Will you vote?

[Huckleman2000]

I'll also be voting as early and often as possible. It's the old-fashioned Democrat way to steal elections. Republicans have learned the key to winning isn't held by voters but the vote counter and gone high-tech.

Rumple Foreskin

Rumple, I truly and honestly hope that Kinky wins. Somehow, I just think that no one will admit to voting for him in the pre-voting polls, but n the personal space of the voting booth there will be many who vote their conscience - and deep down, they know that Kinky Friedman is right for Texas.

I think it made Minnesota a more honest state when they put Jesse Ventura into the Governor's house - it's sort of a big middle finger to the entrenched power bases. I don't think anyone sees any lasting negative effects, either. So, if Kinky wins, designate a time to have a nationwide communal cigar and maybe a shot of something strong, and I will happily partake!

Best of luck to you ane your fellow denizens of the Lone Star State.

 

[Boxlicker101]

Rumple, I truly and honestly hope that Kinky wins. Somehow, I just think that no one will admit to voting for him in the pre-voting polls, but n the personal space of the voting booth there will be many who vote their conscience - and deep down, they know that Kinky Friedman is right for Texas.

I think it made Minnesota a more honest state when they put Jesse Ventura into the Governor's house - it's sort of a big middle finger to the entrenched power bases. I don't think anyone sees any lasting negative effects, either. So, if Kinky wins, designate a time to have a nationwide communal cigar and maybe a shot of something strong, and I will happily partake!

Best of luck to you ane your fellow denizens of the Lone Star State.

I have to agree that sometimes it is nice to give the finger to the powers that be. That probably had something to do with The Governator being elected a few years back. That was a fun election, with porn actresses and exotic dancers and assorted kooks running. If it happens again, I think I will run as George Boxlicker. I might even win.

 

[AxelRedux]

Us poor Michiganians are almost compelled to vote. We have a novice businessman running for Governor. Dude is spending $35,000,000 of his own cash trying to win an office that pays $177,000 a year.

When a guy like that runs, you just have to go cast a ballot for his opponent and send him packing. Right now he's trailing by 10 points in the polls.

If only our election was half as interesting as Texas - Go Kinky.

 

[Huckleman2000]

I have to agree that sometimes it is nice to give the finger to the powers that be. That probably had something to do with The Governator being elected a few years back. That was a fun election, with porn actresses and exotic dancers and assorted kooks running. If it happens again, I think I will run as George Boxlicker. I might even win.

Yup, I have to agree, Box.

I even contributed to the girl who had thongs with her name on them for Governer. Georgy for Governor, I think it was. She was an attractive dot-com employee who seemed to have a logical head on her shoulders. I'm not living in CA, but I like to participate vicariously, at least to a liimited extent.

Anyway, I can't help but think that these fringe candidates are healthy, if only for presenting a point of view that a majority of people have but a mainstream politicain can't express without getting creamed by a vocal minority. Kinky's position on decriminalizing marijuana alone would have a huge effect on spending for prisons in Texas, which, as we all know, is a big chunk of your budget there. Just try to wrap your mind around spending whatever is spent on pot smokers in prison, shifted to education. Not just at the HS level, but also for college kids to contribute to Dell and AMD and the Austin area start-ups, or even the Southwestern Bell [what are they now?] people in San Antonio. It doesn't have to be all about Houston oil and energy people like Enron.

 

[Lucifer_Carroll]

I think with the political climate what it is, a Warren Ellis quote is not only appropriate but neccessary. On voting:

"You want to know about voting. I'm here to tell you about voting. Imagine you're locked in a huge underground nightclub filled with sinners, whores, freaks and unnameable things that rape pit bulls for fun. And you aint allowed out until you all vote on what you're going to do tonight.

You like to put your feet up and watch 'Republican Party Reservation'. They like to have sex with normal people using knives, guns, and brand new sexual organs that you did not know existed.

So you vote for television and everyone else, as far as your eye can see, votes to fuck you with switchblades.

That's voting. You're welcome."


So I'm voting because in this land once called America, someone has to vote against switchblade fucking.

Cynical? Maybe. Let's just assume I'm burned out from politics and leave it at that.

 

[Boxlicker101]

Yup, I have to agree, Box.

I even contributed to the girl who had thongs with her name on them for Governer. Georgy for Governor, I think it was. She was an attractive dot-com employee who seemed to have a logical head on her shoulders. I'm not living in CA, but I like to participate vicariously, at least to a liimited extent.

Anyway, I can't help but think that these fringe candidates are healthy, if only for presenting a point of view that a majority of people have but a mainstream politicain can't express without getting creamed by a vocal minority. Kinky's position on decriminalizing marijuana alone would have a huge effect on spending for prisons in Texas, which, as we all know, is a big chunk of your budget there. Just try to wrap your mind around spending whatever is spent on pot smokers in prison, shifted to education. Not just at the HS level, but also for college kids to contribute to Dell and AMD and the Austin area start-ups, or even the Southwestern Bell [what are they now?] people in San Antonio. It doesn't have to be all about Houston oil and energy people like Enron.

Not to mention the contributions those people could be making if they weren't in prison, and the taxes they would be paying. I believe the sentences in Texas are more for smoking pot than they are for manslaughter, ADW, car-jacking or armed robbery.

 

[angela146]

I'll be voting but my vote won't matter in the national scheme of things. Neither of the races are seriously contested.

There are some state/local races and some ballot issues that might be close.

But I would vote even if there was no contender at all.

 

[matriarch]

I can't but I probably wouldn't anyway.

eta: I like to beat up on policemen, so I can't vote anymore.

Whaaaaaaaaa?????????????????

"Anyone legally resident in the UK who is a citizen of the UK, the Republic of Ireland, or of a Commonwealth country, and who is 18 or over on the date of the election is eligible to vote, provided:

- they are on the electoral register, and unless:
- they are currently a member of the House of Lords,
- imprisoned for a criminal offence,
- mentally incapable of making a reasoned judgement,
- an undischarged bankrupt, or
- have been convicted of corrupt or illegal practices in connection with an election within the previous five years.

Oh, and I put my vote in this poll in the wrong place. It SHOULD have been the 'Not an American, but I vote where I live.' Duhhhhhhhh.

 

[rgraham666]

my favorite, which always get nasty reactions at the Polling Places. A T-Shirt with the Emblems of the Armed Services on the front and the statement "They voted with their blood there so you can vote here" on the back.

Cat

I gots to get me one of those.

We have a municipal election coming up here in Toronto. I'll be voting.

 

[Guest]

Will I be voting? Most certainly I will be voting and I hope that someone will take pity on anyone who tries to stop me from voting. (OKay so I lied, I could care less what happens to anyone who tries to stop me from voting, after I'm finished with them of course.)

Like WildCard I haven't missed a vote since I turned legal age.

My biggest question will be what I shall wear when I go to vote. I have T-Shirts that say "If you didn't vote then quite bitching!" "Vote, it's your duty" "My right to vote is protected by the Right to Bear Arms" and of course my favorite, which always get nasty reactions at the Polling Places. A T-Shirt with the Emblems of the Armed Services on the front and the statement "They voted with their blood there so you can vote here" on the back.

Cat

as you probably know, i've moved states from the north to the south. things down here are vastly different...i have a point (keep reading)
down here, they have voting centers in churches...
what happened to separation of church and state? hrm.
also, you will be turned away if you wear a shirt with any slogans. (my point)
i was shocked when i heard that. bothers me that there are so many restrictions and that clothing is monitored. wtf!?

 

[sophia jane]

I'll be voting, definitely. There are a couple of things on our ballot that I am dying to vote on. First off, the local Senate seat has a really awesome guy running against a total prick, so obviously I'm anxious to vote for Sullivan. But the big ones in our state are the referendums/amendments. We have a gay marriage amendment up for consideration that will basically make gay marriage and domestic partnerships/civil unions unconstitutional- a big deal for many of us and it's looking like a really tight race. We also have a bring our troops home measure up and, another biggie, a death penatly vote.

 

[Roxanne Appleby]

as you probably know, i've moved states from the north to the south. things down here are vastly different...i have a point (keep reading)
down here, they have voting centers in churches...
what happened to separation of church and state? hrm.
also, you will be turned away if you wear a shirt with any slogans. (my point)
i was shocked when i heard that. bothers me that there are so many restrictions and that clothing is monitored. wtf!?

Don't worry about the shirt slogan ban, Vella. It's part of the "no electioneering within 100 feet of polling places" rule. They can't expect the little old ladies who operate the polls to know all the "codewords" or even candidates, etc. who might be referenced on clothing, so they just adopt a blanket "no slogan" rule. You wouldn't want to walk in and see 20 people in line all wearing "Vote for Himmler," or "Vote 'NO' on Gay Marriage," right? That's what's going on here.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

I'll be voting for one dead horse or another but, at least I'll be voting.

 

[OhMissScarlett]

I'll be voting. I haven't missed a single election since I was of legal age to vote. Also, I will continue to bug everyone else I come in contact with and try to get them to go vote as well.

Everyone, get out and vote! If you think it will be crowded at your polling place, go early. No excuses.

 

[Aurora Black]

Luckily I can vote from here by visiting the American Consulate.

 

[cloudy]

Whaaaaaaaaa?????????????????

I have a conviction on my record, and here, if you have that, your voting rights are revoked.

I could get them back, just have to fill out some papers, but I've just been way too lazy to hassle with the fucking government, you know?

 

[oggbashan]

I have a conviction on my record, and here, if you have that, your voting rights are revoked.

In the UK, you actually have to be in jail to be deprived of the vote. If your sentence is suspended - you can vote. There are some moves to extend the vote to prisoners as well.

Why not? They have views about the guv'ment too.

Matriarch's list is the real one for the UK. After prisoners, the next largest disenfranchised group is undischarged bankrupts. We are creating 500 a day at present. Those mentally incapable are a very small group.

It isn't difficult to register to vote unless you are constantly moving your home. Even so, it wouldn't take much effort to register. There are no barriers to registration except apathy and indifference.

Og

 

[Skip1934a]

as you probably know, i've moved states from the north to the south. things down here are vastly different...i have a point (keep reading)
down here, they have voting centers in churches...
what happened to separation of church and state? hrm.
also, you will be turned away if you wear a shirt with any slogans. (my point)
i was shocked when i heard that. bothers me that there are so many restrictions and that clothing is monitored. wtf!?

What southern state are you in?
Having a polling place at a church is not in violation of separation of church and state. Nobody at the church is going to be involved in how you vote. It's just a polling place. My polling place outside Atlanta won't turn you away if you have a slogan on your shirt.

I'm not saying you're wrong, vella, it's just that I have not seen what you describe where I am.

 

[TheOlderGuy]

Get Out Tomorrow and Vote
you lazy fucks

 

[Jenny_Jackson]

What southern state are you in?
Having a polling place at a church is not in violation of separation of church and state. Nobody at the church is going to be involved in how you vote. It's just a polling place. My polling place outside Atlanta won't turn you away if you have a slogan on your shirt.

I'm not saying you're wrong, vella, it's just that I have not seen what you describe where I am.

I think the only slogans they would turn you away for here would be political slogans. That would violate the ban on election day campaigning.

I plan on wearing a tank top that says, "VOTE FOR BOOBS? I AREADY HAVE THEM"

 

[Skip1934a]

I think the only slogans they would turn you away for here would be political slogans. That would violate the ban on election day campaigning.

I plan on wearing a tank top that says, "VOTE FOR BOOBS? I AREADY HAVE THEM"

'them' being what? The tank tops, or the boobs?

 

[drksideofthemoon]

Nope, I'm a Canadian citizen living in the US...I'll just be damned glad when it's over...I'm sick of the trash filling up my mail box, the constant phone calls and the extremely negative TV ads...

Seriously, I think if I were eligible to vote, I don't think I would, the candidates in my area just totally disgust me....4 year olds behave better than they have...

 

[Huckleman2000]

Keith on voting

Keith Olbermann is fast becoming the media conscience of the nation, I think. His 'Special Comments' are eloquent, hard hitting, and inspiring.

Olbermann: Where are the checks, balances?
Bush has been 'making it up' for too long, and the people have let him
Updated: 8:02 p.m. PT Nov 6, 2006

We are, as every generation, inseparable from our own time.

Thus is our perspective, inevitably that of the explorer looking into the wrong end of the telescope.

But even accounting for our myopia, it’s hard to imagine there have been many elections more important than this one, certainly not in non-presidential years.

And so we look at the verdict in the trial of Saddam Hussein yesterday, and, with the very phrase “October, or November, Surprise” now a part of our vernacular, and the chest-thumping coming from so many of the Republican campaigners today, each of us must wonder about the convenience of the timing of his conviction and sentencing.

But let us give history and coincidence the benefit of the doubt—let’s say it’s just “happened” that way—and for a moment not look into the wrong end of the telescope.

Let’s perceive instead the bigger picture:

Saddam Hussein, found guilty in an Iraqi court.

Who can argue against that?

He is officially, what the world always knew he was: a war criminal.

Mr. Bush, was this imprimatur, worth the cost of 2,832 American lives, and thousands more American lives yet to be lost?

Is the conviction of Saddam Hussein the reason you went to war in Iraq?

Or did you go to war in Iraq because of the weapons of mass destruction that did not exist?

Or did you go to war in Iraq because of the connection between Iraq and al-Qaida that did not exist?

Or did you go to war in Iraq to break the bonds of tyranny there, while installing the mechanisms of tyranny here?

Or did you go to war in Iraq because you felt the need to wreak vengeance against somebody, anybody?

Or did you go to war in Iraq to contain a rogue state which, months earlier, your own administration had declared had been fully contained by sanctions?

Or did you go to war in Iraq to keep gas prices down?

How startling it was, sir, to hear you introduce oil to your stump speeches over the weekend.

Not four years removed from the most dismissive, the most condescending, the most ridiculing denials of the very hint at, as Mr. Rumsfeld put it, this “nonsense.”

There you were, campaigning in Colorado, in Nebraska, in Florida, in Kansas -- suddenly turning this ‘unpatriotic idea’ into a platform plank.

"You can imagine a world in which these extremists and radicals got control of energy resources," you told us. "And then you can imagine them saying, 'We're going to pull a bunch of oil off the market to run your price of oil up unless you do the following.'"

Having frightened us, having bullied us, having lied to us, having ignored and rewritten the Constitution under our noses, having stayed the course, having denied you’ve stayed the course, having belittled us about "timelines" but instead extolled "benchmarks," you’ve now resorted, sir, to this?

We must stay in Iraq to save the $2 gallon of gas?

Mr. President, there is no other conclusion we can draw as we go to the polls tomorrow.

Sir, you have been making this up as you went along.

This country was founded to prevent anybody from making it up as they went along.

Those vaunted Founding Fathers of ours have been so quoted up, that they appear as marble statues: like the chiseled guards of China, or the faces on Mount Rushmore. But in fact they were practical people and the thing they obviously feared most was a government of men and not laws.

They provided the checks and balances for a reason.

No one man could run the government the way he saw fit -- unless he, at the least, took into consideration what those he governed saw.

A House of Representatives would be the people's eyes.

A Senate would be the corrective force on that House.

An executive would do the work, and hold the Constitution to his chest like his child.

A Supreme Court would oversee it all.

Checks and balances.

Where did that go, Mr. Bush?

And what price did we pay because we have let it go?

Saddam Hussein will get out of Iraq the same way 2,832 Americans have and thousands more.

He’ll get out faster than we will.

And if nothing changes tomorrow, you, sir, will be out of the White House long before the rest of us can say we are out of Iraq.

And whose fault is this?

Not truly yours. You took advantage of those of us who were afraid, and those of us who believed unity and nation took precedence over all else.

But we let you take that advantage.

And so we let you go to war in Iraq to oust Saddam or find non-existant weapons or avenge 9/11 or fight terrorists who only got there after we did or as cover to change the fabric of our Constitution or for lower prices at The Texaco or…?

There are still a few hours left before the polls open, sir. There are many rationalizations still untried.

And whatever your motives of the moment, we the people have, in true good faith and with the genuine patriotism of self-sacrifice (of which you have shown you know nothing), we have let you go on making it up as you went along.

Unchecked and unbalanced.

Vote.

URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15595139/