Obama Must Wear His Seatbelt
Even though no one asked him, Hulk Hogan found someone yesterday who would listen to him rant about who he wanted to be President. I'm guessing Hulk picked Obama because Obama wears his seatbelt and doesn't complain about being crippled for life or some other kind of trivial thing like that.
Not much of a story, but it allows me to get to my point. I get 20-30 e-mails a day from people who want me to remind people to go to a rally or an event for one candidate or the other, but the thing is I really don't do politics. I don't want you to think that I am ignoring you if I don't write you back, but I just tire of saying the same thing repeatedly in an e-mail so figured this would cover it. This is gossip and fun and not about politics. The only thing that is important to me is that you actually get out and vote. I honestly don't care who you vote for. Democrat, Republican, Green, whatever. It really doesn't matter to me. What is important though is that no matter what country you are reading this blog from, that you exercise the privilege of voting. In the US, barely 50% of eligible voters actually take the time to vote in a Presidential Election. In many countries the number of people who vote is in the upper 90% range.
In the US, we have grown so used to only half the people voting that if everyone decided to show up and vote, the entire system would collapse. Our apathy as a voting public is taken into account and there are only enough machines and workers, and supplies for a 50% turnout. How sad is that? The government knows you don't care about what happens in this country. Oh, you might speak up or bitch or whine, but they know you won't actually go out, wait in line and vote. They are so confident that you won't go out an exercise your vote that they don't have any way for you to vote if you do show up.
100% turnout would excite me and I think it would excite the country. People would truly know who they wanted as their leader. Right now we are just letting the 50% of the people who are willing to make the effort decide, and letting 100% of the people bitch and moan about the result.
If 100% of the eligible voters voted, I think there would be more unity in the country, because it would show that everyone wanted to have a stake in its future and actually took the time to make that clear.
Seriously this was just going to be another rant about Hulk Hogan and what an ass he is. I thought about telling everyone not to watch American Gladiators but figured if it becomes even more popular and Hogan makes a bunch of money off of it, then that is more money that John can get when he sues the family.
Are the Hogan's really getting a divorce just to tie-up the finances if (when) the injured young man files a lawsuit?
ReplyDeleteWe desperately need a politics-free zone. Everyone I know is on the verge of homicide over one candidate or another. Remember, even if you hate them all, you're allowed to do a write-in. My brother voted for Jimmy Carter in the last presidential election. I love the idea of fucking with the system.
ReplyDeleteAfter seeing that Sherri Shepard has never voted on The Biew..i was disgusted. Baba whyt he f*ck would you have s ome chick up ther talking about 'her point of view' when she's never voted? so damn irresponsible.
ReplyDeletewe have a saying amongst my friends
"you don't vote- you can't bitch"
that covers everything in our lives. don't like your bf but dont want to change anything? then keep your mouth shut. if you're not willing to do something about it then im not willing to listen.
i wish i could vote and im Canadian..who you elect just doesn't affect the US ya know!!!
Actually, Hulk Hogan has endorsed me for president
ReplyDeleteuh that would be the View..not biew.
ReplyDeleteWhat about the Libretarians Enty, HUH!!! Sure... love the dem's, republican's, the green's.... but what about the libretarians (that I know I'm probably spelling wrong anyways)?! Just kidding. For many years I chose not to vote. I don't feel I'm always the most educated on issues, and I honestly don't want to participate purely on the propaganda crap that is spewed at election time. Unfortunately, I realized that too many people much more ignorant than I don't have that view. So now I just do my best.
ReplyDeleteAnd Jax- after hearing Sherri's views on a few things.... maybe we should be glad she doesn't vote? See my theory, above.
ReplyDeletei agree. if you are not registered to vote, i hope you register this year. i worked the polls tuesday and about 70% of the registered voters in my precinct actually voted. people were very excited about the primary even though florida is being punished for moving up the primary date. we always have a few pissed off voters who thought they were registered but are not. please register, if you decide not to vote that's fine. but give yourself the opportunity. you cannot register election day.(in florida you must be registered a month prior to the election)in most states if you have not voted in 4-6 years you are no longer registered.
ReplyDeleteForget the Hulk, Stevie Wonder is way cooler. Here's my pitch:
ReplyDeleteThere's a new video PSA for Barack Obama from Vote Hope and Stevie Wonder. With Stevie's help, Vote Hope wants to sign, seal and deliver California voters to Obama on Super Tuesday. To view this video, go to: www.votehope2008.org and YouTube.
jax - i like "the biew" sounds like baby talk. like a bunch of babies talking over each other. they know a little about very little. who do these women represent? and why would we watch?
ReplyDeletecap- me, being uneducated in politics, got confused about florida's primary. Did the dem's move it up, therefore they didn't count, or was it Florida itself? Or Enty, anyone more educated than me, could you clarify? Michigan was the same- I thought it was the democratic party who chose to move it up (no idea as to the reason). Just curious.
ReplyDeleteparisss - the state of florida moved its primary to jan. the reps and dems threatened to take away the delegates hoping florida would back off and not change the date.the date was moved to jan 29(before super tuesday)the dems took away all delegates and the reps took away half the delegates as punishment. the reason florida wanted to move its primary is - by the time we usually vote the winners have already been chosen. florida feels that we are an important state in the process....hope that sheds some light.
ReplyDeleteparisss - the dems and reps didn't want the date moved up before super tuesday.... they have a hard enough time campaigning in the 20-25 states voting super tuesday! florida is a difficult state (expensive and time consuming)the reps spent time here but the dems all agreed to boycott and not campaign here. almost at the last min hillary came (pissing off obama and edwards for breaking the agreement)so when the results came in for the dem vote it was dif to tell if it was a true reflection of the voters. many didn't understand the delegate thing...etc.
ReplyDeleteJax, Biew sounded right although better yet maybe it should be the Spew?
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I hope every American votes. If the last 7 years have taught us anything is that whether we vote or not whoever gets elected has an impact on our lives.
I work for a place that does political things and I understand people are disenchanted with voting, but its what our country is built on and if you can set fireworks off on the 4th of july or make a decision to put a Support the Troops sticker on your car, you by all means should for gawd's sake cast your vote.
Believe me, what Ent's saying is true. The politicians are counting on you NOT to vote. Anarchy guys!
all I can say is Barrack Obama better have Secret Service triple that of any candidate, past or present, and Oprah better be putting her money to good use with her private security team on him night and day. I am very excited to watch history in the making, be it a woman or black man, but I don't trust the crazy, violent bigots still lurking in humanity. Hopefully in the next generation or so we evolve past the hate-breeders, but for now, let's not allow tragedy to cripple this nation again.
ReplyDeletekelly- ive said the same thing for months..he might be the first black president but he may also be the first to be shot as well.
ReplyDeletetoo many loonies out there that would die before having a black president. very sad.
but i've also said the same about Hilary being a women and Huckabee being a 'mo.
what? really? my bad.
Jax - You crack me up.
ReplyDeleteI do love Obama (hence, my post above.) At the same time, I will miss John Edwards. I thought he brought up important issues that the front runners were afraid to touch. I hope that he will find a place in the new Democratic administration.
Don't worry Leah you might see a lot of Edwards soon.
ReplyDeleteJax & Kellysirkus — I'm hoping he'll get past the inauguration, but I hope the fear of him getting shot won't curb people from voting for him. There's a reason he put himself out there.
Okay...ready for the comments, though I've already heard them all...
ReplyDeleteYou are scheduled for death.
You have a choice:
a) Being eaten alive by a shark
b) Being eaten alive by a bear.
Choose.
I choose not to choose.
I exercise my DEMOCRATIC RIGHT not to vote. I have yet to find a candidate in my riding that I like (I'm Canadian), and I know damned well that I would be useless as a politician. Why should I end up choosing 'the lesser of two evils?' Why should I waste my time spoiling my ballot? I register to vote every time, and every time I elect not to vote--and I will continue to do so unless and until I find a candidate that I feel truly represents ME.
Oh...my answer to the "you have no right to bitch" line...
ReplyDeleteYes, I do. I have every right to bitch. I am governed by the same laws, the same taxes, the same government as everyone else. I would have bitched if I had chosen to vote, and I will continue to bitch when I choose not to. The day a candidate I believe in takes office-- that should be the day I STOP bitching.
if you go into a restaunrant and they ask you what you would like to order and you say "i don't really like anything, you decide"
ReplyDeletethen you better not bitch when they bring you liver.
that's just my opinion..not liking either candidate doesn't make it any better or worse, just dont let someone decide for you.
And i f*ckin hate my Prime Minister.
So ur saying majik that you would be wiling to vote if a candidate came along that was worthy of your vote? Or you would stop bitching if everybody else voted for a candidate that you eventually liked?
ReplyDeleteI'm confused by your argument.
I'm saying I choose not to vote because I don't believe in supporting anyone halfheartedly. I will not look at the roster and pick someone I don't like. I may not vote, but it's not because I'm lazy...it's because I don't care one way or another who gets in.
ReplyDeleteThat may change if someone comes along that I can throw my support behind--until then, I reserve my right to quietly protest the errors in the system by not voting.
The whole idea that I would stop bitching is because there would finally be someone in office who is doing something, instead of promising to do something. What would I have to bitch about if the politicians actually did their jobs?
Jax--part and parcel of the whole thing is being prepared for any and all evils that may come as a result. But if I'm having liver, everyone else is having liver too--I don't get served liver just because I chose not to vote--what about those poor people that wanted steak and got liver?? If the majority are having liver, then I'm having liver too.
lol....who knew politics could be so yummy?
one man's liver is another man's steak..that's the whole point.
ReplyDeletei don't think not liking anyone is a good enough excuse so we may have to agree to disagree.
one love! lol
Peace, doll. ;o)
ReplyDeletei actually disagree with "fetishizing" voting as the main and only duty that a concerned citizen and community member need have. unfortunately, the legislators, the ones we elect are so often not the ones writing the laws. if you look closely, the corporations and big industries are in charge and we'll unfortunately never be able to vote them out. this is, for example, why someone like al gore didn't do better on the environment while he was in office. voting takes about 15 minutes plus the amount of research it takes to choose a candidate, which for many people, it seems like they spend more time choosing which movie to go to on friday night.
ReplyDeletei am fine with voting, but if that is all we are expected to do, things will never really change for the better and to even vote becomes a meaningless ritual that makes people feel like they have some sort of impact. most, if not all of the major changes for the better in our society (the U.S. I am refering to) have been because people organized themselves to create change by and joined together to fight the powers that be.
so, i am not about guilt-tripping non-voters, but about encouraging everyone to be engaged and knowledgeable and participate in their daily lives, or this democracy will become even more of a sham.
I'm with Majik on this one altho I wish it wasn't so.
ReplyDeleteThis has been my observation over the last 20 to 30 years of American politics...
The Democrats are largely spineless and therefore unfit to run the country.
The Republicans are largely bullies and therefore even more unfit to run the country.
There is no sense that any politician anywhere cares about anything other than being elected or reelected. When someone genuinely appears concerned about improving the human condition {Al Gore and the environment come immediately to mind}, they get shot down as being an alarmist.
Finally, the shenanigans in Florida during the 2000 presidential election {not the hanging chads but the Republican governor -- whose name was Bush -- instructing the Republican Secretary of State to stop counting ballots when their candidate was ahead by 500 votes} proved conclusively to me that if someone doesn't want my vote to count, it won't.
Here's why I will vote: my girlfriend disagrees with me on this so I ask her who she wants me to vote for. She tells me, I do it and when I get home wearing an "I Voted" sticker, she rewards me in the best way possible :-)
you can make an impact if you choose to vote. i have seen it. please remember that some choose to vote only for the prez. there are local/state elecions every year.questions on the ballot can change laws and tax rates. it starts in your town/city. i've seen close results when each vote was important. *also, i respect the decision not to vote.
ReplyDeleteThanks for keeping this site politics free!!
ReplyDeleteThis early, i really can't tell which i would side with, but i am leaning towards obama. Furthermore, the GOP base is not even warming up to mccain (of course, i could be wrong) and even though it's still early in the game, this just proves to show how we see our candidates to-date. i know i will get burned for this, but i think mccain is a warmonger. i get the impression that he doesn't care to what happens to our troops in the middle east and the other parts of the world. Can’t we just all get along? i think it is time for a purification; i think it is time for a change; i think it is time for obama time. Now that the candidates are set for the US Presidential Election, Barack Obama and John McCain are beginning to set the tone for their campaign.
ReplyDeleteThe housing market crisis is a major issue in the upcoming US Presidential Election and has a significant impact for all Americans where Obama and McCain talk about in political clash .just like soaring oil prices are affecting the costs of everything from food to gas and even houses rental. There are also significant issues on local and global environmental impact. While there are many issues, we need to look at our next leader and determine which will have the best course of action going forward. Both candidates, John McCain and Barack Obama are attempting to address the issue and differentiate their positions from one another. And I think that everyone is missing the point of this. We need a new resource. We need a solution to this problem not another way around it…