Vote!

I've been in countries where voting is a major challenge. One time, I voted in another country where there was a party mob switching voters' ballots and the volunteers were physically intimidated. After the polls closed, I volunteered to escort the ballot box to be counted, we were stopped at a check point and the box was stolen. In some places, people walk for miles to vote or have to dodge gunfire. In more than a few other countries people do not even have the option of voting.

Knowing that, how could I not just walk across the street and shade in a few circles?

Debate This!

Missing Third Option

There are sixteen (16) candidates on the ballot for US president! 16!

There are also another ten candidates who are on at least one state ballot.

Not done yet, there are another 107 listed as write-in candidates.

So, how many did you hear from in the debate?

I don’t expect to hear from everyone. Let’s just assume that write-in candidates have no shot at winning. And the write-ins are hardly ever counted anyway (that’s another story). Ok, take the 107 off the list, including such names as “Mad Max,” “Love-22,” “Big Bird” and Terry Jones. Wait, Terry Jones is a write-in for President? Ok, good, ignore the 107. (BTW, Big Bird is not on there, should be).

What about the ten on the one-state ballots? Well, being lumped in together as one-state balloters, people may dismiss all, even those on several state ballots. Admittedly, some of these candidates are there just to prove a point or voice a concern (but you’ll never know what that is). That still leaves 16 candidates on the ballot. SIXTEEN!

You know President Obama and Governor Romney, but whom else do you know?

Do you know, or have you heard from these nominees:

Tom Hoefling of the American Independent Party

Merlin Miller of the American Third Position Party

Congressman Virgil Goode of the Constitution Party

Dr. Jill Stein of the Green Party

Mayor Rocky Anderson of the Justice Party

Governor Gary Johnson of the Libertarian Party

Tom Stevens of the Objectivist Party

Peta Lindsay of the Party of Socialism and Liberation

Rosanne Barr of the Peace & Freedom Party

Lowell Fellure of the Prohibition Party

Andre Barnett of the Reform Party

Stewart Alexander of the Liberty Union Party

Jerome White of the Socialist Equality Party

Wait, Rosanne Barr is on there? You know her. And everyone’s heard of Dr. Jill Stein since she was on the news for being arrested after trying to get into the debates. Yes, a presidential candidate was arrested for trying to get into the debates. So much for freedom of speech, huh?

We all know that this system is set up as a two-party system. Having a third party candidate win votes means that a majority winner would be jeopardized (and there’s the ruling class fear of a truthsayer).

So, what can you do? Continue to vote for Red or Blue? Vote for the lesser of two evils? What about voting for the person who best represents us, the person who actually works for us? That may be difficult. Voting that way may not get him/her elected, but at least there will be another voice registered. People are fearful of voting third party because it may take votes from their second choice. That was the argument when people voted for Ralph Nader and Bush got elected.

At least Nader was heard, even for a little. Today I do not hear any other voices. There is good that comes out of another option, another voice. When other voices are heard the main voices begin to change their approach and include some of your concerns. There may not be total change or total representation, yet it can keep the ruling party from drifting too far away from the people.

Let your vote count, vote for the person you deem worthy, representative and who works for you.

And demand that other voices be heard. After all, what’s democracy without the people?

Order a New World

I am Egypt

Mother of all nations

I am free

Therefore you are free

My voice carries wisdom as the Nile carries life

No longer for the Pharaohs

I am free

A gift to all nations

I am Egypt

Shocking Ignorance

25% of Americans polled believe that Pres. Obama is Muslim. Shocked? Well it makes you think "what else do American's believe or reject?" here is a sampling...

25% of Americans believe there is no such thing as evolution.

21% of Americans still believe in Witches.

20% of Americans believe that the Sun revolves around the Earth.

41% believe that Saddam is responsible for 9/11.

85% of American soldiers in Iraq believe they are there for revenge for 9/11

63% of Americans can't find Iraq on a map.

90% can't find Afghanistan.

That may be foreign to them, but what about what they have been taught,

only 40% can identify the three branches of US government.

This is just the tip of the iceberg. I know there's more but just reading this made my head hurt.

Where does this road lead?

Unemployed for the first time

Well, I am now unemployed. Lost my tv producer job of ten years due to cutbacks.

Been on the computer all day looking for jobs.

For a while I was helping friends find jobs, now I'm not sure I can find one for myself.

So pass on any and all leads you can.

Do you speak Interan?

I saw a electronic road sign with an emoticon. At first I though it was strange, but upon thinking about why it seemed even more strange. Was this the evolution of human communication? Or just some kid having fun? Once you notice what is going on with communication these days, you'd probably agree that there is an evolution, and its not just of one language.

More and more people are communicating electronically by text, tweets, blogs, social networking, email bursts and so on. And with more people communicating with others around the world, there is undoubtable a new language being used. Emoticons, symbols, acrynoms, abreviations, code words and other articles are replacing older more established languages. This electronic form of communication is a pidgin ( a simplified form of communication that develops between two people or groups of people with no common language). But there is common language, its just that this form is chosen. That means it develops into a creole (a language developing from a combination of two other languages).

With time and regular use, this will soon be its own recognizable language. There will be no announcement or decleration. But it will soon be a universal language. One that uses symbols, as with hieroglyphics or even symbols as words like Chinese. It could incorporate new words that are abreviations or acronyms of other words. The face-to-face communication can also be altered into short sounds, gestures, grunts, hand signals.

This isn't to say we have the beginnings of Newspeak (Orwell's 1984). Sure the vocabulary may get smaller, but this isn't as scary. It isn't about control. And unlike Newspeak, emotion is limited, this is about expression. At least it's roots are. How it develops, who knows?

If this sounds odd or exagerated, just think have you ever heard someone say lol instead of saying "that's funny" or actually laughing? Just look at your company emails more closely, its even being used there and on road signs and by politicians.

A language evolves from the streets to the establishment. A government doesn't announce it's language (without being oppressive) it adobts the language spoken by the people. The great thing is that is it is not rooted in any country, or race. It can develop as a true universal language. (and no, binary code is not a universal language, you matrix geeks). (also it is not constructed like Esata or forced, or commercial like Net Lingua) There are signs the this is happening today around the world with this new form, founded in the electronic world of communication.

Good luck.

(yeah, I know the title is lame)

I went off to find myself...not sure I found anything special...now where do I lose myself?

Pour dina elixtro wadfhatru, sus?

lost

I've passed that point in life when all the dreams have left me missing by inaction.