Dave's blog: "Rants"

So, this morning, all there is on the idiot box is stories and coverage of the morons flocking to support the “Jena 6”. Yes, I said morons. Why? Because, they are listening to the media who are the ones that are escalating this event so that there is a story (of their own making) to cover. Please, read on. Ok, let me say this loud and clear, I am white and I am not a racist. So, why aren’t I supporting the “Jena 6”? Let’s look at this in the short and simple version. Last year a group of kids (#1) sat under a tree where another group of kids (#2) usually hung out. The other group of kids (#2) didn’t like it so they hung up what many described as “hangman’s nooses”. The first group of kids (#1) didn’t like that so they beat the living crap out of another kid. Do we see any disparity here? Ok, let’s take it a step at a time; Last year a group of kids sat under a tree where another group of kids usually hung out. There is no crime here, even if they knew the first group (#2) hung out there, it’s public land. However, that being said, in this day and age and with territorial gang type activity, they would have known taking over that group’s “spot” would have caused to tension or worse. The other group of kids didn’t like it so they hung up what many described as “hangman’s nooses”. Now, here is where trouble starts. Is hanging up three nooses a crime? Not in and of itself, no. However, where it was in response to the group’s action of taking over “their spot”, it could be. It could be taken as “harassment” or even as a “death threat”. However, it is a non-violent reaction and display and it was only subjectively aimed at another. In other words, you have to assume it was aimed towards the group (#1), there were no direct ties. This makes it pretty much impossible to legally take action against as you cannot prove the two incidents were related. Never-the-less, the school where it happened suspended three kids for hanging up the nooses. The first group of kids didn’t like that so they beat the living crap out of another kid. Ok, this is pretty simple to understand here. Assault, battery and probably attempted murder since they beat the kid unconscious and then continued to beat him. Weapons were used to beat the kid, shoes. You laugh? My sister, back in the late 80’s was arrested for the exact same thing. There was a fight, her friend was in trouble and she took off her shoe and proceeded to beat on the guy beating up her friend. The guy pressed charges and she was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon, a shoe. Now we have a huge march saying the two groups of kids are being treated differently. Why, YES, THEY ARE. One group was definitely stupid and hung some nooses on trees basically raising tensions and begging for a fight. The problem with this is they didn’t break the law and didn’t bring violence into to equation. The other group however DID break the law and they DID bring violence into the equation. How hard is this to comprehend? Am I missing something here? Face it people, the LAW is NOT treating these two groups of kids differently, they are treating them as they should be treated. BOTH groups were stupid. ONE group took it WAY TOO FAR! Stop listening to the media who is inciting the escalation of this matter for a news story and let the legal system do it’s job. = Dave

Voting is neither a right nor a freedom, it is a RESPONSIBILITY!

Trust me when I say I do NOT like how the current administration is running this country, but, I call things the way I see them.

Ok now, with that said, I am not one to usually get into politics (Ok, that's a fib, but I usually leave it in blogs and not bulletins) and such, but, am I alone here when hypocrisy starts running rampant? This is not a Republican vs. Democrat thing, I vote for who will best serve MY ideals, not on a bunch of crap stirred up by one party or the other and enflamed by the MEDIA.  I vote my mind, NOT what the MEDIA tells me to, unlike so many lemmings today.

What am I talking about?  The elections coming up and all the lies and BULLSHIT.  This Foley thing has gotten on my nerves.

What he did was WRONG.  What he did should have gotten him censured and thrown out of Congress.  What he did NEEDS TO BE INVESTIGATED and IF he broke some laws he needs to go to JAIL.

What the MEDIA is doing should get all them fined. How about reporting the WHOLE story?

Real Headlines: "This is an American Travesty!"  "Everyone knew and no one did anything", "Kick out all the Republicans!"

I guarantee you that a LOT of Democrats knew too.  And they sat on it for the right time to cause the most MEDIA attention.  And they got it.  Aren't THEY just as responsible for anything that happened after they knew and did nothing until the time they could spin it?  And reports have it that the MEDIA had the info as far back as 2-3 years ago!

But, may I remind the MEDIA of one little name?  Gerry Studds.  Anyone remember him?  No, let me remind you then;

In 1983 Studds was a central figure in the 1983 Congressional page sex scandal, when he and Representative Dan Crane were censured by the House of Representatives for separate sexual relationships with minors – in Studds's case, a 1973 relationship with a 17-year-old male congressional page who was of the age of legal consent, according to state law at the time. The relationship was consensual, but presented ethical concerns relating to working relationships with subordinates.

During the course of the House Ethics Committee's investigation, Studds publicly acknowledged his homosexuality, a disclosure that, according to a Washington Post article, "apparently was not news to many of his constituents." Studds stated in an address to the House, "It is not a simple task for any of us to meet adequately the obligations of either public or private life, let alone both, but these challenges are made substantially more complex when one is, as I am, both an elected public official and gay." He acknowledged that it had been inappropriate to engage in a relationship with a subordinate, and said his actions represented "a very serious error in judgment."

Studds went on to be re-elected 5 more times after the censure.

As you listen to this MEDIA hype, why don't we hear flashbacks to the ORIGINAL page scandal?

I remind all my friends to VOTE THE ISSUES and NOT THE MEDIA HYPE!  If the man or woman best serves to represent you, vote for them, Republican, Democrat, Libertarian or Independent!

Read another article on voting here: LostCherry Blog by Dave: Apathetic and Ignorant in the U.S.A.

For those who are on my friend list...

See... some of you do pay attention!

For those who are on my friend list...I totally have to agree with all of you who say people are getting fake In here. So I gave in and let's see who really reposts this. This is a test to see who's paying attention. It serves to eliminate people who are desperately trying to add "friends" like its a popularity contest in High School. This is a test to see how many people in my friends list actually pay attention to me. Copy and repost in your own bulletin. Lets see who the true friends are and I think I know who you are.. Repost this if you are a friend.. if you don't, you get deleted.. Don't reply... just copy and paste this in a new bulletin as (numerous things such as "Goodbye LostCherry, Too all my friends, etc.)

Having received the preceding bulletin and so many many of the very same questionnaires over and over, I was prompted to write a bit about it. I totally have to agree that there are many fake people here. So, I am sending this out just to give my two cents on it. Is LostCherry just a popularity contest? For some yes, for others no. Does it matter to me? Not at all. You see, to me, LostCherry is just a way to meet new people and possibly, over time, become friends with them. It allows a ton more freedom than MySpace, but, with that comes even more childishness at times. Just because they are on your friends list does not make them a true friend. However, over time, as I watch the things they say, the bulletins they (re)post and my interactions with them, I learn about them and they about me and over that same time they just might become that friend... or, I might find them dull, boring and inane and drop their asses from my friends list as a lesson learned. Now, you might ask, what types of things are "inane"? Take, for example, any bulletin that has the words "if you don't do this..." then "your momma is going to die..." or "you will have 10 years..." - My momma is already dead and every time I read that it reminds me of it and 10 years bad luck? 10 years bad love? Whatever, grow-up. This is not fuckin sixth grade. If that makes you mad, well, drop me from your friends list, I'm just sort of a no bullshit type of guy.

I do pay attention to what is going on. You don't think I am? Write me an email like a friend; don't give me an ultimatum telling me you are going to delete me from your friends list if I don't repost some bulletin saying everyone must repost it. This is the reality... you want to know something, ask... How do I know you care? You’ve read over my main profile page once a week… You know what I have written in my blog. You have sent me a Shout or actually left a comment. That is how I know.

Now, do you REALLY want to know the answers to a questionnaire from EVERYONE on your friends list? I'm betting it's more like 2 or 3 people you are curious about... so, grow some balls and message them saying, "Hey, ran across this questionnaire and am sending it to some 'select' friends. Please answer it as I am really curious!" Stop pussy footing around; THAT is how friends are made. And if you DO want to repost it, fine, BUT, at least take the time to modify it a little, remove the stupid “bad luck” crap and change the “You MUST repost this” to, “If you want to find out what your friends think, repost this with the headline…(insert something witty here)” I am much more likely to listen. Now that I have pissed off a lot of you and made a bunch more of you say, "I wish I had the balls to post that!" I'll end with this with; You will NOT have ten years bad luck and nothing will happen to anyone living or dead if you don't repost this, in fact, it was not written to be reposted. It was written for a select few people. HOWEVER, if you'd like to borrow any portion of it, rewrite it so it fits you and/or do anything else with it, including, but not limited to, deleting it, you and/or me, go right ahead. Thanks for listening to my rant of the week! ::hugs to all my friends and for a few a little more:: =Dave

I was going to put this in My Stash but, it was too good to hide away... and although I didn't write it (Author Unknown), I did edit a few things; See #9, P.S. and P.P.S. Military Rules for Non-Military Personnel "Dear Civilians, "We know that the current state of affairs in our great nation have many civilians up in arms and excited to join the military. For those of you who can't join, you can still lend a hand. Here are a few of the areas where we would like your assistance: (1) The next time you see an adult talking (or wearing a hat) during the playing of the National Anthem---kick their ass. (2) When you witness, firsthand, someone burning the American Flag in protest---kick their ass. (3) Regardless of the rank they held while they served, pay the highest amount of respect to all veterans. If you see anyone doing otherwise, quietly pull them aside and explain how these veterans fought for the very freedom they bask in every second. Enlighten them on the many sacrifices these veterans made to make this Nation great. Then hold them down while a disabled veteran kicks their ass. (4) (GUYS) If you were never in the military, DO NOT pretend that you were. Wearing battle dress uniforms (BDUs), telling others that you used to be "Special Forces," and collecting GI Joe memorabilia, might have been okay when you were seven years old. Now, it will only make you look stupid and get your ass kicked. (5) Next time you come across an Air Force member, do not ask them, "Do you fly a jet?" Not everyone in the Air Force is a pilot. Such ignorance deserves an ass-kicking (children are exempt). (6) If you witness someone calling the US Coast Guard 'non-military', inform them of their mistake---and kick their ass. (7) Roseanne Barr's singing of the National Anthem is not a blooper---it was a disgrace and disrespectful. Laugh, and sooner or later, your ass will be kicked. (8) Next time Old Glory (the US flag) prances by during a parade, get on your damn feet and pay homage to her by placing your hand over your heart. Quietly thank the military member or veteran lucky enough to be carrying her---of course, failure to do either of those could earn you a severe ass-kicking. (9) What Jane Fonda did during the Vietnam War makes her the enemy. The proper word to describe her is 'traitor.' Just mention her nomination for "Woman of the Year", buy her DVDs, pay to see or even just watch her movies and/or recognize her in any way and get your ass kicked. (10) Don't try to discuss politics with a military member or a veteran. We are Americans, and we all bleed the same, regardless of our party affiliation. Our Chain of Command is to include our Commander-In-Chief (CinC). The President (for those who didn't know) is our CinC regardless of political party. We have no inside track on what happens inside those big important buildings where all those representatives meet. All we know is that when those civilian representatives screw up the situation, they call upon the military to go straighten it out. If you keep asking us the same stupid questions repeatedly, you will get your ass kicked! (11) 'Your mama wears combat boots' never made sense to me---stop saying it! If she did, she would most likely be a vet and therefore, could kick your ass! (12) Bin Laden and the Taliban are not Communists, so stop saying 'Let's go kill those Commie's!' And stop asking us where he is! Crystal balls are not standard issue in the military. That reminds me---if you see anyone calling those damn psychic phone numbers, let me know, so I can go kick their ass. (13) 'Flyboy' (Air Force), 'Jarhead' (Marines), 'Grunt' (Army), 'Squid' (Navy), etc., are terms of endearment we use describing each other. Unless you are a service member or vet, you have not earned the right to use them. That could get your ass kicked. (14) Last, but not least, whether or not you become a member of the military, support our troops and their families. Every Thanksgiving and religious holiday that you enjoy with family and friends, please remember that there are literally thousands of sailors and troops far from home wishing they could be with their families. Thank God for our military and the sacrifices they make every day. Without them, our country would get its ass kicked." "It is the soldier, not the reporter who has given us the freedom of the press. "It is the soldier, not the poet, who has given us the freedom of speech. "It is the soldier, not the campus organizer, who gives us the freedom to demonstrate. "It is the soldier who salutes the flag, who serves beneath the flag, and whose coffin is draped by the flag, who allows the protester to burn the flag." =Dave P.S. And just for the record, I am a Veteran. P.P.S. My Momma (God rest her soul) was a Wave and I am proud of it. And she coulda kicked yer ass!

My Dear LostCherry Bulletin Posters,

• YES, I did see your bulletin.
• Yes, I do read all the bulletins (except the whore trains).
• Yes, I did see the bulletin to see if I was paying attention.
• Yes, I did see the one where if I didn't repost it you would delete me.
• Yes, I did see the one where my mom would die if I didn't repost it (Sorry, she passed away two years ago, may God(s) bless her soul.)
• Yes, I did see the one where I'd have bad luck, a bad relationship, not get sex, be infested with the fleas of 1000 camels, and my balls would rot off if I didn't repost it.

As my profile has long said, I am a no bullshit type of guy, if you haven't read it, perhaps you might want to (I update it regularly). I know it's longer than others and it takes a little time to read, but I hope that it won't keep you away from the LCP contest too long. BUT, just so you know, I WON'T ever repost or respond to any bulletin like the above... so, if you truly expect a repost... please, delete me now. Don't worry, this is not directed at any single persons... cause even some of my favorite friends post this "delightful" little bulletins that irritate me so much. Thanks, =Dave P.S. All the friends that shout to me on a regular basis and answer when I shout to you... Love ya all! P.S.S. To all that are here as much as they can be but not as much as they'd like to be, don't worry, I know how it is, I have the same problem.

(repost of original by ';;Ðanny_X' on '2006-10-02 05:50:19') Ok, this is just a few thoughts and observations, that I wanted to get down somewhere, because it was to much information to juggle in my head, and it's just something I think needs thinking about. When I first signed up at Lost Cherry there was just under 200,000 members, IIRC, because just after I signed up there was a lot of bulletins about hitting the 200,000 mark. Today, looking at the top of the page here there are 279,660 members, which is a massive jump of nearly 80,000, and yet the total number of members online, during that period, has only inched forwards, and on some days is no more than when I first signed up. If 80,000 new members have signed up, where are they? Why are they not regularly online? Why have so many decided, after signing up, to leave? Lost Cherry, by and large, is a good site, with a lot of good members. Mike has worked hard to build it, it is very rarely unreachable, unlike MySpace, it doesn't tend to run as slow as MySpace, despite being significantly content richer, and many of it's features are significantly better than MySpaces, for example the fact that you can have up to 250 pictures, as opposed to whatever miniscule figure it is on MySpace these days, 12 or 16? I don't know, but the point is that Mike has worked hard, and the site is good (in it's infrastructure) so I don't think we can blame the site for the reason why so many of those who sign up don't stay, and if it isn't the site to blame then we have to consider that it's us, the members. Now if Mike has put in all this hard work for us, we owe it to him to behave in such a way that helps the site grow. This site is shared by thousands of us, and run at great cost, not built just for us as an individual, and for our own free amusement. So do some of us turn off new members? Well I have talked to quite a few new members recently, and a few old hands, and they seem to think that some people here are responsible for some people deciding not to stay, and some of the reasons they have give are below. One of the things that turns new members off, and causes them to leave, is the beggar’s welcome. I was talking to one person yesterday, and there view on it was this "I reached level three within the hour, and felt this was a really warm and welcoming place, but I was soon to learn these people were not welcoming me, they just wanted points from me. Time and time again I saw the message 'hey, welcome to Lost Cherry, here is a ten to help you get started, drop by my profile sometime to return the favor, and add me up as a fan or friend' so I would do just that, I'd go over to their profile, rate them, add them as a friend, and leave them a comment, but they never replied to it. Once they had my ten, and my name on their friends list, I just became an anonymous figure to them, one of their thousands of points. They didn't want to know anymore. I felt used and cheated, I mean if they didn't want to be my friend then why ask?" Some people on this site are so obsessed with points that they have forgotten about people. They visit up to hundreds of profiles a day, just basically begging for points, and ignoring the people after they have got them. That's rude, and rude behavior turns people off. The American Heritage dictionary defines the word Friend thus: friend (fr?nd) n. A person whom one knows, likes, and trusts. A person whom one knows; an acquaintance. A person with whom one is allied in a struggle or cause; a comrade. It does not define it thus: friend (fr?nd) n. A person whom you hustle for a ten rating, and an extra notch on your rankings. The best thing any new member can get on their arrival is a warm welcome, the worse thing they can get is the feeling of being exploited, and then ignored. So what else turns a new member off? The pervert’s welcome. I'm lucky, I'm a guy, I never got this, but apparently a lot of women who have signed up here claim to have experienced the perverts welcome. "I had just uploaded my picture, it brought me to my main home page, and I noticed a message in my shout box, it's the first thing I saw, and all it said was 'hey babe, I’m cumming on cam, I’m jacking hard, want to help me'" Guys, guys, guys, when will you ever learn, most females do not want that as the first words they see on this site. I understand the male urges, of course I do, I'm just a regular guy like anyone else, who thinks about sex every 1.4 seconds, or whatever it's meant to be (ok, maybe at 1.4 seconds I'm a little oversexed!) but I also know that you should at least try and talk to a girl first, you know simple things like, tell her your name, ask her a few questions, you know? Think about it in an offline sense, if you walked up to a girl offline, pulled out your pecker, and started masturbating you would be arrested, charged with flashing, or gross indecency or whatever the law is, and sent to a jail where you would be soundly beaten every night of the week. So what makes you think behaving in the same way online is any different? I'm sure there are lots of lovely ladies out there who might well like to watch you stroke your wiener, I know quite a few have asked to see mine, but talk to them first, get to know them, show them some respect, ok? So what's next on the turn off list? Drama, drama, drama, and self-policing. Let me give you an example. We have just seen a rather sick incident, where some freak, or freaks, stole the pictures of some girls of Myspace, made a collection of friends, invented false identities for them, gave one of these fake characters leukemia, and a false death, playing with the emotions of the members on this site, before topping it all off by stealing the memorial pictures from another persons site and trying to pass them off as evidence to back up their hoax. Sick incidents like that is enough to convince many people to leave; the fact that it's still going on only compounds the problem. I know Lost Cherry do not like to delete people, but I do think in these circumstances the offending people should have been removed, as it is sickening to still see them coming online, and posting bulletins that still get reposted, trying to keep the hoax going. However, if Lost Cherry staff chose not to delete these people, it does not mean we can not self police, which is what Lost Cherry tells us to do. What is particularly disturbing about his hoax is the fact that over 1000 people are still friends, fans, or family members of these hoaxers, and help to perpetuate the drama by being so. Is your friend count really that important? If these sick individuals were removed from the friend’s list of everyone, and blocked, they would have left the site by now, as there would be no one to give them attention, and with a sick stunt like that it is clearly attention that they crave. How do you think that looks to the new members of the site? "Hey, here are some sick, twisted freaks who made up bullshit about a girl dying of leukemia, and stole pictures from a guys memorial site, and guess what, I'm keeping them on my friends list!" Can you not see why some people, after viewing that attitude, might decide this isn't the place for them? On to the battle of the sexes... I feel awkward discussing this one, as I have a sex, but it's one that others have mentioned, so here goes. Apart from the opening unwelcome welcome, from Mr. Pervert, many girls are signing up (more so than men apparently) then claiming they are struggling to find the men. I don't know why this should be, I don't know if the girls put themselves out there more, or what, but many women are signing up and saying the same thing. No men in the top cherries, no men in the top photos, no men turning up on their profile, no men anywhere. I was the opposite of this, when I signed up, I was pleased to see no men anywhere, lol, to find only women in the top ten cherries, and top photos and the like, but as I said at the beginning this site is shared by thousands of us, and run at great cost, not built just for us as an individual, and for our own free amusement, so my personal pleasure at seeing nothing but women has to be weighted against the fact that many women see nothing but women too, and that puts them off staying. I guess that is also bad for us guys, because we lose the women that might have over wise stayed, and it's also bad for the established women, as they lose the men who might have been persuaded to stay or sign up, had the other women stayed because they were able to find the men (confusing? possibly, but there is sense to it if you get past my bad writing skills). I don't know how to handle this particular issue, as I don't know why women are seeing less men here. I have read bulletins suggesting that the Top Cherries be split into male and female, which would give us two top tens, and ten red guys, and ten red women, and that that might help spread the guys around a little more noticeably, and maybe that's a good idea, but that's in Mikes hands, I don't know how feasible that is. I've also read suggestions about revamping the points system, again, I don't know how feasible this is, but it might be worth considering, as both a way of evening up the position of the men and women, and perhaps stopping the beggars welcome. However, these things are in Mikes hands, and we as members should take time to try and find out own solutions as well, perhaps we need to work a little harder at promoting the men on this site more, or if you are a guy like me, promoting yourself more? I don't want to knock this site, as I've put on record, I think Mike has done a fantastic job with it, and there are many good people here, but it does concern me that there are so many people signing up, but not wanting to stay, and whilst that might not bother some people I think it should really bother us all, because Mike built this site to grow, and not just for us. With the work he puts it this place deserves to be successful for him, rather than as a site that we take advantage of, while we ignore Mikes dreams. There are some people here who seem to think that the blame lies with the new members, that they should learn to grow thick skins (that is a genuine quote from a top ten member here, used to me upon me being upset when my niece faced possible death), but I think that's the wrong way around, we shouldn't be expecting other people to grow thick skins, it should be the other way around, we should be making the effort to make people feel comfortable, welcome, and to want to stay here. Picture it like this, if this was Mikes house, and you were a guest here, and another guest turned up at the door, and you answered it, how do you think you would be expected to behave? Do you think you would be expected to provide a warm welcome, or to be rude to the person, and tell them they needed to grow a thick skin if they didn't like it, or as in some cases around here just bluntly tell them to "fuck off"? Some people here have become so obsessed with points and rankings here that they have forgotten about people, and they have become so obsessed with themselves that they have forgotten this site doesn't belong to them, and they are guests here. Each and every member on this site has certain duties. If we go to welcome someone then that is what we should be doing, welcoming them, becoming their friends, and being there for them, not just copy and pasting a message, and then ignoring them after you've got ten points out of them, and had them added to your friends list. We have a duty not to be rude, or perverted to new members, but to give them a chance to settle in, and to talk to them. Guys, you will find you will get a lot further by sending a new member a rose, than turning up on her profile with your dick as your default picture. We have a duty to avoid drama, and when we find drama to isolate it, to remove the freaks and the weirdoes from our friends list, so that they become isolated, and starved of attention, and leave the site. We have a lot of duties here, including the duty to have a good time. Maybe this is a bit of a whine, but if we can deal with a whine like this, once every now and then, then we will be stopping to think for long enough to see past ourselves, and to the other 270,000 members here, and if we do that then we should ALL have fun, and that in itself should cut down on the drama, and make your experience more enjoyable. See? It's clever really, the more you consider others, the happier they are, the happier they are the less drama there is, the less drama and tension, the happier you are! Thinking of others helps you! Let's keep the new members signing up, but let's also keep them here from now on. Right now it says Members: 279,742 (26,005 online) Let's try and make it so that by the time it says 379,000 members that we can have 50,000 online. Anyone else up for this? Mike built this site for us; let's repay him by trying to build the membership for him. (repost of original by ';;Ðanny_X' on '2006-10-02 05:50:19')

Yep, I know this entry is long, but, if you read nothing else of mine, please read this.  This is not a Rant about Democrats or Republicans, it is meant to be totally unbiased as to party affiliations... It’s election time in the USA. And once again I am really pissed off. There should be a class you HAVE to attend before you are allowed to vote and if you haven’t taken the class, well, no unemployment, no social security (over the age of 18), no benefits at all until you do! There are too many idiots in this country that don’t have a clue what voting even means! "WAIT!" you cry, "I know how to vote!" And you know what, maybe you do! So, will taking 5 minutes to read this do you any harm in case I say something that you never thought of, or is closing it the best course of action? Up to you... So, you chose to continue; Listen carefully… We do NOT live in a democracy, we live in a REPUBLIC. While oft you heard it referred to as a democracy, it isn’t… “…and to the Republic, for which it stands…” do you know the difference? You are supposed to vote for the people who best represent all your views, NOT because someone has the cutest ass! You have a MIND, don’t vote a straight ticket because “My Dad/Mom has always voted Democrat/Republican and so will I.” Do NOT vote for some guy because your newspaper endorsed him. They have an agenda just like every other special interest group in the USA. Voting is neither a right nor a freedom, it IS a RESPONSIBILITY! You know, over the years I have heard many excuses why people don’t vote or the reasons they vote the way they do. The act of voting is not a freedom, despite what you may have been taught. The act of voting is a responsibility that we as citizens must hold dear in order to protect, prolong and promote our freedoms. The cost of our indirect democracy/republic is voting, which is paid for by thousands of men, and women who have given their lives for over two hundred years. Before I go on, I implore you to refresh your memories on how our government works. You can find a great little “Reader’s Digest” version called Civic 101 right here; http://www.citizenjoe.org/civics101.php Now that you have refreshed your memory, I am sure that some of you believe not voting is the same as a protest, as if there are some census takers whose job it is to register everyone who did not care enough to decide their future. There are not. If you don’t vote, I assume you are too lazy to give a rat’s ass what happens to you, your family, friends and most of all, your country. People who are given the opportunity to vote, to make a difference no matter how small, and who choose not to are not citizens, they are livestock; those who would be herded by the rest of society into whatever situation becomes them… then have the nerve blame the rest for their pitiful situation. Then there are people who would tell you that it does not matter who you vote for, so long as you vote. While this is a commendable position taken to escape the partisan nature of casting a ballot, it is also very false. It is better than not voting, obviously, to vote no matter whom is chosen. But doing less evil is not the same as doing right. If you don’t know who and why you are voting the way that you are, stay home, because it is more than likely you are a fool doing more harm than good. Further, there are the people who will vote Democrat because they are “Pro choice” or Republican because they are “Pro military” or are the “Family morals” party. Hey, my daddy voted this way so it’s got to be ok for me. I was actually at an event once and a woman had come from the polls and announced, “I voted democrat because I am Pro-choice.” and another woman spoke up (later I heard it was the first woman’s sister) and said, “And I voted Republican to cancel out her vote.” This also, while worthy that you are voting for a cause, leaves an extensive breach in actual help to our country. Can you not see the stupidity in this logic? Unfortunately, with responsibility comes a little bit of work. Is it so much to ask that once every 2 years you sit down for 2-3 hours and do some research? There is a huge list of things in this country that need fixing, not just one or two. Find a candidate that MOST fits YOUR wishes. There is no perfect candidate, there is however a candidate that matches your thoughts more than another. Voting a straight ticket (all democrat or republican) is a copout and tells me that you don’t get it! So, with all that said, let me give you a few of my thoughts on voting (and please, feel free to disagree below in the comment section!); First, think about the issues in America. There are many of them. Here are a few to get you started; Write them down along with your own. Business/Industry Community Crime/Justice Economy/Taxes Education Energy Environment Health Jobs National Security Religious Issues Society Issues Now think about who is most likely to FIX the issues most important to you. Let’s take education as an example. Who is most likely to fix your schools, the federal government or your local Board of Education? Don’t waste your vote on a U.S. Senator who is running on an education platform, YES, he MIGHT throw some money to your state for education, BUT, if the nimrods you vote into the Board of Education are more interested in a new football field, it’s going to do squat. Let me also remind you that, even if you don’t have children, someone you know and care for DOES. Think about them and our future. Most of you, in fact, the majority of you have no idea about who you chose for your Board of Education, County Commissioners and/or local government officials. Now, I used schools as an example, but, it goes for any issue! Place your votes where they will do the most good! Ok, so, you know what is most important to you and have ranked them most to least important. Great job. Now, go to your state website (www.state.##.us where ## is the state’s initials where you live) and find the elections link (or search for it on that site) and find the list of candidates. Got it? Good. While you are there, get the list of “Ballot Questions” for your state also! Research. Don’t just go to “Your party’s website” and say, “Yep, I agree.” Go to BOTH people’s Website and read, what you see may surprise you. IGNORE all political ads on TV. 95% of everything you hear is twisted facts. Use Google and see what others are saying (not the passionate blogs, I mean the political writers.) Look up the new stories (keeping in mind that most writers are NOT impartial.) However, take these two opening paragraphs from the Washington Times from last year for example;    “Black Democratic leaders in Maryland say that racially tinged attacks against Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele in his bid for the U.S. Senate are fair because he is a conservative Republican.    Such attacks against the first black man to win a statewide election in Maryland include pelting him with Oreo cookies during a campaign appearance, calling him an "Uncle Tom" and depicting him as a black-faced minstrel on a liberal Web log.” Do you agree with that? Racism is OKAY if they are a Republican?  What about if they are Democrat?  Sometimes the way a candidate and a party acts can influence your decision also, and it should have some bearing on it. Usually between 1-2 weeks before the election, your regional newspaper will run a special copy where the candidates have the chance to submit a comment or blurb about themselves and their views to the readers. It will also have a place where the ballot questions have a pro and opposing view. Make sure you read this issue! Call your paper and ask them when they will be putting out this issue!  Once you have the facts that you need, check your candidate off on your list. Make sure to also decide the ballot issues because the condensed version of the ballot questions are often confusing and misleading in how they are written. MOST IMPORTANTLY, take your list with you when you go to the polls! In some states there are close to 100 different candidates on the ballot and you can’t possibly remember them all. Leaving some blank (unless they are unopposed) is just apathetic.