I was filling out one of those online things and it asked what my political preference was. Not sure why but I gave it more consideration than necessary. I realized that things are kind of sucky and I just don't care. Seriously I don't see any of them making things better. The R's and D's have both had a shot recently and just done a bang up job. I am not sure our system will leave anybody willing to deal with our issues (mainly massive unfunded entitlements) because to do so would be political suicide. Getting any politician to do that is unlikely, let alone a majority.
I bet some folks on one side are getting a good chuckle at folks on the other who thought the cozy government + business relationship would change. They both take money from the same big corporations that like pet legislature as well as capitalism on the way up and socialism on the way down.
Some folks think maybe the Libertarians will save us but I am not so sure. It is pretty easy to be noble when nobody is offering you anything. It is equally easy to offer outside of the box solutions when you aren't responsible for anything and can just Monday morning quarterback it. Also as far as I know the Libertarians have never gotten anybody elected to anything more than (if even that?) county dog catcher. Even if they got ANYBODY elected to a meaningful position I don't think that would change anything. I love Dr. No (Ron Paul) as much as anybody could but aside from voting no on everything and proposing bills that doesn't every go anywhere what has he done?
Seriously on the national or likely even state level I am not so sure I see anything good coming. On the local level more grass roots stuff involving real people has some promise but I move around a lot now so don't really care about that.
I make predictions of what is coming here or there, no need to rehash. I think I've given up caring until something worth caring about starts to happen. I am not holding my breath.
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The stark reality is that you and I can't do a damn thing beyond the local level, and even that is iffy unless you can garner community support. The sheep really don't, and won't care about what's going on until the beer and Cheetos stop arriving at the 7-11. All we can do is try to wake people up, and prepare ourselves as best we can for the inevitable...
I too have come to the quick realization that there are far more sheep than citizens in this country.
Too many worry about American Idol and other trivial things.
As F.A. Hayek said in his book 'Road to Serfdom', we are nothing more than a nation of the "well fed,and entertained".
I'll be voting anti-incumbent all the way. Not a one of them is worth keeping around here in Ca. If there's no incumbent, I'll vote third party before I vote R or D.
The only way things will change is if enough of the bastards get scared enough to actually listen to what we're saying. They may not actually get voted out (like Pelosi or Boxer here in the Bay Area), but a 33% third party showing would get their attention.
I used to care but I don't anymore. Now, I focus on what Hubby and I can do to save ourselves.
Sam....still in the trailer park
It's not so much about what Ron Paul has done but rather what he has not done.
As a military guy myself, the best thing you can do (IMHO) is:
1) Establish residency in a state with low (no) tax burden that you wouldn't mind considering moving to when you get out. For me, it is AK, where I intend to "return indefinitely and make a home..."
2) VOTE in every state and local election. My preference is to vote against anything that involves spending money, except for basic infrastructure and sometimes essential services that make the place livable for older people without kids. It is purely selfish because I probably don't plan on living in the place again until I am out of the military, which means my kids (if I have them) will not be school age anymore. So my primary concern is keeping the tax burden non-existent. Votes can actually matter in a lot of local elections where important things like referendums on bond issues pass with only a few dozen votes of margin--even though that's the sort of thing that hikes up property taxes in the long run!
If you happen to live in a state that has close elections on the national level then it is worth putting thought into how you vote in national elections. Otherwise I'd just cast a random ballot to keep my residency claim to an awesome state looking solid. I do vote in primaries too. If I stay in and make it to FGO I may stop voting and go purely non-partisan as other military leaders have gone in the past but as a more junior guy I don't mind voting, especially as a registered independent (non-partisan).
I guess that is kind of an abdication as well, though...
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