Wednesday, August 16, 2006

Jericho: Political Education

Max and I agree on very few things. It's true; we have very different views of the world. For a pair of left wingers, we are pretty different. And, that's just fine. It's made for an engaging friendship.

There is one thing I think we both agree on: voters need to educate themselves. A non-educated vote is a wasted vote. I'd prefer if the voters who don't care just stayed home - it would make my vote hold that much more weight. Max is much better at this than I am. But, I have been making more of an effort the last few years.

When I say "educated" - I don't mean the education you get in school. I mean you need to look into the people and the legislation that are being voted on. If you were in charge of the tax money that's about to be spent (or just lost) would you want it spent that way? Maybe they are doing a project you would like to see done, but are they doing it well? Or are they just lining a lot of people's pockets with your hard earned taxes? Is the person going for office a worthy person? Do they speak for you? Does their past freak you out?

There's a lot of questions you need to ask yourself before you get in the booth. Is it possible to ask yourself every question or know everything or even just enough about every issue and every candidate? Probably not. But, you can always choose to only vote about the things you do know or care about, thus making the vote of others who care more or know more that much more valuable. I have no idea who any of the judges are in my area, so I don't vote for them.

Where do you educate yourself? Newspapers are a place to start. Either hard copy or virtual, they carry the same news stories. Print media, while trying to be objective, is often accused of leaning to the left. Google up the candidates or issues that concern you.

Google will bring you to many of the political blogs out there, and those are tilted right, left and just plain sideways. I find that reading other's opinions gives me new questions to ask and research. Leaving comments and debating with others also gives me access to new ways of looking at an issue. I just found a blog that's striking my fancy:

http://www.livereal.org

It's just a very clean blog-space and opinion page. Lots of topics and they hope to be more than just liberal leaning. We'll see where they go. They have an interesting entry on Fake Meat that I wish I had blogged about first!

The best answer, the best place to find answers about who to vote for is to listen to and be guided by your own conscience. If you find you don't have an opinion about something, maybe you need to educate yourself or not vote on that issue. If you don't feel your opinion is informed enough, well, same thing. Voting on party lines? Our fore-fathers are rolling in their graves over that one!

Why do I bring this up now? Well, I guess you could say I'm tired. I'm tired of what I have seen in the last six years. I'm tired of a rubber stamp Congress for the Little Emperor's every whim. I'm tired of the fact that we are in our current mess because people were scared, not because they were informed. If they wanted a warrior with a level head, there were several liberal choices. The last two Democratic presidential candidates were Viet-Nam vets! With great power comes great responsibility - this is a lesson a vet learns. I think our cocaine imbibing, AWOL Air National Guardsman might have missed that lesson. Shrub should have never gotten this far.

So, this November, we have an opportunity to shake up Congress. In November of 2008, we have a chance to make the Whitehouse accountable once again to the American people.

7 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

I'm voting for Hilary!

August 16, 2006 4:33 PM  
Blogger Jericho Brown said...

I still say that the best ticket would be Hilary and Condi running as independants. Who wouldn't vote for that?

August 16, 2006 4:43 PM  
Blogger Max Dobberstein said...

Just don't vote people. During the last election, I heard veterans who had put their asses on the line in 'Nam happily repeating the Shrub camp lies that there was something ignoble and cowardly about the guy who had actually been shot at, while Shrub himself was a hero for guarding the skies of Texas.

I say if you drink the kool-aid, you don't get to vote anymore.

August 17, 2006 7:13 AM  
Blogger Jericho Brown said...

Just to make sure I wasn't talking out of the wrong orifice, I looked up some articles on Shrub's "Service Record". He spent most of his time in the ANG grounded - there is a dipute over why, drugs being the most likely. There is a dispute as to the fact that he even completed his term. It's possible he went AWOL for two years.

There were kids standing in line for the Guard for years, he was accepted months after his graduation durring a war. He was trained and flew for about two years, was mysteriously grounded, spent a short time with a non-flying unit - then disappeared from the records. Only to suddenly return and get his honorable discharge or something like that. As clear as mud.

Gore wasn't drafted. He volunteered. He carried a gun and a camera as a photojournalist for Stars and Stripes. Kerry was a decorated vet. Shrub was a glorified draft dodger.

At least Clinton was just a dead on draft dodger - and he acted like one in office, too ...

http://www.gmasw.com/clinton.htm
http://www.gmasw.com/draft_no.htm

Hey, Max, make sure to have a look at that letter. Any of that sound familiar? I think Willie was an Irate Weirdo.

August 17, 2006 11:55 AM  
Blogger Max Dobberstein said...

I've long thought so.

I think the thing that really pissed me off the most about the attacks on Kerry's volunteer service was when I heard another Viet Nam vet denegrate his own service and Purple Heart by refering to it as "one of them John Kerry injuries". Shrub shit on Viet Nam vets who risked their lives and well being and made them feel like they deserved it.

August 17, 2006 12:14 PM  
Blogger Jericho Brown said...

You know some dumb ass vets.

August 20, 2006 9:20 AM  
Blogger Max Dobberstein said...

Not really. I am so annoyed at all the otherwise intelligent people who voted for the Shrub.

August 20, 2006 6:12 PM  

Post a Comment

<< Home