Election Day in the U.S.A.

Careful with the quotes Porgy...I dropped one in an earlier post that also used the "B" word and it got edited out for profanity. I never thought of Mark Twain as profane I guess. So here's another Mark Twain quote w/o profanity.

"But in this country we have one great privilege which they don't have in other countries. When a thing gets to be absolutely unbearable the people can rise up and throw it off. That's the finest asset we've got -- the ballot box."

Rockminer said:

Look at it this way, he might have voted against you, robbing you of this supposed utopia where government will spend less of your money.

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lol. +1

PMT said:

We have vote by mail here, so no real excuse not to and if you want to save the stamp, there are drop boxes everywhere, as a registered Libertarian, I vote freely for candidates of all parties, it's getting so hard now as both of the major parties have become so extreme, it used to be about what is best for America with bi partisan cooperation, now they just dig their heels in and want to win at all costs and America loses, very sad......

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I am also registered Libertarian, and I didn't vote down any party lines. I feel that our freedom to choose is one of the greatest things about this place. I don't base my vote off of any mailer or ad I get. Many of the things I voted for conflict with each other if I were to vote straight liberal or conservative, and I like it that way.

I always took my son with me to vote when he was young. Explained that we were lucky to be among the darned few around the globe who get to do this. For myself, I remember that so many, many Americans gave their lives to secure my right to vote, so to me it's sacred.

I love voting. Noon today, in my new voting place, the clubby main lobby of our deco city hall. Varsity team of poll workers, no lines. But my registration didn't move with me, even though I did re-register, so I had to file a provisional ballot.

But I do love voting. Where else can I choose, for one seat on that Parnassus of corruption, the LA County Board of Supervisors, between:

1. Zelda, from the Dobie Gillis show. (Sheila Kuehl, term-limited out of Sacramenna.)
2. Bobby Shriver, a nano-Kennedy, who swept to power in Santa Monica by loudly opposing hedge height regulations, a.k.a. "Hedgegate." ("I'm a Kennedy; we all have tall hedges." This could be an apocryphal quotation.)

So don't tell me democracy doesn't work!

lmarkow said:

This is sad. The rest was naiveté. Best to you too.

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Voting is naive? lol. Go find a vet, shake his or her hand, and say thank you. You may not want to mention that whole 'voting is naive' thing to them though.

In the spirit of gentlemanly behavior I will give you the last word on this subject as I am bowing out gracefully. I've seen this behavior before and sadly will see it again. As Don Williams said in a song "I guess we'll all just be what we're gonna be".

snowman said:

Careful with the quotes Porgy...I dropped one in an earlier post that also used the "B" word and it got edited out for profanity. I never thought of Mark Twain as profane I guess.

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Noted, and the expletive has been amended, if not deleted, from my post...thanks.
And it was a Twain, not O'Rourke quote? Ya learn something new everyday here!

Cosmos Mariner said:

I am also registered Libertarian, and I didn't vote down any party lines. I feel that our freedom to choose is one of the greatest things about this place. I don't base my vote off of any mailer or ad I get. Many of the things I voted for conflict with each other if I were to vote straight liberal or conservative, and I like it that way.

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Right on bro!!!! It is my way of not being part of the big 2 and able to vote freely as I choose, if people looked at my ballot, they would shake their head as it is not the norm, I look at it as the vote of a man who thinks for himself!!! Proud Libertarian!!!!

The way I look at it, there are two reasons not to cast your vote.
1) you are completely happy with the state of the Union and the status quo
2) you have conceded defeat that system is irreparably broke and we are doomed.

I don't subscribe to either of those point of views, call me naive or optimistic, so be it.

Here in Oregon, they have vote by mail. I really miss going in, standing in line, shooting the breeze with the old folk volunteers, going to the booth and voting. They don't even give you one of these here in Oregon.



Convenient but not quite satisfying.

-jim

Well, I voted my usual five times today- twice at the polls and three mail-ins.

These elections would be much more interesting if we all completely ignored party lines and followed a basic set of rules:

1. If there is an incumbent in the race, vote against him/her. I don't care if the incumbent has the wisdom of Solomon and Grandpa Walton combined, and the challenger has a safety pin through his cheek and runs on the Communist Party ticket. Sorry Grandpa, you're out; good luck, Comrade Pinhead.

2. If there is no incumbent in the race, vote for the person with the least amount of vowels in their name. Goodbye, Hillary Clinton and Jeb Bush; welcome to the White House, Mr. Mxyzptlk.

3. If it is a multiple choice election like for City Council or something similar, do not pick any of the choices on the ballot. Instead, write in a combination of: (a)names of your favorite cartoon characters; (b)your least favorite characters from the Brady Bunch; and (c)your favorite tyrants, despots, and maniacs from history. Welcome to the Schenectady City Council, Mr. Magoo, Jan Brady, and Ghengis Khan.

Osborn Cox said:

The way I look at it, there are two reasons not to cast your vote.
1) you are completely happy with the state of the Union and the status quo
2) you have conceded defeat that system is irreparably broke and we are doomed.

I don't subscribe to either of those point of views, call me naive or optimistic, so be it.

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Or:

3) Some people don't see an appreciable difference between the candidates, enough so that they feel like making a choice between them.

ouch said:

Well, I voted my usual five times today- twice at the polls and three mail-ins.

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I wrote in Ouch all across my ballet. Good luck as the next Governor of Oregon.

-jim

lmarkow said:

Nope, sorry, I pay my taxes, I'll stay thank you. Voting is a right. It is not a duty or an obligation. Rights may be exercised or not. You don't get to choose for me, nor I for you. I live with my choices, or not, as do you.

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If you don't vote you live with the choices other make for you, but like you say, that is your right.

If you think they are all the same then we might as well live in China or Russia.

gearchow said:

Here in Oregon, they have vote by mail. I really miss going in, standing in line, shooting the breeze with the old folk volunteers, going to the booth and voting. They don't even give you one of these here in Oregon.

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Convenient but not quite satisfying.

-jim

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Totally agree and unless I write everything down, I forget some of the things I voted for!

Rockminer said:

Or:

3) Some people don't see an appreciable difference between the candidates, enough so that they feel like making a choice between them.

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3=2
if nothing else is true, there is a very appreciable difference between candidates, they rarely agree on anything. It's matter of choosing the one you feel is closest to your point of views. If the feeling is that it doesn't matter, none of them can make a difference, then 3=2.

Osborn Cox said:

3=2
if nothing else is true, there is a very appreciable difference between candidates, they rarely agree on anything. It's matter of choosing the one you feel is closest to your point of views. If the feeling is that it doesn't matter, none of them can make a difference, then 3=2.

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3 doesn't equal 2. Someone can choose to vote when they see something, or sense that there's a real possibility to make a change, without feeling like we've "conceded defeat that system is irreparably broke and we are doomed"

Someone can believe in change ,and, also decide that the two choices don't represent what they see as a positive change.

Anybody can find an excuse not to vote, felons having the most believable in most jurisdictions ..

But then, anything can happen ..

I voted against every incumbent on the ballot. Just as a matter of principle.