Hi Alan, Harmon and all I do believe that low voter turnouts have less to do with the widely alleged apathy/ignorance than with despair at what's on offer, and not just in the US. How about if you could vote against as well as for? I bet that'd turn them out alright! Is there any government in the world that would go for that? LOL! Well, if not, why not? How many govts can claim a majority mandate these days? A majority of corporations maybe.
I much agree with you about local elections though Alan. They do provide an opportunity for real politics and real involvement, and it's sad the turnouts are so low. Older journalists sometimes say they'd like to go back to the small town they came from, or any small town, and start a radio station or a local rag, because it's about the only chance left for any real journalism. They have a point. Maybe the same applies to politics. I think it's the level where it's most effective to try to change things, as with Craig's original suggestion re campaigning for biodiesel: >Maybe we should just start hounding Congress to support biodiesel in any way >possible, including paying farmers to grow soy for its production and >mandating its use over petroleum diesel. They could do all of this in the >name of the WAR and Homeland Security. They seem to be able to pass >anything else for these reasons, why not support for biodiesel? > >Sincerely, > >Craig Rogers Biodiesel and biofuels can fit in so well with local issues. Bioregionalism, local community self-reliance in energy. Start hounding Town Hall as well as Congress? How about what happens in Vermont? http://www.tompaine.com/feature.cfm/ID/5253 Vermont: Takin' It To Town Regards Keith >Harmon Seaver <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > > On Thu, Mar 21, 2002 at 02:25:07PM +0900, Keith Addison wrote: > > > > > > But it seems you Americans want Congress or you wouldn't have elected > > > them. Or is that a bit naive of me? Whatever, they'll respond to > > > enough public pressure, re diesels, ULSD dino-diesel and biodiesel. > > > >[snip] > > I'm certainly not alone in this, most of the people > > I know, even the ones > > who vote feel pretty hopeless about it. > >Indeed. I'm one of them. > > > And why do you think so few people vote? > > Most of the candidates are > > mental lightweights -- I mean look at just the last presidential >election: dubbya or > > algore? Gag! > >Indeed. The real problem here is that nobody who would really be worth >voting for wants to run for the job. > > > I voted > > for Nader, > >Ack! Did you read his platform? I did, and I voted Libertarian. > > > but that's pretty hopeless, and the people I talk to who don't vote say > > exactly that -- what's > > the point? > >The point is to get enough people to vote for alternate parties to break >the stranglehold that the demicans and the republicrats have had on >American politics for the past odd century. > >It kind of reminds me of those Democrats in the Florida panhandle >(central timezone) that heard Gore was winning the rest of Florida >(eastern timezone) so they didn't bother to go to their polling places >and vote. Oops! > > > As I always say -- it's not my government. They may steal from >my pocket, I can't > > stop that, but they > > don't represent me in any way shape or form. > >At least you vote. > >To all those people who don't vote I say "If you don't exercise your >right to vote then you forfeit your right to complain." > >Find out what's on the ballot, educate yourself about the issues, and >get to your polling place on election day and VOTE! Every election. No >excuses. > >Especially always vote in the _local_ elections, because the local stuff >will have a lot more direct effect on your life than the state and >federal stuff will. But the local elections always have the _lowest_ >turnout. > >And people wonder why the government is going to the dogs! > > >AP >-- >Aviation is more than a hobby. It is more than a job. It is more than >a career. Aviation is a way of life. >A second language for the world: www.esperanto.com >Processor cycles are a terrible thing to waste: www.distributed.net ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~--> Buy Stock for $4. No Minimums. FREE Money 2002. http://us.click.yahoo.com/BgmYkB/VovDAA/ySSFAA/FGYolB/TM ---------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Please do NOT send "unsubscribe" messages to the list address. To unsubscribe, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
