.
Edit: It seems women can now vote in Kuwait (16 May 2005)
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Roses Are RedAnd So Am I
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