Hello....
Nikita here....
Daddy, and I, come to you, a week before the 1st of 2 of the most important Election Cycles in the history of the United States of America, with an important message.
Don't end the American Moment.
The future of this republic is in the hands of the American voter.—Dwight D. Eisenhower
We read the paper, and watch the news, and can't help but wonder if too many of us are only good at enjoying the freedom living in the greatest nation the earth has ever seen affords us.
Here is something to think about:
According to statistics from the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance... when looking at Election Turnout, country by country, in all elections, between 1945 and 1998...
The United States, the cradle of modern freedom, is ranked a pitifully disgraceful 114th!
THAT, all you happy people, is a FUCKING SHAME, and an utter disgrace!!
( To say it in any other way would be a sign of appeasement, and so we won't back down from the use of such a harsh word. )
The Brits, the nation whose Ass we kicked for the right to be free, were ranked 42nd ( 74.9% ).
In the 2000 Congressional Elections 46.6% voted, a 12 point increase from 1998.
In the 2000 Presidential Election 49.3% voted, measely 2 point increase from 1996.
No stats were available for 2002 and 2004, but all these numbers speak volumes.
After the 1992 Presidential Election turnout took a dramatic dive below 50%!
Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it.—Thomas Paine
If the people fail to vote, a government will be developed which is not their government…. The whole system of American Government rests on the ballot box. Unless citizens perform their duties there, such a system of government is doomed to failure.—Calvin Coolidge
The ignorance of one voter in a democracy impairs the security of all. —John F. Kennedy
Do teachers even mention these quotes ( And the others you will read here. ) in our schools today?
In a world that might say one vote doesn’t matter…, it does matter because each person is of infinite worth and value to God… Your vote is a declaration of importance as a person and a citizen.—Billy Graham
Some of you might say that I don't have a mouse in this hunt, so why do I care?
Because your freedom, and prosperity, comfort, and health, are the most important things for the continuation of my own, that's why.
We have a duty to our country to participate in the political process. See, if you believe in freedom, you have a duty to exercise your right to vote to begin with. I’m [here] to encourage people to do their duty, to go to the polls. I want all people, no matter what their political party is or whether they even like a political party, to exercise their obligation to vote. —George W. Bush
The President is right, you know.
Voting is not just a right, but the duty of all responsible citizens, and there is absolutely NO EXCUSE, not to, short of a last minute emergency, or incapacitation, sticking you, or a loved one, in the hospital, being in a coma, or your death ( Use an Absentee Ballot, or go to a polling place early! ).
If the citizens neglect their duty and place unprincipled men in office, the government will soon be corrupted; laws will be made not for the public good so much as for the selfish or local purposes.—Daniel Webster
That government is the strongest of which every man feels himself a part. —Thomas Jefferson
Let us never forget that government is ourselves and not an alien power over us. The ultimate rulers of our democracy are not a President and senators and congressmen and government officials, but the voters of this country.—Franklin D. Roosevelt
Whle we both have our obvious political preferences we strongly believe that all Americans, elegible to do so, need to...
Just DO IT! The future of this country, and the world, and what it will be like to live in it, demand it!
Let each citizen remember at the moment he is offering his vote that he is not making a present or a compliment to please an individual—or at least that he ought not so to do; but that he is executing one of the most solemn trusts in human society for which he is accountable to God and his country.—Samuel Adams
The ballot is stronger than the bullet.—Abraham Lincoln
Noel Sheppard yesterday wrote a piece in The American Thinker, from which I took the historical quotes, and he writes:
2,808 Americans have died in Iraq the past 43 months. Another 282 have met such a fate in and around Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom. Likely all are rolling over in their graves as fellow countrymen who sent them to war are threatening to boycott Election Day.
Particularly disheartening to these fallen heroes must be the conservative abstentions, as likely 90 percent of such Americans were in favor of sending soldiers to Iraq in March 2003, while probably 100 percent supported invading Afghanistan after 9/11. It must be unfathomable to these brave souls that the very people who rallied politicians to risk lives for these efforts are now turning their backs on the honored dead, and what they died for.
We agree with the sentiments he goes on to express, in his anger, at our fellow Conservatives, and while his thoughts are directed at Republicans, we believe that there are Democrats, and Liberals, somewhere out there in this great land who, though they may have differences with the current direction of the country, are thinking of staying home too, voicing the opinion "Why bother?".
Don’t stay home, for that dishonors all that have died to give you this precious right.
On a related note to that last: Many Pols, and Media-types, are making The War Against Terror, especially the war in Iraq, an issue, and we wish to express our solidarity with the sentiments of Mark Steyn:
I was on C-SPAN the other morning, and a lady called in to complain that ''you are making my blood pressure rise.'' Usual reason. The host, Paul Orgel, had asked me what I thought of President Bush and I replied that, whatever my differences with him on this or that, I thought he was one of the most farsighted politicians in Washington. That's to say, he's looking down the line to a world in which a radicalized Islam has exported its pathologies to every corner on Earth, Iran and like-minded states have applied nuclear blackmail to any parties within range, and a dozen or more nutcake basket-case jurisdictions have joined Pyongyang and Tehran as a Nukes R Us one-stop shop for all your terrorist needs. In 2020, no one's going to be worrying about which Congressional page Mark Foley is coming on to. Except Mark Foley, who'll be getting a bit long in the tooth by then. But if it really is, as Democrats say, ''all about the future of our children,'' then our children will want to know why our generation saw what was happening and didn't do anything about it. They will despise us as we despise the political class of the 1930s. And the fact that we passed a great prescription drug plan will be poor consolation when the entire planet is one almighty headache.
Read the whole essay... Only choice on War is Win or Lose it.
Then think about the offensvive words about our troops, your sons, daughters, brothers, and sisters, yesterday, by John Kerry, and his response to his critics [ His news conference, this morning ( "My statement was a botched joke aimed at the President!" ) was an embarrassment with no apology. ], as you prepare to head to the Polls.
Mark Barone, of US News and World Report, has some thoughts about the great 1 hour White House Interview the Prez had with a select group of Conservative journalists last week, that Steyn mentions:
It is a compelling hour, trust us.
Okay, now that I've laid it all out for you there is only one more thing left for me to say...
Go to the Polls on November 7th, go to the Polls in 2008, hell, just go in every election from now on!
America must be a gleaming example to the world.
There is no reason whatsoever that we can't be in the top 10, or 20, in Voter Turn-out, and WE SHOULD BE #1.
You see Daddy's new hairdo ( Or, um, lack of it, hee, hee! )?
He did this not just because he wanted to, but to make a point as his fellow humans head into 2 very crucial election cycles.
I want to start to see some improvement in the numbers, folks, over the coming years, or else I just might agree to follow in his footsteps....
As an European girl I can only sigh "at least he is not for Bush !"
Have you ever been outside the States ?
I think then you would talk differently about America's meaning of freedom a word which shows up in almost every phrase.
You only hear what you are told
I suppose there is no other TV or radio station but american, so no comparison with other western countries.
You say 2,808 soldiers died in Irak, they are much more than that.
I met an english nurse working in the a military hospital in the UK where all heavily wounded soldiers from Irak are brought in, because they cannot be transported to the States.
Most of them are dyeing there and nobody talks about them.
The same happens in Germany in the american military hospital.
Probably nobody will ever know how many of these poor men or women died for a completely senseless war.
Only oil buisiness or do you really think that Bush is worried about the well being of Irak ??
You should read The Sandbox, or maybe you know it?
Soldiers report from Irak in blogs.
Some are really very sad.
I am a mother and I am with all mothers involved.
And I came here for the cat carnival lol ! I return to the cats !
Posted by: Gattina | 11/06/2006 at 08:32 AM
Pssst... Gattina,
Read the peice again, and look around the Blog...
I'm as Conservative as Daddy is. ;-D
I don't know where you are getting your info, abot American's, and about the war, but let me tell you, Daddy, and I are very informed about the tragedy in the making that is Europe, about the war against terror, and more.
Anyone with a computer has access to more info, and resources for news, than the Liberal, and especially the world-wide Anti-American, Media cares to believe we do, and we pay attention to it.
Posted by: Nikita, The Bouncer of Sneakeasy's Joint | 11/06/2006 at 12:56 PM