Wednesday, November 03, 2004
What I want to know is, why have an election if nothing's going to change? It did look good there for a while, though.
You know who I really feel sorry for in Presidential elections? The Libertarian guy. I've always figured that the Libertarian guy is the guy you vote for when you can't in your right mind vote for either of the front runners. This sort of puts a pall on whatever the guy stands for.
Personally, I know a few actual Libertarians and I've done some reading and the party's platform is, at least as I see it, as close to anarchy as anything I've ever seen.
I go to a lot of science fiction conventions and they seem to attract a large number of Libertarians--or at least people who think they support the libertarian ticket. What I think they really support is the Libertarians' hands-off policy regarding gun ownership. That's all well and good, just keep them outa my house.
I do think, though that if you were to listen to everything the Libs stand for, you'd probably not agree with all that much of it. Or maybe you would.
Just to give you an idea of how "out there' these people can appear to be, when Frank Zappa was considering running for president (his prostate cancer killed that, and Frank), the Libertarian party approached him to be their candidate in 1990. At first, he thought it would be a good idea until he got acquainted with the party agenda, then he decided they were to subversive even for him.
Still, it's always good to see that Libertarian guy on the ticket. He's like the team that plays the Harlem Globetrotters every night. You know he's not gonna win but you can't blame him for trying.
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Speaking of conventions, I'm going to TusCon this weekend. I'm doing four panels (including a return of my massage demo, which went over really well last year). That's four more than I'm ever asked to do at sci-fi conventions here in town. Ah well.
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I will never be elected President. Here's why: In the first semester of my college days, I was walking along with a couple of friends of mine at NAU when a guy with a clipboard came up and asked if we would sign a petition to get the Communist Party's candidate onto the Presidential ballot in Arizona. My friends declined but I figured, why the hell not? I'm not gonna vote for him, he's not gonna win, but anyone can run for president no matter how jaded and misdirected they are. So I signed it.
(In case you're wondering, the guy DID get his name on, but in case you didn't hear, he didn't win. Jimmy Carter did.)
Now I KNOW, that somewhere in some folder in some file in some office in some city somewhere, that fucking petition is just WAITING for me to announce my candidacy to ANYTHING. Then my opponent will accuse me of being a COMMUNIST SYMPATHISER! Then he'll pay Karl Marx to rise from the dead and declare me a Pinko! On live TV! And how DARE you even think about electing a COMMIE to be the city's first elected dog shit picker-upper!
See? Beware of what you did in your youth. I'm still having guilt pangs over the single hit of marijuana I took in a study hall at Brookfield Central High, from a makeshift pipe made out of a Bic Pen. (It didn't work immediately so I swore off the stuff forever.)
Only thing worse than a pinko commie commission of poop scooping is a STONED pinko commie poop scoop commissioner...
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That's a great name for a band: "Poop Scoop Commissioner..."
__________
I'm 47 now. That means that I'm officially "Pushing 50." Still not a grey hair on my head. My eyebrows, however, wish to differ.
I find it hard to believe it's been 30 years since I was in high school, 26 years since I met my wife, and 24 years since John Lennon's last autograph. Shit, WOODSTOCK was 35 years ago! All those young people in that movie are either older parents or grandparents now.
I was actually in New York the weekend of Woodstock--but on the other side of the state. We were visiting friends in Buffalo and the TV that weekend was wall-to-wall coverage of the traffic jam and shots of the crowd. All of the older girls at the home where we were staying were making noise about driving up there, but when they heard they wouldn't get anywhere close, they decided not to. Personally, I would have gone if they had. I was three months short of 12 years old. I was groovy. I was "into" the 60s music scene as much as a kid with a paper route could be. Like, "wow," man.
"Woodstock" is one of my favorite movies, by the way. But you have to know how -- and where-- to watch it. Woodstock was best viewed at Drive-in movie theatres, its music condensed to come out of a mono speaker about the size of your hand. It seemed to play almost bi-weekly at the Cactus Drive In during the mid-70s. My friends and I saw it a lot.
In a way it was my pre-cursor to "Rocky Horror." There were rituals you did at different times in the movie, like poke fun at Wavy Gravy, and mimic Arlo Guthrie when he says, "New York State Thruway is CLOSED, Maaaaan!"
"Woddstock" suffers from not having any drive-in-size screens to see it on anymore. When Ten Years After comes on and plays that version of "I'm going home" that lasts for about a week, you had time to pee, go to the snack bar, wait for your friend to smoke a cigarette, schmooze with girls, etc. etc. And you were still back in time to see the hippie girl talk about how she didn't know how she was gonna get home.
And of course, the classic "Port-o-San" scene. Love that. Nothing like seeing a guy clean out a Porta-john on a 60-foot movie screen.
---------
Kerry just conceded. Well, Buck Fush.
TT
You know who I really feel sorry for in Presidential elections? The Libertarian guy. I've always figured that the Libertarian guy is the guy you vote for when you can't in your right mind vote for either of the front runners. This sort of puts a pall on whatever the guy stands for.
Personally, I know a few actual Libertarians and I've done some reading and the party's platform is, at least as I see it, as close to anarchy as anything I've ever seen.
I go to a lot of science fiction conventions and they seem to attract a large number of Libertarians--or at least people who think they support the libertarian ticket. What I think they really support is the Libertarians' hands-off policy regarding gun ownership. That's all well and good, just keep them outa my house.
I do think, though that if you were to listen to everything the Libs stand for, you'd probably not agree with all that much of it. Or maybe you would.
Just to give you an idea of how "out there' these people can appear to be, when Frank Zappa was considering running for president (his prostate cancer killed that, and Frank), the Libertarian party approached him to be their candidate in 1990. At first, he thought it would be a good idea until he got acquainted with the party agenda, then he decided they were to subversive even for him.
Still, it's always good to see that Libertarian guy on the ticket. He's like the team that plays the Harlem Globetrotters every night. You know he's not gonna win but you can't blame him for trying.
----------
Speaking of conventions, I'm going to TusCon this weekend. I'm doing four panels (including a return of my massage demo, which went over really well last year). That's four more than I'm ever asked to do at sci-fi conventions here in town. Ah well.
----------
I will never be elected President. Here's why: In the first semester of my college days, I was walking along with a couple of friends of mine at NAU when a guy with a clipboard came up and asked if we would sign a petition to get the Communist Party's candidate onto the Presidential ballot in Arizona. My friends declined but I figured, why the hell not? I'm not gonna vote for him, he's not gonna win, but anyone can run for president no matter how jaded and misdirected they are. So I signed it.
(In case you're wondering, the guy DID get his name on, but in case you didn't hear, he didn't win. Jimmy Carter did.)
Now I KNOW, that somewhere in some folder in some file in some office in some city somewhere, that fucking petition is just WAITING for me to announce my candidacy to ANYTHING. Then my opponent will accuse me of being a COMMUNIST SYMPATHISER! Then he'll pay Karl Marx to rise from the dead and declare me a Pinko! On live TV! And how DARE you even think about electing a COMMIE to be the city's first elected dog shit picker-upper!
See? Beware of what you did in your youth. I'm still having guilt pangs over the single hit of marijuana I took in a study hall at Brookfield Central High, from a makeshift pipe made out of a Bic Pen. (It didn't work immediately so I swore off the stuff forever.)
Only thing worse than a pinko commie commission of poop scooping is a STONED pinko commie poop scoop commissioner...
----------
That's a great name for a band: "Poop Scoop Commissioner..."
__________
I'm 47 now. That means that I'm officially "Pushing 50." Still not a grey hair on my head. My eyebrows, however, wish to differ.
I find it hard to believe it's been 30 years since I was in high school, 26 years since I met my wife, and 24 years since John Lennon's last autograph. Shit, WOODSTOCK was 35 years ago! All those young people in that movie are either older parents or grandparents now.
I was actually in New York the weekend of Woodstock--but on the other side of the state. We were visiting friends in Buffalo and the TV that weekend was wall-to-wall coverage of the traffic jam and shots of the crowd. All of the older girls at the home where we were staying were making noise about driving up there, but when they heard they wouldn't get anywhere close, they decided not to. Personally, I would have gone if they had. I was three months short of 12 years old. I was groovy. I was "into" the 60s music scene as much as a kid with a paper route could be. Like, "wow," man.
"Woodstock" is one of my favorite movies, by the way. But you have to know how -- and where-- to watch it. Woodstock was best viewed at Drive-in movie theatres, its music condensed to come out of a mono speaker about the size of your hand. It seemed to play almost bi-weekly at the Cactus Drive In during the mid-70s. My friends and I saw it a lot.
In a way it was my pre-cursor to "Rocky Horror." There were rituals you did at different times in the movie, like poke fun at Wavy Gravy, and mimic Arlo Guthrie when he says, "New York State Thruway is CLOSED, Maaaaan!"
"Woddstock" suffers from not having any drive-in-size screens to see it on anymore. When Ten Years After comes on and plays that version of "I'm going home" that lasts for about a week, you had time to pee, go to the snack bar, wait for your friend to smoke a cigarette, schmooze with girls, etc. etc. And you were still back in time to see the hippie girl talk about how she didn't know how she was gonna get home.
And of course, the classic "Port-o-San" scene. Love that. Nothing like seeing a guy clean out a Porta-john on a 60-foot movie screen.
---------
Kerry just conceded. Well, Buck Fush.
TT
Comments:
We Libertarians aren't that "out there." In fact, at the moment our vote totals for this go-round are within 17,000 of Nader's score, though that's not being reported and the final votes aren't in yet. Best of all, we trounced the Greens. We don't need any sympathy, as our candidates goal was not to win but to build the party. I'd be interested to hear from you what you think is our most "outrageous" political position. :-) - Debora Kerr
# posted by 
: 2:35 PM
: 2:35 PM
Okay, Deb: I went to the Libertarian site and got some (albeit very basic) info on Libertarianism, and then I took the fun "Are You A Libertarian" Quiz. I am definitely not. I am a left-leaning centrist.
As far as outrageous ideas goes, I think that as nice as a non-welfare state would be, it's silly to think that private donations would fund all the things that the government helps to fund now. Private companies only fund non-profits becuase they can write it off. If you remove the need to do it, they won't and they don't.
I've only been unemployed once (about 22 years ago) but I was MORE than glad to take the unemployment handout until I found a job. I see nothing wrong with it -- it certainly doesn't encourage staying unemployed. And there are some mighty sick people out there who can't work who SHOULD be supported by the government. In my opinion.
I also believe the government should gladly fund arts and music and humanities via the NEA and NEH, whether it's a ballet or a crucifix in a jar full of piss. They spend so much money on crap I DON'T like, they should be forced to spend money on stuff that I do.
Also, if, as it's put on the quiz, Libertarians believe that we should "Repeal laws prohibiting adult possession and use of drugs." I disagree with that statement. It's too ambiguous. I think marijuana should be legalized, taxed and sold like cigarettes, but I don't believe that harder drugs should be decriminalized. If a guy is strung out on heroin, he doesn't need jail, he needs help. I'll gladly give tax money for that treatment -- ONCE. But if he gets help and keeps using heroin, then sit in a cell for a while till he's forced to dry out.
I am also against privatized social security because I am incapable of saving a fucking cent. Being forced to do so would mean I'd be homeless when I'm old and forced to go on welfare, etc. etc.
On the libertarian side, I've always been against the draft, I've always felt that most consenting adults were having more fun sexually than I usually do (but not always, right Jan?) and who wouldn't like to cut taxes by 50%? Unfortunately, that's not going to happen because of my point about there not ever being enough private organizations to pay for the nation's woes.
Now, I definitely agree that government shouldn't hand out money to BUSINESSES, here or abroad. I thought it was bad news when Iacocca did it with Chrysler and I still do.
(It did generate a great Tom Paxton song, though.)
So I guess I wouldn't be a good Libertarian! But we do agree on more than we don't.
TT
As far as outrageous ideas goes, I think that as nice as a non-welfare state would be, it's silly to think that private donations would fund all the things that the government helps to fund now. Private companies only fund non-profits becuase they can write it off. If you remove the need to do it, they won't and they don't.
I've only been unemployed once (about 22 years ago) but I was MORE than glad to take the unemployment handout until I found a job. I see nothing wrong with it -- it certainly doesn't encourage staying unemployed. And there are some mighty sick people out there who can't work who SHOULD be supported by the government. In my opinion.
I also believe the government should gladly fund arts and music and humanities via the NEA and NEH, whether it's a ballet or a crucifix in a jar full of piss. They spend so much money on crap I DON'T like, they should be forced to spend money on stuff that I do.
Also, if, as it's put on the quiz, Libertarians believe that we should "Repeal laws prohibiting adult possession and use of drugs." I disagree with that statement. It's too ambiguous. I think marijuana should be legalized, taxed and sold like cigarettes, but I don't believe that harder drugs should be decriminalized. If a guy is strung out on heroin, he doesn't need jail, he needs help. I'll gladly give tax money for that treatment -- ONCE. But if he gets help and keeps using heroin, then sit in a cell for a while till he's forced to dry out.
I am also against privatized social security because I am incapable of saving a fucking cent. Being forced to do so would mean I'd be homeless when I'm old and forced to go on welfare, etc. etc.
On the libertarian side, I've always been against the draft, I've always felt that most consenting adults were having more fun sexually than I usually do (but not always, right Jan?) and who wouldn't like to cut taxes by 50%? Unfortunately, that's not going to happen because of my point about there not ever being enough private organizations to pay for the nation's woes.
Now, I definitely agree that government shouldn't hand out money to BUSINESSES, here or abroad. I thought it was bad news when Iacocca did it with Chrysler and I still do.
(It did generate a great Tom Paxton song, though.)
So I guess I wouldn't be a good Libertarian! But we do agree on more than we don't.
TT
Thanks for your comments. It's always good to know where someone's coming from before flaming them (just kidding LOL). I think your excuse about social security is your weakest argument, and this 'there must be a safety net' philosophy colors many of your beliefs and would prevent you from ever fully embracing Libertarianism. One person's unwillingness to take care of his own business, be it financial, medical, etc. should not indenture me to forfeit my resources to solve his self-imposed problems. Ah well, we'll still be fighting for your right to be nude, even though you're fighting to tax us so highly that we won't be able to afford the clothes that we *want* to wear . . .
- Debora
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- Debora
# posted by : 6:21 AM
: 6:21 AM