political and various links.

[permetaform]

To state it baldly:

I do not think that Kerry will make a great president.

But I DO think that he'll make a good president. Kerry might be a flip-flopper and he might be as slimy and as slippery as the next politician but, you know what?

Kerry is a doubter, Kerry is a thinker, and as a doubter myself (please refer to my Journal FAQ) I respect that.

I respect a man who is willing to admit that they're wrong, I *respect* a man who is willing to 'ask for directions', in all it's literal and figurative connotations.

Frankly, I also admire men with convictions, who can take a stand and stick to it. HOWEVER, that is provided that the convictions were arrived at, personally, in a logical way. To have convictions which are arrived at haphazardly, or worse, which are GIVEN to you?

No matter if you're liberal, no matter if you're conservative, no matter if you are an *adult*, to have convictions founded on such a shaky base makes you a foolish child.

And Bush might be a good husband, and even might be a good father, and might even be a decent neighbor, but a good president? No. Absolutely no.

Kerry may be a douche bag, but I'm voting for him anyways, (and the website re-iterates it, in so many ways) but World Peace will NOT arrive on a chorus once he's elected. Iraq will still be there, simmering. The Patriot Act will still be there, and fucking with our minds because the Secret Service are following up on LJ posts. And America will still be divided.

Or is it?

I have faith about many things, that there are generally good people, that there are generally good, thoughtful, intelligent people living in America, that America is (for all it's faults) a good country. I love this country for all it's type A feverishness and all it's eccentric quirks and rat-race consumerism and for all it's stupidity and for all it's moments of startling brilliance. This country produced the likes of Johnny Depp. This country produced Eminem. This country opened it's doors to me and my family, and sometimes I hate it but mostly I love it. I have faith in America.

And the way I mean faith, is the the way I mean trust. And I trust on previous experience and past history; in this way, I trust and have faith in America.

In this way, with this meaning, I have faith that four more years of Bush would only mean an escalation of what we have had. Four more years means carte-blanche, it means that Bush can't be re-elected past that anyways, it means that he has juuuuuust enough of America behind him to get away with whatever else he'd had on the back-burner.

The second term of most presidents is when all the plans they had been laying down during the first term come into harvest. Do you realize how scared this makes me?

Now, let's take the other route: what if Kerry gets elected?

That means that both sides would be breathing down his neck and he'd probably nail himself down on whatever train's on the middle track. And that's perfectly fine for me, because hey, that's ~70% of America right there. That's roughly me, right there, about 13% left of center.

In any case, mosh with me. We need to get that child out of office.

---

ps. via Catch.com

Provisional voting:

"you register like normal, but when you go to your polling place you have to ask for a provisional ballot."

"to vote provisionally means that you previously registered to vote, but you don't appear on the rolls at your polling place or you went to the wrong polling place. Your vote only counts once its been proven that you were a previously registered voter."

pps. Good thing to know via jmhm: How to respond to voter intimidation, suppression, and fraud

ppps. Find out where you vote.

Comments

[absolutedestiny.livejournal.com]

I'm a hopeful limey and I approve this message.

[permetaform]

::hugs:: =)

[froda-baggins.livejournal.com]

*Applauds*

I'm with you on the fear thing, if Bush gets into office again. *shivers*

[permetaform]

yeah, I just hope enough people realize that too..

[froda-baggins.livejournal.com]

God, no kidding. I have never been more frightened to live in this country. I didn't think it was POSSIBLE.

[spacefille.livejournal.com]

*reads the post about the Secret Service following up on a livejournal post, feels a chill go through her*

Oh my God. O_O I am so so glad I live in Canada... I could never live down there. How do you not live in fear every single day of your lives? What happened to freedom of speech?

*shudders* I think I'll go be scared now...

[permetaform]

It's not a conscious thing, you just live it. ::shrugs::

[uiggu.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that anniesj thing was unbelievable. Unbelievable. / uiggu, who is glad to be British but would still live in lovely Chicago given half a chance...

[tiggymalvern.livejournal.com]

Heh, yeah. It's always nice though when you know you can go somewhere else Bush-less any time you like :-)

[jackiekjono.livejournal.com]

Last time I checked, the First Amendment did not cover threats. Threatening to harm another person is considered assault and is illegal just about anywhere - probably even in Canada.

I didn't read her original post, but - whatever she said - someone took her seriously enough to report it. The Secret Service read it and took it seriously enough to at least do a breif investigation and ask a few questions.

I seriously doubt that anyone is going to file any actual charges against her.

Threatening someone - anyone - is a stupid thing to do, even as a joke. Threatening the President is idiotic.

[uiggu.livejournal.com]

All this stuff about Kerry flip-flopping -- he wouldn't be human if he didn't change his mind sometimes. Personally I'd rather have a flip-flopper than a rigid 'no way Jose' unchanging-type ... person. Yeah, kind of ran out of steam there...

[permetaform]

XD love your icon...

[mistressrenet.livejournal.com]

I believe "moron" was the word you were looking for.

Also? That video? Wow.

[permetaform]

hee, people keep saying that, both of that, rather

[fernwithy.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you pointed out that world peace is not going to be achieved by a Kerry victory and the entire world scenario is not going to be re-aligned. Nor are we going to mak a breakthrough on November 3, wherein everyone who is paralyzed can get up out of his wheelchair.

As to the LJ thing, I think people are making too much of it. I didn't see the original post, but my guess is that the Secret Service wasn't monitoring LJ, but was instead informed by someone who happened to be on that journal. If there was something that could be construed as a threat, it's the Service's job to check it out, and that will be as true for Kerry and was as true for Clinton as it is for Bush. Given the sheer number of vicious anti-Bush posts I see every day on LJ, the fact that there's only been one such visit reported is actually what surprises me, though certainly proves that they aren't out there randomly monitoring. But that's a post for my own journal.

[permetaform]

that's a good point, and I didn't make a huge announcement about it, but ya gotta admit, it's still kinda freaky and a bit sad that they didn't bother to read the context of the post...that it was easier for them to send people than to suss out meaning. ::shrugs::

[fernwithy.livejournal.com]

Well, the people they sent did suss out the meaning--I guess I'd rather see them send people to have a conversation than take their humorless approach and put her under secret surveillance, making up their own (generally humorless) ideas of what she's up to. A visit got everything out in the open in a way that wouldn't have.

[luna-k.livejournal.com]

Um, I think I love you. Thanks for posting all these fabulous links.

[permetaform]

hee, it's no problem.

[adjectivegirl.livejournal.com]

You rule. Get out the good news and all that.

[permetaform]

awww! ::glomps::

[kc-anathema.livejournal.com]

Can I claim voter intimidation if the university students who find out I'm a Republican call me names and yell at me and say things like my political beliefs make them vomit? :) KC

[permetaform]

...er, well, only if they're blocking your way to the polling station, I think. ::wry grin::

[kc-anathema.livejournal.com]

^_^ I'll be sure to avoid the voting booths on campus, then. Buncha surly liberals there... :) KC

[wildelamassu.livejournal.com]

The carte blance point you made is the one that's been worrying me most. We needn't move any farther right, thank you. What happened to "playing to the mainstream"?

Obama for president *waves flag*