(no subject)

I'm actually going to go and gank one from jenga.

And the truly best part of it:

"...Here's what I'm saying to you--if you don't vote, you're a moron. I know what you're saying--"well, not voting is a vote." No, it isn't. Not voting is just being stupid.

Voting is not sexy, voting is not hep, it's not fashionable, it's not a movie, it's not a video game, all the kids ain't doin' it. Frankly, voting is a pain in the ass, but here's a word, look it up, it is your DUTY to vote.

The foundation in this democracy is based on free people making free choices, so, young people, if you can't take your hand out of your Cheetos bag long enough to fill out a form, then you can't complain when we end up with President Sanjaya.

Listen, I'm an American. This country, as it is, at war, right now--Americans in foreign lands wearing uniforms representing this country are losing their lives. Americans here in this country are losing their homes. We have two patriotic candidates, right? They both love this country, they have different ideas about what to do with it. Learn about them, read about them, question them, listen to them. Then, on election day, exercise your sacred right as an American, and listen to yourself."

Even in this city, where getting to a polling location is an absolute BITCH, it's pretty easy to get set up on absentee ballots, or other such things. And sometimes life gets in the way as well. That's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about supposedly making a political statement by not voting. Deliberately choosing to not vote does not send a message, except that you don't fucking care- you can't be bothered to get off your ass, do a little reading, and maybe go hit a voting booth. Or better yet- get an absentee ballot, where you've got two weeks to sit back and think things over, and then all you have to do is walk it to the fucking mailbox.

And third-party voters? I respect your dedication, your need to be a special little snowflake voting for your own best interests, your desire to make your voice heard even as it's utterly overwhelmed by the rest of the bi-partisan system.You have a capability to take a moral beating, and if you keep voting that way year after year, I'll ultimately have to accuse you lot of being political masochists. That said- if your 2% of the overall voting bloc acts as enough of a split to allow a MCCain/Palin win in the election, I am going to figure out a way to exact vengeance on every last one of you. Making your point is one thing- making the entire rest of the nation and world suffer under that kind of misrule for another 4+ years just so you can have your point and eat it too? Congratulations- you've fucked all of us.

You want to really support multi-party politics? Start pushing for more changes to the playing field itself, in order to even out the divide between the Big Two Parties and everyone else. In the meantime, if the GOP suffers a big enough loss this year, we're looking at the chances of a serious schism in the party. Voting to make sure the GOP loses by a large margin might be a good idea. That is the last comment I am going to make on how you personally should vote.

Ok, rant's getting off-track. Campaign recap post still in the wings somewhere. done for now though.

(no subject)

This. Fucking. Election. The campaign recap- done in typography. It's interesting, and a bit of a headtrip as you're scrolling through all of it.