October 25, 2018

I need YOU

I don't plant walnuts on my place for me. I'll be fertilizer long before they're ready to be turned into beautiful wood. I plant them for my grandchildren or somebody else's descendants.

When I vote on November 6, it won't be for me. I'm an old white man out in the middle of nowhere. It will be a long time before the fascists get around to targeting me for disloyalty to the supreme regime. I'll be voting for those who have been, and soon will be, political targets.

It seems to me that people are more motivated to be a voter than they are to vote. On the one hand, you tell someone to "Go vote!" (response might be: Yeah, I know I should vote and I will make time for it this year). On the other, "Are you going to be the voter who gets X done? stops the Y? overturns Z?" (response? I'm for that! I'll help).

I haven't found a way to upload images here, and don't currently have a place to put them for a link, so I'll just describe some signs that came to mind:

{white letters, blue background}
I need
YOU {about 1.5 times larger}
to VOTE
AGAINST {black letters, red background}
CHILDREN
IN CAGES

I need
YOU
to VOTE
AGAINST
POLLUTION
FOR PROFIT

I need
YOU
to VOTE
AGAINST
VOTER
PURGES

I need
YOU
to VOTE
AGAINST
HATEFUL
DIVISION

{all in white letters, blue background}
I need
YOU
to VOTE for
AFFORDABLE
HEALTH CARE

I need
YOU
to VOTE for
NATIONAL PARKS

I need
YOU
to VOTE for
EDUCATION
FOR ALL

I need
YOU
to VOTE for
SOCIAL SECURITY

I need
YOU
to VOTE
BLUE:
Democrats
FOR US

Anyway, I'm sure others can do a better job at this. Those just came to mind as I was thinking of what motivates.

Lots of people work their butts off for other people, without being paid to do so.

October 23, 2018

Opinion, please, on Hillary write-in

I'm in a deep red county in a red state. There are 6 offices with unopposed Repugs running.

What if I voted for Hillary Clinton as a write-in for each of those?

[2nd Edit, conclusion]
I can't do it. Thanks to a warning by jodymarie aimee (#10 below) and several cautions by others about varying election laws, I've decided it's too risky to write in HRC, here. KY law is ambiguous enough that the GOPers might use it as an excuse to invalidate my ballot if there is a close race anywhere on the ballot. With people fighting to get real votes counted, it's not a good time for a protest vote in a red state. Protests belong on the street, in the news, or in debates, not the ballot.

Thanks to all who commented on this. We can do this.

[Edit to add]
Thanks for pointing out some "what ifs"!
Found some pertinent info on Kentucky election laws:
http://www.lrc.ky.gov/Statutes/statute.aspx?id=44499

Naturally, it's confusing.

(1) A voter may, at any regular or special election, cast a write-in vote for any person qualified as provided in subsection (2) or (3) of this section, whose name does not appear upon the ballot label for any office, by writing the name of his or her choice upon the appropriate device for the office being voted on provided on the voting machine as required by KRS 117.125.

Note "subsection (2) or (3)". (Emphasis added). Subsection (2) requires a declaration of intent. Subsection (3) allows almost anyone.

Then:

(5)
The county clerk shall provide to the precinct election officers certified lists of those persons who have filed declarations of intent as provided in subsections (2) and (3) of this section. Only write-in votes cast for qualified candidates shall be counted.

Now, it's "and".

October 16, 2018

Donated to Heitkamp

It ain't over 'til it's over.

Rich Mitch and cronies desperately want North Dakota. That's reason enough for me to try to help keep it blue.

Piss on the polls; fight!

https://secure.actblue.com/donate/hh4nd

October 11, 2018

Sen. Maxine Waters -- Poster boy for mob rule

(Apologies if this has been posted before. I just found it).

Senator Waters packs a lot into 2:18. Says Trump is the poster boy for mob rule.

October 8, 2018

Goal is not destruction of GOP

The destruction of the GOP is not my goal; it may be collateral damage for which I will not mourn. My goal is to advance what I believe is the primary function of government: the protection of the nation which creates that government.

A nation consists of people, the space they require to live, and the framework of rules by which they regulate their interactions. Protecting a nation is not limited to arms for defense. A government which does not protect individuals within a nation is failing its duty. A government which does not protect the space -- air, land, water -- its people require to survive is failing its duty. A government which distorts the framework of rules regulating the interactions of its citizens in order to favor one group of citizens over others is failing its duty.

Our government is failing its duty. We need to wrest control of government from those who are using it for their own selfish benefit. We need to then make our government do its best to protect our nation, equally and zealously. We can't survive as a nation if we do not protect our people -- regardless of economic status, race, religion, gender, culture -- and protect what humans need for survival and protect our laws.

This is not a short term struggle. It's a long term fight for positive goals.

Those who fight to use our government to suppress, exploit or destroy some of our nation in order to secure wealth or power to themselves should be no more than obstacles in the way of a government of, by, and for everyone who wants and works for an ideal government. Removing those obstacles is not the end goal; it's just one more step along the way.