let the games begin!

an anonymous flier circulating in african-american neighborhoods in philly says that voters with outstanding arrest warrants or traffic tickets will be taken into custody by undercover policemen if/when they show up to vote on election day. of course, the authorities are doing everything that they can to reassure everyone that this claim is completely and utterly false -- but unfortunately this incident has kerosene all over it.

who knows where else this is happening in the country?

americans want to believe that we live in the land of the free and the home of the brave but anyone that's paying attention knows that this isn't the case. truth be told, this great land of ours has always had a long-standing tradition of keeping certain basic inalienable rights away from very nearly everyone, while a particular segment of the population has always enjoyed those rights. a part of what it means to be american is to not only acknowledge that those rights are for all of us -- not just the priveleged few or those who feel that they are especially entitled to them -- but to actively do something about it when everyone isn't accommodated.

i have often wondered if there were ever a moment in this country's voting history when absolutely every american went to the polls and voted for the president of their choice without having to deal with any kind of voter intimidation, threats, violence or abuse. i have often heard stories from my 92 year old african-american south georgia-born father about what it was like in the rural south of his childhood when it was election season, and what they did to us -- how they terrorized us. in my mind, our national african-american museum (that's right -- we don't have one!) would be filled with video commentary and testimony from him and his contemporaries, so we could all hear the stories that fill my parents kitchen/den whenever my father waxes somber and reflects at length about What Happened Then. wouldn't that be something.

think about it: white men are the only people in this country that have always had the right to vote and own property. even when they were indentured servants -- over half the white people who came to this country in the 17th and 18th century from places like england, scotland, and germany were indentured servants -- those basics were given to them as a matter of course when they worked their way out of their debt contract, if they were men.

and yes, i could go on about white women and white privilege and white entitlement but that's another conversation.

all i want to say is ths.

we don't live in a democracy. we live in a corporatocracy with neofascist overtones -- one that has everyone running around looking for parking, eating their way into a pre-diabetic coma with fried, heavily processed foods and hating on minorities, immigrants, people of color and anyone else that's "different." while we distract ourselves with the garbage we eat and the garbage we watch on television and the garbage we listen to on the radio, the economy goes to hell and hundreds of thousands of people go to the war that is hell.

now, who's going to be the national commentator to call george w. bush a neo-fascist? who's going to run the word "jingoism" up a flagpole and let it fly right next to the stars and stripes? (if you look hard enough, you'll see it there anyway.) who's going to toss a 2 for 1 coupon for that new chicken bisquit from mcdonald's into the garbage and have a shot of wheatgrass and a healthy salad instead?

i'm convinced that real change amongst the people starts with diet and excercise. you know what the first sign of malnutrition is? apathy.

let the games begin.

are you registered to vote?

more than 50% of the eligible voters in this country didn't bother to vote in the last election. with democrats and republicans looking more and more alike with each passing scandal, an antiquated electoral system that refuses to recognize each vote individually and a corporate-driven media machine that condones all of it, it's no big surprise that anyone would refuse to participate. in the meantime, when they aren't absorbing that one-sided jingoistic tripe on FOX news like it's the gospel truth, way too many red state americans self-medicate by shopping and eating themselves into a pre-diabetic stupor as the rest of the world turns. and laughs.

quite a few states believe that it's fair that ex-felons can't vote. i'm not so sure it's such a good idea to disenfranchise any citizen -- especially one that's paid their debt to society and who's paying as much in taxes as everybody else. then again, absolutely everyone has been disenfranchised from the electoral process at one time or another in america's history, except -- of course! -- white men.

i wonder if there has there ever been a moment when absolutely every citizen in this country voted in any election -- presidential, local or otherwise. the next time some bozo starts yammering on and on about how fair this country this is, i'd like to brain them with a few facts. but that's me.

what's the straw that's going to break the camel's back and involve "apathetic" young people in the political process? instituting a draft, perhaps? hey, it worked with vietnam. and like the vietnam war, the entire nation will probably have to take to the streets in protest to end the mess we're in now. because we all know that the government won't bring an end to any of it. there's way too much money involved. and oil.

interestingly enough, senator obama's camp has presented a simple, straightforward way for anyone over the age of 18 to not only register to vote but to vote in absentia and to find your polling location.

just click here to get 'er done.

i imagine mccain is counting on the swing vote to stay home on november 4th. may this be the year that everyone gets to the polls.

who will get your vote?

If you have questions about how the major candidates beliefs match up with your own, a non-profit group called Glassbooth has come up with a web site to make it incredibly easy to sort through all the noise. Their motto? "Glassbooth connects you to the 2008 presidential candidate that represents your beliefs the best. " Simply take a (surprisingly!) short survey on major issues and find your best match. It even shows you their votes on issues and policy statements.

And if you're not registered to vote, they can help you with that, too.

Pass this web site along to friends before their state's primary race. (They just might need it.)