VOTE LIKE THE MAYANS WERE RIGHT!

Posted on by J. Nelson

Voting is what you make of it, just like anything else. For a quick and easy way to understand the ballot propositions in your state, spend a few minutes with Ballotpedia. Check out its Regional Ballot Measure Breakdown and replace campaign noise for “actionable intelligence.” Find out who is endorsing what and why. Learn for yourself who stands to gain with each ballot proposition.

Californians – follow the money to see who’s funding both sides of each ballot proposition.

 Look, whatever direction you think is best for the United States, if the Mayan calendar’s right, this is America’s last election! Go vote just to spite those little turds.

Vote – because they couldn’t!

 

The Voting Booth: (Also) Where Excuses Go to Die

Posted on by J. Nelson

I don’t hear excuses at polling places, do you? (Visit one to find out!) People tend to be nice to one another and there’s a sense of pride in the air. Maybe it’s just me, but standing in line at, say, a movie theater I overhear all sorts of moaning and groaning, griping and complaining, excuses and bullshit. Not so at polling places. Could it be because they quite literally host groups of people looking to follow through on a civic duty? Does that participatory feeling  – our basic right to vote –  somehow reduce a person’s desire to hear themselves rationalize and bitch? 

I enjoy walking to my elementary school polling place with neighbors of many years, getting all those sour grapes out of our system as we go. We clam up at the door, each of us growing reverent and and willing to follow instructions. There are usually about six of us; it’s a tradition and a community I cherish.

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