> Too many voting ’irregularities’ to be coincidence
8 November 2004, 19:26
I think we’re wasting precious time and energy thinking about this past election. Where does it all stop? What if we find we have to audit the auditors? What I think is really going on here is that we’re in denial about what really happened on November 2nd.
Here’s what really happened --- We got EXACTLY the president we vote for every day!
There’s an old saying that says watch your pennies and your dollars will take care of themselves. We need to think about what we’re doing with our pennies (our every day votes) and the dollars (elections that happen every four years) will take care of themselves. The problem with the United States of America is we don’t want to admit that what we really want is a president that doesn’t give a crap about the environment, or health care, or the lives of our young men and women! That is how we, the American people, are voting with our pennies every day of our lives.
For example...
Every time we start our car, we are supporting our dependence on foreign oil.
Every time we eat food that is NOT organic, we are supporting our dependence on foreign oil.
Every time we purchase something in plastic, we are supporting our dependence on foreign oil.
Every time we take our clothes to the dry cleaners, we are supporting our dependence on foreign oil.
Every time we purchase NON organic cotton/hemp/wool/ramie/silk/etc. clothing, we are supporting our dependence on foreign oil.
Every time we use a personal (hair, skin, teeth, and nails) care product that has petroleum based surfactants in it, we are supporting our dependence on foreign oil.
Every time we light a paraffin based candle, we are supporting our dependence on foreign oil.
Every time we use traditional cleaning and laundry products, we are supporting our dependence on foreign oil.
Every time we visit a fast food restaurant, we are supporting our dependence on foreign oil.
Every time we dowse ourselves with perfume or apply a little cosmetic cover up, we are supporting our dependence on foreign oil.
Do we stop to think about where our 401ks and our investment portfolios are leading us? Do we think about the building materials that make up our homes, furnishings, and floor coverings. Do we support our small local organic farmers that don’t use petro-chemicals? Are we walking/biking more and driving less? How is it we can decide to put a man on the moon and in less than 10 years it’s done and have an energy crisis in the mid-seventies and here we are 30 years later still dependent on foreign oil?
What choices did we make with our pennies today? Did we choose products that will guarantee our dependence on foreign oil and thus justify the deaths of thousands of individuals in Iraq to feed our quest to secure our way of life as we know it? Or did we choose to cut back just a little on our mass consumerism? I’m sure many of us are loathe to admit there is a connection between that plastic bottle we just purchased containing our favorite beverage and the destruction going on in Iraq.
Did we choose to eat a healthful meal of organic fruits, vegetables, dairy, meat, and grain products, or did we throw a plastic packaged meal in the microwave? Did we take a walk today, or drive around in our SUV? Did we veg out in front of the television and support giant corporate conglomerates, or did we take a minute to write a letter to the major food chains asking them to stop coating our food with petroleum based wax laced with chemical preservatives? Did we buy yet another plastic toy for our children or did we teach them a new way to think or to explore the natural world around them? Did we drive their obese little bottoms to school today in our mini-vans, or did they get a nice dose of fresh air and sunshine in a walk to school? Did we stop for fast food and eat our meal out of a styrofoam container and a petroleum-based wax covered cup, or did we share a meal with our family in our own home without a single disposable item on the table? Did we go to the movies and feed ourselves junk food out of disposable plastic containers, or did we volunteer at a homeless shelter/senior center/day care facility/ or hospital? How about our Christmas list - did we consider the impact on our use of foreign oil here?
After 9-11, Bush asked Americans to keep on doing what we’re doing, to keep on spending like we’re spending. He asked us to be certain not to let the incident interfere with the mass consumerism that makes up our way of life and the Christmas holidays. He wanted to make sure that we kept up our current lifestyle which is exactly the lifestyle that keeps presidents like him in office. Believe me, if we stop supporting our current mad consumerism and quest for ever more convenience, THEN we will see the change to which we keep giving lip service!
It’s a beautiful thing - capitalism. We get to vote every single day of our lives!
How did you vote, today? Tomorrow will build on it.
I hope we all make better choices today that will be reflected in some real change in 2008.
I think we’re wasting precious time and energy thinking about this past election. Where does it all stop? What if we find we have to audit the auditors? What I think is really going on here is that we’re in denial about what really happened on November 2nd.
Here’s what really happened --- We got EXACTLY the president we vote for every day!
There’s an old saying that says watch your pennies and your dollars will take care of themselves. We need to think about what we’re doing with our pennies (our every day votes) and the dollars (elections that happen every four years) will take care of themselves. The problem with the United States of America is we don’t want to admit that what we really want is a president that doesn’t give a crap about the environment, or health care, or the lives of our young men and women! That is how we, the American people, are voting with our pennies every day of our lives.
For example...
Every time we start our car, we are supporting our dependence on foreign oil.
Every time we eat food that is NOT organic, we are supporting our dependence on foreign oil.
Every time we purchase something in plastic, we are supporting our dependence on foreign oil.
Every time we take our clothes to the dry cleaners, we are supporting our dependence on foreign oil.
Every time we purchase NON organic cotton/hemp/wool/ramie/silk/etc. clothing, we are supporting our dependence on foreign oil.
Every time we use a personal (hair, skin, teeth, and nails) care product that has petroleum based surfactants in it, we are supporting our dependence on foreign oil.
Every time we light a paraffin based candle, we are supporting our dependence on foreign oil.
Every time we use traditional cleaning and laundry products, we are supporting our dependence on foreign oil.
Every time we visit a fast food restaurant, we are supporting our dependence on foreign oil.
Every time we dowse ourselves with perfume or apply a little cosmetic cover up, we are supporting our dependence on foreign oil.
Do we stop to think about where our 401ks and our investment portfolios are leading us? Do we think about the building materials that make up our homes, furnishings, and floor coverings. Do we support our small local organic farmers that don’t use petro-chemicals? Are we walking/biking more and driving less? How is it we can decide to put a man on the moon and in less than 10 years it’s done and have an energy crisis in the mid-seventies and here we are 30 years later still dependent on foreign oil?
What choices did we make with our pennies today? Did we choose products that will guarantee our dependence on foreign oil and thus justify the deaths of thousands of individuals in Iraq to feed our quest to secure our way of life as we know it? Or did we choose to cut back just a little on our mass consumerism? I’m sure many of us are loathe to admit there is a connection between that plastic bottle we just purchased containing our favorite beverage and the destruction going on in Iraq.
Did we choose to eat a healthful meal of organic fruits, vegetables, dairy, meat, and grain products, or did we throw a plastic packaged meal in the microwave? Did we take a walk today, or drive around in our SUV? Did we veg out in front of the television and support giant corporate conglomerates, or did we take a minute to write a letter to the major food chains asking them to stop coating our food with petroleum based wax laced with chemical preservatives? Did we buy yet another plastic toy for our children or did we teach them a new way to think or to explore the natural world around them? Did we drive their obese little bottoms to school today in our mini-vans, or did they get a nice dose of fresh air and sunshine in a walk to school? Did we stop for fast food and eat our meal out of a styrofoam container and a petroleum-based wax covered cup, or did we share a meal with our family in our own home without a single disposable item on the table? Did we go to the movies and feed ourselves junk food out of disposable plastic containers, or did we volunteer at a homeless shelter/senior center/day care facility/ or hospital? How about our Christmas list - did we consider the impact on our use of foreign oil here?
After 9-11, Bush asked Americans to keep on doing what we’re doing, to keep on spending like we’re spending. He asked us to be certain not to let the incident interfere with the mass consumerism that makes up our way of life and the Christmas holidays. He wanted to make sure that we kept up our current lifestyle which is exactly the lifestyle that keeps presidents like him in office. Believe me, if we stop supporting our current mad consumerism and quest for ever more convenience, THEN we will see the change to which we keep giving lip service!
It’s a beautiful thing - capitalism. We get to vote every single day of our lives!
How did you vote, today? Tomorrow will build on it.
I hope we all make better choices today that will be reflected in some real change in 2008.