Susan's Place Transgender Resources

So this isn't meant to be the opener in a political debate or anything, just a good luck for voting day.

I don't know how it's seen in the US, but the rest of the world regards this election as possibly one of the most important in, like ever. Hopefully there won't be any uncounted votes, Supreme Court decisions, voting machine bugger-ups or assorted other spokes in the wheel-work.

~Simone.

The early voting deal has seemed to have caught on, some states have had as many as 1/3 of the people already vote.

thanks Simone  my self  i,ll be  voteing early so i can set home . and watch when the votes all come in and such  8)

I entirely agree with the rest of the world, except for you.   :laugh:

This is important.

Thanks Simone! I'm hoping for a good election day, and that all votes are counted correctly.

Z

yes we all need to see a fair fight, does anyone know the expected turnout this time.

Not much voter apathy i suspect.

*smiles* I'm going to be upholding a personal tradition of mine and staying up all night to watch the UK coverage of the election.

I hope this one is clear cut and not... messy. :)

hehe yup same for me Lei

Lots of coffee and sky news :)

LOL Coffee is right, on tap most likely. ;D

I think I'll go with the BBC myself, although without Peter Snow doing the CG stuff and being all enthusiastic... it won't be the same.

For those in the UK, here's how it will be covered:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/uselection2008/3363220/How-to-follow-US-election-night-in-the-UK.html (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/uselection2008/3363220/How-to-follow-US-election-night-in-the-UK.html)

I wish Europeans, Mexicans, and Canadians could vote in our elections. I'm sure it would prevent travesties from occurring

This is going to feel so good

more like  pop on tap with pizza . and  cnn and cbs and abc on the the tv all at the same time  :icon_geekdance: :icon_geekdance:

I can wait till Wednesdays newspaper.

Jack Danials if it looks good for McCain.  But I'm counting on vintage wine and some Piper-Sonoma bubbly as it turns out.

Quote from: tekla on November 02, 2008, 08:39:07 PM
Jack Danials if it looks good for McCain.  But I'm counting on vintage wine and some Piper-Sonoma bubbly as it turns out.

Arsenic or turpentine if McCain wins  :'(

Z

No, like I said.  Whiskey.  Neat.  Water back.

I'm a proud non-voter.

Gee, I guess I'm kind of happy about that.  But not to worry.  I vote, and I get others out to vote too.  And we only have your best interests at heart.  Cross my heart.

Tuesday is going to be my christmas. I'm finally going to know how other people feel when it is regular christmas.  In fact, I just may wish people a merry christmas on election day. And January 21, or whenever the swearing in ceremony is, will be The New Year. Maybe it will even be the new Millenium - the one that was supposed to start back in 2001.

Quote from: Rebis on November 02, 2008, 07:13:35 PM

I wish Europeans, Mexicans, and Canadians could vote in our elections. I'm sure it would prevent travesties from occurring.

Hey! I want in too! South Africa has a stake in who wins too ya know! :P

And I hope it's a good feeling rather than a feeling of utter despair and hopelessness come the final count.

~Simone.

I think so, you take the polls and work them together it looks good, and has for about 6 months now.  Turnout ought to be awesome, it has broken records already in terms of early voting, and most places are prepared for a huge turnout.

As for not voting, I guess that's your right.  But a lot of people sure as hell spilled a lot of blood to give you that right, and not voting ... well you might as well go to a veteran's monument and take a pee on it for all the respect that not voting - especially in an election as important as this one is - reflects. 

sent my ballot in. thanks lady A.  :)

I have already voted as Oregon has mail in ballots.  And yes this is an important election for Americans.  Ther is a change in the wind ans it will not be over until the swearing ceremony.

And Tekia are right about peeing on the Veterans Memorial.  If you don't vote then don't bitch.  You had your chance and you threw it away.  If you don't like paying $4.00 a gallon for gas, then vote.  If you don't think that abortion is wrong, then vote.   If you think that abortion is wrong, then vote.  If you think that we need to get out of Iraq, then vote.  If you support the troops and think that it is right that we are in Iraq, then vote.

If your are an American, vote.
The one thing that I can't understand is Americans that don't vote, but people in other countries wish they could.

Once again.  If you don't vote then don't bitch because you think it is wrong.

Quote from: tekla on November 03, 2008, 12:30:12 AM
I think so, you take the polls and work them together it looks good, and has for about 6 months now.  Turnout ought to be awesome, it has broken records already in terms of early voting, and most places are prepared for a huge turnout.

As for not voting, I guess that's your right.  But a lot of people sure as hell spilled a lot of blood to give you that right, and not voting ... well you might as well go to a veteran's monument and take a pee on it for all the respect that not voting - especially in an election as important as this one is - reflects. 

Perfectly said!!!

Quote from: Annwyn on November 02, 2008, 10:16:32 PM
I'm a proud non-voter.

You get what you pay for. If you don't like the the way things are going in this country, vote! If you don't like the candidates, write in Minnie Mouse... whatever. I've voted in every single election since I was voting age. When I haven't liked either of the two major party choices, I've voted third party.

Z

In case I would be American I would definetely vote. But my voting record here my homeland is not 100%.

Presidential elections:       voted 1/1 when I was over 18 (we have longer term for president than in  the USA)
Parliamentary elections:    voted 2/2

Municipal elections: voted 2/3

European parliament elections: voted 1/1

Our election schedule is pretty messed up, and it all but impossible not to miss a vote here and there, local school boards and off-year stuff.  But the once every four years deal, gee whiz, we've had a four year run up to it this time, it would be hard to miss.

We have only presidential elections every 6th year, parliamentary every 4th year, municipal every 4th year and Europarliament every 5th year. No more elections.

I think I might look with favor on a one year, 6 year term for president, and if the Founding Fathers could see what these have become, the permanent campaign, they might agree with me.

I use normally CNN election sites real time every second year. You see there presidential results by state and county , senate results by state and county, house results by district, governor results by state and and county, maps coloured county by  in presidential elections and you can choose own races to follow. Also available are the most important ballot measures and polls made from voters that have been elected. You can follow  what you want when you want.

Election night is one of the rare times - other than 9ers games - where I sit down and watch TV for several hours.  I'm fond of MSNBC, but more fond of the stuff on the web.  Daily KOS has done a good job of putting the poll numbers together and keeping a running track on them, as one poll number here or there makes little to no difference, its all about trends.

That said, I'll be watching Penn, Ohio, Virgina and NH, they ought to give the early trends.

My #1 state to see is Pennsylvania. Nobody knows nothing sure until voter infromation from this state is in.

However in these elections only that maters is president. The party that takes president wins.

Senators and representatives may change but the real power is only for the party that controls white house.

I predict GOP loosing in both chambers however the numbers are unsure. We may see Stevens getting elected in Alaska.

Quote from: Annwyn on November 02, 2008, 10:16:32 PM
I'm a proud non-voter.

Good choice, I wish more people like you would not vote. I however will but part of the direction this country goes.

Quote from: tekla on November 03, 2008, 12:30:12 AM
As for not voting, I guess that's your right.  But a lot of people sure as hell spilled a lot of blood to give you that right, and not voting ... well you might as well go to a veteran's monument and take a pee on it for all the respect that not voting - especially in an election as important as this one is - reflects. 

The same could be said for a voter who votes for a man without the best interest of the country as his top priority.
Everyone who voted for Bush might as well have gone and handed out poison candy to all the veteran homes.  Same for Clinton.  And unfortunately, the same would be true for anyone who votes for either McCain or for Obama.

Soldiers didn't die so that we could vote.  Soldiers died to stop evil from engulfing this planet.  Don't play the French game of claiming a clearly purposeful victory under another purpose.  And don't you dare begin a rant about disrespecting American soldiers.  It's the liberal types like you who have turned the public opinion from them being heroes to baby killers.  It's the liberal, democratic types like you who've made our country so ashamed of our own military that the military has to recruit Mexicans and Canadians and have our own, "foreign legion," because our own citizens have lost all pride in what American stands for.  The concern of bickering over the person who's the lesser of two evils taking over the thrown has become more important than a true sense of patriotism and respect for those who lay everything on the line to save people that you couldn't even donate $5 a month to to make sure those little kids have got clothes on their back and food in their bellies.

The America is following the same exact path as the Roman Empire is.  The libertarian movement is crushing the ability to get what needs to be done, done.  The, "Bread and Circus," of their time has been renamed to Medicaid and Medicare in our time and any politician who's against it is criticized as apathetic towards helpless segments of the population.  The entire mentality of our people towards the government has become, "what can it do for me?" Instead of, "how can I make my nation greater?"

Do American soldiers really die just so that teenagers can sit at home and look at music popstars doing pole dances half naked and getting musical awards for it?  So that they can watch people take off their pants and go at it after a few minutes of knowing each other?  So American soldiers die for a method of taking away the consequences of unprotected sex via abortion so that people can have no fear of just banging whenever and whereever?  I'm sure the 26% females in South Carolina with HIV has nothing to do with the unchecked hedonism spreading across our nation where gangsters are idolized and drug addicts/rapists/arrogant conservatist wackos are the only two people you can choose from to elect as the next representer.

Don't even pretend you give a ->-bleeped-<- about the lives of our Marines, Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen.  If you did then you would greet them at the airport with a band and parade like happened at the return of troops from every war from WW2 and before.  No, all you care about it being able to vote for two unfit candidates, each that is fully capable and most likely to continue to lead our nation into ruin.

Kthxbye.

Annwyn honey, I love ya, but I have to disagree with you on this. If US troops were being sent out to fight evil, they'd be in Sudan stopping the genocide going on there, they'd be removing Robert Mugabe from power, they'd be standing between the government and the latest rebel group in the Congo. Instead they are in a country that just so happens to have the most important oil and gas pipeline in the world running through its backyard, and another with arguably the biggest untapped reserves of oil in the world. The second invaded after a lie that's been all but ADMITTED to. What happened in the US on 911 and the various embassy bombings to precipitate all of this was heinous, but don't forget that those acts were also retributive actions. The US has a long and grimy history of doing bad things in other countries, and it caught up with you.

The troops are not at fault in this, I agree with you - they are sent to fight and die by greedy, evil leaders like the ones you are describing, and that is WHY this election is important, because it's about changing THAT leadership, and about people in the US holding their leaders to account for what seems the first in a very long time. And if both major candidates are unfit, then vote for somebody else - It might not seem that way, but there are other parties, and even giving them a little voice in government can change things - in an even split all you need is one swing-vote.

Don't get me wrong, I'm an anarchist and would love a world where we decide things through direct democracy, direct action and free cooperation, but we're not there yet. In the absence of that, what we have is a system where all you have to do for real "evil" to triumph, is to do nothing.

~Simone.

QuoteEveryone who voted for Bush might as well have gone and handed out poison candy to all the veteran homes.

Then why fight for him? A true patriot would over throw a fanatic leader that disobeys the law.

Quote from: lisagurl on November 03, 2008, 11:10:11 AM

QuoteEveryone who voted for Bush might as well have gone and handed out poison candy to all the veteran homes.

Then why fight for him? A true patriot would over throw a fanatic leader that disobeys the law.

I'm totally with Lisagurl.

Blindly kissing the flag is not the best way to honor soldiers anyway. The best way to honor them is to treat them well and NOT PUT THEM IN HARM'S WAY except in the most urgent or dire of circumstances.

The Japanese have a constitution that prevents them from sending soldiers to fight in foreign lands. Their military is for defense purposes only and not for attacking anyone. I prefer the Japanese model.

I was in the military and I didn't see or experience anything to cause me to blindly follow and love it. And that was in the period of Reagan and his flag licking followers.

Simone is right too. If we were the heroes we pretend to be, we'd be in those countries like the Sudan.

The military doesn't fight for your right to party, or to vote. They fight because they're told to.

As for people going around giving each other diseases due to their lose morals, well that's their problem. It's also their right to behave like fools.


Just saying and barely care.

The common misbeliefs that some people believe ''Democracy cannot survive''.  The world has seen leaders believing that. Even some people in the USA think '' The Constitution cannot survive''.  What would the founding fathers say?

Posted on: November 03, 2008, 01:09:27 pm

---

With understanding of history and political science I could write here a long essay about constitutional democracy, legimitive use of power, and habeas corpus. However it could be understood to support other candidate even the the core things are not. And all here know whom I support.

Simone, why do you hate America? :P

It's great to see the kitteh again! I'm glad to hear you're doing doing okay. As for me, voting day was last Thursday. No lines, no hassle, just a ridiculously long ballot to fill out. (Paper for me, thank you -- I'm not taking any chances!)

The same could be said for a voter who votes for a man without the best interest of the country as his top priority.

I guess.  But I don't think that anyone runs for president of the US without some notion of what 'the best interest of the' nation is.  That they do not agree with me, does not mean they are wrong.  That they might agree with me does not mean they are right. 

Decent people, of intellectual ability, given to thought, can, and do, come to very different conclusions from time to time.  Indeed, it is the very basis of our government that such things can and do happen.  That's why we ask everyone who they think is right.  We call it democracy, but then again, so did the Greeks.      

Soldiers didn't die so that we could vote.  Soldiers died to stop evil from engulfing this planet.

Hitler, sure.  Other wars, not so much.  Smedley Butler once quiped that "the flag follows the dollar" meaning, we send our army where our business interests run.  'Twas ever thus.  Actually, old Smedley is worth quoting at some length, because he is not some left wingnut, he was a Major General of the USMC, and the only person to win the MoH, TWICE.  Smedley is the the most decorated Marine in US history.  He might know something about military power, about OUR military power.  Though this quote is going to do more to prove Lady A's point, than yours.

"I spent 33 years and four months in active military service and during that period I spent most of my time as a high class muscle man for Big Business, for Wall Street and the bankers. In short, I was a racketeer, a gangster for capitalism. I helped make Mexico and especially Tampico safe for American oil interests in 1914. I helped make Haiti and Cuba a decent place for the National City Bank boys to collect revenues in. I helped in the raping of half a dozen Central American republics for the benefit of Wall Street. I helped purify Nicaragua for the International Banking House of Brown Brothers in 1902-1912. I brought light to the Dominican Republic for the American sugar interests in 1916. I helped make Honduras right for the American fruit companies in 1903. In China in 1927 I helped see to it that Standard Oil went on its way unmolested. Looking back on it, I might have given Al Capone a few hints. The best he could do was to operate his racket in three districts. I operated on three continents."

Not a minor point.

However......


And don't you dare begin a rant about disrespecting American soldiers.  It's the liberal types like you who have turned the public opinion from them being heroes to baby killers.  It's the liberal, democratic types like you who've made our country so ashamed of our own military that the military has to recruit Mexicans and Canadians and have our own, "foreign legion," because our own citizens have lost all pride in what American stands for.

Well, I've never said any such thing.  And though I'm sure that there are a lot of Mexican nationals in the Services, I'm equally sure there are not a whole lot of Canadians.  The traditional method of becoming a 'citizen' is to serve in the military.  In Rome, you could not vote if you had not been in the Legion.  Just that simple.  Rich and poor alike.  (Come back with your shield, or on it)  So, rather than come over as some 'illegal' alien, why not join up for four years.  Or are you just bitter because we think some of those guys make better troops than they though you would make?  And though most of the victims of the Bush War here in Sonoma County are of Hispanic origin, they are natives also.  Don't let the Hispanic name fool you, they have been in this nation as long as most people have. 

I'm sure I've said that the US armed forces are overexteded, undersupplied, used wrongly, not supported correctly (both in the field, and when they get back home), but I've never called them baby killers.  Nor has anyone I've ever known.  Hell, even the most left wing hippies I know buy drinks for people in uniform when they are in the same bar.  It's a SF tradition pretty much.

Matter of fact, I work sometimes at a pretty famous nightclub here in SF.  And as a very unofficial policy we don't card people in uniform.  And pretty much the first few beers are on us.  Old enough to serve the nation, old enough for us.  And hell, we're hippies.

So don't give me some sort of neo-conservative nonsense about how everyone to the left of the extreme right wing somehow hate the troops.  Most of the people I know love them too much to ask them to do what is currently being asked of them.  That's just claptrap.

Matter of fact, most of the super hippies, the real peaceniks I know have a box at home with lots of medals in them.  They hate war, because they have been there.  Kind of like old Smedley.

to save people that you couldn't even donate $5 a month to to make sure those little kids have got clothes on their back and food in their bellies

Americans give more money to humanitarian concerns than any other nation.

The America is following the same exact path as the Roman Empire is.

Actually, its not 'is' its 'was' as the Roman Empire is pretty much past tense.  That whole college level grammar deal.  And no, we're not.  That statement not only tells me you know less than nothing about Roman history, but even less about our own.


The, "Bread and Circus," of their time has been renamed to Medicaid and Medicare in our time

Nah, that's college and NFL football, chips and beer.

The entire mentality of our people towards the government has become, "what can it do for me?" Instead of, "how can I make my nation greater?"

I don't even begin to think that is true.  And I have heard neither Obama or McCain even come close to suggesting such a thing.

Do American soldiers really die just so that teenagers can sit at home and look at music popstars doing pole dances half naked and getting musical awards for it?

No, though they might well have died so that people don't have to watch it.  Which is your choice.  Pop entertainment is not a state activity.  You can watch, or not.  Your choice.  And that is what they died for.  Choice.

So that they can watch people take off their pants and go at it after a few minutes of knowing each other?

No again.  Perhaps if they were one of those people.  But foxholes create strange dreams.

Don't even pretend you give a ->-bleeped-<- about the lives of our Marines, Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen.  If you did then you would greet them at the airport with a band and parade like happened at the return of troops from every war from WW2 and before.  No, all you care about it being able to vote for two unfit candidates, each that is fully capable and most likely to continue to lead our nation into ruin.

I did not teach ROTC for over a decade out of some sort of non-interest.  Nor would the ROTC program have ever let that happen.  My father was a vet, and my brother did 20 years S&R for the Navy, including tours in the Persian Gulf, so I'm not immune to this.  I've worked for the DoD, and the DoE (weapons programs) so I - liberal type I am - have done far more military service than you have.  Not a minor point.


Which means, when I talk about this, I have some real world experience with it, and its not just some comic book fantasy.  When I go to D.C. I go to that wall and cry because my best friend from high school is on it.  And for what?

So, yes I vote.  I even work the polls.  I do work for people and interests I believe in.  Do I always win.  Hell no.  Does it discourage me.  Never.

Early to bed, early to rise, work like hell and organize as Mother Jones once said.

I am from the Viet Nam era, and I remember young people throwing piss in the solders faces for nothing more than being over there.  Calling them babies killers.  And other crap because someone died to give them that right.  And I remember people going to Canada, so they could avoid the draft.  And now those same people are back here, spouting their bull again.

I will agree that wars today are for special interests.  And there are better ways to solve problems, but don't dishonor our vets.  And the next time, you spout off about 'No Blood For Oil'.  Give up your car, mass transit, your food, your lights and your heat.  When was the last time you said 'Thank You' to someone in uniform.  When have you ever said 'Thank You' to Viet Nam Vet, or any vet for that matter.  When was the last time you raised a flag.  If  you want to see a grown man cry, hug and say 'Thank You' to a vet.

You do not know what our men and women face when in a combat situation, regardless of the reason why.

And Don't ever say that no one died to give the right to be so asinine.  Go to a memorial to the American Revolution or a Civil War Memorial and tell me again that no one died to give you the right to vote.  You think that things are bad now.  What if Hitler had won, or the British in 1776.  We would not have our freedoms now.

If your Father has been in the military, go tell him that you think that one one died for your freedom.  But don't be surprised if he boxes your ears.

It really burns me up when people start in on their anti-military rhetoric.  I had friends who died in Nam.  Died for what they believed in.  And don't you dare dishonor their memory.

And Damn Right I Am Proud To Be An American.

In fact, I gave up my car and motorcycle on 9-12.  True fact.

And I lived for years with a vet, I Corps, LRPS, first in, last out at Khe Sanh.  Finished his tour as a member of the Honor Guard at Arlington.  I'm sure you know what that means.

But I also spend a decade team teaching military history with a three tour Nam Vet, and his stories are not very heroic, though, I must confess, parts of it, though horrific, are rather attractive.  And that's the bad part, that such actions become attractive.

I asked him once why he kept re-upping, and he looked at me and said, "You don't get it do you?  I liked it."  And that was pretty chilling.

"It is 'better to jaw-jaw than to war-war," as Winston said, who knew a little something about war.

I give up.  Tekla definitely won this thread >:-)

In the end, while I'm split on who would be the best candidate, I believe that Obama will surround himself with better advisers than McCain would.

Wanna know something interesting?  Internet spell checker picks up McCain but doesn't pick up Obama.  Lolol.

While I don't really think - but we can hope and pray - that Obama will be great, I'm just hoping he might be less bad. 

Classic case of diminished expectations. 

I just like to see people vote, and four years ago I left the top of the ticket blank.  I sure wasn't going to vote for Bush, but Kerry was such a lightweight that I couldn't that either.  But, there were lots (and in California the ballot goes on for pages, and pages, and pages, 4 individual ballots, with 3 of them printed on both sides) of other things to vote for.

So I was really into the vote for High Speed Rail, the Sonoma/Marin train, animal rights and of course, Prop 8.  And the City Council.

Of course our Congresscritter was up for re-election, but she is so popular that I have not seen a single sign for her or her Republican opponent, and only found out his name when I read the sample ballot.

And that spell checker cracks me up, you would think they could update it a touch.

Quote from: Annwyn on November 04, 2008, 01:42:18 AM
I give up.  Tekla definitely won this thread >:-)

Actually Annwyn, I think the real winner is that you're going to vote! Thanks for using your voice in the political process, regardless of how flawed it might be. You have a lot to say!

Z

I was waiting at the door when the polls opened this morning.  Proudly wearing my sticker saying "I Voted" while arguing with my assistant, who never votes.  She says she never complains either, so don't get on her.  But you should hear her howl about gas prices!

(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fganjataz.com%2F01smileys%2Fimages%2Fsmileys%2FloopyBlonde-blinking.gif&hash=4545ddf8251cf9c32ae6074d56e48bc34a755857)Kristi

Always like the Churchill quote:

"It has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried."

Or perhaps Lazarus Long had it right when he said: Certainly the game is rigged. Don't let that stop you; if you don't bet you can't win.  Of course LL also said: Place your clothes and weapons where you can find them in the dark which also seems like sound advice.

I am truly hopeful, as I said in my blog, that this election repudiates all the "let's go to war over heaven and hell" that our general inclination as Americans seems to be politically. We do a great job of dehumanizing everyone who does agree exactly with us.

After all these years of living with that and more than a few years of living in other lands and hearing the ways "America" is viewed, quite legitimately seems to me, as a mass of unthinking rubes hell-bent on destruction at all costs I'd like to think we can overwhelming elect someone who has no American military experience and whose world-view has been moulded by something other than he-man-woman-hating aggression as the answer to absolutely everything that ails the world.

Killing another to save her life has never struck me as a good policy. Fails both ways it looks to me like.

At one we will go to the school to cast our ballots. Hopefully the lines will be short enough then so we can vote and eat some lunch together with Ian (who's home for election day, playing, of course, totally unaffected by the polls, *smile*) and Cat can get back for her afternoon sessions without a huge and frantic rush.

But, what the heck, I'll stand in line as long as I must and be glad to vote for the first decent, grounded and truly intelligent candidate (well, seems so anyhow) I've had the opportunity to vote for since 1976.

Wow, 32 years of trying to figure out who will harm things least. This time I find the possibilities just too plain to have to do a lot of questioning. I could give a damn less if Obama will be great. It would be nice to think that, if, for four years we can avoid derision and madness in the White House, we might be able to release from our hearts the better angels of our own natures without fear or worry that we are "crazy."

Odd that, no? How what is truly insane seems so often to be held out by American politicos as "sweet reason." It would be nice not to have a completely insane and unconcerned man in the White House. I'm sure Icelandic children, anyway, may be able to sleep more peacefully for four years, not having to worry that their government will follow some path Americans do not agree with and will send troops to invade because of.

Nichole

I voted for That One.

It's about time we grew up as a nation. There is still a long way to go.

Abe Lincoln, First Inaugural Address.

I am loath to close. We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.

Second Inaugural Address

With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.

Ok, you're right.

But phooey, tekla, unlike you I wasn't born yet when it was possible to vote for Lincoln!! Best I could do was Jimmy Carter. :)

And now, after years of despairing the day would arrive, to vote for Obama.

Nikki

There are lines everywhere.  People on college campuses were lining up at 4:30 in some places.  Record turnout is expected almost everywhere.  I'm sure Nichole read it, but I was moved, not only by the lines but by what Maya Angelou said yesterday.

I never thought I'd see a black president in the White House in my lifetime. I didn't even dare dream it. I feel like a child approaching Christmas, you can't believe election day is finally here. It's been so long since we've had people -- Asian and black, white and Spanish-speaking -- come together and say YES. Some did during the civil rights struggle but not as many as today. What it means if Mr Obama is voted in, is that my country has agreed to grow up, and move beyond the childish idea that human beings are different.

Actually, can your surety, I hadn't read that. But, I still haven't read my Alternet and WaPo or NYT feeds yet.

I've always liked Maya Angelou; she invariably leads me to the center of my heart. So now the tears are there and all I can reply to her with is yes ... o, yes ...

Nikki

Well here is another one, very nice bit.  Written by a guy who voted for bush and all that.

We knocked on every door we could find and checked off every name on our list. We did our job, but Obama may not have been the one who got the most out of the day's work.

I learned in just those three hours that this election is not about what we think of as the "big things."

It's not about taxes. I'm pretty sure mine are going to go up no matter who is elected.

It's not about foreign policy. I think we'll figure out a way to get out of Iraq and Afghanistan no matter which party controls the White House, mostly because the people who live there don't want us there anymore.

I don't see either of the candidates as having all the answers.

I've learned that this election is about the heart of America. It's about the young people who are losing hope and the old people who have been forgotten. It's about those who have worked all their lives and never fully realized the promise of America, but see that promise for their grandchildren in Barack Obama. The poor see a chance, when they often have few. I saw hope in the eyes and faces in those doorways.

My wife and I went out last weekend to knock on more doors. But this time, not because it was her idea. I don't know what it's going to do for the Obama campaign, but it's doing a lot for me.





http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/1103/p09s02-coop.html (http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/1103/p09s02-coop.html)

I didn't vote.

I'm holding to my previous statement that I think both are horrible candidates.  I'm placing my faith in the rest of our government to keep their power checked so that whatever destruction they may wreak will be limited to a certain degree.

I hope our war continues to such a point that one day America might redefine her land borders and absorb nations that would benefit from our advanced way of life.  Until that happens, I'm just going to watch people get killed over oil and watch our country slowly fall into a state in which we sympathize more with the terrorists blowing up school children than our own American soldiers who are getting blown to bits.
I'm going to watch either the rights of homosexuals, transsexuals, and non-christians get taken away and see these changes ratified into the constitution or I'm going to federal healthcare redistribute the wealth from hard working citizens like me who work out every day to keep our good health to crackheads who eat fried chicken all day and wonder why they have high cholesterol and suddenly need they Bystolic and Lipitor and Allopurinol Lasix and their Humira... and such.  I'll watch the income I could be putting into future investments to better my own lifestyle be put into the filth of this country that's too can't take care of themselves so they have to steal my accomplishments just so they can smoke a little more crack and eat a little more fried chicken before their myocardial infarction.
I'll either watch a war monger push our under supplied troops to the breaking point throughout the world and then watch this planet reciprocate and the glory of America go down the drain, or I'm going to watch a full blown pullout from the middle east and let America become the prime target of muslim terrorist operations, blowing up school kids and large corporate structures over here instead of overseas.
I'm going to have to endure a president that is so dynamic that he'll change his political priorities on a whim for keep public favor; one week he'll say this and the next he'll say that.  Or, I'll have to endure someone who has publicly stated that he knows what's best for America and we're apparently too stupid to figure it out ourselves.

I'm not going to vote.  I would be treasonous in either decision.

I just wanted to vote no on prop 8 (California) :P haha

I guess there is always choice.  I kind of like Mister Smith Goes to Washington when he says:

You see, boys forget what their country means by just reading The Land of the Free in history books. Then they get to be men they forget even more. Liberty's too precious a thing to be buried in books, Miss Saunders. Men should hold it up in front of them every single day of their lives and say: I'm free to think and to speak. My ancestors couldn't, I can, and my children will. Boys ought to grow up remembering that.

But there is the bit from Taxi Driver, which is kind of what your saying.

Hey, I'm not square, you're the one that's square. Your full of ->-bleeped-<-, man. What are you talking about? You walk out with those ->-bleeped-<-in' creeps and low-lifes and degenerates out on the streets and you sell your little pussy for peanuts? For some low-life pimp who stands in the hall? And I'm square? You're the one that's square, man. I don't go screwing ->-bleeped-<- with bunch of killers and junkies like you do. You call that bein' hip? What world are you from? . . .  I gotta get in shape. Too much sitting has ruined my body. Too much abuse has gone on for too long. From now on there will be 50 pushups each morning, 50 pullups. There will be no more pills, no more bad food, no more destroyers of my body. From now on will be total organization. Every muscle must be tight. . . . All the animals come out at night - whores, skunk pussies, buggers, queens, fairies, dopers, junkies, sick, venal. Someday a real rain will come and wash all this scum off the streets. . .   

I guess you can chose either person, but I'd rather be Jefferson Smith than Travis Bickle anyday.

Quote from: Annwyn on November 04, 2008, 10:25:44 AM
I didn't vote.

I'm holding to my previous statement that I think both are horrible candidates.  I'm placing my faith in the rest of our government to keep their power checked so that whatever destruction they may wreak will be limited to a certain degree.

Well, if you're putting faith in the "rest of government" you could still vote for state and local races, then you'd have more say in who's keeping their power checked.

Z

Not to mention voting on judges. 

I'm watching the pre-election coverage on the BBC rolling news channel at the moment. I have to say, it's pretty amazing. :) From one non-US gal, I just want to say... good for you. *big hug*

Quote from: Annwyn on November 04, 2008, 10:25:44 AM
I hope our war continues to such a point that one day America might redefine her land borders and absorb nations that would benefit from our advanced way of life.

Okay, now I KNOW you're bulls**ting all of us ... either that or those 13 medications are catching up witcha!  :P



Posted on: 04 November 2008, 12:43:49

---

And to the rest of you:

You have NO idea how wonderful it is to hear how hopeful you all sound. Frankly, I'm jealous, not to mention wonderfully amazed that, even as jaded as we've all become, we can still BE so hopeful. I just hope desperately that that hope isn't unfounded. For everybody's sake.

Who knew I'd be setting my alarm to get up to see the election results in a country halfway around the world. Weird.  ;D

~Simone.

O, I don't think Annwyn's bsing, Simone. She's pretty consistently expressed that desire for total war.

Nikki

I've never bought all that Rush Limbaugh crap that people who vote one way are 'real' Americans, but people who vote the other are not.  Claptrap.  Real Americans vote.  That's all.

It has been nice to see people fired up for a change.  No matter who they are supporting.  But there does seem to be a new interest in what's going on, and in what's going down.  I'm watching huge lines all over the US, and even in places like here that had a 30% advance vote.  Reminds me of what the American Example, in its best uses has created.  Like these photos, some of which are from South Africa.

http://messageboards.aol.com/aol/en_us/articles.php?boardId=528628&articleId=1877659&func=6&filterHidden=true&filterUnhidden=false&filterRead=false (http://messageboards.aol.com/aol/en_us/articles.php?boardId=528628&articleId=1877659&func=6&filterHidden=true&filterUnhidden=false&filterRead=false)

This is our example as the modern worlds first democracy.  Its the best of what we as a nation have to offer to others, the path to achieve that dream everywhere.  As Jay-Z,  the rapper, was quoted as saying today:

Rosa Parks sat so that Martin Luther King could walk. Martin Luther King walked so that Obama could run. Obama's running so that we all can fly. I can't wait until 5 November and I'm going to say 'Hello, Brother President'. I can't tell you who to vote for. All I can do is tell you to vote.

It's a pretty cool day for freedom.

Wow that first photo brings back memories. Geez. Too bad we seem to have lost all the hope WE had back then.

~Simone.

Quote from: lady amarant on November 04, 2008, 11:48:21 AM
You have NO idea how wonderful it is to hear how hopeful you all sound. Frankly, I'm jealous, not to mention wonderfully amazed that, even as jaded as we've all become, we can still BE so hopeful. I just hope desperately that that hope isn't unfounded. For everybody's sake.

Who knew I'd be setting my alarm to get up to see the election results in a country halfway around the world. Weird.  ;D

~Simone.

I forgot to tell you that you can vote here too. I also forgot Asia earlier.  Sorry. Everybody on earth should vote for the head of every nation.

Why, thank you Simone.  Everything went perfectly well, and it wasn't a madhouse as I had thought it would be!  :P

tink :icon_chick:

Quote from: Leiandra on November 04, 2008, 11:08:24 AM
I'm watching the pre-election coverage on the BBC rolling news channel at the moment. I have to say, it's pretty amazing. :) From one non-US gal, I just want to say... good for you. *big hug*

Ur avatar is friggin hawt.  Nah like, hot hot hot.  It's like viagra put on a skittle, panfriend, and served with heavy rockin metal music.

That's one hot avi.

Come on Ohio.. Bring it home for Barack!

I hope so.  Ohio owes us after their last performance.

O-H-I-O!!!!!!

And Barack Obama is the next President of the United States

Tink your new avatar is so CUTE!!! Aw!

It's 5:45 in the morning here, and Obama is standing on 202. Looks like it's going to happen ... TOUCH WOOD!

~Simone.

Congratulations, ladies and gentlemen. :)

Jeez! It's 4 in the morning over there Leiandra - don't you sleep?!  :P

~Simone.

Quote from: lady amarant on November 04, 2008, 10:09:55 PM
Jeez! It's 4 in the morning over there Leiandra - don't you sleep?!  :P

~Simone.

Nope. ;D

Not tonight, anyway. This is too important. :)

Damn straight.  It  is a historical moment for the USA.  We now have an African-American President.  Next up: A woman President.

Okay, I'll now add my voice to that of Leiandra in congratulating everybody on this historic moment.

~Simone.

and the hate crimes have already started.

mexicans and rednecks arguing in my neighborhood.  blue lights everywhere.  stupid teenagers going around and vandalizing cars that had obama bumper stickers.  me hugging my gun hoping that my entire neighborhood doesn't turn into a warzone.

uuuugh.  talk about sore losers.

Quote from: Annwyn on November 04, 2008, 11:12:39 PM
uuuugh.  talk about sore losers.

No. They're just losers. Plain old fashioned losers.

Quoteuuuugh.  talk about sore losers.

Yup to make up a story like that.

Hi,

I've seen this as a big election despite me being British. Barack Obama being president will hopefully help reduce the prejudice (or something like that) that affects so many people.

In Britain no one seems to care it's pretty much the same either way anyway and everybody always seems to hate the PM in the end anyway. Also the American election is so much more exciting, we're too polite over here for anything interesting to happen.

(Please don't let Palin run for president in 2012 she drives me mad and I'm hoping to move to the USA)

Sarah

Quote from: foreversarah on November 08, 2008, 05:09:30 PM
(Please don't let Palin run for president in 2012 she drives me mad and I'm hoping to move to the USA)

Sarah

Oh, but she's so fun!!!! I really want to see her debate Obama.

I'm pretty sure that every satirist in America has already set aside $50 to send to the Palin '12 campaign. :P