Are You Politically Aware?

[Scar]

ARE YOU POLITICALLY AWARE?

I am not. I like to hear about politics from those friends of mine who are politically aware but I don't really follow the media on my own. I have a general opinion but I couldn't back it up in a heated debate or anything. I know when I hear something that I absolutely do not agree with but I couldn't tell you how to make the world a better place. If I were president the first thing on my agenda would be to find someone better informed to make all my decisions :-)

However, I am interested to learn more, as I am well into my adult life and I can't use the excuse of being young anymore when I don't know about politics and such. Any website's you can reccomend where I can become more up to date? I'd prefer some that aren't super biased..... if that is even possible :-)

[One Eyed Cat]

What specifically are you interested in? Specific causes? I have actually cut back considerably on politics. As '08 gets closer, I will have something to say about the importance of voting and the judiciary.

OEC

[Morning Glory]

I consider myself to be pretty political but I don't neccesarily keep up with all the latest news because most of it is bullshit, and pretty much everything you see on the mainstream media is. I don't really know anything about what is going on in the US elections because I don't care about that, but I try to pay attention to local issues and new laws and stuff that is happening internationally. most of the information I get is from places like this.

[EasyRider]

Fuck politics, let's riot.

No seriously, a dude in France put it best. I was buying wine there and the dude said

(in French)

If voting changed anything, they'd make it illegal.

[Morning Glory]

I think that I am down with that

[Nightingale]

I need to be politically aware nowadays, having been elected to the county council last September 10 ...

[shiki]

Fuck politics, let's riot.

No seriously, a dude in France put it best. I was buying wine there and the dude said

(in French)

If voting changed anything, they'd make it illegal.

so fuckin true. its depressing.

[Velvet-Tongue]

Yeah because not voting sure gets alot done. Thats not the attitude this country needs. If people have something they want to support then they need to get active and vote. Reminds me of in my education class where everyone would rip President Bush apart. I'm not a fan of him but when I asked one girl who was lambasting Bush who she voted for she said no one because she thought voting was stupid.

Then shut your fucking mouth.

[One Eyed Cat]

I would be for revolution .... but I've seen one too many revolutionaries. Is voting "empowering"? No. The bottom line: I hate both political parties. People need to start paying attention to the judiciary, however.

4 justices are openly gunning for Roe v. Wade/Planned Parenthood v. Casey. 52% of the federal bench are Bush appointees. Social conservatives understand the power of the judiciary and vote mostly for that reason. Noone else seems to. If certain decisions fall and you did not vote, I'd say you have no right to complain.

OEC

[Mr Karl]

I vote revolution...or at least good old fashioned lynch mob.........

[EasyRider]

Yeah because not voting sure gets alot done. Thats not the attitude this country needs. If people have something they want to support then they need to get active and vote. Reminds me of in my education class where everyone would rip President Bush apart. I'm not a fan of him but when I asked one girl who was lambasting Bush who she voted for she said no one because she thought voting was stupid.

Then shut your fucking mouth.

I can't vote, cause I'm not yet a citizen. Should I shut my mouth?

My buddy can't vote, cause he did some stupid things as a youth and is considered ineligible cause he's a felon. Should he shut his mouth?

I have another friend who didn't want to choose between a white baby boomer Connecticut born, Skull and Bones multimillionaire Yalie and another white baby boomer Connecticut born, Skull and Bones multimillionaire Yalie.

As Bill Hicks once said, miming a puppet on each hand - "I think the puppet on the left represents my views." "No, I think the puppet on the right does". HEY, ISN'T THE SAME PERSON CONTROLLING BOTH PUPPETS? SHUT UP, THIS IS DEMOCRACY!

[One Eyed Cat]

I can't vote, cause I'm not yet a citizen. Should I shut my mouth?

My buddy can't vote, cause he did some stupid things as a youth and is considered ineligible cause he's a felon. Should he shut his mouth?

I have another friend who didn't want to choose between a white baby boomer Connecticut born, Skull and Bones multimillionaire Yalie and another white baby boomer Connecticut born, Skull and Bones multimillionaire Yalie.

As Bill Hicks once said, miming a puppet on each hand - "I think the puppet on the left represents my views." "No, I think the puppet on the right does". HEY, ISN'T THE SAME PERSON CONTROLLING BOTH PUPPETS? SHUT UP, THIS IS DEMOCRACY!

I believe felons should be able to vote. You should both speak. Are they puppets? Yes. Does it matter anyway? Oh yeah. I'm not fucking around about the judicial branch. There will be some shockers to come. I'm a hermit crab now (and probably the rest of this life) yet not prone to conspiracy theories. I do know what I saw in 2 years of law school, however. I'll survive what comes. I only want folks to consider the possible scenarios post '08.

OEC

[Amelia G]

Scar knows I've been watching all the debates plus Hardball, in addition to my normal Daily Show and Colbert Report diet.

I agree with OEC that felons should be able to vote. I really am pretty politically aware I think and I didn't even know that until a few years ago. I was totally shocked as the potentials for abuse there seem so obvious and I truly believe that voting is one of the cornerstones of our society.

Voting absolutely does facilitate change and good things and societal structure and evolution. It is one of the responsibilities of citizens in any form of democracy to vote. Not voting may seem humorous, but it is irresponsible.

[Morning Glory]

vote if you want to, but don't give me shit for not doing it.

What it boils down to for me is that a 'choice' that consists of predetermined scenarios is not really a choice at all. and i'm not just talking about the ubiquitous politicians, but i'm talking about the entire office of politics. I may get to choose who is the president, but what if I don't want a president? can I vote for there not to be one? and when can I vote for not paying taxes? Hell, when can I vote to decide where the taxes I allready am paying are being spent on?

it's like that skit "Cake or Death?"

believe it or not but some people consider "freedom" and "choice" to be simply allowed to run thier own lives which is a really easy thing to give, it just requires that someone else isn't telling you what to do and making you do it.

Most people seem to know that voting is a mostly symbolic act and politicians who live hundreds or thousands of miles away don't have a very big impact on our daily lives. or at least the central preoccupation of one's time isn't defered to what is on the political ballot. Imagine if people did everything that way. Who thinks I should go to the grocery store today? show of hands. Ok. carrots or squash?

I don't vote because I don't need someone else telling me what to do. I just do it. and I don't really care about the law. I'll obey or break it if I wish to, and i'd just the same commit an act or not according to my own guidance if there was no law about it.

[One Eyed Cat]

I don't vote because I don't need someone else telling me what to do. I just do it. and I don't really care about the law. I'll obey or break it if I wish to, and i'd just the same commit an act or not according to my own guidance if there was no law about it.

Voting is not mandatory in this country (It is in many others). Thus, not voting is not an act of rebellion, It is simply an omission. You are free to make this omission. I doubt anyone is making an appeal to you personally.

I see fights going on in courtrooms across the land. I see an Executive Branch writing legal memos to itself under a novel reading of the Commander-in-Clause of the Constitution. I feel suddenly thankful that Justice Scalia chose to break ranks and vote according to a proper reading of the Constitution. I see 3-4 Justices who have no such qualms giving the Executive powers it has never held.

I see 4 Justices whose interpretation of reproductive choice can be summed up with this: . Bring it on they say. Right to privacy? They say there is no such right. I honestly cannot even project what will happen should they get their way. I respect these men immensely. They are brilliant jurists. This is why they are dangerous.

Will it affect my life? Shit, I don't know. OEC does as he wishes. It ain't about some quasi-anonymous poster on BB. It's about one's conscience. It's about change at the margins. Shit, it ain't gonna me trying to get an abortion in South Dakota? Fuck it, I shouldn't vote. It ain't gonna be me fighting a "war" that contradicts the letter and spirit of the Constitution and War Powers Act in some future "hotspot"? Fuck it, let's throw on some Anti-Flag and stick it to em. "The Man" yeah. Fuck "the man". It's about me damnit!

And therein lies the problem. You have a cadre of lockstep voters who have a pre-determined agenda. They can and have altered the country already. The other guys? They have one as well. I disagree with both. I know what makes things better or worse at the margins of society, however. 5 minutes of my time and I'm back to my ipod with my middle finger in the air. What difference did I make? I knew it wasn't about me. I may have spoke only for posterity. I did speak though and I did know.

I'll survive whatever may come. No estate taxes? Shit, I may be a fucking millionaire soon. I'll congratulate the winners. I'll console the losers as the fights they fight become impossible. I will know I live in a Nation of Idiots, however. I've seen too much not to know that.

Vote or don't vote. I don't care on a personal level. I don't know who bothers reading us here. Strictly speaking, I don't care. Stop being so fucking arrogant though. Who *told* you it was all about you? It's a rhetorical question.

OEC

[One Eyed Cat]

Correction - Should read: Commander-in-Chief Clause. Professor John Yoo. Google that name.

OEC

[Amelia G]

MG, if people who care about what is good and what is right act locally but do not vote, then goodness and rightness will cease to exist. Perhaps in some Rouseau-ian natural pre-social compact state, people could just do as they please and not harm others, but we are clearly post-social compact and part of that means that good people need to vote. It is your civic responsibility.

[Mr Karl]

do you guys south of canada get 3 hours off to vote?

[Lady Alias]

http://www.ontheissues.org/default.htm

[One Eyed Cat]

http://www.ontheissues.org/default.htm

Thanks. Alito on the issues still has me shaking my head and giggling in a most macabre way.

OEC

[One Eyed Cat]

That site is *extremely* unfair to Justice Kennedy. He wrote the decisions in the 2 major "gay rights" cases (Lawrence, Romer) That does not give a fair view of his overall record. He is the swing vote. This court basically belongs to Kennedy on any contentious issue.

[Lady Alias]

I wouldn't depend on it as entirely comprhensive, I use it more as a general guide. I doubt they have law students running it.

[One Eyed Cat]

I wouldn't depend on it as entirely comprhensive, I use it more as a general guide. I doubt they have law students running it.

hehhe I know. Its fine for the most part.

OEC