Wrong Palin.

Serious idiots who lack critical thinking skills.

This exchange actually took place in a community I'm in.  Person A, who we will call Scrotumlunch, asked the question:

"Do you vote?"

Person B, who we will call Donkeycheeks, replied:

"I normally do vote. BUT I am getting pissed off with this whole, "You HAVE to vote!" thing. I've heard people say that if even if I don't like any of the candidates I should vote for the lesser of two evils... that's crap. Oh, and the I'm not really an American if I don't vote-- or I'm being irresponsible.  When did voting stop being a privilege and become mandatory? If I don't vote this term I'll still respect our president because he's our elected official. I'm not going to sit here and blog about how horrible the president is if I decided not to vote."

Jack Shoegazer (that's me) replied:

"I feel it is our duty, as Americans, as members of a democracy, to be well educated and well informed about not only political issues, but economic and foreign issues as well in order to make the absolute best choice possible in every election. To do otherwise, I feel, is a disservice to our nation, our founding fathers, every revolutionary who fought for our independence, and everyone who has struggled forward since so that every person here has the right to vote. But that's just me. I'm a political nerd who naively thinks that caring about these things matter, that the right leaders can make the right changes, that the right policies do matter and that if people just sit around on their asses, completely ignorant of the issues, don't vote and do nothing, then nothing is going to change. But hey, that's just me."

Scrotumlunch then said:

"Well.. thank the god/dess that I'm not a political creature. I was born into this world for reasons other than this malarchy voting process!!"

To which I replied:

"And I'm sure that those reasons aren't hampered at all by bad leaders, bad laws, and bad policies."

And Scrotumlunch had the audacity to reply with:

"http://www.heart7.net/uspresidentasmasons.htm"

Which is a very bad website full of crackpot conspiracy crap.  I am an ardent student of conspiracy and even the most cursory research proves much of the website is false or half-truths.  So I replied:

"Are you serious? This is your argument for why you don't vote, why you're not politically active? Masonic conspiracies on the internet?  Our country, The Declaration of Independence, The Constitution, et cetera, all written by Masons. Big whoop-de-doo. I have spent years studying Masonry and conspiracy theories and even if I believed one tenth of the absolute garbage that is out there, it still does not change the fact that voting can and does change things. Social movements do matter and can affect policy. Or maybe you thing people like Martin Luther King should have shut their pie-holes and sat at home doing nothing because of some Masonic conspiracy?  The website you referred me to isn't even legitimate! They couldn't even properly punctuate the first sentence.  The Protocols of the Elders of Zion were proved to be a hoax YEARS ago (but that's what "they" want you to think!) Have you no critical thinking skills? Have you ever actually tried to independently verify any of this information? Have you even read anything by one of the foremost authorities on the Illuminati, Robert Anton Wilson? Your patheticly thin reason for not voting is a cheap website filled with inaccuracies and half-truths and a complete misunderstanding of what the Masons are. Come on!"

Scrotumlunch hasn't replied.

 

It's the economy, stupid.

Those whose income is under $67,000 - 60% of all American taxpayers - would see substantially larger tax cuts under the Obama plan. While McCain’s plan concentrates 58% of its benefits to the wealthiest 1% of Americans, Obama’s rollback of the Bush tax cuts above $250,000 produces tax increases for that group.

Sadly, Obama’s story is not getting through. In the face of the TPC’s analysis showing that 95% of American taxpayers would see savings under the Obama tax plan, 53% of the Gallup respondents wrongly believe their tax burden would increase under President Obama. Meanwhile, despite the same analysis showing McCain’s plan to make permanent and expand the Bush tax cuts would produce a staggering $2.8 trillion in red ink for the federal budget, the Republican still claims the mantle of fiscal discipline.

Source