Are you voting on November 2nd? If so, who for?
 

I'm voting Republican.

Being a Democrat was sexy there for a bit, but now reality's kicking in and Obama's about to drop a nuke on my home region with Cap and Trade. Not only does thousands of our jobs rely on coal, but it also relies on manufacturing jobs which are partially here due to us having some of the cheapest electricity in the U.S.

So basically he's going to reduce our disposable income through taxing our health benefits and letting the "Bush Tax Cuts" expire, likely give us the highest unemployment rate in the country, and then double or triple our utility rates. Not that we aren't already suffering enough from the persistent economic downtime we've had for a while before he even took the job.

Working in the coal industry has also made me HIGHLY skeptical of increased government presence. Not only is the government inefficient with your tax dollars, it's damn near criminal how they just bleed money. Between the MSHA inspectors, support personnel, and management for the MSHA office in our little region, I can estimate that at least $8-10 million is being spent annually to police 5 mines.

These guys very rarely do anything constructive. In fact, most of them just write citations to justify their existence. These guys might be present at work for 40 hours a week, but the actual "work" they do consists of leisurely being driven around by a company representative for a shift, tying up a person and a vehicle.

Sounds like they should be able to cover a lot of ground, right? Well, the government doesn't think so. They're hiring more inspectors as we speak. Scores of them. It probably costs $100k to train each one also. The candidate and his/her family is transported to a resort in West Virginia where training is held for 6 months. As a rule of thumb, we estimate that benefits are around 50% of the salary of a person for budgeting purposes. So each new inspector puts a burden on federal tax payers of roughly $100k.

[/rant]

How about you guys?

Nope.

Definitely not voting.. I have better things to do, like watch wall paper dry.

"Apathy is the glove into which evil slips its hand."

It's crazy to me that our generation has no problem whining about how much shit sucks, but when the time comes to actually do something, we give the power to the old people who made things like they are in the first place. It's fucking retarded.

So you're just going down the list and checking off [R] on every ballot? Why not go specfiically for each politician. Voting Republican isn't going to make anything better. We're all fucked, at all times. It's not either party, but the politicians controlled by corporations where our problem lies. I'm voting Independent for Governor, Democrat for Senate, Republican for agricultural commissioner. Not sure much else down the list.

I don't whine, nor do I care about what happens when X person gets elected. Its a shit world and I have to live in it either way.

That's the spirit! Just ignore it and maybe the problem will go away! Well, even better! Don't ignore it! Just live with it, and surely the problem won't matter anymore!

The problem is people, and that isn't going anywhere anytime soon. Learn to embrace the suck! If some random blowjob gets elected and causes us to be hated by the entire world, then so be it. If some yahoo gets elected and causes world peace, good for him. Life is life ;) I'm not pretending problems don't exist, nor am I hoping they disappear, they are there, I know they are there, and I am just fine with that.

Neither. Our original President hated political parties. I think they've out-stayed their welcome.

Hey K_A, suck my penis.

I was going to quote Masamune Date from Samurai Warriors 2: Empires, but I can't fine the darn quote anywhere! It was pretty relevant, too...

Which is why i'm voting Independent for our governor. We need somebody to break the mold.

The only way a third party will ever win is if one of the primary parties ceases to exist. The problem, IMO, is that people don't so much vote for people, but vote against people. I don't want Tea Partiers in power, and the only way I can realistically help prevent that from happening is by voting for the opponent who has a chance to win. I suspect most people feel similarly, and would vote for a third party if they didn't see their vote as "wasted" if they did so.

Then again, when it comes to Utah state gov, it is for the most part all Mormons and right wing nuts. Even in presidential elections, Utah is so heavily red that my vote is practically wasted anyway.

I'm so tired of the "religious right" they've corrupted their way to the top of our government. It's time for another civil war.

Yes, we don't like people so we should kill them. That's certainly better than a religious right, right? Killing our own fellow humans because we disagree?

Right.

Me and Jamer just started talking about this, strangely.
I'd love to go on a nice crusade, but with this new generation being obnoxiously athiest, we'd go down in no time, unless I get my hands on a nuke, or a prototype mecha.

I was boviously being sarcastic. People have a hard time listening to other's reasonings sometimes, but violence is never the answer. That's the call that the 'tea partiers' try and run into people's heads.

I'm excited to see how Prop 19 or whatever in California does. The legalization proposition. The polls show it passing with flying colors, but we'll just have to see most stoners have lazy tendencies and won't get out and vote, but maybe this could be a change?

I'm kinda hopeful that Prop 19 will help chill things out for Mexico but I somehow doubt it. A lot of people say it will, but I suspect the opposite might be true. A lot of illegal businessmen will be losing business, and they are going to do everything they can to take it back or find more (likely more illegal and dangerous) business. In Mexico, that shouldn't be very difficult for them.

I really don't want our country to have to invade Mexico because the shit is hitting the fan.

It's funny you mention that, I actually had a good chat with a friend of mine the other day about this possibility subsequently happening from the drug situation they've been dealing with. I don't really think it would come to that, because ultimately cutting Marijuana out of their equation of cash-flow would stop it.

Look at it like this, I can't brew Whiskey, but I can grow a plant. I can't make cocaine, but I can water a weed plant twice a week. I think the resources would adjust themselves to cracking down on the more potent/dangerous substances were this to take place and it could help itself, all we can do at this point is try.