When I was to vote in my first presidential election, I told my Dad that I didn't like the candidates, and I wouldn't vote. He is the son of immigrants, and his grandpa was a mayor of a town in Italy.
He said if I don't vote, then I'm not part of the family. A little harsh, but obviously a pro-voting message.
Anyone else have pro-voting family stories?
My family always voted - my mother made sure she did because she wanted to cancel out my dad's vote - lol. They were both first generation Americans. I couldn't wait to vote and there was a Presidential election when I was first eligible - I was so excited and I stayed up all night to see if the third party candidate I voted for won - of course they didn't but that began my complete interest in politics and my parents, though cancelling each other out, took voting very seriously and passed that on to me.
When I had my son - I brought him into the voting booth with me - we have one with a curtain here in NJ. From the time he was an infant until he was a tween I absolutely loved sharing this experience with him. The best was when he could understand on a basic level and I would whisper to him what I was doing and I would let him pull the levers for me and then hit finish when we were done. I vote in school budget elections - it's just part of my DNA.
Though living with his father & not really in touch with me, my son showed up at my door when he was 18 and able to vote in the 2016 election, and we went together. I was so proud. He is home now and, as I wrote earlier, we will all go together - 3 generations- and vote because it is a privilege.
Dang, I feel bad for the kids who got 2016 as their first big vote... Such an appalling and childish election cycle and outcome.
Over the many years I have voted, I have had friends tell me this. They usually come under a number of categories:
-People who find the U.S. political system or climate too frustrating.
-People who believe voting is futile because they never get what they want.
-People who feel cynical about our political system because "it is all rigged so why bother anyway?"
-People who don't care or can't be bothered.
Just curious- do you see yourself fitting one of these descriptions? Can you picture a situation in which you might change your mind and go ahead and vote?
When Obama was President I tried telling people here that a President that legislates is bad news because it could go the other way if your candidate that is chosen for you loses. Well, here we are.
Participation in a system that treats the entire thing publicly like a tennis match but behind closed doors is all chummy isn't something I desire to be involved with.
In the end I will do what I want. The bs laws won't change the temperature in my living room. If a politician passes a gun ban then my guns will be lost in a tragic boating accident. They ***none of them*** are my rulers and couldn't give two craps about what they think. A politician that tries to reduce freedom deserves only one thing. They are not our friends, they care only about their own power. Some are worse than others. I have only viewed one in high enough regard that I worked for him and even that one was one I disagreed on some issues with.
Any participation is only because it is forced under threat of loss of freedom, I do still pay taxes because I don't want the thin blue line to shoot my dog. I do not want to be kidnapped and thrown in a cage. The system exists because we are forced to be involved. People will bitch about this or that but when they find out someone doesn't want to play the bullshit game with the rules deemed to be in place by elitist a**holes then they call them names like sovereign or some other bs label. Hypocrites.
As someone that used to be a democrat and saw how that party has abandoned the middle class and then somewhat Libertarian and how that group lost its' mind as well I suppose I could be best described as a Minarchist at this point. My participation is forced, but it will be as minimal as I can make it.
Can't wait until someone here brings up roads in response to this.
On edit: No celebrity provides any use for me so their opinions amount to nothing more than a quick blast of hot air on a cool day. Nobody should listen to what people that have their own private security and live behind their locked gates thinks about society or how you should run your family life.
I have zero beef with any of this...
And you're right, democrats did leave the working class... and thats why in 2016 the working class left the Democrats... Republicans won the union vote for the first time in forever... but yeah, racism lol
If you live in the Iowa 4th, or know someone who does, please be sure to vote against the white supremacist steve king. If you live in Texas please be sure to vote for Beto. If for no other reason then cruz openly supports steve king.
When I was to vote in my first presidential election, I told my Dad that I didn't like the candidates, and I wouldn't vote. He is the son of immigrants, and his grandpa was a mayor of a town in Italy.
He said if I don't vote, then I'm not part of the family. A little harsh, but obviously a pro-voting message.
Anyone else have pro-voting family stories?
My family always voted - my mother made sure she did because she wanted to cancel out my dad's vote - lol. They were both first generation Americans. I couldn't wait to vote and there was a Presidential election when I was first eligible - I was so excited and I stayed up all night to see if the third party candidate I voted for won - of course they didn't but that began my complete interest in politics and my parents, though cancelling each other out, took voting very seriously and passed that on to me.
When I had my son - I brought him into the voting booth with me - we have one with a curtain here in NJ. From the time he was an infant until he was a tween I absolutely loved sharing this experience with him. The best was when he could understand on a basic level and I would whisper to him what I was doing and I would let him pull the levers for me and then hit finish when we were done. I vote in school budget elections - it's just part of my DNA.
Though living with his father & not really in touch with me, my son showed up at my door when he was 18 and able to vote in the 2016 election, and we went together. I was so proud. He is home now and, as I wrote earlier, we will all go together - 3 generations- and vote because it is a privilege.
Dang, I feel bad for the kids who got 2016 as their first big vote... Such an appalling and childish election cycle and outcome.
You shouldn't feel bad for them. You should be worried for them. They're going to think that's the way campaigns and elections work. And the scary thing is, this might be the way they work from here on out. Trump isn't just a problem now, and won't just be a problem for four or eight years. The Trump presidency is going to have long-term ramifications. Appalling and childish election cycles being just one of them.
When I was to vote in my first presidential election, I told my Dad that I didn't like the candidates, and I wouldn't vote. He is the son of immigrants, and his grandpa was a mayor of a town in Italy.
He said if I don't vote, then I'm not part of the family. A little harsh, but obviously a pro-voting message.
Anyone else have pro-voting family stories?
My family always voted - my mother made sure she did because she wanted to cancel out my dad's vote - lol. They were both first generation Americans. I couldn't wait to vote and there was a Presidential election when I was first eligible - I was so excited and I stayed up all night to see if the third party candidate I voted for won - of course they didn't but that began my complete interest in politics and my parents, though cancelling each other out, took voting very seriously and passed that on to me.
When I had my son - I brought him into the voting booth with me - we have one with a curtain here in NJ. From the time he was an infant until he was a tween I absolutely loved sharing this experience with him. The best was when he could understand on a basic level and I would whisper to him what I was doing and I would let him pull the levers for me and then hit finish when we were done. I vote in school budget elections - it's just part of my DNA.
Though living with his father & not really in touch with me, my son showed up at my door when he was 18 and able to vote in the 2016 election, and we went together. I was so proud. He is home now and, as I wrote earlier, we will all go together - 3 generations- and vote because it is a privilege.
Dang, I feel bad for the kids who got 2016 as their first big vote... Such an appalling and childish election cycle and outcome.
You shouldn't feel bad for them. You should be worried for them. They're going to think that's the way campaigns and elections work. And the scary thing is, this might be the way they work from here on out. Trump isn't just a problem now, and won't just be a problem for four or eight years. The Trump presidency is going to have long-term ramifications. Appalling and childish election cycles being just one of them.
Judging by her New York Giants fandom and "nj" handle in front of her name, I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that Nancy is a resident of New Jersey. If that is the case, then childish election cycles are nothing new to her or her son.
I often get the "just throwing you're vote away" thrown at me for voting or third party or write-in candidates in national elections. I don't play party politics when it comes to voting, and I certainly am NOT going to vote for a lesser of two evils for the sake of not voting for the other guy. So if Democrats and Republicans throw two clowns in front of me to choose from, my vote is my way of saying "don't insult me with these choices."
no vote is a wasted vote. the only way the system will change from a corrupt 2 party game is if more people vote the way they wish.
Exactly. I get so tired of hearing "well, third party candidates just don't have a chance." No, they don't if you that's all you ever say & don't vote for them and keep succumbing & contributing to the two party problem.
Why vote. It's all just a waste of time and no one person can change anything. Don't tell me what to do. Anyone who encourages me to vote is a condescending motherfucker. Whether or not I vote is no ones fucking business so don't bring it up. The laws are all bullshit, so why bother trying to change anything. If I say I don't want to vote, you will bring up roads so fuck you. High profile people have no fucking business making statements about what they believe.
Did I miss anything?
Case proven.
Only thing it proves is how poorly sarcasm works on the internet.
Hint: Use "/s" after a sarcastic comment. At least some people know what it means.
I always like your tips "/s"
You're not supposed to add the quotation marks, duh.
Thanks! Love ya! /s
Oh, well now you're just being mean!
With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be careful. Strive to be happy. ~ Desiderata
When I was to vote in my first presidential election, I told my Dad that I didn't like the candidates, and I wouldn't vote. He is the son of immigrants, and his grandpa was a mayor of a town in Italy.
He said if I don't vote, then I'm not part of the family. A little harsh, but obviously a pro-voting message.
Anyone else have pro-voting family stories?
My family always voted - my mother made sure she did because she wanted to cancel out my dad's vote - lol. They were both first generation Americans. I couldn't wait to vote and there was a Presidential election when I was first eligible - I was so excited and I stayed up all night to see if the third party candidate I voted for won - of course they didn't but that began my complete interest in politics and my parents, though cancelling each other out, took voting very seriously and passed that on to me.
When I had my son - I brought him into the voting booth with me - we have one with a curtain here in NJ. From the time he was an infant until he was a tween I absolutely loved sharing this experience with him. The best was when he could understand on a basic level and I would whisper to him what I was doing and I would let him pull the levers for me and then hit finish when we were done. I vote in school budget elections - it's just part of my DNA.
Though living with his father & not really in touch with me, my son showed up at my door when he was 18 and able to vote in the 2016 election, and we went together. I was so proud. He is home now and, as I wrote earlier, we will all go together - 3 generations- and vote because it is a privilege.
Dang, I feel bad for the kids who got 2016 as their first big vote... Such an appalling and childish election cycle and outcome.
You shouldn't feel bad for them. You should be worried for them. They're going to think that's the way campaigns and elections work. And the scary thing is, this might be the way they work from here on out. Trump isn't just a problem now, and won't just be a problem for four or eight years. The Trump presidency is going to have long-term ramifications. Appalling and childish election cycles being just one of them.
Judging by her New York Giants fandom and "nj" handle in front of her name, I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that Nancy is a resident of New Jersey. If that is the case, then childish election cycles are nothing new to her or her son.
I've been unmasked; and I thought I'd been so opaque!
And, yes, we are used to political insanity in New Jersey. My son is not really in tune with it all. His generation doesn't really involve itself with politics unless they actively include it in their social media as they don't watch regular TV or listen to a radio or get postal mail. I am a politics junkie and try to rub it off on him but it doesn't seem to stick. However, I would disown him if he didn't vote.
My town neighbors Fort Lee, where Bridge Gate occurred, and the traffic jam ran past my home into Hudson County. My town's mayor died several years ago. He was the longest serving mayor in NJ history. I have lived here for almost my entire life and I had never known another mayor. His son is now mayor.
The Republicans tried to oppose him one year; they set up their office in a store front half a block from me (my town is only one square mile with almost 30,000 residents). The night before election day, I woke up to more noise than the usual 24 hour traffic and emergency vehicles. "Someone" had smashed out the entire glass storefront of the Repubs and fliers for the candidate were strewn everywhere - thousands of them. No police ever responded.
brianlux
Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 42,305
I hope those here in the U.S. who haven't voted already and who are on the fence about voting tomorrow will take at least a few minutes to consider that doing so is our opportunity to exercise our freedom to vote and that even knowing one vote is a rather tiny thing in a system that is, in many ways rigged, every little move in the right direction can build momentum. It's a small task. Please consider taking a few minutes to familiarize with the candidates and issues and help us move forward. Thanks!
"Pretty cookies, heart squares all around, yeah!" -Eddie Vedder, "Smile"
I also think all this early voting, mail-in voting, etc has made fraud an even greater threat. I mean, sure, maybe you get more turnout that way. But it seems to me that it would be a lot more difficult to keep track of what's going on and keep it honest with all these different outlets of voting methods.
I think we need to make election day a Federal Holiday or make it Saturday/Sunday when most people don't have to work. And I think we need to make it a whole hell of a lot easier for people to register and get to the polls.
I also think all this early voting, mail-in voting, etc has made fraud an even greater threat. I mean, sure, maybe you get more turnout that way. But it seems to me that it would be a lot more difficult to keep track of what's going on and keep it honest with all these different outlets of voting methods.
I think we need to make election day a Federal Holiday or make it Saturday/Sunday when most people don't have to work. And I think we need to make it a whole hell of a lot easier for people to register and get to the polls.
Sounds good to me! While were at it, lets word propositions so that they are clear and understandable and have schools find interesting and engaging ways to teach the basics of how government works.
"Pretty cookies, heart squares all around, yeah!" -Eddie Vedder, "Smile"
When I was to vote in my first presidential election, I told my Dad that I didn't like the candidates, and I wouldn't vote. He is the son of immigrants, and his grandpa was a mayor of a town in Italy.
He said if I don't vote, then I'm not part of the family. A little harsh, but obviously a pro-voting message.
Anyone else have pro-voting family stories?
My grandpa was mayor of his small town in Ohio. He’d run as an independent because he wouldn’t get elected if he ran as a Democrat. My parents would always volunteer in local races, like mayor and state rep and were friends with some of them. I never miss and couldn’t imagine not voting. It would feel lime I’m committing some sort of betrayal.
I also think all this early voting, mail-in voting, etc has made fraud an even greater threat. I mean, sure, maybe you get more turnout that way. But it seems to me that it would be a lot more difficult to keep track of what's going on and keep it honest with all these different outlets of voting methods.
I think we need to make election day a Federal Holiday or make it Saturday/Sunday when most people don't have to work. And I think we need to make it a whole hell of a lot easier for people to register and get to the polls.
Sounds good to me! While were at it, lets word propositions so that they are clear and understandable and have schools find interesting and engaging ways to teach the basics of how government works.
I had a pretty good US government/civics teacher -- thing is, everything he taught us is a charade. Same goes for my US history teacher.
My kids are being taught to call out bullshit when it's brought up in class. My daughter made me very proud when I got a note from her teacher after their Columbus Day lesson.
There is an Amendment to the Maryland State Constitution up for vote which will allow voter registration to remain open until the day of polling. If this doesn't pass, I'll be pissed.
Pennsylvania has no early voting but Ill be there at 7:00 am before work when the polls open.
and yes agree with PJ it should be a holiday. they don't make it very convenient.
in canada it's law for a workplace to allow a certain amount of time paid leave to go vote. I don't bother, I just vote after dinner, but it's a good thing they do that for folks that are too busy with kids, etc, to leave the house to vote.
"Oh Canada...you're beautiful when you're drunk" -EV 8/14/93
Pennsylvania has no early voting but Ill be there at 7:00 am before work when the polls open.
and yes agree with PJ it should be a holiday. they don't make it very convenient.
in canada it's law for a workplace to allow a certain amount of time paid leave to go vote. I don't bother, I just vote after dinner, but it's a good thing they do that for folks that are too busy with kids, etc, to leave the house to vote.
Is there not a similar law in the US? Surely there is something that ensures all people can go vote, even if they have shit employers who don't want them to take the time??
With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be careful. Strive to be happy. ~ Desiderata
Pennsylvania has no early voting but Ill be there at 7:00 am before work when the polls open.
and yes agree with PJ it should be a holiday. they don't make it very convenient.
in canada it's law for a workplace to allow a certain amount of time paid leave to go vote. I don't bother, I just vote after dinner, but it's a good thing they do that for folks that are too busy with kids, etc, to leave the house to vote.
Is there not a similar law in the US? Surely there is something that ensures all people can go vote, even if they have shit employers who don't want them to take the time??
some states have to give paid time off for voting.
Pennsylvania has no early voting but Ill be there at 7:00 am before work when the polls open.
and yes agree with PJ it should be a holiday. they don't make it very convenient.
in canada it's law for a workplace to allow a certain amount of time paid leave to go vote. I don't bother, I just vote after dinner, but it's a good thing they do that for folks that are too busy with kids, etc, to leave the house to vote.
Is there not a similar law in the US? Surely there is something that ensures all people can go vote, even if they have shit employers who don't want them to take the time??
just assumed not with all the calls for a "national holiday". I think a full day off to vote is a bit much. but I guess it depends how far you have to go to vote.
"Oh Canada...you're beautiful when you're drunk" -EV 8/14/93
Comments
And you're right, democrats did leave the working class... and thats why in 2016 the working class left the Democrats... Republicans won the union vote for the first time in forever... but yeah, racism lol
If you live in Texas please be sure to vote for Beto. If for no other reason then cruz openly supports steve king.
Pearl Jam bootlegs:
http://wegotshit.blogspot.com
And, yes, we are used to political insanity in New Jersey. My son is not really in tune with it all. His generation doesn't really involve itself with politics unless they actively include it in their social media as they don't watch regular TV or listen to a radio or get postal mail. I am a politics junkie and try to rub it off on him but it doesn't seem to stick. However, I would disown him if he didn't vote.
My town neighbors Fort Lee, where Bridge Gate occurred, and the traffic jam ran past my home into Hudson County. My town's mayor died several years ago. He was the longest serving mayor in NJ history. I have lived here for almost my entire life and I had never known another mayor. His son is now mayor.
The Republicans tried to oppose him one year; they set up their office in a store front half a block from me (my town is only one square mile with almost 30,000 residents). The night before election day, I woke up to more noise than the usual 24 hour traffic and emergency vehicles. "Someone" had smashed out the entire glass storefront of the Repubs and fliers for the candidate were strewn everywhere - thousands of them. No police ever responded.
NJ plays dirty. (Not the Giants though
-Eddie Vedder, "Smile"
www.cluthelee.com
www.cluthe.com
-Eddie Vedder, "Smile"
Libtardaplorable©. And proud of it.
Brilliantati©
and yes agree with PJ it should be a holiday. they don't make it very convenient.
My kids are being taught to call out bullshit when it's brought up in class. My daughter made me very proud when I got a note from her teacher after their Columbus Day lesson.
voted by mail
confirmed vote accepted online
wonderful
Libtardaplorable©. And proud of it.
Brilliantati©
-EV 8/14/93
some do not.
here in MN they do.
-EV 8/14/93