Voting is neither a right nor a privilege. It’s a civic duty.Please vote, and wear something that singles you out as an Atheist when you do (everyone needs to know we vote)! If approached by an exit poller, tell them you’re hot button issue was the Separation of church and state.Remember — Dems vote tomorrow, GOP Votes on Wednesday. Just kidding.Here’s a great scorecard, for the last time. USE IT!
ADDENDUM 11/7, 8:30am. Voted with a No God pin on. Everyone knew an Atheist was voting. Nice….
Interesting how Silverman posts a link to a ?free thinker? site yet, shamelessly tells his bloggers what to say if questioned by exit pollsters?
Only vote if you’re familiar with the candidates and have a good idea of what they stand for. Don’t just vote for the sake of voting. If you don’t know anything about the candidates, it’s better to just not vote at all.
jcc is worried that we are blindly going to say what our Dear Leader Dave tells us to if questioned by exit pollsters. Don’t worry jcc becasue unlike the religiously brainwashed he doesn’t tell us what to say and follws it up with “or else you will burn in hell…”
LIBERTARIANS AND DEMOCRATS VOTE TOMORROW! REPUBLICANS ARE TO REPORT FOR VOTING ON WEDNESDAY ONLY!
I will be voting libertarian where possible, demacratic where it looks necessary to affect a change of coarse as far as iraq is concerned. I will also lean heavily towards voting out incumbants and no to all judges in order to limit entrenched corruption. Also NO to any attempt to raise our taxes.
Well, I dropped off my ballot today. And no, nothing ID’d me as an atheist as I did it. It’s extremely important to me that my choices recognize that religion has no place in our government, but I’d be lying if I said that was most important to me. However, a lot of my most important issues are influenced at least a bit by it.
in no particular order:
Immigration
Education
Corruption in Government
Gay Marriage
WAR WAR WAR WAR WAR
Robbing the Poor, Enriching the Rich
I think part of the issue trying to organize atheists is that we have the ability to think for ourselves, and we do. As a result, we don’t all reach the same conclusion.
r4d
Igneous or Sedimentary Party?
I don’t get it
oh wait, yeah I do
I want to take this opportunity to wish all you Amuricans best wishes for tomorrow’s historic vote. Were I of a superstitious bent I’d cross my fingers.
DAVE? Would it be possible to number the posts?
like r4d, i already voted by mail 2 weeks ago. no lines and i get to ignore all the ads since the election is over for me.
I’m a Canadian citizen (living in California) but my American wife isn’t going to bother to vote: our congressman Wally Herger is a shoo-in in this district – the challenger hasn’t got a hope in hell. The incumbent guy didn’t even bother campagining in our district! He’s been in congress 22 years or so – TERM LIMITS anyone?
cjn
By strange co-incidence the day those of you in the USA are voting is the day of our biggest horse race. Melbourne Cup Day “The Race That Stops a Nation”. So I have been drinking and betting on horses. But enjoy that voting thing you have going…
Man, only 17, can’t quite vote yet, makes me mad that someone ignorant as hell can vote just because he is above 18, but I can’t just because of my age. There should be some kind of test if you ask me, but that is a totally different subject and is unconstitutional.
Cal
I feel your pain….the system sucks sometimes….I’ll vote twice for you….It’s o.k. I live in the chicago area it’s standard operating procedure.
The important thing is to change the majority party in both houses of congress. It is those numbers that count. So you have to vote for the democratic candidate, even if he/she is wingnut jesus freak. Just consider them a space filler.
The majority party controls the committees and can investigate and propose budgets.
A reminder of what we are fighting against.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrcl3FoURA0&mode=related&search=
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5r6TqpOQGc&mode=related&search=
I just recently went LIBERTATARIAN to get ready for 2008,but TODAY I will vote DEMOCRAT ALL THE WAY.
I just recently went LIBERTATARIAN to get ready for 2008,but TODAY I will vote DEMOCRAT ALL THE WAY.
I just recently went LIBERTATARIAN to get ready for 2008,but TODAY I will vote DEMOCRAT ALL THE WAY.
WHOOPS.My computer accted like it had an astma attack.Sorry for the triple play.
voting…drinking and horse races…voting…drinking and…yeah, can I do both?
Ok I just voted and yes the polling place was in an evangelical (semi) megachurch. It was weird being in a church but becasue it was for a totally secular reason and I had no other choice if I wanted to vote I felt it was ok.
I had the chance to scope out where they keep the literature so I can go back and fill the rack up with “The god Who Wasn’t There” DVD’s at a later time!
I just voted! I realized after arriving that I had no idea who the various candidates for various judicial positions were… so I didn’t vote for any of ‘em. I was kind of disappointed in myself, though, as those sorts of positions seem like pretty important ones. I’ll make a note for next election: research judges as well as issues and congressmen.
aviaa
here we got a handy-dandy judicial information mailing, listing all the candidates for judicial positions and their backgrounds and personal blurbs about what they stand for. It’s fairly helpful. I’m taking it with me to the polls. The judicial voting is non-partisan, so it was a separate mailer. Info on the other candidates is in the local paper, which I’ll also take along.
The only folks I’m not voting for are the ones running unopposed. And I’m writing my son in for a school board position. School board and county commisioners are hot button items here because of the issue of school consolidation.
I understand about the pin and all, and why people should know that “atheists vote too”, but really, why make it about groups? The root cause of all this nonsense is that peoeple refuse to think for themselves and just go with the group. That’s the defining characteristic of atheists, politically speaking — we’re not as group-minded.
So why try to convince people that we are?
Well, I just voted. I was #420 to put my ballot in the machine. It’s a small town; still lots of folks took advantage of the early voting option.
Being a great procrastinator, I’d have put it off another day, if I could!
Sorry Dave, there were no exit polls here. It’s raining–there aren’t even any people sitting outside begging for votes.
Just curious. I have NEVER seen an exit poll person, and I have voted in every election since I turned 18.
Has anyone ever actually seen one?
been called by a national poll?
or even a local poll?
Hey Bones
I just asked my friend about that bumper sticker.
She got it at a local place called “Sweet Dreams Video”. They sell erotica and such, mostly.
Maybe you could google it and find it somewhere?
The local polling place has always had exit poll interviewers later in the day but today was too rainy I reckon and there were none. I think they have to stand outside and aren’t allowed inside but that might not be accurate.
I did see one guy milling around outside w/ what looked like a small laptop (it was dark & rainy), but he said nothing to me. I’ve never seen an exit poll, just a bunch of cranky old seniors.
dave i am glad you pointed out it is a civic duty to vote.sadly ever since we got rid of the poll tax and literacy test we have seen a decline
in gov’t quality.
I voted today. It was difficult and unorganized and resulted in my missing a class, but damnit, I voted. It’s hard, because I know that my vote is just ONE vote, and that one vote will more than likely NOT make or break a campaign.
But nobody has more than one vote, and my one vote is just as powerful as anybody else’s. That, at least, is kind of cool. There was a poem about that I really liked. I’ll have to look it up.
I’ve learned my lesson for next time, and will vote absentee in the future.
My impression from outside the USA is that voting is made unnecessarily difficult. The process seems cumbersome and complicated. The election is held on a work day. A lot of people don’t seem to have a polling station nearby.
American members: How do these impressions stack up against the real experience?
It seems like your government doesn’t want you to vote or am I drawing a way-out conspiracy style conclusion from too little data?
I think you have a better democracy when voting is compulsory.
(I think that opinion may be incendiary here based on discussions I have had in the past with American friends!)
I mean, it would make most sense that we are a country that votes, which is a great right. It should be a national holiday, the entire country should be off to vote. I agree, it would be a lot better if you had nothing else to do that day but vote, the turn out would be much greater I bet.
It’s official: Democrats have taken control of the House of Representatives! and Santourum is history!
OK, regardless of who wins or loses in this election cycle, I think atheists will make more achieve more if we promote science. Religion especially should be examined for facts. The doubt is sewn, the more there is an intelligent conclusion, which is there is no god or gods.
Science solves problems. Religion creates war, hate, extortion, blackmail and threats if we don’t believe in their gods.
Personally, I know of both Republicans, Democrats and Independents who are atheists. Each political party must address lower taxes, national security, and creating good schools. Neither party is the preferred party for atheists. There are factions in all political parties who are anti-superstition. As atheists, we should be promoting logic in all parties and not make enemies of one party or another.
DeeVee
I’m somewhat going ape over all the Democratic victories and news. I really hope that the new political elects and changes will begin a swing toward a society intent on becoming democratic (with a small “d”)
Monika:
For me, I live in a small town and it was a 2 minute drive for me to the local school to vote. We had a 0 minute wait to vote. Trick is not to go when everyone else goes. Turn out was huge here.
Now that the House is in, I really hope the speaker of the house is not going to be from the far left extremist side. This will only hurt us come next election.
Monika, I’m with billh. Voting was easy, pleasant (free peanut butter cookies made by the ladies running the poll), and I could walk to the poll in five minutes (and I live way out in the boonies). I’m not sure if your info is accurate. I enjoy voting; it makes me feel as if I do have some control over a sometimes out-of-control world, and I got to vote out the crackpot Santorum. Wooohooo!
MY VOTE COUNTED!!!!!!!! Note to politicians—LISTEN
Santourum…YES! I’m so glad he’s out, what a sick person he was.
Indiana’s Hostetler(R) is out! He is the idiot that wanted to punish those who challenge laws and practices on church state issues. I can’t believe my own state had that much sense! The bible belt is rarely fair, but the idiot got what he deserved.
Maybe the changes in the house and senate will cause those elected to DO THEIR JOBS. Torture and secret prisions are just wrong. If a president starts shreding the constitution and bill of rights it is their job to provide checks and balances. The last few years have been a failure of the system, one we cannot allow. Thanks to all who voted.
Holy Macaroni,
Rumsfeld is steping down! There is some hope the American people will win. I just wish the Democrats had some sort of plan, maybe something can be worked out. Maybe the new blood will argue till something reasonable for all americans can take shape. I doubt they will get that crazy but ya never know it is statistically possible.
Speaking from Australia I can’t say how glad I am to see some changes in America! Your election matters all over the world. It remains to be seen what will actually change but at least there are a bunch of people in power now who were voted in on the fact that the American people are not happy with the Bush administration. I hope they keep that in mind.
Thanks to billh and cry4turtles for your replies to my comments. Nice to know I was probably getting a skewed impression.
Karen, I get it.
Alex, Aw…. I like the Lord Dave thing
Remy, The posts are already numbered. Do you see a link in the bottom right corner of each post?
Oh Yeah… DEMS TOOK THE SENATE!