When the choices presented are the electric chair or the gas chamber it’s hard to gin up much enthusiasm for the choosing.
But we have to choose, eh?
Then again, there is a third choice. The Libertarian choice.
And it’s not Gary Johnson. Who of course isn’t one. A Libertarian, I mean. (See here for at-length rant about that).
So, what’s our third option?
None of the above.
Decline to endorse the lesser of two evils.
Or the third of two evils (Johnson; or the loopy lefty Jill Stein).
Doing so – if enough of us did so – would have one very salutary result: It would leave the “winner” – whether He or She – without the pretense of a mandate. This would de-legitimize either’s agenda from the get-go.
It would be very hard for the Red Queen, as a for-instance, to issue a a decree ordering the surrender of people’s firearms.
Well, she could issue the befehl easily enough. But the obviously “anti-democratic” nature of the thing would impair her ability to carry it out. She would be seen for just what she is – a shrill tyrant acting contrary to the popular will.
Or at least, a very large portion thereof.
Similarly, Il Duce would find it challenging to do the various ugsome things he has in mind, for the same reason.
Not just Libertarians but Americans generally have a real opportunity here. Almost everyone, regardless of their politics, is disgusted by politics. By the complete capture of both parties and the occupation of the government by grifters and worse who have their hands around our necks, another in our pockets and the other grabbing our genitals, firmly.
It has got to stop. But voting won’t stop it.
In fact, doing so only makes it worse – by legitimizing the outcome. This enables them. Which is always bad news for us.
No matter the form of government, consent – the illusion of it – is necessary. The people must acquiesce and this is only achievable long-term if most people believe, however grudgingly, that most other people accept the legitimacy of the government. If not, it’s a very big us against an extremely small bunch of them.
You end up with the oligarchs waving mechanically from atop Lenin’s Tomb.
It doesn’t sell.
Now, the salutary fact is the presidential (s)elections are already illegitimate, in terms of the “consent of the governed” and the most sacred of all democratic shibboleths – the “will of the majority.”
Neither being the case
This is just not generally known.
It should be, so let’s have a look:
Of the eligible electorate, only about 50 percent have bothered to vote in previous presidential elections. The “winner” is the one who manages to get somewhere north of half the 50 percent. Usually about 2 percent north.
Consider what this means. The jefe/decider/Dear Leader is determined by minority vote. He – or she, as the case could be – is selected by a mere fourth or so of the voting-eligible populace.
The other fourth having opposed outright, the remaining fifty percent or so having expressed their contempt (or indifference) by not involving themselves at all.
Even a “landslide” victory – like Ronald Reagan’s over Walter Mondale in ’84 – was only such in terms of the minority who voted. Reagan carried every state except Mondale’s home state of Minnesota, but he only received 54,455,472 votes (vs. Mondale’s 37,577,352) out of a voting-age population of about 170 million people. See for yourself.
In other words, even in a “historic” and “lopsided” contest such as the ’84 race, most people – the vast majority – chose neither of the above.
In fact, in the ’84 race, about two-thirds of those eligible to vote either didn’t vote for Reagan or voted against him.
And yet, ol’ Flatop was able to claim – and act on – a “mandate,” because of the way the system whitewashes minority rule. A candidate just barely wins a state by obtaining a plurality of votes cast and the whole state goes Red (or Blue) as if universal consent had just been given. Even though only about 26 percent of the eligibles actually gave their ja! to the New Leader.
It’s a magnificent con, you’ve got to give it to them.
But it’s a con, nonetheless.
It’s also a dagger aimed at the heart of the system.
The Dear Leaders and their minions need to claim “the people” have spoken in order to anoint themselves as bearers of the will of the people. But what if only a few of the people have spoken – and the rest are on to the con?
This is a big problem – for those who esteem democracy.
Because this ain’t it.
Because the majority hasn’t spoken.
Or rather, has – but its wishes are systematically trampled by a minority.
If the majority ever becomes aware of this, look out.
Let’s make them aware of it.
By not voting next week.
Imagine it. He – or she -“wins” a (s)election in which only a third of the eligible voter pool had anything to do with it. The “winner” having obtained say half that third.
It couldn’t be whitewashed. No matter how red – or blue – the CNN map ends up. People – the majority – would be on to the con.
Which would do to government what sodium silica does to an engine. It would seize up the works. Make it harder at least and – hopefully – impossible for the Cthulhus in DC to flail their tentacles effectively.
Whether it’s He – or She.
That would be an outcome worth “voting” for.
By not voting at all.
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Well……at least we are given a reprieve for a few more years, anyway. Of course, I didn’t vote, but in a contest between Nixon and Stalin, I’m glad our “Nixon” won! I could not have stomached that vile corrupt bitch being president. Gotta admit, next to her, Trump looks downright good!
2 AM central time, holy crap, it looks like it president elect Trump!
Mein Führer!
I can walk!
Really hated to add the I can walk, but the wordpress wouldn’t comply.
My “vote” is to stay as far apart from their system as is possible. To maintain my own freedom and privacy and property, and that of those around me. Registering to choose an overseer/redistributor-of-wealth/ruler of the police state, is the antithesis of that.
The only time I might consider voting, is if someone were to come along, and instead of saying “I’ll give you this; and implement this new plan; and make these new laws” would instead say: “I will enact no new laws/programs/plans, but rather repeal the existing ones!”.
None of the participants of this 2016 Jerry Springer show, in which their time before a national audience is spent pointing out personal foibles, rather than discussing political philosophies; and speaking in 4-word catch-phrases designed to appeal to the lowest common denominator, rather than engaging in intelligent meaningful debate, will be getting my assent.
I may however, vote in effigy: One turd for blue; two turds for red. Pull the voting handle, and send my choice to the ballot box!
I have been arguing for years that the problem is not who wields the power. The problem is that such power should never exist for anyone to wield in the first place.
The only authority I recognize is the authority of parents over their children.
So have I. But people either don’t understand or want it this way. They want leaders and others who will do stuff for them. That requires lots of power.
As I have noted in another post, I have the luxury of yet another choice. Alabama still allows write-ins on their (real paper but machine read) ballot. So I can do better than “None of the Above” and will write in Ron Paul. I can name a real person who I believe would (still) be the best alternative. Other than that, I would probably just stay home. I have been wearing my Ron Paul T-shirt as much as possible lately. A statement is a statement.
To counter the “But every vote counts and it is your obligation to vote!”, not for president since Nixon/McGovern. Trump will carry Alabama handily unless he Yankees get hold of the voting machines.
I followed the None-of-the-Above web site for several years but it is gone now. If ever there is was an election to bring back the enthusiasm for that, this one is it.
This year I am going to ask if my vote was counted correctly since we use a similar system here
Again, I need to point out how electoral selection works. Write in votes for presickdicks are not counted. They are merely thrown away. When you vote for ABC candidate you are not actually voting for him but an elector pledged to vote for him in the electoral college. All candidates that qualify for ballot access has to have a pledged elector for the congressional districts and 2 for the at large senate assholes. The two electors for that represent the senate go for the entire state vote. However, a person can win district 8 and lose district 9. That is Memphis, Tn. I am more than certain Hitlery won Shelby County. So the elector for Memphis will be a Hitlery pledged vote. It ain’t over yet. As for the write in, well you should have done what I did. NOT VOTE! 😀
David Ward
[email protected]
P.S. Voting to oppress your fellow man is blatantly immoral and a violation of the NAP.
So Eric,
Are you just saying “don’t cast a vote for president?”
Or are you saying “don’t vote for nothing?” No Senators, Congressmen, State, County or Municipal offices or Propositions?
Either way, I understand your frustration. But I don’t think it’s a good idea. Not proactive. Totally passive.
If you don’t vote, you are letting someone else control your world. And indirectly saying that’s OK by you.
There’s a whole lot more than voting that needs to be done. But it still seems a little better than your alternative.
A friend said it was a single issue vote for him, the 2nd amendment. Of course that’s only a guess as to whether the Donald will be less aggressive in taking arms away from the general populous. I say “arms” because that’s what the constitution says. In my view the arms govt. gives itself should really be in the hands of the populous. I don’t really agree that funds in trillions of dollars per year are morally correct in being taken from the person and given to govt. to make whatever horrendous weapons they can devise. Morality enters into it but where……I can’t say.
I will vote, locally anyway. I doubt my vote in state or esp. federal elections makes a damn. Hell, I know it doesn’t. But in my county, elections often come down to a couple votes so that makes it seem(and it used to be true with paper ballots that were counted by people who believed in letting the cards fall where they may)a bit more important to me in believing my vote counts. Now and again, those of one party or another have a different outcome from prognostication pre-vote. Since we have come to use computer voting though, I have serious doubts of any real count. But in my county, we still have a paper thing going amazingly enough. Even in shitty little local elections though, it’s still giving some person that now days, I don’t even know, don’t even know where they’re from, what their platform is nor anything else. I was looking at election signs today. Not a single person I knew. From last names, there were about 4 people I could take a guess at what family and where they were from but it’s not necessarily true and bullshit like county judges make me want to throw up, just like those running for county treaurer. Every time I consider voting I can only think of how out of touch the entire process is. I’m going back to finish Cloud Atlas, as good a movie about power and freedom as I know. If you haven’t seen it, do so and when you’ve had time to mull it over, watch it again and some point in the future, watch it once more, etc. etc.
Hi Mike,
“If you don’t vote, you are letting someone else control your world. And indirectly saying that’s OK by you.”
You’ve got that backwards. If you do vote, you are giving permission to others to control your world, and directly saying that’s OK by you.
Jeremy
Jeremy,
I’m going to go with your philosophy on this. You and Carlin.
If you don’t vote, how can the fucked up results be attributed to you?
You did nothing except mind your own fucking business.
Not my place to tell you what to eat or where you stick your dick.
And then there is the old adage about it would be illegal if it really mattered.
Tuanorea,
Carlin was great on this issue. Democracy is a scam and, contrary to what “we” are taught, it is not even a system of government. It is merely a method of anointing “rulers”. Democracy presupposes a ruling class that defines the choices “we” are allowed to influence. But, all of these choices are acceptable to the ruling class, or they would not be offered (cue Emma Goldman). Democracy is compatible with Fascism, Communism or Capitalism (as defined by Marx). It has no ideology other than maintaining the illusion of consent.
The “people” certainly do not rule. If they did, by what right would some people be entitled to exercise power that others could not? The will of the majority, pish, no such thing exists. Yet, this abstract fiction is supposed to exercise dominion over us?
Churchill had it half right.
Jeremy
Exactly, Jeremy!
Which is exactly why democracy is so pernicious. It is perceived as “self government” (because we get to vote, ergo consent) but of course this is a con. But a subtle one and so very effective. There is a very good reason for the push toward democracy world-wide as the “best” form of government.
Surely, it is.
From a certain point of view.
I think I’ll call and see if we’ll have paper ballots. If so, I might go write in Mickey Mouse and Goofy alternately for every other office. Mickey done got a song and Goofy’s a pretty good singer. I might throw the occasional vote to Minnie(women’s rights, gotta be PC) and of course Bugs and Daffy. I might have written in Roadrunner but I barely caught him coming from the barditch yesterday in my right peripheral vision. No time to even lift and I saw his lifeless body slide into the oncoming lane sans a few feathers. At least I did avoid Bambi….don’t know how many more of those most dangerous creatures in N. America the old car’s going to survive.
Hi Eight,
I’m an Underdog man, myself. Or perhaps Thundarr…
Underdog showed up right after my non-school time changed to hot rods, hot girls and all those bounce off the wall activities…..and I don’t mean Dodgeball. As Rip said in Dodgeball, you gotta remember the 5 D’s of dodgeball, dodge, dip, duck, dive………..and dodge.
Hey eric, I have some white label Evan Williams, a couple cases of Shiner Black and Ruby Redbird and some this and that. Stop on by if you get a chance.
In the immortal words of an old college buddy on a Friday night “let’s do something…..new and exciting” with a huge smile on his face and we all fell about laughing. We laugh about that to this very day.
Thanks, Eight – could use some of that.
My dad died unexpectedly last night; I might be a little scarce around here for the next several. I will do my best to keep the rants flowing.
Condolences bro.
The here today, gone tomorrow has got to be the roughest.
It is much easier when they are old and sick. Almost a relief.
But when you don’t even see it coming…
My heart goes out to you Eric.
eric, so sorry about your dad. It’s tough when you lose any loved one. My wife is out of town because her mom died Monday night. And you’re correct about out of the blue like my mother but hers was 92 and it was expected and viewed as a relief. I’m sure you and yours will be in the thoughts of thousands. I’ll keep the proverbial light in the window for you.
Eric,
Sorry to hear about the loss of your dad.
Words fail me, but I wish you and your family comfort during your time of need and loss.
Eric, sincere condolences to you and your family.
Dear Eric,
My heart goes out to you. I lost my dad last year. It was not unexpected, but it still sucks.
Sorry about your dad, Eric, always tough when a parent dies. They’ve always been there until one day they’re not and though you know intellectually that day will come you’re never prepared emotionally. My prayers for you and your family.
Sorry to hear about your dad, Eric. Nothing hurts more than losing a loved one, more so if it is unexpected. Wishing you and your family strength to deal with this tough time.
Thanks, Escher – and everyone.
It has been a difficult year. You guys have helped me through it. Owe you all a beer.
So sorry to hear about that Eric. Take care of yourself and family first, websites can always wait.
Take care in the meantime
My condolences to you as well.
Thanks, Brent – and everyone else…
I’m sorry to hear about that, Eric. My condolences as well. I know it has been a rough year. Take care Eric.
Very sorry to hear, Eric.
I understand as I got a call, “Come down to Jersey if you want to see Dad again….”
I hope things work out as well as can be expected.
Take care out there.
Thanks, Jean… and everyone (again).
I should be home Friday sometime… doing my best to keep things trucking.
Dear Eric,
My condolences to you, brother. My mom died suddenly: laid down for a nap on a warm and breezy Spring afternoon and never woke up.
Thank you, Art… and all.
Tough year.
Maybe next year will be better.
Eight, by Shiner Black do you mean Black Lager? Because if you do then I am jelly. One of my favorite beers but I cannot get it here in Ohio. Enjoy.
skunkbear, Shiner Bohemians Black Lager, beer of the gods ha ha. I discovered it in a wing sports bar I got drug to. Well, they had about 50 beers on tap and I had always liked Guinness Stout, close to the same thing. But they also Shiner Black next to it. I drank a Guinness and then a Black. I guess what that woman who worked with my wife and had a black boyfriend was right. Once you have black, you never go back. Just to clarify, she eventually turned that guy over, a really nice, hard working nice looking fellow for a 21 year old girl who looked like a boy. Evidently, once you’ve had muff, that’s enough.
I wish I knew somebody who ran that route to Ohio and I’d send some. Too bad it won’t fit in that USPS box that ships for a low price up to 70 lbs. It’s a good way to ship bullets and weights. I’ll look into the box size and see if it will hold a case. I pay $32.18 for a case locally. I never found it anywhere except locally that cheap.
I’ll think about you the next one I open.
Eight, no worries. My brother lives out that way and when he comes back to Ohio for family affairs he always brings me a few cases of the nectar of the gods.
And I am at that most wonderful stage in life where the pleasure of a good beer trumps the pleasure of a so called “good woman” anytime.
skunk, glad to hear you do get some now and again. It does beat the “good woman” since I’m not running around looking for that good woman. The beer is a real deal, just plain old cash and no reciminations……never had one have a fit nor want something I couldn’t provide.
How about writing in Lysander Spooner and Murry Rothbard? At least they were actual humans and pro-liberty.
Eric, for some reason I no longer am getting subscription updates. I thought that perhaps the massive number of earlier subscriptions had overwhelmed the word depressed software; so I unchecked nearly all of them. This made no difference.
Also, some setting must have been changed because many replies to posts gradually disappear behind the ads you have on the right hand side of your site.
Hi Brian,
Thanks for the heads up on this; I am going to forward your question to Tech Guy (Ben)… please bear with!
https://youtu.be/zYMD_W_r3Fg
The Who got it right, back in the day.
Jeremy,
And as a matter of consistency, what about voting for things you are 100% behind?
According to the Cannabist, “voters in nine states will decide on whether to legalize either the recreational use or the medical use of marijuana: Arizona, Arkansas, California, Florida, Maine, Massachusetts, Montana, Nevada and North Dakota.” http://www.thecannabist.co/2016/07/14/definitive-guide-us-states-voting-recreational-medical-marijuana-inovember-2016-election/58063/
If you lived in one of those 9 states, should you vote on that one specific issue?
I say no because I don’t have a right to decide that pickles, tomatoes, corn, or reefer can be consumed by others. Not my business.
Abortion? Not my business, I don’t even have a womb. (Even though I agree with many of you out there who say I shouldn’t be allowed to reproduce.)
Tuanorea,
This is a tough issue for me. On the one hand, I believe that engaging in politics at all is counter productive. However, I see an important distinction between voting for a representative and voting to overturn an existing law that punishes non criminal behavior. No person can represent the interests of a diverse group of people in any meaningful way unless all of those people have consented to delegate such authority. So, democratic political representation is impossible.
But, voting on a specific issue is concrete and not subject to the problem of delegating spurious authority to a representative. You say: “I don’t have a right to decide that pickles, tomatoes, corn, or reefer can be consumed by others. Not my business.” But surely, nobody has the right to decide that such things can’t be consumed by others. So, I say yes, it is OK, even good, to vote to overturn a specific wrong or to prevent a specific wrong from occurring (theft through bonds, etc…). Of course, from a libertarian perspective it is not OK to vote, on specific issues, in favor of theft (no matter the cause) or for punishment of non crimes.
Voting for a representative seems categorically different to me than voting to end a specific wrong. Perhaps I am wrong.
Jeremy
I agree with you, Jeremy.
It seems to me that any action which doesn’t cause harm is on the face of it a morally good thing. So, voting to leave people who’ve not caused others any harm alone strikes me as a good thing.
Jeremy, well said and fully agreed. Dittoes to Eric as well.
I will never vote to cause harm to someone else but I will vote to stop someone from harming me. But it is a damn shame that that is the case here in “the land of the free”(snicker, snicker).
I also agree with you Jeremy but with one caveat: I absolutely will not vote for anyone, but I would not blame people for voting for Trump or Johnson if they live within districts where the votes will be close. Please note that I do not like or support either of these candidates, but I do see them as less horrendous than Hitlery.
If your district is solidly pro non-Hitlery candidate, then it is foolish to waste time voting for anyone.
I have no objection to voting against tax increases or reductions of our liberties.
T, I’m not wading in on your reproductive rights. Should you decide to have a baby I won’t stand in the way. Pot will be legal in Texas…..just as soon as the lege figures some way for the members or a controlling amount of them anyway, the reap most of the profit(no giving it away)and still maintain the right to incarcerate people for not obeying the letter of the law, the most convoluted law ever devised no doubt…..just as the Po leez weigh anything “in the container” which nearly always brings in a felony charge……2.5.lb jar with .75 oz of pot inside, stowed in a 6 lb heavy duty tote…..perfect.
Jeremy, Skunkbear, Eric, Brian and Eight,
If you vote to lower taxes, or to allow people to posses vegetables, doesn’t that presuppose that voting to raise taxes, or banning vegetables is somehow legitimate?
I know that saying one should not vote to keep his money or increase his liberty sounds “just fucking stupid!” (To use the words of the Great Prophet George Carlin.)
But if Jeremy and Eight decide to have a contest to see who can grow the tallest banana tree out of their ass, what right do I have to say that should or should not be legal? Further, what right do I have to say that Eric, Skunk, and Brian should or should not be allowed to be paid judges for that contest?
Just because Eric is such a poor judge of AMC vehicles, do I have the right to prevent him from judging a banana tree ass growing contest?
The answer is NO!
Any alternative will always lead down the slippery slope.
The first time it hits the ballot, the trees will be limited to apple bananas, because no one needs a full grown banana tree growing out of their ass.
Then the Manzano will be outlawed and calls for Professional Licensing will go out. Eric, Skunk, and Brian will need to become certified ass growing contest judges.
Before you know it, a couple of election cycles pass and the only thing Jeremy and Eight will be allowed to grow out of their ass is a gooseberry bush.
After the big Supreme Court decision of Southman v. Peters has ruled that Eric couldn’t tell the difference between a blackberry and a gooseberry, mandatory insurance for certified ass growing judges will be the plebiscite de jour.
Later, when People for the Ethical Treatment of Ass Grown Fruits have enough signatures to put their proposal on the ballot, the only thing left for Jeremy and Eight to contest will be the size of their hemorrhoids. Eric, Skunk, and Brian will have had to become full blown proctologists with each one paying a million and a half per year for malpractice insurance.
The Ass Grown Fruit industry will have gone the way of the internal combustion engine.
Tuanorea, “If you vote to lower taxes, or to allow people to posses vegetables, doesn’t that presuppose that voting to raise taxes, or banning vegetables is somehow legitimate?”
Your entire premise is nonsensical because it fails to understand the difference between aggression and defense of aggression.
If someone takes a swing at me I have every right to defend myself against that act in order to protect myself. I do not have the right (nor the desire) to take a swing at someone else. And as such I do not have the right to give someone else the authority to take a swing at others on my behalf.
My bad. that should read “Your entire premise is nonsensical because it fails to understand the difference between aggression and defense FROM aggression.”
Hi Mike,
Per Jeremy, I will vote on single issue ballot measures in cases where the item involves respecting people’s right to be left out of “plans” and not controlled/punished, etc., for actions that cause no harm to others.
But I do not believe in legitimizing the system by in any way providing even the appearance of my consent to “representation” – which is nonsense – much less to delegating open-ended proxy power to control/punish other people in my name (allegedly).
Not voting doesn’t alter the power dynamic – but (if enough don’t vote) it makes it harder for those who wield power to do so with the skein of legitimacy.
This, in theory may make sense and even might be admirable. However in practice this will hardly ever be the case. In terms of cannabis “legalization” the reality is that these laws may decriminalize the use of a substance but it will still be regulated. For instance, you may legally buy and consume alcohol, provided you are above a certain age limit, the supplier is licensed and regulated, and the product has undergone certain laboratory testing, all in the name of saaaafety. Fuck that. I will assess the risks on my own and determine if the action is worthwile in my own life.
Agreed, Kris.
And (probably like you) I act accordingly. I decide what I do with (and put into) my body. I ask no one’s permission first. Of course, one must also dodge the law. Exactly so. Ignore it, evade it, defy it at every opportunity. The situation we find ourselves in is that of the kid dealing with a bully. Kick him in the balls when he isn’t looking. Cold-cock him. But smile in his face beforehand.
I would politely point out that the logical extension of this is the execution of The Annointed that we see pooping up these days…
Reminder, you know my opinion on this… 😉
I have come to the following conclusion re: voting. I know the thought is not original to me, but I am now ‘owning’ it. A vote for anyone can and will be interpreted as ‘consent.’
I do not consent.
Should be – no names on voting ballots, just offices. Write in the candidate of choice. No ballot access rules/laws put in place by Rs and Ds to keep everyone else out of debates and consideration.
I have been checking the other box and writing no confidence for several years now
If I could write-in, I’d vote for Megillah Gorilla!
If you are in a cellar neck-deep in shit and someone comes down the stairs and throws a bucket of puke at your face, would you duck? That’s what the choice has become when voting in just about any election.
Agreed, Doug…
It’d be funny if it weren’t so got-damned serious.
The real power is the supreme court.
They can cram whatever anti-constitutional shit they want out from the bench, and they know it.
The next president gets to choose FOUR of them.
Your choice is the idealist’s choice, but it is not the pragmatist’s choice.
Hi Warp,
“Your choice is the idealist’s choice, but it is not the pragmatist’s choice.”
The supposed conflict between “strict constructionists” and “living” constitution advocates is a con. The Nazgul are chosen from a pool of government lawyers who have displayed a lifelong commitment to legitimizing the exercise of State power. Both “sides” agree that the State can and must assert dominion over the individual. Of course they quibble over details, but such quibbles always represent a personal ethic, rather than a commitment to the “rule of law”.
The purpose of the Supreme Court is to legitimize the exercise of State power. Cons and Libs perform a sort of tag team where the worst excesses of both become codified into law. Scalia, the supposed exemplar of “strict construction” merely found ways to insert his own values into his rulings (as do all of them). In Lawrence v Texas, he argued that,of course, Texas could put cock-suckers in jail (as long as they’re gay) because anti-sodomy laws represented the moral sentiments of the people and that the Federal government had no right to invalidate laws based on “moral choices”.
Just two years later in Raich v Gonzales, he argued that the Federal government could do exactly that. California voters expressed their moral choice by passing prop 215, legalizing the use of medical marijuana. Curiously, judicial restraint and the tenth amendment no longer mattered to Mr. Scalia. Instead, he invoked the “do whatever we want” clause (commerce) to validate the unambiguously unconstitutional Federal ban on marijuana.
Left wing tyranny, right wing tyranny: the supremes are on board. Trump will appoint right wing authoritarians, Clinton will appoint left wing authoritarians. The result will be the same.
Jeremy
True dat, Jeremy, the Supremes always legitimize whatever outrage the PTB pull off. Seize your property, roadside strip searches, bust into your house, ad nauseum, all get the seal of approval from those douchebags in dresses, Scalia especially was responsible for inflicting the Chimp on us. Talk about voting being a waste, that was a great example; Gore got a clear majority yet the fix was in for the Chimp. I only vote on referendum questions, this election I’m voting to legalize weed here in MA, probably going to need a lot of it after the rest of the results are in.
Like Gore would have been any better? Still, right and left wing douches are still douches in dresses.
swamp, the only caveat to Gore was I didn’t think he’d commit an obvious treasonous crime and lie us into war. We’ll never know, I’ll never vote again just as I said when RP was screwed. The only diff. in that race was color of skin.
MiB, please send emergency supply ASAP!
Hi Eight, I’ll put some aside for you as soon as I’m able to get some ?.
Many thanks. …………………………..
Ding! Ding! Ding!
Best analogy to date.
With less than 100 hours to go,
Warp might be the winner.
For the first time in 40 years, I’m not voting.
I’m tired of holding my nose and voting of the lesser of several evils.
I’m tired of having my intelligence insulted.
I’m disgusted with the whole system, those who run it, and those who endorse it.
I’ve been a Libertarian for over 30 years. If they can’t get a REAL Libertarian nominated, I’m tired of them too.
It doesn’t matter who wins. We’ll be screwed either way. As long as the sheeple continue to be fed their celebrity BS and sports stuff, the majority of Americans will eagerly just follow along and leap from the oncoming cliff.
I incline toward your view, Randy.
On bad days, I dread that America is headed for a Red October moment – or perhaps a Brown one. Either way, it’s bad news for the few of us who get it – and don’t want it.
I fear that a large/working majority of Americans want socialism (or fascism). The bickering is over which will win. Not whether neither is a good idea.
I often think I’m an idiot for not getting out while I still can.
Hi, Eric,
“I fear that a large/working majority of Americans want socialism (or fascism). The bickering is over which will win. Not whether neither is a good idea. ”
I think the word that is misplaced in the above is “working.” Most of the working classes I’ve met are honest… Most of the LAZY (who are frequently not working, even when employed) want what others have. Think they should all be “overnight successes” – like Olympians or rock stars, E.G. Bon Jovi or Poison or Bruce Springsteen or even NWA…
Or Mark Rippentoe, or Victor Pride, or Donald Trump….
They don’t want to train for 60 hours a week while working 40 hours a week… Nor would they eat, breathe, drink, music and industry politics for 20-40 years.
In other words, they don’t want to do the work that makes one an “overnight success.”
How long have you been wrenching, driving, and writing? And you’re still not that famous… (You won’t get with the program, after all….)
Still not an “overnight success.”
People think I’m a success… Family, enough to meet the bills, position in a
“too big to fail”….
Still took me 20 years to get here, and a college degree, and a drive to improve, and then a drive to survive, and beating out others in the same basic position….
I’m no success, though, just keeping head above water.
Would “they” pull the all-night work hours? Or the 80 hour weeks? Or the 3 AM phone calls from India? Will they hold to customized diets, or workouts? Read the politics, read patents pages, look for corroborating details for news stories…?
No, they won’t.
But they deserve the rock star salary… Everyone should be Jon Bon Jovi. Or Warren Buffet…
By the time they’re 21….
Red October might not be so bad, at least we’d have a clear enemy. I think that’s what’s missing… “Where wealth accumulates, men decay.” No one sees the Olympian training at 4 AM, from the age of 7 maybe until 21… then doing all the things the “normal” person does in a day, and then adding training afterwards, too.
They just want the results.
The should be able to drive a motorcycle like [Tom Cruise’s character in Mission impossible]. First time out.
Drive a big rig like EightSouth…. On day 1, without knowing how to operate a clutch.
Make it in the stock market like Buffet… On Penny Stocks….
Everyone’s a winner….
But some of us put in our stripes and learned the hard way.
I don’t think the phrase “working majority” has anything to do with whether the people are working. Just refers to the fact that there are enough of them to carry an election.
BTW, what’s so great about democracy? It’s nothing more than a tyranny of the majority.
Agreed, Jean.
In my little corner of the world, it used to be that you worked for years as a straight journalist (news, typically) who maybe had some engineering/mechanical background before you got a chance to write anything about cars for a big paper/media outlet. You had to earn the opportunity. And then you worked your ass off – for years – to make something of that opportunity.
Now they publish almost anyone – kids, literally. Who feel uber entitled to be (as you put it) rock stars immediately.
I get wanting to be a rock star. It’s the entitled part that eludes me.
I’m a mule. I am here (at my desk) by 4:30 in the morning. I’ve been like this – doing this – since I was in my early 20s. I like it, in a sick sort of way.
This is humanity. Humanity doesn’t change so freedom doesn’t last. The more I learn the more I see that nothing is any different than it was thousands of years ago. The same scams, the same problems. Sure we had a brief experiment with freedom but the mean asserts itself over and over again.
One of the reasons the Richard Pryor’s “Brewster’s Millions” is really endearing to me is the whole Mayoral Campaign in which he’s endorsing ‘None Of The Above’.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCFzYcLVNk0
The popular vote is irrelevant. All that counts is the electoral college. The electoral college will show a “landslide” for either winner because it is a proxy of the people who voted, not the population.
I started a rant about how the system needs to change, but what’s the point? The states legislators are aligned with the parties and every one of the crooks at the state capitol have Washington in mind for their next step in their career. When politicians are more interested in serving their party than the people they are supposed to be representing, there’s not much we can do. Of course, there’s the whole “we have met the enemy and he is us” argument (or is that zhe is us?), we get the government we want. But I don’t think I’ve ever wanted any politician, including my friend running for city council (who happens to run an email server out of his house, but that’s another story…).
“When politicians are more interested in serving their party” – actually I think they are MOST interested in serving themselves. They just see one party or the other as a more likely means to that end.
Hi Eric,
I’m very happy that you’ve put down the Trumpet. Anyway, one of the tactics I use when discouraging others to vote is to explain the numbers, which shows that any individual vote in a national election is statistically irrelevant. Most get it but still cling to the notion that their vote “counts” anyway (belief in “voting” requires magical thinking). Eventually they’ll ask, convinced they’ve come up with an ironclad rhetorical zinger, “but, what if nobody voted?” To which I respond, that would be the greatest day in the history of the USA.
Jeremy
Hey, I live in the People’s Republic of Maryland, where the Ds hold a 2 to 1 advantage over the Rs among registered voters (and there’s no point in registering Independent, as they have closed primaries)
Think there’s any chance my vote would make a difference, either way?
It’s so depressing that the country has gone over to coercive collectivism (the color, red or blue, being immaterial to me). The way so many people unconsciously utter “we” need this (at gunpoint) …
The Clinton News Network wouldn’t steer us wrong…..would they? Those of us who aren’t practically brain dead in Tx. are astounded by how LULAC and other Hispanic organizations have been able to remove statues and rename schools even though it was illegal to do so. UT is pure communist and rolling over every time somebody speaks of “minority rights” and wants to tear down another monument for the founders of Texas. Delete history. Amazing. We’re too close to the border and the shadow govt. is out to rewrite even more history.
Eric,
Good article (as usual). I have not decided if I’ll stay home, since there are some local issues worth a vote. I can not vote for evil (lessor or greater).
Did you mean about 25% of eligible voters? Your statement implies about 12½% of eligible voters.
I suggest either:
…
2550 percent of the 50 percentor
… 25 percent of the
50100 percent