This is from Pat Sajack. Yes the one from Wheel of Fortune. It's pretty funny.
There have been so many debates and interviews and columns and profiles and polls, it’s hard to believe the election for president is still about 11 months away. Recently, celebrity endorsements have been making news, with Oprah Winfrey saying she would campaign for Barack Obama and Barbra Streisand making the not-so-stunning announcement that she was supporting Hillary Clinton.
There are reasons, of course, why candidates welcome such help. First, there’s the bonanza of free publicity. With so many names and faces vying for attention, what could be better than the burst of news such endorsements bring? There’s also the burst of money these high-profile celebs can bring in themselves and attract from others. Then there’s the extra attention and excitement these stars engender when they appear at a candidate’s political events. It’s far easier to attract a crowd in Des Moines if a big TV, movie or recording star is standing next to the politician.
Putting those obvious benefits aside, the question remains: do these endorsements really translate into votes? Does anyone decide which candidate to choose based on the recommendation of a TV talk show host or a singer/actress? If any group of citizens is uniquely unqualified to tell someone else how to vote, it’s those of us who live in the sheltered, privileged arena of celebrityhood. It’s one thing to buy an ab machine because Chuck Norris recommends it (he’s in good shape, isn’t he?) or a grill because George Foreman’s name is on it (he’s a great guy, so it must be a great grill!), but the idea of choosing the Leader of the Free World based on the advice of someone who lives in the cloistered world of stardom seems a bit loony to me.This is America, and we celebrities have just as much right as anyone else to speak up about any issue. The problem is that more attention is paid to what we say because we’re well known. But why should that matter? O.J. Simpson is one of the world’s best-known celebrities, but I can’t imagine anyone following his lead in a voting booth.
I suppose anything that gets people engaged in the political process is a good thing, but the idea that a gold record, a top-ten TV show or an Oscar translates into some sort of political wisdom doesn’t make much sense to me. Trust me, one’s view of the world isn’t any clearer from the back seat of a limo.
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Sunday, November 25, 2007
The debate
We have a pretty good idea of a plan for the VP debate that will be at Wash U. We have quite a bit of time, but what we will need are volunteers. Let us know if you may be interested.
Saturday, November 24, 2007
Shocked
I am a bit shocked that most people we talk to about Mock the Vote seem all for it. And most of the people we have spoken to, don't vote. We were prepared for backlash on this idea, but so far we have only gotten support.
Thursday, November 22, 2007
What would happen
I would love to see both the runner ups in the two major parties join together and run for president and VP as independents. Or I would love every person going for their parties nomination to run as independents once they don't win the nomination. I think these things could start to be that push to the current system that can set change in motion.
It could be the type of thing that finally makes all the frustrated people out there stand up and take notice.
It could be the type of thing that finally makes all the frustrated people out there stand up and take notice.
Not Thankful
That in this next election we will still only be given a choice between the dumb and dumber parties.
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
27 file for Mo. presidential primaries
ASSOCIATED PRESS
11/21/2007
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Voters will have plenty of choices in Missouri's presidential primaries.
Twenty-seven candidates have signed up for the Feb. 5 primaries. The deadline to do so was Tuesday evening.
The list includes all the leading contenders from the Democratic and Republican parties -- Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, John Edwards, Rudy Giuliani, John McCain, Mitt Romney, Fred Thompson and Mike Huckabee.
It also includes numerous lesser-known candidates.
Anyone who paid a $1,000 filing fee to his or her party could qualify for the primary.
The ballot will include 12 Republicans, nine Democrats and six Libertarians.
What do they have in common? They all suck.
11/21/2007
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Voters will have plenty of choices in Missouri's presidential primaries.
Twenty-seven candidates have signed up for the Feb. 5 primaries. The deadline to do so was Tuesday evening.
The list includes all the leading contenders from the Democratic and Republican parties -- Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, John Edwards, Rudy Giuliani, John McCain, Mitt Romney, Fred Thompson and Mike Huckabee.
It also includes numerous lesser-known candidates.
Anyone who paid a $1,000 filing fee to his or her party could qualify for the primary.
The ballot will include 12 Republicans, nine Democrats and six Libertarians.
What do they have in common? They all suck.
Cool Article
I really dug this article. Most of the site it's on may be a little too out there for a lot of people. But this article really made alot of the points we are talking about on this site.
Read it here
Read it here
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Tell Us
Why don't you vote?
I have never voted because the lesser of two evils never made much sense to me. I truly need a candidate I believe and believe in to make me want to cast a vote for someone. It needs to be far more than, "this person doesn't suck as bad as that one." Is that how you make any other choices in your life? I doubt it. So why is it how you choose the leader of the free world?
I have never voted because the lesser of two evils never made much sense to me. I truly need a candidate I believe and believe in to make me want to cast a vote for someone. It needs to be far more than, "this person doesn't suck as bad as that one." Is that how you make any other choices in your life? I doubt it. So why is it how you choose the leader of the free world?
Pins are on their way
I just ordered Mock The Vote pins.
Want one? Let me know.
Show people that you are not afraid to Mock The Vote.
Want one? Let me know.
Show people that you are not afraid to Mock The Vote.
We should do something
So for the fifth year Wash U. will be hosting the televised vice presidential debate. I think Mock the Vote needs to do something for this.
Check out the article here
Check out the article here
Monday, November 19, 2007
Democracy--the God that Failed
Below is a link to a book that you can read online. I have yet to really delve into this but...
Click to check out the book
Click to check out the book
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Observation
Why is it we have countless choices when we are at the grocery store, or when we want to buy a pair of jeans, but when it comes to how many choices we get on who will run the country for 4 years we get basically two? How about all the candidates that are running right now to get their parties nomination get to run for president. That could at least be a start.
On anther note:
Before the last election my brother in law was urging me to vote, because he didn't want another 4 years of Bush in office. I told him that my vote wouldn't matter. Since I live in a city that is almost always a Blue city but it happens to be in a typically Red state, it wouldn't have mattered if I voted or not.
When the electoral college was set up people were about their state first and their country second. People had similar thinking state by state.
This is no longer the case. I don't even share the same views as my next door neighbor.
On anther note:
Before the last election my brother in law was urging me to vote, because he didn't want another 4 years of Bush in office. I told him that my vote wouldn't matter. Since I live in a city that is almost always a Blue city but it happens to be in a typically Red state, it wouldn't have mattered if I voted or not.
When the electoral college was set up people were about their state first and their country second. People had similar thinking state by state.
This is no longer the case. I don't even share the same views as my next door neighbor.
Just a thought
What if instead of a bunch of lame celebrities urging people to get out and vote they told people to stay home as protest? Could new record numbers of non-voters send a message that we are fed up with our current two party system, where neither choice is truly any good?
Friday, November 16, 2007
Quotes
“I have ever considered the constitutional mode of election…as the most dangerous blot on our constitution, and one which some unlucky chance will some day hit.”
Thomas Jefferson, 1823
“Can we forget for whom we are forming a government? Is it for men, or for the imaginary beings called States?”
James Wilson
"It's a ridiculous setup, which thwarts the will of the majority, distorts presidential campaigning and has the potential to produce a true constitutional crisis…The majority does not rule, and every vote is not equal — those are reasons enough for scrapping the system."
The New York Times, 08/29/04
Thomas Jefferson, 1823
“Can we forget for whom we are forming a government? Is it for men, or for the imaginary beings called States?”
James Wilson
"It's a ridiculous setup, which thwarts the will of the majority, distorts presidential campaigning and has the potential to produce a true constitutional crisis…The majority does not rule, and every vote is not equal — those are reasons enough for scrapping the system."
The New York Times, 08/29/04
Percent
Voting has gone up and down by small amounts in different eras. It has sunk to 49 percent in the 1996 presidential election and rose slightly to 51 percent in 2000.
So normally half the people don't vote. This tells me that the system is broken.
So normally half the people don't vote. This tells me that the system is broken.
Do you vote?
Why?
Has there really ever been a president that truly impacted your day to day life?
No.
Has there really ever been a president that truly impacted your day to day life?
No.
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