| Entry: Greenblooded |  | = Official Comment |
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From Curtis M Sawyer
Website: http://ussexcalibur.blogspot.com |
I say again, who the fuck voted these people into office? Or more importantly, who from the other side failed to vote at all?
Vote.
As we approach the mid-term elections it is vitally important to vote. The anti-conservation folks have quite the machinery to get out the vote while Democrats and Independents sit on their hands because "it's only a mid-term election".
These days it should be obvious - every single vote counts.
So just do it.
Vote. |
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| From Sean Stubblefield |
| i intend to vote, as always (voting, not intending). but who can we trust? democrats and republicans have both betrayed us, and the libertarians have no real power. this is a somewhat frustrating and tenuous dilema for me. while it seems that policy and people are in place to serve our interest in protecting the parks, there looms a ubiquitous threat that the moronic powers that be can over-ride and disregard that at a moment's notice for any damned reason they contrive. we stand poised beneath Damocles' sword. |
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From Curtis M Sawyer
Website: http://ussexcalibur.blogspot.com |
The Moderate Party
I'd run, but everytime I tell people my plan by 2010 to go metric and eliminate the $1 bill and introduce $1 and $2 coins, I get confusion.
But I'd sure as hell make sure the parks are protected. |
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From James Cooper
Website: http://www.visiblewear.com/ |
Just disgusting, but that's the way policy always goes when business-oriented folks are put in charge.
In reply to Curtis' comment though, I have to ask if this administration really ever was voted into office. I have my doubts on that, and I'm hardly the only one.
And it is truly unfortunate that we're locked into a bipartisan system. I've not been very fond of either majority party lately, or at least not fond of those who seem to speak for either side. More options that wouldn't amount to throwing away our votes would be hugely appreciated. |
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| From Sean Stubblefield |
it seems to me that voting for someone who is more likely to win rather than voting your conscience is throwing your vote away. because they tend to care more about being in office than their responsibility, democrats and republicans are both a part of the problem, and the fact that we have no viable third option. given them as your options, if you vote for the lesser of two evils, you still vote for an evil.
isn't it better, and doesn't it make more sense, to not support someone you don't want in office? imagine if more people dared to "throw their vote away" on a third party. |
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From James Cooper
Website: http://www.visiblewear.com/ |
I can see that if enough people voted third-party the minority parties might, given a fair stretch of time, gain viability as a realistic choice for presidency.
However, the current mentality is that there exist only two parties worth voting for and to vote third-party is to help the majority candidate you *least likely* would've voted for. Obviously this is flawed logically but it is sufficient to deter a lot of people from "throwing their votes away" by voting third party and instead "voting the lesser of two evils."
Then there are always those people like me who have trouble trusting anybody affiliated with politics and sees all candidates as evil until proven otherwise... |
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| From Sean Stubblefield |
logic! the man's talking about logic. we're talking about universal armageddon!
(in the spirit of green blooded) |
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From Dave Grant
Website: http://www.greatestblogeverwritten.blogspot.com/ |
| Sounds like you'd fit right in north of the border, Sawyer. |
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| From Laird |
Hopefully, we can all agree on at least one thing - snowmobiles are fun as hell! 
Most of us pollute the environment every day by driving our cars all over the country on roads that laid waste to rabbits and buffalo and indians that were here before us. Are we really any different than these poor snowmobilers who we have outlawed on "our roads?" Not to mention the adversity created by the lack of snow in some areas, and nearly all areas for up to three quarters of the year. I'm torn on this one folks...
Democrats and Republicans may suck, but three or more parties instead of two, is just more suck. We need AMERICANS to infiltrate both parties, and even if nothing gets done at first, stand up for something until others join in.
And we must start making demands at all levels if we are to see change. I'll show you how it works --
Jessica Mae Stover,
I demand that Greyfeather # 2 be printed on high quality recycled paper. If you can't stand up and save a tree, or part of one, how can we be expected to save the national parks?
What say you? |
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| From Jessica |
To the previous commenter,
1. I am not inclined to listen to a demand from someone who doesn’t post under their real name, much less with an e-mail. 2. Why are you making demands when you don’t even know what our plans are?
Anyway, moving on to the goal at hand: I agree that people should vote and that the party system is wack. That’s nothing new: It’s a topic that has been covered on news shows, in books… etc.. Part of the trouble is that it takes a lot of money for people to run for office (just as it does to make a movie), and that being great for the position simply isn’t enough: One needs party support, endorsements… . It comes down to a few people making choices on who is in and out. Then, people vote on the choices put in front of them. The solution to that is a hard one, and I think only comes from people researching and finding independent leaders that they believe in, then supporting them and donating to their campaigns. (Oh, how I dislike the campaigns!) Related: The Democratic Entourage (Newsweek)
Regarding elections, we all know what the analysis is and what some of the problems are. We can complain all we like and discuss the philosophical conundrum of choosing between two evils. WHAT DO WE DO? If we want quality leaders who are independent of any party, how do we get there? I’m interested in ideas for action items over rehashing the problems. Strike at the root, people. You’re smarter than I am, so I’m waiting for you to further enlighten me.
So we’ll all vote to impact the environment and otherwise. What else can we do? Even if we like a candidate who also supports National Park preservation, do they know that’s important to us? I’m going to research/call my local and national representatives. I also wrote to the staff at Death Valley and the NPS Retirees to see if they have any ideas/can guide us.
Incidentally, I fail to see how anyone who has read through the material can be torn on the snowmobile issue. Granted, some people do not enjoy nature, but I would assume that any reasonable person would not want to see it destroyed anymore than a person who disliked cities would want to see a city destroyed. Especially if they have ever been to a National Park. ...And if they realize that many parks, wetlands etc, actually protect cities from extreme bits of nature (like hurricanes) by acting as a natural buffer zone.
From the material you can see that this is an issue that transcends party: Many different kinds of leaders and policy makers balked at the proposed changes to the parks.
Did you guys watch the video interviews on NatGeo and look at the photos? I can't believe how many people volunteer at parks: NPS.gov says, "In Fiscal Year, 137,000 volunteers donated 5.2 million hours to your national parks at a value of $91.2 million." |
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