News, infrequently and forgetfully updated when I'm irritated about something
2 November 2004
Today is Election Day. To the irritation of friends and family on both sides of the political spectrum, I voted for
Michael Badnarik, the
libertarian candidate.
The two major parties have turned into vehicles for generating money to keep politicians, indebted to business/labor/special interests, in office.
They've turned against much of what their constituencies originally supported them for.
See the Democrats trying their damnedest to keep Nader off the ballots anywhere
they can? That's because the environmental/pacifist/pro-trade regulation left has
been abandoned by the Democrats. Nader voters know that their vote hurts Kerry,
yet they *still* feel strongly enough to give Ralph their vote. Is the answer to take away their choice? I don't think it is.
And remember the 104th Congress, elected in 1994 on promises of fiscal responsibility
and smaller government? Say goodbye to those priorities - Bush's spending, with the GOP-majority Congress, would make a Democrat blush.
A Nader vote may put Bush in office, and a Badnarik vote may put Kerry in office.
But to vote against one's conscience because it's politically expedient isn't right.
Political expedience is a lot of what's wrong with our country today - it's wrong
when our representatives do it, and it's wrong when individuals do it.
13 October 2004
Hey, I got a letter to the editor published in Scientific American. It's not very sciencey.
Old news.