Tuesday, November 04, 2008

The Politics of Plate Lunch


My voting screen before The Powers That Be hacked the machine and changed my vote.

I have just returned home from voting in the 56th Presidential Election. Exciting. Intense. Electioneering. People being turned away at the polls. Dead people casting their ballots. Riots. Tear gas. Garden hoses.

Okay, maybe not.

While reports have been filtering in all day about massive lines and long waits at polling places, my little polling place in our psuedo-suburban-rural hamlet was about average. Just walked up to the people checking me in, got my electronic reader card and then stood in line for about eight minutes until a booth opened.

From there, it was a quick insert of the card and a few punches later, it was all good.

In Maryland, there are a few hotly contested issues being fought. The first is the question on whether or not Early Voting should be allowed. Personally, I'm against it. There's absentee ballots available if you're not in town on Election Day but the ability to vote is a privilege and civic duty - it's not about "convenience" because you're too damn lazy to go out on the designated day to vote.

The second, more hotly contested fight is Question 2 and a constitutional amendment to allow slot machines in five locations throughout the state. Again, I'm against slots. Four years ago, slots weren't good enough for this state because the governor was republican (and the rest of the state democrat). Now that there's a democrat in the governor's mansion, slots suddenly make sense?

Don't get me wrong, I like gambling. Give me a craps table and I'm more than willing to throw down, but we need to limit government spending, not increase it. And I just love how they framed the slots revenue as a vehicle to pay for education. Once again, our "trustworthy" politicians frame their politics in a veil of supporting/protecting our children.

I'll let you guess which way I voted on that question.

But the real question on people's minds is: who did you vote for President?

There was the Write-In candidate and I certainly thought about voting myself as The Supreme Emperor and General Pontiff of North America.

Otherwise, I'm not telling.

I gotta say though, that I do like John McCain. He went to war and paid dearly. He fought for policies during his political career and has been around the block. Most people vehemently against him blindly believe that McCain will be another Bush. I don't share that opinion. I think McCain would be far better a president that George W. Bush with better policies - and his promises of No Taxes certainly deserves closer investigation. And his vice-presidential running mate is eye candy that Hillary Clinton could never match.

Then there's Barack Obama. I like him too. He's managed to invigorate America and capture its' imagination. That's important. He doesn't have that much experience in the Senate and perhaps that's a good thing. Though, his democratic majority Congress has done nothing to "reverse" what they say the republicans did to this country. Truth is, they screwed us all. And we let them. Then there's the issue of taxation. Obama says only 5% of the population will see a tax increase and that makes me nervous.

Throughout history, politicians have promised No New Taxes. Then, once in office, they persecute us with the taxation they promised they wouldn't levy. Now we have a politician who says he's gonna tax a percentage of the populace - which inevitably will somehow morph into a larger tax on everyone.

While I won't tell you who I voted for, I will tell you this: I voted for the candidate whom I thought would have a better understanding of the intricacies and fine points of a true Plate Lunch and 'Ahi Poke.



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47.87%

Good Morning!

It's Tuesday, November 4, 2008 - Election Day in the United States. The day when the citizenry go to the polls to vote for a new American President. It's a day for celebrating Our American Way of Life. This time, there is no incumbent candidate - just like in 2000.

What did you do during Election Night 2000? Me? I was on a date. Nice girl. Nice time. Went out to dinner in Washington, D.C. and took her on a tour of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and Abe's Place (The Lincoln Memorial). The weather was crisp and cold. It was a nice date. Later, we watched a little bit of the election returns and found lots of confusion going on. Went to bed and by the time I took her home the next morning, we still hadn't decided on a new president.

Fast forward eight years and a new election is upon us. We're ready. We're eager. We're excited. And we have new, computerized voting machines (mostly Diebold) that have been proven to be completely and utterly compromised by bugs and hackers. No longer will we suffer through endless weeks of counting silly pregnant chads. Instead, our votes will be tallied as The New World Order sees fit. No muss. No fuss. It's all computerized and overseen by the government so it must be legitimate.

So while you head out this morning to the polls (like I will), let's have a look at the 2000 Election Results:

George W. Bush - 50,456,002 votes - 47.87% - winner

Albert Gore - 50,999,897 votes - 48.38%


No, this is not a typographical error. These are the actual results released by the Federal Election Commission where Al Gore wins by a plurality vote. George W. Bush was named president by vote of the Electoral College. Here are those results:

George W. Bush - 271 Electoral Votes

Albert Gore - 266 Electoral Votes


Seems odd that in a nation where everyone is told that their vote "counts," the results show a different story. I'll let pundits and people smarter than me explain/debate this whole process but perhaps we should consider that the Electoral College was designed to give the people the illusion of the vote while not allowing the unwashed and uneducated masses have a say in who should be the leaders of our nation.

Whatever the case. Vote - 'cause we're still giving away free coffee at The Spro to those of you who do...