VOTE

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VOTE

Postby Enzo » Wed Aug 09, 2006 7:16 am

Hey, Tuesday was primary elections in Michigan. That means that starting today we get a temporary reprieve from the inccessant politcal ads on the TV. WHat incredible liars they all are.

SO I went and voted on the way home. Polls open at 7AM and I was there not long after. They were expecting maybe 19% turnout. Hah. It took longer to chat with the poll workers than it did to vote. There was one other guy in there voting, there were four poll staffers.

What a sad ballot. All we had to vote on in my township was a renewal of the 911 emergency phone service charge we pay on the phone bill. And a millage renewal for the county home for the aged. God knows I might wind up there, so I OK'd it. On the partisan ballots, the Democrats had no contests, no opposing candidates for the November races. I suppose I could cast a vote of confidence for them, but what difference would it make? On the Republican side, only their candidate to oppose the incumbent democrat US senator has a choice. That and some local rep of some sort. otherwise, they too offered a list of unopposed. If it had taken longer than the 30 seconds or so, I would have felt like I wasted my time and gas.

meanwhile we have a local political gadfly who used to be one of the good guys, but now he is just full of himself. He has taken it upon himself and his organization to mail out lists to people in neighborhoods presenting who did and who did not vote in the previous election. His rationale is that maybe if we know that others know when we vote or don't it might shame more of us to the polls.

Personally I think he is an asshole. Like forcing a child to write a thank you note, he desires unmotivated participation. Franky if you don't care enough to vote, I don't particularly want your thoughless vote diluting my well considered one.

EVen though it is a matter of public record who votes in each election, I don't think it is anyones business. What I want to do to this schmuck is go to the county clerk and look up his mortgage. A mortgage is also a public record. I could then send copies of it to everyone in his neighborhood. I am sure he'd think that was fine.
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Postby Heid the Ba » Wed Aug 09, 2006 8:33 am

Thinks about this, takes deep breath, types anyway. Mrs B doesn't like me telling people this since I sound like a nutter.

For years I have concientiously turned up for every election and spoiled my ballot paper. I feel I can't complain about the lieing, thieving bastards if I don't participate but I refuse to vote for any of them. Most people here vote along party lines and would vote for a kiddyfiddler or a camel in a nice hat if it were the official candidate, they just wander along and tick the red, blue, orange or yellow box.

I like the fact we have proportional representation in Scotland even if it means we sometimes end up with knobs like Tommy the Tan
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Postby Superluminal » Wed Aug 09, 2006 11:42 pm

Well that's not too bad. In Arkansas we once had a state represinative who's regular job was an amusement park clown.

I was in Scotland in 97 when you guys had your yes yes-no no vote to establish a parlament. Everybody was pretty excited about. How's the mood now that almost 10 years have gone by?
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Postby Enzo » Thu Aug 10, 2006 3:53 am

LAst term we had a local election for state rep, and the Republican candidate - and it could just as easily have been the DEmocrat, this is non-partisan carping - a while before the election was found to be in arears for his property tax and his home was being auctioned off by the state. The man is a lawyer, so he ought to know better. We then also found out that the Feds were locking his office since he had witheld payroll taxes from his staff for the past several years, but had failed to forward them to the Federal government. He was being indicted on tax evasion, and something else which I now forget was going on. The guy admitted not having paid the taxes, along with a lame excuse that he needed the money for "something else."

Basically the guy was running to be a member of the State Legislature and at the same time was a crook. He STILL got 20% of the vote. Apparently they will vote for anything as long as it has the right party affiliation.

Now if it were between him and that camel with the pretty hat, it might have been a tighter race. of course that depends upon what party was supporting the camel.
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Postby Мастер » Thu Aug 10, 2006 11:56 am

Enzo wrote:LAst term we had a local election for state rep, and the Republican candidate - and it could just as easily have been the DEmocrat, this is non-partisan carping - a while before the election was found to be in arears for his property tax and his home was being auctioned off by the state. The man is a lawyer, so he ought to know better. We then also found out that the Feds were locking his office since he had witheld payroll taxes from his staff for the past several years, but had failed to forward them to the Federal government. He was being indicted on tax evasion, and something else which I now forget was going on. The guy admitted not having paid the taxes, along with a lame excuse that he needed the money for "something else."


I don't think you need to be a lawyer to know you're supposed to pay your property taxes :P Perhaps he wanted to get on the state benefits plans before his trip up the river? :P
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Postby Heid the Ba » Thu Aug 10, 2006 12:22 pm

Superluminal wrote:Well that's not too bad. In Arkansas we once had a state represinative who's regular job was an amusement park clown.


Outstanding!

I was in Scotland in 97 when you guys had your yes yes-no no vote to establish a parlament. Everybody was pretty excited about. How's the mood now that almost 10 years have gone by?


[rant mode] Most important decisions are reserved to Westminster, so we have a parliament, but not a government. It is really just another layer of freeloaders.

As for the buildingthey meet in, it kind of sums the whole thing up.

There were a number of plans and ideas put forward. Edinburgh is awash with buildings which are suitable but would require conversion. This would cost about £44 million, but didn't suit the self-aggrandisement of our political masters. They commissioned a new building which would cost, wait for it . . . £44 million. Bugger me, what a surprise, a new purpose built parliament for the price of a renovated building. The land was bought, plans drawn up, and suddenly the price was £120 mill. The plans are changed, time passes, cost rises, etc. etc. and we now have the building linked to which cost somewhere about £680 million (which I suspect is somewhere north of 1 billion US). It is kind of impressive but in a Dali/Gaudi way, not a "look at us and tremble" way.

As for the collection of dimholes who sit in it, anyone from a UK party wants to be at Westminster or is too stupid to get there. The SNP/SSP etc. can't get enough votes so the building is full of party functionaries.

Our first First Minister was caught with his hand in the till, the leader of the opposition was caught fiddling his expenses (he is a partner at one of Scotland's largest law firms), Tommy the Tan can't keep his trousers on, the next First Minister was caught with his hand in the till, and so it goes on.
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Postby Superluminal » Fri Aug 11, 2006 12:06 am

Well, at least you got them off the streets. :P

Where's [strike]Mel[/strike] William Wallace when you need him?

Speaking of Wallace, when I visited Scotland I noticed that the statues of Wallace didn't look anything like Mel Gibson. An RAF buddy I made while I was there, said that there was a new statue being proposed to be put up in Edinburgh. The artist concept had a striking resemblance to Mel Gibson. So do all the Wallace statues look like Mel?
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Postby Heid the Ba » Fri Aug 11, 2006 12:58 pm

Superluminal wrote:Well, at least you got them off the streets. :P

Where's [strike]Mel[/strike] William Wallace when you need him?

Speaking of Wallace, when I visited Scotland I noticed that the statues of Wallace didn't look anything like Mel Gibson. An RAF buddy I made while I was there, said that there was a new statue being proposed to be put up in Edinburgh. The artist concept had a striking resemblance to Mel Gibson. So do all the Wallace statues look like Mel?


What is this? Wind up Heid the Ba' week?

Braveheart is a stunningly ahistorical film. Mel Gibson (I almost typed Mel Brooks, how weird is that?) gets to expose his Digger anti-Pom prejudices and dresses the whole thing up like the American Revolution to garner US support. We had given up woad 500 years before Wallace, who was minor nobility and would have been indistinguishable from the English; he wasn't from a misty Highland Glen, he was born in Paisley (then a village, now Glasgow's idiot cousin); he was of Norman descent so speaking French should be no surprise; Mel seemed to forget that the Battle of Stirling Bridge really ought to have involved fighting accross a bridge; for Wallace to be the father of Edward III would involve a gestation period of at least 5 years, and so it goes on. The story of Wallace is good enough without Gibson adding all the pish he did.

I think they have given up on the new statue of Wallace, the one at Stirling is quite acurate I'll try and find a link.

I saw a comedian at the Fringe the other night who reminded us that no-one thought Gibson was convincing as a Scot but now we know he is a violent drunk we know he is one of us!

And now a return to your normal programming . . .
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Postby Мастер » Fri Aug 11, 2006 1:01 pm

Heid the Ba' wrote:Mel Gibson (I almost typed Mel Brooks, how weird is that?)


It's an understandable mistake :P
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Postby Enzo » Sat Aug 12, 2006 3:49 am

I'm thinking that if we haul Mel Brooks out on a serious pub crawl, when he is good and drunk he won't be hollering "The Jews started all the wars in the world."

Then again maybe he would.



"Springtime for Hitler..."



The old lady used to like Mel, so we had to watch all his stuff when it came on TV. Then she got a better idea who he really was. Had to sit through Braveheart a few times. The ending stuck with me. Now whenever I hear the word "freedom," I find myself calling out FRAYDOM. It pisses her off. So the French Fries that became Freedom Fries, now are FRAYDOM Fries. For breakfast: FRAYDOM toast.


They disembowelled the guy? That takes guts.
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