VOTE!

dcs · Post by **dcs** » Tue Nov 07, 2006 11:47 am

Wow, isn't it bad enough that I get phone calls from elected officials reminding me to vote? I have to read about it here, too?

T. Foster · Post by **T. Foster** » Tue Nov 07, 2006 11:50 am

My U.S. Congresswoman (CA33 - Diane Watson) is running completely unopposed -- not even any 3rd party protest candidates. I wonder if they'll be on the news tonight touting her amazing 100% margin of victory like they do in some Third World countries

JCBoney · Post by **JCBoney** » Tue Nov 07, 2006 11:53 am

dcs wrote:Wow, isn't it bad enough that I get phone calls from elected officials reminding me to vote? I have to read about it here, too?

I don't know about other places, but here in Arkansas it's been absolutely sickening... within the last two days, I've received recorded phone calls from Democrat candidate for governor Mike Beebe, his wife, and Bill Clinton campaigning for Mike. Additionally, their flunkies keep calling about every three days taking a "poll." I'll be glad when today is over.

AxeMental · Post by **AxeMental** » Tue Nov 07, 2006 11:58 am

Sogathan suddenly notices he's stepped into green slime.

The group screams in horror as the good cleric turns into a crawling green puddle before their eye!

Nah...

Seriously, this has been a pretty dirty election, as Midterms go.

Mythmere · Post by **Mythmere** » Tue Nov 07, 2006 12:19 pm

AxeMental wrote:Sogathan suddenly notices he's stepped into green slime. The group screams in horror as the good cleric turns into a crawling green puddle before there eye!

Nah...

Seriously, this has been a pretty dirty election, as Midterms go.

My favorite trick so far was an absolutely brilliant piece by the democrats, who normally aren't the dirty tricks party in this area. Our congressional candidate for the republicans is on the write in ticket rather than the regular ballot (result of legal stuff involving Tom Delay's resignation). Oddly, in addition to the write-in candidate endorsed by the party, there's another republican on the write-in ballot. Now, here's the trick:

The democrats sent out a massive mailer that attacks not the endorsed republican candidate, but the one who's not endorsed. Result? You're a democrat, no effect. You're a republican, your reaction is, "Damn these democrats, I'm voting for the guy." But oops, you're now voting for the wrong republican and splitting the republican ticket. Sweet piece of strategy.

blackprinceofmuncie · Tue Nov 07, 2006 12:38 pm

Mythmere wrote:Midterm elections are the elections in years when there's not a presidential election. These draw fewer voters. We have two legislative houses, and the lower house is elected in the off years along with (IIRC) one of two senators (senate being the upper house).

Representatives (legislators in the lower house) are elected for a two year term and elections are held in every even numbered year. Senators are elected for 6 years, so mid-term elections involve races for 1/3 of the present Senate (also in even numbered years).

I voted this morning, but it's like being given the choice between sticking my head in a bucket full of pig crap and a bucket full of razorblades. Needless to say my ballot was turned in without an overabundance of enthusiasm.

rogatny · Post by **rogatny** » Tue Nov 07, 2006 1:21 pm

I came >< this close to voting for a third party in Illinois' governors' race. Instead, I voted for the one crook over the other crook. It's so bad here, that the Green party candidate will probably get a significant number of votes. The Rockford paper (covering Illinois' second biggest city) actually endorsed the Greenie - the first time I can think of since Perot ran in '92 that a fairly major paper has endorsed a third party candidate for a major election.

I'm expecting a Democratic sweep here in Illinois. Yay. The world's last remaining single party dictatorship gets four more years. Democrats have now controlled Chicago for longer than the Communists controlled Russia. But then, the Communists in Russia allowed for more dissent and were less corrupt...

blackprinceofmuncie · Post by **blackprinceofmuncie** » Tue Nov 07, 2006 1:36 pm

I'll just be glad when I can finally watch a football game again without hearing one side or the other lie about stem cell research. What really irks me is that every quote or interview I see on the subject comes from someone affiliated with a religion, a political organization, a sports team (WTF??!) or a source of funding. Hey, if you want information about stem cell research, why not actually talk to someone who DOES STEM CELL RESEARCH???!

Oh no. Can't do that. They'd be biased. Let's just ask Kurt Warner.

Mythmere · Post by **Mythmere** » Tue Nov 07, 2006 2:02 pm

blackprinceofmuncie wrote: Hey, if you want information about stem cell research, why not actually talk to someone who DOES STEM CELL RESEARCH???!

Our education system hasn't taught us to speak the languages where it's legal to do stem cell research. Our own stem cell researchers are on the lam, hiding like androids from blade runners. In the capital, the President cries, "Varius, Varius, give me back my legions." In my county, voters in the largest democratic precinct were turned away from polls this morning because somehow all the voting machines didn't work that morning. Not a single one, dagnabit.

blackprinceofmuncie · Post by **blackprinceofmuncie** » Tue Nov 07, 2006 2:10 pm

If the blade runners are after me it's a good thing I've got several clones of myself frozen and ready to grow behind the ice cream bars at home. Who knew that someday I'd be using my 2nd ed. copy of Paranoia as a survival guide.

xyanthon · Post by **xyanthon** » Tue Nov 07, 2006 3:22 pm

One of the great things about living overseas is that I can vote absentee without having to put up with the phone calls, tv ads, and those god awful yard signs.

Mythmere · Post by **Mythmere** » Tue Nov 07, 2006 3:28 pm

blackprinceofmuncie wrote:If the blade runners are after me it's a good thing I've got several clones of myself frozen and ready to grow behind the ice cream bars at home. Who knew that someday I'd be using my 2nd ed. copy of Paranoia as a survival guide.

How do you know you aren't one of the clones? The real you might already be legless in Abu Graib, contacting the net through a strip of aluminum gum wrapper and its own teeth fillings, calling itself "Bones McCoy" to throw off the blade runners, leaving cryptic clues in strange posts on message boards...

Damn, I wish I'd bought Paranoia at some point in my gaming career...

thedungeondelver · Post by **thedungeondelver** » Tue Nov 07, 2006 8:58 pm

My voting experience this evening:

I drove a few blocks in sideways torrents of rain, and while listening to The Who on the radio was informed by the NWS that (no, that's not "Not Work Safe!")...that a tornado had been spotted in my neighborhood.

Yeek.

Anyway, after being directed blocks out of the way by The Wife (Mrs. Delver that that because she turned right off of the major highway our subdivision is off of, that when we went through the backroads behind where the polling place is that for some reason we'd have to turn right on the thoroughfare that goes through there as well...anyway). We get there, pile out of the car in the pouring rain, our three year old daughter in tow.

Get in the church (where it was held) sling the water off of ourselves in the foyer, go to the polling station and...I can't find my driver's license. I've got:

A selective service card
Social Security Card
Picture ID's out the yin-yang (most of my bank cards, a couple of shopping cards)...

But no DL.

Fortunately, they took the Visa card with it's photo plus my SS card as proof enough.

And I voted.

Got home and found my license in amongst stuff by the front door. Imagine my surprise when I was rearranging and cleaning out my wallet and found my voter registration card...!

And no my house was not swept away by a typhoon. We got outside after about 20 minutes and it was dead calm. The streets were all under eight inches of water, but it was calm!

stupid storm giants...

dcs · Post by **dcs** » Wed Nov 08, 2006 2:49 pm

blackprinceofmuncie wrote:Hey, if you want information about stem cell research, why not actually talk to someone who DOES STEM CELL RESEARCH???!

Likewise, if you want information about cannibalism, ask a cannibal.

Oh no. Can't do that. They'd be biased. Let's just ask Kurt Warner.

I think it's reasonable to speculate that someone whose job depends on the legality of X will be biased in favor of keeping X legal. If someone has ethical issues with stem-cell research, it's unlikely that he'll go into that field.

JRMapes · Post by **JRMapes** » Wed Nov 08, 2006 3:56 pm

All i know is that i am damn glad this whole silly season is over and hopefully people can put all this politico claptrap to bed for the rest of the year and most of next--

until the presidential crap starts next summer.

i really hate politics.