Don't Vote. it Doesn't Matter, Right?

It's the Holiday season and the law dogs are prowling the streets, lurking in the shadows like phantoms, eventually pouncing when you least expect it. Their gift to you this season might very well be a ticket, possibly even a court date, but more importantly it is a reminder of who owns the streets. The older I get, the more I read, the more I begin to notice the subtle mind games the government and media play. Before I continue, I'd like to quote a joke from a wise man by the name of George Carlin:

"American's leading industry, America's most profitable business is still the manufacturing, packaging, distribution, and marketing of bullshit! High-quality, Grade-A, prime cut, pure American bullshit. And the sad part is that most people seem indoctrinated to believe that bullshit only comes from certain places...Advertising, politics, salesmen. Not true. Bullshit is everywhere; bullshit is rampant. Parents are full of shit, teachers are full of shit, clergymen are full of shit, and law enforcement people are full of shit. This entire country is completely full of shit and always has been since the Declaration of Independence to the Constitution to the Star-Spangled Banner, it's really nothing more than one big steaming pile of red, white, and blue, All-American bullshit. Because think of how we started. Think of that. This country was founded by a group of slave owners who told us 'all men are created equal'. Oh yea, all men? Except for Indians, niggers, and women, right? Always like to use that "authentic" American language. This was a small group of unelected, white male, land- owning slave owners who also suggested their class be the only one allowed to vote. Now that is what is known as being stunningly and embarrassingly full of shit. I think Americans really show their ignorance when they say they want their politicians to be honest. What are these fuckin' cretins talking about? If honesty were suddenly introduced into American life, the whole system would collapse. No one would know what to do. Honesty would fuck this country up. And I think deep down Americans know that, that's why they elected and re- elected..."

George Bush. Just thought I'd chime in and update that joke for Mr. Carlin who probably would agree. I've tried to avoid bashing Bush in my writing simply because it's overdone and the societal stigma associated with doing so is a label I'd like to avoid. Then I realized something. That child-brained joke of a human being wants people to say, "Oh so you're just some self-righteous, liberal douchebag who just bashes Bush cause it's trendy," every time someone says something bad about a president who will go down as the most treacherous bag of scum ever to work in the Oval Office. He will be worse than Reagan and Nixon combined. Hell, at least Nixon was fairly well-liked overseas-mainly because he was selling the American soul.

Nevertheless, Bush has managed to ensure that Nixon's vile plan has come to fruition. If you think for one second those "peace" talks with China were Nixon being a kindhearted man, then you have been successfully brainwashed. Nixon was an arrogant prick who thought he should be Emperor of the Galaxy, using America as his jumping off point. Thanks to him, the road to Globalization and outsourcing, which is currently working to throttle the US middle and lower classes, started with that rat Nixon. Good thing for us, his arrogance, which led him to wire his office to preserve his legacy via cassette tape, is essentially what led to his resignation.

And for those who are sitting there, gasping for air as to why the "Great" Reagan was mentioned in the same sentence as Nixon and Bush, it is your breed that perplexes me. What's with everyone wanting a return to the Reagan years? All of the Republican candidates and even some of the Democratic ones seem to have this deep affinity for a man who had one of the most scandalous administrations EVER! The praised economic system of "Reaganomics" left the country with one of its biggest national deficits.

Then again, that deficit, which led to a tax increase when Reagan's vice president (Bush Sr.) became president, could be attributed to careless defense spending on things such as Star Wars and the funding of proxy wars against those Commie bastards. Reagan's charisma managed to get the people behind him, which is funny considering he began to suffer from Alzheimers while in office. When Gorbachev asked to meet with Reagan alone in 1987, many people Reagan worked with were real worried as they feared the daffy dolt wouldn't remember any part of the conversation. Also, Reagan didn't defeat the Soviets. He just made his speech at the right time. The Soviets defeated themselves by having a dying economy. The Berlin Wall would've come down even if Reagan never made his famous "Tear down that wall" speech.

Have no worries, though. Once the proverbial dust clears on the Bush administration, Reagan and Nixon will look like the second coming of Christ. However, I'm pretty sure we don't need that either. It sounds nice on paper, but something about the loons being right is frightening. Imagine all the new rules and regulations that will be put into place. And killing yourself will be out of the question because you're going straight to Hell. I like being able to believe whatever I want and I'm sure you do to. It makes living much more enjoyable; to be able to use karma as my governing force is a great Freedom. God knows what would happen if the organized religions seized control of the world, which is why he is keeping his son as far away from Earth as possible. We've got enough problems, and I've said enough on that.

It's time to get down to the real business of this rant: voting. Two-party politics is like syphilis to a country. It slowly destroys the mental stability of a nation, until everyone is a bunch of submissive, brain dead idiots. That is precisely why many "educated" citizens avoid the polls every time an election rolls around. "It's pointless," they say, "No matter who I vote for, some rich lowlife is going to become president."

The logic here is astonishing. These same "educated" people have to know that those rich lowlifes are experts at organizing legions of clods, who are up at the crack of dawn on voting day. Those same rich lowlifes probably get a little chub whenever they hear someone say, "I'm not voting because it doesn't matter anyway." It means that their voters now have slightly more power. Granted, the Electoral College not the popular vote is what ends up deciding who becomes president, but the Electors-those who cast the votes that mean something-must be elected by popular vote. So really, it's the small elections in states' districts that are the important ones. The sad thing, however, is that in order to vote for an Elector, one must join one of the mainstream parties since the popular vote for the presidential election determines what party the Elector comes from. Below is a straight-forward summary of the Electoral College:

Three-out-of-forty-three Presidents managed to lay claim to the Oval office after losing the popular vote. Forty, however, won both the popular vote and the Presidency, which seems right, especially for a democracy like the United States. Funny thing though, the United States is not a democracy. In fact, it is a democratic republic. And for people whose heads didn't explode at the shocking discovery that we aren't a pure democracy, let it be known that those 3 unpopular winners managed victory through a controversial little system known as the Electoral College.

Comprised of 538 Electors, elected by way of the popular vote, the Electoral College is the single most integral part of a Presidential Election; it is what decides the next President. States are allotted electoral votes based on the amount of Representatives and Senators each state has in Congress. Since states with the largest populations often have more congressional districts, therefore more Representatives, heavily populated states such as California will garner more electoral votes than Alaska.

While it appears that larger states will have more voting power, citizens of a less densely populated state like Montana actually have a stronger individual vote than Texans. No matter how low the population, every state must receive at least 3 electoral votes. This is why voters in Montana possess a mightier vote than those in Texas-a state that is roughly 23 times larger population-wise than Montana. Regarding electoral votes, Texas has 11 times more electoral votes than Montana, meaning a Texan's vote is not statistically proportionate to its population.

According to various political scientists, the reason why the Electoral College creates a voting handicap is to prevent candidates from neglecting less populated states. Additionally, it serves to prevent majority rule, which is precisely the kind of rule that would result from a decision based entirely on the popular vote. This would create a social atmosphere where the minority would be forced to live with policies they might adamantly oppose. Mind you, minority can be 49 percent of the population. Nevertheless, deciding what to do with the Electoral College might have to be a decision that is made by the majority of the nation.

I will now conclude this long-winded rant with some overdone analogy and advice that you can take or dismiss as nonsense. The USA is afflicted much like a heroin addict. We constantly strive to avoid facing reality, and like a shitty parent our media and government (mommy and daddy) have continued to feed our addiction in the hopes that we don't do something rash. The two-party system, which we are constant victims of, is flawed and needs to be scrapped for a more efficient and fair system (See: Specialization and the Executive Branch). Nevertheless, we are stuck with it until we do something drastic to change it-firebomb some stuff, possibly? Hey, it works for the French*. It is up to us to fix our country and not voting because a scumbag will become president anyway, is precisely why scumbags become president. We must take an interest in politics and choose the lesser evil because it is better to remain stagnant than to move in the wrong direction.

*While some of you might feel the French suck, it should be noted that both the American media/culture as well as the French media/culture perpetuate these false beliefs that the French hate Americans and that Americans hate the French. From my experience in Paris, I can safely say that the French are incredibly friendly people and are nothing like I imagined prior to going there. Sure, you might have heard about a French person being rude to someone you know who visited France, but there are good French people and bad French people just as there are both good and bad Americans.

Take the following example. Say you work at a store and a man comes in speaking a language other than English. His tone gets progressively more demanding and agitated as you can't understand him. Wouldn't you be offended that this person is demanding something of you in a language that is not commonly spoken in the country? Well, it's the same way anywhere you go.

Other countries are not amusement parks that must cater to a tourist's every whim. They are nations of people and if you wanted to be treated with respect you must first show respect just as you would in another person's home. If you plan on visiting a country that doesn't speak English as its first language, take the time to learn the basics of whatever language is used. And honestly, I was surprised how many French people spoke perfect English. I would do my best to speak in French until they realized I was terrible at it and would let me know they spoke English. Oh yea, this was supposed to be about firebombing stuff. The reason the French people have many policies, which ensure the health and safety of the citizens is because the government is afraid of the people, not the other way around. Think of how often you hear about riots in France when their leaders do something they don't approve of. As Americans we should instill a certain level of fear in our government so they understand whose country this is: OURS! Now let's firebomb some buildings and flip some cars!! Just kidding.