Election Day

Election Day today in the USA! If you are able to vote, I recommend you do so! I voted sometime in the morning.

Was researching some of the people I had to vote on, and some of the candidates were just freaking odd. One person wanted to cut off all military support other than getting troops back home and no longer wanted to do any sort of weapon research, as well as cut off relations to other countries... Basically be up for grabs to the next country who wants to attack. I understand not wanting to be apart of a war, but leaving the country absolutely defenseless is not very smart either.

Politics in general piss me off... So I normally don't care to get into anything. However, when it comes to voting, I try to research the positions and then see which candidate sucks the least. If I can't get good enough info or both candidates equally suck, then I choose not to vote (on them, that is). I know a lot of people get really up the ass about voting, and say to not vote is pathetic, but I believe to ONLY vote for the sake of voting is just as bad as not voting due to laziness. Part of the right to vote is the choice NOT to vote. Unfortunately, since a large amount of people don't vote due to being lazy/apathetic, people not voting for other reasons get lumped in with them.

It has been awhile since I was taught how our voting system actually works but from what I recall, the citizen's vote in the USA barely matters thanks to the electoral college. It is kind of depressing enough to make people not want to vote (which is what I ended up doing one of the election years). After that year, however, I decided I should still vote just to make an effort towards something I care for. Better than giving up completely. BTW, if I am wrong about the electoral college, by all means correct me.

Anyway, for those last minute voters or those who want to get more information on candidates in the future (for those in the USA), I used this website for a bulk of my information, using the courage test as a guideline and then the party's website for more info: Vote Smart.org The courage test is just a form that expresses what issues the politicians are going to address. A fair amount of politicians choose not to do it, probably because doing so would give their positions, which means they can't act like they care for both sides. Personally, I find the test as a nice quick way for voters to get info, doing so can help your position as much as hurt it.

I looked over the courage test, and it's not bad. So I decided to share my general views on a few of the things there (not the whole thing, cause that'd be too damn long):
- Pro-Choice on Abortion
- Decrease funds toward Welfare (I have a problem with people living on it forever, so want a cut off date instead)
- Decrease funds toward international aid (No offense to other countries, but we need to fix our own mess first before we can help someone)
- Greatly Decrease middle class's income tax (Middle class is the backbone here, stop stomping on them!)
- Marijuana's legalization should be restricted just like alcohol and cigarettes are currently. (must be 18/21 to purchase, not allowed in public eye, get equivalent of DWIs if caught under the influence of marijuana while driving) Otherwise, remain medicinal.
- Give college students better financial aid for college (extend harder for middle class)
- Rid public schools of federal testing. (Just seems like a waste of money, let the STATE school systems handle itself)
- Indifferent to Global Warming
- All for alternartive energy sources
- National healthcare should be an option to subscribe to, not a mandatory change.
- "Illegal" immigrant procedures need to be stepped up. (I appreciate that people want to come to the country, but feel we need to step up on border control. It is a crime to come in here illegally, thus the word "ILLEGAL" in "ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT." However, the system does need to be reformed, too many problems)
- There should be no national language, but still need to have people learn English (and provide some sort of free class to legal immigrants and new American citizens).
- For gay marriage
- For stem cell research
- In favor of SLOWLY weeding out affirmative action laws (maybe even just disable it until it is deemed needed once again).
- Think "don't ask, don't tell" is unconstitutional, but should stay maintained. Not to hate on gays, but there are people who join the army who will be uncomfortable with KNOWING you are gay. More hate may end up coming out of it, which can't be allowed in the army.