Why bother voting?

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Tuesday November 02, 2010 · 12:58 PM PDT

2010/11/02 · 12:58

It's so easy to feel discouraged, to fall on the side of apathy. It's so effortless to say screw it, the politicians don't care about me, they are beholden to special interests. They break promises, compromise away, and lie. But at the end of the day, no matter how flawed our system is, we still live in a representative democracy, where we get to elect our representatives at all levels of government into office to represent our interests. For without people "demos" participating in the process, there can be no democracy.

sfkat

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Wednesday April 15, 2009 · 7:46 PM PDT

2009/04/15 · 19:46

This is a lyric from the old Smiths song "What Difference Does it Make?" that has been floating around my head all day, watching these poor, ignorant fellow Americans and the Faux News buffoons. They love to throw around words like 'fascism' and 'socialism,' like confetti, and compare Obama with Hitler as if it's the most logical connection in the world.

sfkat

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Tuesday November 04, 2008 · 2:09 PM PST

2008/11/04 · 14:09

Like many of you, as I have thought about this election, about voting for Barack Obama and Joe Biden, getting great progressive Democrats into the government, I am filled with emotion and pride. All the hard work and the seemingly improbable journey that got us here, on the cusp of a pivotal event in American history, I feel blessed and a bit overwhelmed.

Being part of this very special day, one for the books, an old song pops into my head. Anyone remember Jesus Jones' "Right Here, Right Now"? Yes I'm dating myself a bit, but some of its lyrics capture some of what I've been feeling about this election.

I was alive and I waited, waited
I was alive and I waited for this
Right here, right now
there is no other place I want to be
Right here, right now
watching the world wake up from history

sfkat

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Wednesday October 08, 2008 · 12:21 PM PDT

2008/10/08 · 12:21

When the going gets tough, when you are in the final 100 meters of a marathon, when you are tired and spent and just aching to get to the finish, the layers are stripped away, revealing the essence of who you are and what you are made of.

Often in this presidential race, both sides have asked, 'Who do you trust in a crisis?' While I feel this is important, as the world can be unpredictable and things can develop and change in a breath, I think we, as Americans, need to examine how each candidate is handling himself in the final stretch, with the end of the race so near, with the economy teetering on a cliff face, with the earth of the verge of climate change from which we cannot come back. What does each candidate inspire and evoke in people? To borrow from Martin Luther King Jr. what is the content of each candidate's character?

When the chips are down, we more clearly see these two men for who they are and what they believe. As we've seen from the debates and the rallies of late, the essence of each man is revealed. Barack Obama and Joe Biden appeal to the best in people, while John McCain and Sarah Palin appeal to the worst parts of our natures.

sfkat

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Friday September 26, 2008 · 12:52 PM PDT

2008/09/26 · 12:52

Wow. I was just watching Chris Rock's conversation with Larry King last night (Thursday 9/25). He was riffing on the election, on the candidates, Bill and Hillary Clinton and all things political (okay he also plugged his HBO special).

Chris Rock, getting to the heart of the matter:

The choice isn't Republican or Democrat. The choice is you got a guy that's worth $150 million with 12 houses against a guy who's worth a million dollars with one house....The guy with one house really cares about losing a house, because he is homeless. The other guy can lose five houses and still got a bunch of houses. Does this make any sense? Am I the only one that sees this?

sfkat

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Wednesday September 10, 2008 · 10:40 AM PDT

2008/09/10 · 10:40

In an interview with Time on August 28, when asked to define honor, John McCain wouldn't. Read my books, he said. I've defined it in my books, why should I do it again?

Really? You mean to tell me that you are not willing (or cannot) define one of the mantras of your campaign? Not even a simple definition that an 8 year old could understand? C'mon John, humor us.

This points to a laziness and dismissive attitude that is disturbing and frankly, offensive. Don't study for the test, don't answer the questions asked, just fill in the scantron with a pretty picture and hope the teacher is so impressed with your artwork that they forget to grade your test.

This points to the larger issue. As Bill Burton from the Obama campaign commented in response to that disgusting education ad from the McCain campaign.

"Last week, John McCain told Time magazine he couldn’t define what honor was. Now we know why."

sfkat

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Tuesday September 09, 2008 · 11:49 AM PDT

2008/09/09 · 11:49

The DK community has discussed, analyzed, called out, and commented on many of the Republican talking points. The disregard for community organizers. The reveling in fear, hypocrisy and ignorance. The spin, the half-truths and outright lies. The love affair with drilling for oil. All the above are offensive to me, and to those in the progressive community. But I feel the need to talk about another Republican meme that disturbs me - the small town is best thing in the world and the big city is evil meme.

Republicans beat it like a steel drum - small towns are the heart of America, they are what count. The big cities - NY, DC, SF, Chicago, LA, Detroit, etc. - who cares about them? They are liberal full of sin and scary things such as minorities, homosexuals, and libraries full of books by corrupting authors such as Chaucer, Hemingway, and yes, Jon Stewart. That's where the liberal media are, looking down at you.

I'm frankly sick of these fools badmouthing the cities that I and many others love. I'm taking a stand for us city mice.

RSS

Why bother voting?

"Heavy words are so lightly thrown"

Right Here. Right Now (An Ode to Being Part of History)

Appealing to the Best and Worst in Us

Chris Rock breaks it down

What is honor?

Country Mouse vs. City Mouse