Re: Whoops! The Atlantic Makes Trump Look EPIC In Cover Intended as a Smear

On 10/25/2024 5:14 AM, D wrote:

  On Thu, 24 Oct 2024, The Horny Goat wrote:
 

On Tue, 22 Oct 2024 08:44:52 -0700, Paul S Person
<psperson@old.netcom.invalid> wrote:
>

One of the Initiatives I voted on (ballot in mailbox [one of the new
ones where the sliding slope is replaced with a slot] yesterday, will
be picked up today, should be getting the "we got it!" email tomorrow
or Thursday) involved some changes to how a major natural gas seller
is required to behave. The most interesting arguments were:
1. If you don't pass this, "they" will take your natural gas away.
2. If the power goes out, gas furnaces and stoves keep working.
Our house doesn't have gas, and I can confirm that, if the power goes
out, so does the furnace, the water heater, the stove, and so on.
Also, as became evident some years back when the connections were
marked with little blue flags for some reason and our house was the
only one I went past that didn't have them, a very large number of our
neighbors /do/ have natural gas, so I would not be surprised if it
passes.

>
I'm from BC (Canada) and had our provincial election Saturday. I voted
in the advance poll at our local recreation center which is about 2-3
miles from home and fairly close to my favorite grocery store. Can't
recall whether I voted first shopped after or vice versa but it was
the same trip away from home. My candidate didn't win but that's not
the point - far better to have voted and lost than not to have voted
at all.
>

 I disagree. If there is no candidate that represents my view, I would be doing democracy a disservice by voting. By not voting, I send a clear signal that the current politicians are of low quality and/or incompetent, and that they in no way deserve me participating in the system.
 In additiona, democracy is a violent act, since it represents you, through the possible force of the majority, imposing your will on others, by the threat of violence if they do not comply. This is unethical.
 Pacifists and libertarians can, due to their ethics and political beliefs, not vote in democratic elections and remain consistent with their moral positions.

If you fail to vote, the signal you send isn't "You politicians are
incompetent, and need to improve." Rather it's "You can safely
ignore me and my views."
Its exactly as effective as threatening to hold your breath until
you turn blue.
pt