Tuesday, November 4, 2008

You do not get to read this blog

if you are an American citizen and at least 18, until you have voted. You hear me, you punks? I don't care who you vote for. (Well, I do, but it's none of my business.) Just vote. This is your day, our day, to make a difference. Yes, we should be trying to make that difference, oh, 364 more days a year, in theory, but Real Life tends to get in the way of that, and, okay, so plenty of better people than us manage to do it anyway, but whatever for them, THIS IS YOUR BIG CHANCE. So do it. Do it even if you think your candidate or proposition or whatever is going to win. Or lose. Just do it. Participate in your democracy.

And then we can all come back here and talk about stupid shit again!

66 comments:

Anonymous said...

I done voted last week. Yay Oregon! Yay 100% mail-in system! Get with the program, rest of America!

Unknown said...

One who doesn't vote (but can) in an election ought to be taken out from the gene pool. Seriously. Having a hard time getting into the mind of one who don't care, at least on the day of election.

A question aside from this so important topic, do you ever cook at home? :D

Unknown said...

Have you seen the political bash SNL? Holy crap that was funny.

I was crying after the Sarah Palin Rap.

Rhody said...

*waits for comment war between Republicans and Democrats*

Jeff Green said...

My wife does all the cooking, with some help from my daughter. No sane person would want to eat my cooking.

Joffré said...

Can we get at least a small hint as to how the jewish magazine writer from Berkeley voted? This is very important, as you a part of a very coveted swing demographic!

Brain Blurbs said...

Even Europe is following it quite close. I say go for Obama. My wife says neither of them, Hillary should have won lol Either way, not McCain ppl. Please don't. If he dies, you got this Palin woman sitting on your throne. Good luck with that then....

My guess is that you (Jeff) voted Obama. You do strike me as a sensible guy, believe it or not ;)

ps was Almonde on the CGW/GFW side. For whatever that counts :)

Christopher Miller said...

I just voted. Of course, since I live in Wyoming, I just dropped a speck of sugar into a pot of salt. Look in that pot and take a taste and you won't even notice my bit of sugar, but...

I can't wait until the electoral college is removed in which I actually have some power on helping change.

Jeff Green said...

I'm trying to leave my personal positions out of this blog. Though I can't imagine anyone who ever listens to me or reads my stuff would be surprised how I voted. :)

That said, vote anyway! Even if you disagree with me! I voted twice so I'll still win!

Anonymous said...

I'm voting after work before the PA polls close.

But Jeff.... I read your blog. Will I be punished? :( I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

Anonymous said...

The line was too long so I just went home. It would have been nice to vote, but Obama's going to win anyway.

Anonymous said...

I voted for Obama, but if he messes this up, I'm going to hate all blacks forever.

Anonymous said...

Voted this morning in Brooklyn and was very happy to see a lot more 20-somethings in line than I saw 4 years ago. Longer lines than usual but not the crazy stuff I'm hearing about in the battleground states. Know hope!

Anonymous said...

I'm not an American citizen, nor am I eighteen yet, so I get to read this blog before all you losers who went out and voted, suckers!

But seriously, go out and vote. I wish I could vote; I'm in a battleground state after all.

Unknown said...

I have not, nor will I even though I am able.

Anonymous said...

Went and proudly did my civic duty this morning!

From N'Gai Croal's twitter, if you go to Starbucks or Ben & Jerry's or Krispy Kreme and tell them you voted, they'll give you a free cup of coffee, scoop of ice cream, and donut. So there's no reason not to do it!

http://www.fimoculous.com/archive/post-5346.cfm

Eric Majkut said...

I voted. Woohoo :)

-WiFi Pirate- said...

I voted today to stop getting phone calls every 20 mins, seeing ads all damn day and watching the news and hearing about candidates issues...(not their stance ON "the issues") Well i hope my vote counts, we'll see tomorrow. Stupid "Battle Ground State" of Va.

Anonymous said...

If you don't vote, don't talk politics. You've already silenced yourself where it really matters.

Slapshot said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Slapshot said...

I voted. I'm not happy about either choice, but I voted. Now I can go get my free donut from Krispy Kreme.

Priorities.

Anonymous said...

Gee, Dan, that's awesome that you have no shame about announcing your apathy and/or laziness publicly. It's people like you that make America...Amurikah.

Thanks!

ICallItFutile said...

I voted twice just for you Jeff!

Jeff Green said...

You dudes who are consciously not voting even though you can: As far as I'm concerned, you've lost your right to complain about the state of *anything* in this country for the next four years. Congratulations!

-WiFi Pirate- said...

Very True Jeff! Even if your candidate loses, then you get to complain it's not your fault! Another reason i voted today!

Unknown said...

@Dana and Jeff. I haven't complained about anything, just stated a fact about my voting.

My opinion: A person should vote based on an informed opinion. Lacking sufficient information, a reasonable person should not vote, because if they do they are just following baseless emotions and propaganda. I haven't committed myself to gathering sufficient information and therefore do not feel adequate in casting a vote. You may say I should get off my ass and commit myself to gathering this information, but if 'experts' can't agree on the correct path, I hardly think I will be able to. In my opinion a poorly thought out vote does more harm to a democracy than not voting at all.

Jeff Green said...

But, Dan---you had weeks and weeks (months, years) to gather information! This is once every four years. It's really not a lot to ask to pay attention just a few times over the course of your life, is it?

And no one is accusing you of complaining: we're just saying you can't do it starting now. :)

Anonymous said...

Perhaps not voting IS the responsible path for one such as yourself. Maybe the campaign should have gone on longer so the undecided could come to a decision..... Perhaps you'll just have to wait until one of the political parties adopts a "roll-over-and-die" platform. You know, something you can really get behind.

Slapshot said...

Dan -

I have a feeling that you're probably more informed than 90% of the people who voting today. Some of the reasons I've heard so far as to why people are voting for Obama or McCain are at best shallow and at worst idiotic, in my opinion.

Just go do it!

Tydigame said...

One legitimate reason for not voting: running for election yourself, on a platform of voting reform.

As a friend of my said recently: no matter who wins, it probably can't be worse than it's been.

Anonymous said...

Yarr, if you've ever commanded a vessel on a dangerous passage you'd know the cardinal rule: A bad decision is still better than no decision at all.

John Rivett said...

So Jeff, did ya load on the freebies for showing your "I Voted" sticker..

Free Starbucks, free donuts! Hell, throw in a free steak, and I'll vote for dog catcher!

Unknown said...

@Jeff. Yes, I probably could have spent that time. Perhaps next time. As for now, I'm not registered so I couldn't even if I wanted to. (Before I had meant that I will not vote in general even though I am a citizen and of age.)

Perhaps I will pick one or a few topics and just research those. :)

Jeff Green said...

Well, you get some kind of partial credit for at least being honest. :) No excuses in 2012 though!

Rhody said...

Apparently in some countries like Brazil, if you don't vote, you miss out on a bunch of government benefits. No public college for Dan.

ShallNosieUpon said...

I just voted :)

I really wish everyone in America could read this post. It is exactly the attitude that needs to be prevalent in these times where people are actually able to make change, or at least influence it, by e-mailing, calling, writing or visiting their elected officials, which is facilitated by the internet. There is no excuse to not vote or to not write your representative if something doesn't sit right with you.

Cheers.

Anonymous said...

"...Taken out of the gene pool" ?

Geez.

I strongly disagree with that kind of non-voter guilt-trips. If you've read up on the subject, know the issues and who supports what, then I strongly suggest you vote. If you don't know the issues or nobody represents your poli-beliefs, I'd encourage you to not bother. Do we need more people voting for our nation's leaders because their parents/friends/favorite rock stars always voted a certain way?

@john - I freaking want a sticker. Or something. Nothing like that in TX, unfortunately. I wish we weren't such a foregone conclusion. Maybe we'd get sweet perks if we weren't.

@Jeff - I used to totally agree, but I dunno anymore. I'm starting to consider the "don't vote? can't complain!" argument iffy because it's based on the (IMO) faulty assumption that politicians do what they're elected to do.

*shrugs*

Oh, but I enjoyed and appreciated the actual post, and I totally voted. Last week, even, though I'm told by both camps it didn't count (ala 3rd party). I'm still allowed to read and then comment, right? If not, delete away. I'll understand. :)

Jeff Green said...

I won't ever delete any comments here unless they are just flat-out personal attacks and/or any kind of deliberately inflammatory (racist/sexist/homophobic/etc) comments.

I have massive distrust of (almost) all politicians. But there are still the propositions, the local issues. There's still the basic responsibility of being an adult, and a part of your community, of caring about something beyond your own selfish pursuits. That's why I still think it's important to vote--even if NO candidate reaches you.

Fortunately, this year, for me--I had someone I actively WANTED to vote for....not just someone to vote against. And boy did that feel good.

Anonymous said...

Alright, good answer. I'm cool with that line of reasoning.

*thumbs up*

UrbanEconomist said...

You tell 'em, Mr. Green! Anybody who can vote but fails to do so is no friend of mine!

Jefferson said...

I was really excited to participate in my first presidential election this year, but I didn't get my mail-in ballot (I'm at an out-of-state college right now) until about a half hour ago.

Thanks for nothing, America!

Unknown said...

Jeff-- elections aren't ONLY every four years, you know! In most cases, your local elections have more of an impact on your daily life than the national ones. It's just that the national ones obviously get all the press.

People-- get out and vote EVERY election day, not just the Presidential one!

Anonymous said...

I voted today! Cobra Commander for Supreme Leader!

OK, I didn't really vote Cobra Commander but I DID wear a Crimson Guard Cobra shirt in support of his plans for world domination.

I totally rocked the vote. Rocked it hard.

Electric Monk said...

I grew up in a country (it rhymes with Shmargentina) where you were legally REQUIRED to vote. It would be interesting to see them implement a system like that here.

And when am I gonna be able to vote by Internet? I mean, I do my BANKING that way, why not my voting?

Mike said...

My roommate didn't vote, but he was going to vote for Nader anyway.

Anonymous said...

Yay! I'm proud to say I finally got off my lazy ass and voted for the first time. Yeah, it's too long for coming, but at least it's a start, right?

Unknown said...

I am very glad that we still have the chance to vote in our great country. I voted and so did all my family. I'm hoping that whoever wins will bring about some good changes here in the good ole USA.

Hey gas is $1.87 a gal for unleaded here in Tulsa, OK.

Unknown said...

I voted last week. Can we talk about stupid shit now please? Hehe.

Anonymous said...

I'd like to get Jeff's opinion, although I'm pretty sure I know exactly how he voted. He is from Berkley after all...

Jeff Green said...

It's never too late to be your first time voting. Good job!

Anonymous said...

I voted this morning around 8 AM, because I am great. I turned 18 last year so this was my first time voting in a presidential election. I'm pretty excited.

Jenna said...

I'm about 8 months too young to vote.
Sorry :(
Should be a fascinating race to watch.

Anonymous said...

obama! woo!

Anonymous said...

I don't know what this says about me, but I would rather wait in line for a Wii than wait to vote. I took one look at the line and then went home.

Grubber said...

i voted absentee last month!

Anonymous said...

Just like to jump in again to say...
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
[ahem].....

Unknown said...

Obama wins! Jeff speech!

Peter Fall said...

Jeff, have you ever considered that NOT voting IS A FORM OF VOTING?

if you disagree with both candidates running for your political party (and disagree even more with the third party) then a way of getting your opinion heard is by voting for neither.

That said, this election showed record turnouts, so apparently people felt very strongly about this election. I just think When people do not vote they're making a statement of there own (though, yes, sometimes they are just lazy. but in that case, their problems must not be as strong as the people who DO take the time to vote, thus again evening the playing field for minorities who need their voice heard!).

(for the record though, I voted. first time! yippee! :)

Anonymous said...

There are still local offices and issues that you should vote on. Even if you don't want to vote for the presidency.

Vahe Isaganyan said...

Obama President Elect ^_^

Woooo!! Even though I was really grumpy when I woke up at 5:45 AM to vote it was worth it :P

Dtrescott said...

I try to vote in every election I can, but that hasn't always panned out, but I make sure no matter what I vote in the Presidential election, and I did and am proud that I was apart of history that was made this evening.

JSD said...

One of the three sad things about living in Hawaii is that the jury duty lists are pulled from the voter rolls. At least two of my good friends are not registered to vote in order to avoid jury duty. Why they don't use driver license or tax rolls is beyond me.

The other two things are that we've got the worst traffic in the US, and the highest rent.

I was sad to see Prop 8 pass, Jeff. What a sad thing that a constitutional amendment can pass in CA with just a mere majority. The founding fathers knew this was open to abuse, which is why federal amendments require 2/3, which needs a massive consensus. In 50 years, this will have been long overturned and people will see Prop 8 as the Jim Crow laws of our time.

On the upside, Prop 1A looks good, which you'll need since we're running out of oil and you can't run jets on anything else...

Unknown said...

Not a citizen so... what I did was I kept bugging friend(who is a 19 year old citizen)into researching the candidates. I didn't tell him who to vote for I just made sure to tell him to do his own research and pick the best candidate. Sure enough he did his part.

This friend of mine and his family use to live here in Illinois 3 houses down from from me until 3 years ago when his family fell on hard times in this 3 year period he moved to Mexico back to Illinois an hour away from me and a year and half ago he finally moved to Ohio because of the majority of relatives he has there. He is helping his mom with bills and stuff and he would like to go to college so he has his head on straight. I made sure to let him know that we were in for harder times and that his vote would play a role in what happensthe next four years. So sure enough Ohio was won by Obama his candidate.

Anonymous said...

http://www.lewrockwell.com/bardallis/bardallis12.html

I hate to rain on your parade

DK said...

as someone who was following the props from PA, i was sad to see prop 8 and prop 5 fall flat :(..but after actually reading about prop 5 in more detail, i was kind of glad....why cant this country seem to distinguish between hard and soft drugs? GAHHH! >_< it stupid that this prop would lump dealers(espically those who pedal that crap like meth and crack) in with users. Obviously there should be strict penalties for those who push, and lenience(rehab) on those who are using.

this is utterly rediculious

*rant over*

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