15

Don't "waste" your vote

Posted by freedomforall 9 years, 1 month ago to Philosophy
65 comments | Share | Best of... | Flag

“Political campaigns today are all sideshows…A presidential candidate may be ‘drafted’ in response to ‘overwhelming popular demand,’ but it is well known that his name may be decided upon by half a dozen men sitting around a table in a hotel room...The conscious manipulation of the masses is an important element in democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country.”

- Edward Bernays


Add Comment

FORMATTING HELP

All Comments Hide marked as read Mark all as read

  • Posted by CTYankee 9 years ago
    Vote Libertarian!
    Less Government. More Freedom.
    Reply | Mark as read | Best of... | Permalink  
    • Posted by DeanStriker 9 years ago
      While certainly I agree with that, since helping with getting the Libertarians on the ballot in Arizona and being registered Libertarian ever after, it's obvious we have fallen down in making our case, as we've never in all those years managed to elect any major candidate.

      The Dem-Rep Monopoly has managed to make the "rules" which serve to exclude all competing parties, We saw in vote 2012 that 98% of the voters voted for collectivism. Clearly, voting (majority rule aka "democracy" holds no answers, and never has!

      We, and the whole planet of non-thinkers, need a total restart, without ever again being GOVERNed. Hopefully the Great Collapse coming at us will make the switch to a Voluntary System. Otherwise humanity can kiss it's sorry butt goodbye!
      Reply | Mark as read | Parent | Best of... | Permalink  
  • Posted by SaltyDog 9 years, 1 month ago
    I couldn't agree more.

    It's with no pleasure I say that this last mid term election cycle was the first time I didn't vote since I've been eligible; at long last, I couldn't see any daylight between the parties.

    You know, there are plenty of qualified people in this country who are capable of doing the job of getting us out of this mess, and smart enough to do the job well. But the fact that they are that smart also means that they're smart enough to not want to do it. I mean c'mon, your family will never have anything resembling a normal life, you personally will be instantly blamed for every problem from global warming to the Lindberg kidnapping. Who needs it? Further, these aren't the kind of people that are reading the want ads...by and large, they all have meaningful, rewarding jobs.

    Bah!

    Reply | Mark as read | Best of... | Permalink  
  • Posted by dae5555 9 years ago
    Here's my two cents worth.Stop watching Broadcast TV and boycott their sponsors until they start telling it like it is instead of what they think it should be.If they had been doing their jobs,this guy would have been history a long time ago.We will never get anywhere outside of a revolt without the media and we'll never get their attention unless we deprive them of our support by not watching or doing business with their sponsors.Its got to start somewhere!!!!!
    Reply | Mark as read | Best of... | Permalink  
    • Posted by 9 years ago
      Can't be certain that I boycott the sponsors since I stopped watching in the early 90s, but I agree with you. The most effective weapon we have is a consumer strike with blogs explaining the terms of their surrender..
      Reply | Mark as read | Parent | Best of... | Permalink  
    • Posted by SaltyDog 9 years ago
      I disconnected my TV ten or fifteen years ago. (The only reason I still own one of the blasted things is to watch an occasional DVD). Try it...you'll be amazed at how much you get done, plus reading, listening to music, etc.
      Reply | Mark as read | Parent | Best of... | Permalink  
      • Posted by plusaf 9 years ago
        We're on digital HD cable and DVR pretty much every show we watch. We skip all the commercials when possible. Seven seconds at 3x fast-forward and you're usually right at the next segment of what you wanted to watch.

        If the advertisers and cable channel folks ever figured that out, the whole landscape would change.

        Similarly, we have TWO DVRs because the morons in our area put more of our favorite shows on Tuesday nights and their current technology only allows two-channel simultaneous recording. Other sources allow up to something like 7 channel simultaneous, but we don't see the value prop in the effort to switch.

        Reminds me of one of my commentaries back in the pre-streaming era of CD music... I stopped buying 'em because the average CD went for something like $12 and had one or two songs on it that I cared to listen to. I did the math and predicted that the 'market clearing' price of an AVERAGE song should be around $1 or less, and the good ones might command a bit more than that. Guess what? Yep.

        So now I pay hundreds of dollars for hundreds of channels, watch programs on maybe a half dozen channels and the cable company was quoted as saying "competition in the market would result in higher consumer prices..."

        Morons to the left of me, morons to the right...
        Reply | Mark as read | Parent | Best of... | Permalink  
  • Posted by themoderatelibertarian 9 years ago
    I certainly concur with probably all of you in the frustration of seemingly having no say in the running of our government(s), Federal and State, but I feel it would be extremely foolhardy to pass on the upcoming Presidential election. If Hillary wins, she will probably be naming two or more Supreme Court justices over eight years, which would mean a liberal court and "Katy, bar the door." Let's try to elect a Republican President and put him and the party on notice that if they ignore us for the first two years of his term, we will sit on our hands in the midterm elections and follow through with our threat.
    Reply | Mark as read | Best of... | Permalink  
    • Posted by 9 years ago
      Those clowns have had notice after notice. They are nothing but lying traitors. "Just give us one more chance."
      Rubbish. No more. Thats what you said in the last election and what have you done but cave in at every opportunity. Prove yourselves NOW. Force that socialist dictator to veto every single bill you repeal, starting with Obamacare and forcing enforcement of immigration limits. Otherwise you are just lying traitors at best.
      Reply | Mark as read | Parent | Best of... | Permalink  
    • Comment hidden by post owner or admin, or due to low comment or member score. View Comment
    • Posted by $ MichaelAarethun 9 years ago
      What again? How many times do we put them on notice and NOTHING has changed. That same tired old excuse is as sad as lesser of two evils. The question is this. Is there anything left to lose?
      Reply | Mark as read | Parent | Best of... | Permalink  
  • Posted by GaryL 9 years ago
    Six major corporations in this country own and operate almost 100% of the media where we all get our news from.
    I vote for the sole purpose of canceling out the vote of some idiot!
    Reply | Mark as read | Best of... | Permalink  
    • Posted by 9 years ago
      If you vote against the DemReps, I agree. Otherwise you are just adding to one group of sheep and cancelling another.
      Reply | Mark as read | Parent | Best of... | Permalink  
      • Posted by GaryL 9 years ago
        Sorry FFA, We just are not there yet! Third party votes go right in the trash in the final count so better to vote the lesser of the two evils even if you have to hold your nose to avoid the stink.
        Reply | Mark as read | Parent | Best of... | Permalink  
        • Posted by 9 years ago
          That is why third parties get nowhere. There is no lesser of two evils.
          Republican voters are irrational cowards.
          Democrat voters are irrational fools.
          Reply | Mark as read | Parent | Best of... | Permalink  
          • Posted by GaryL 9 years ago
            So then, based on your assumptions that R voters are cowards and D voters are fools are we to understand the only smart voters are the ones voting for the guaranteed looser?
            Reply | Mark as read | Parent | Best of... | Permalink  
            • Posted by 9 years ago
              There are no guarantees. Based upon actions by the DemReps the highest probability is a vote for a DemRep candidate is a vote for statism and tyranny.
              The only rational choice if one cares about individual liberty is to vote against all the DemRep candidates.
              Individual Liberty or Serfdom.
              Reply | Mark as read | Parent | Best of... | Permalink  
              • Posted by GaryL 9 years ago
                I am not arguing with you. I always felt the day there is a viable third party candidate that I like who has a snowballs chance of winning that I would vote for him/her. Until that happens then I feel it is my personal duty to vote against the democrat and use my vote where it will do the most good. This might sound rather strange but I would rather have a republican in office that I don't like than a democrat there that I don't like. Voting for a guy or gal who has no chance of winning is the same as multiplying Zero by ten.
                Reply | Mark as read | Parent | Best of... | Permalink  
                • Posted by 9 years ago
                  "Voting for a guy or gal who has no chance of winning is the same as multiplying Zero by ten."
                  Zero is greater than -1.
                  DemReps have been giving us nothing but negatives for 30 years.
                  And they never will.
                  The only way for your third party candidate to have the chance you require is for people like you to vote for them.
                  Reply | Mark as read | Parent | Best of... | Permalink  
                • Comment hidden by post owner or admin, or due to low comment or member score. View Comment
                • Posted by $ MichaelAarethun 9 years ago
                  summation you vote for lesser of two evils and therefore are someone who supports evil.
                  Since both of them share a common sacred ground of government controlling citizens. The rest is immaterial as the end results benefit both halves of the Government Party. The only real exception is the lesser death rate of US Service Personnel in wars started with a Rep in the Oval Office versus a Dem. 1 to 18 since the end of WWII. Secular Devil get behind me.
                  Reply | Mark as read | Parent | Best of... | Permalink  
  • Posted by m1tmc 9 years ago
    I used to say the presidency is a sideshow,..... because congress passed laws, budgets and legislation. Now, the presidency is an abomination. How adequate. We need a states convention to overcome the politics in Washington, and put our govt back in its' box, or....we may as well participate in collapsing the system while some of us are still young enough to help put it back, right. A la "AS". So, I have been considering signing up for BarryCare, though it is against every bone in my body.
    Reply | Mark as read | Best of... | Permalink  
    • Comment hidden by post owner or admin, or due to low comment or member score. View Comment
    • Posted by $ MichaelAarethun 9 years ago
      Is it the Oval Office or the Obeyme Office? Never mind looking for a Republican with a name starting with O. In the end they will still cave and do their masters bidding yip yip lapdogs in the end.
      Reply | Mark as read | Parent | Best of... | Permalink  
    • Posted by $ jdg 9 years ago
      "Collapsing the system" by the Cloward and Piven method will not give us a libertarian revolution. If it happens, it will turn us into a banana republic. Most every poor country in the Americas got that way because the people demanded and used more of a welfare state than could be funded by any means except the printing press.
      Reply | Mark as read | Parent | Best of... | Permalink  
      • Posted by m1tmc 9 years ago
        It is not going to be pretty. and we can plan and prepare to outlast the anarchy that will follow. Heard a satire clip on how we are already becoming a banana republic. I think it was Judge Napolitano. And with Barry firing military leaders that can't pass his litmus test our position is not improving. The minister of propaganda(MSM) coerces and shames us into corners with 'dog-whistle' narratives while OWS and TEA Party(s) have common ground but are ashamed to realize it, so forget about them(us) admitting it. 'The Peter Principle' runs the White House as govt is too big to manage and was never intended to be what it is today. It's broken but if there IS another scenario that is plausible I'd love to hear it.
        Reply | Mark as read | Parent | Best of... | Permalink  
        • Posted by $ jdg 9 years ago
          My hope is just that a few more voters wake up, and give us at least a Congress that won't spend as much; at best a president who will appoint two or three more Clarence Thomases to the Supreme Court, if not a Judge Napolitano. Then they start to undo a century of bogus precedent.
          Reply | Mark as read | Parent | Best of... | Permalink  
          • Posted by 9 years ago
            None of that willl happen by voting for DemRep candidates. Neither the GOP or the Dems are working for individual liberty; they are statists all. Don't waste your vote on the lesser of two evils. Both are evil. The only way to get change is to remove DemReps from positions of power. Voting against them is the only rational voting choice.
            Reply | Mark as read | Parent | Best of... | Permalink  
            • Posted by $ jdg 9 years ago
              Partly agreed. The LP is trying to follow the strategy of the Socialist Party of the 1920s (which never elected anyone to a higher office than mayor of Milwaukee, but succeeded in getting its entire platform adopted by the Democrats). I don't know yet if this will succeed or not, but the key is NOT to vote for any anti-liberty Republican like Jeb Bush or Chris Christie, even if they're running against a horrible Democrat.

              Ted Cruz... would be a hard choice for me. But I can't see him getting the nomination. RP or Walker, I would probably vote for.
              Reply | Mark as read | Parent | Best of... | Permalink  
  • Posted by term2 9 years ago
    How do you make your case for libertarian ideas, when the opposition offers free giveaways paid for by the rich minority? Ayn Rand was right that shrugging is the only response that will force the unthinking masses to understand. Even Venezuela in its current state of decline ISNT ENOUGH to cause change. One wonders just what it would take here to make a change. I suspect just propounding libertarian ideas isnt going to do it.
    Reply | Mark as read | Best of... | Permalink  
    • Comment hidden by post owner or admin, or due to low comment or member score. View Comment
    • Posted by $ MichaelAarethun 9 years ago
      What will it take? About 200 years of no Constitution. Take away tv and football about 20 years. Take away tv, football and base ball about 2 years. Take away tv, football, baseball, and basketball about 20 days. Take away Take away MTV? About 20 seconds
      Reply | Mark as read | Parent | Best of... | Permalink  
      • Posted by term2 9 years ago
        I think that we are better off if we can hide in plain sight for the rest of our lives. Keep wealth in gold or silver. Use dollars only for short term purchases and try to associate with as many like minded people as possible and stay out of the government radar
        Reply | Mark as read | Parent | Best of... | Permalink  
  • Posted by $ jdg 9 years ago
    The fact is, your vote makes no difference, ever, unless it makes or breaks a tie. So you may as well vote for what you really want!
    Reply | Mark as read | Best of... | Permalink  
    • Comment hidden by post owner or admin, or due to low comment or member score. View Comment
    • Posted by $ MichaelAarethun 9 years ago
      The fact is your vote makes zero difference unless you are a member of the Electoral College. 226 years and the couch potato vote has never got it to the amendment stage. Not that amending the constitution means much any more when it's easy to ignore it. The Obeyme method is far cheaper than the Soreass method..
      Reply | Mark as read | Parent | Best of... | Permalink  
      • Posted by $ jdg 9 years ago
        The Electoral College doesn't make that much difference in the system. But there is an effort underway, at http://nationalpopularvote.com, which will nullify it by statute.
        Reply | Mark as read | Parent | Best of... | Permalink  
        • Comment hidden by post owner or admin, or due to low comment or member score. View Comment
        • Posted by $ MichaelAarethun 9 years ago
          If it's in the Constitution it requires an amendment not a statute. Ignoring that little requirement is one of the reason you lost your rights.The most that can be done is at state level a requirement for the electoral delegates to vote for the popular vote winner at the State level but it doesn't remove the requirement nor the deal making. If it 's worth doing it's worth doing right as Florida proved some years ago.
          Reply | Mark as read | Parent | Best of... | Permalink  

FORMATTING HELP

  • Comment hidden. Undo