That's not a fact, or I should just say it's a "fact" perpetuated by the media. The states do NOT have the power to overthrow anything. In most cases, it is the electoral college in each state. In all but a few cases, the electoral college MUST vote for the majority winner in that state. And in only limited circumstances can they override the majority vote. That is a power that, to my knowledge, has NEVER been used.

I think lily said it well when she equated it to someone complaining about the planet, etc but not doing anything about it such as recycling. Or anyone complaining about anything that they have a chance to do something about.

I don't know about your powers that be, but personally my powers that be would put someone in office to spite me if I didn't vote and use MY powers that be to make a difference in the world... See my powers that be don't not only have a sense of humor but are also concerned that we do the right thing, and if we don't then and only then do they give us EXACTLY what we deserve. It may be a kick in the azz, or a kiss on the cheek, but in life you DEFINETLY GET WHAT YOU DESERVE.

So you can continue your "whoo is me, apathetic" stance and you will live a "whoo is me, apathetic" life....

Nothing in life that is worth something comes easy, and the road you travel to get it is more of the reward than the outcome.

Listen, I'm about as rage against the machine as you can get, but sometimes you have to work from the inside out to get done what you want. Sometimes you gotta kiss a little ass so you can later kick it.

It's your civic duty.... Even if you're a moron...

I vote always.

I live in Florida though. So, that's like not voting at all really.

So, even if you do like someone, you won't vote because he might turn out to be an a$$?

With that mentality, why date, why make friends, why leave your house to begin with... why not just end it all???

Last I checked this was supposed to be a free country no? Who is anyone to say we can't say what we want about someone.

You can say anything you want about anything you want, but if you don't vote and you are b*tching you look like a dumbass.... So you pick.

I have a friend who was married to a man from another country who used to spout off about American politics and one day I looked at him and said "You can't even vote"

You lose all credibility to talk the talk if you can't walk the walk.

my point exactly

We are returning this thread, with the understanding, no personal attacks or insulting remarks.

Thanks guys,
Mark

Well I stand by what I said earlier.

Yes it's is your DUTY to vote!!!!!!!!

Yes, you are verrry bad!

Shame on you for not voting!!!

Just kidding!

Not in my opinion. Just keep on keeping on and do your thing.

What the world needs now is more anger.

Wait, wait, just hear me out.

Ever heard of learned helplessness? It's a type of depression.

See, what they did is put some doggies in a pen that was divided in two by a low wall. The wall was short enough that the dogs could jump over it to get to the other side of the pen any time they wanted. Then they electrified the floor on the side they put the dogs on. Naturally, after a few yips and barks, all of the dogs jumped over the fence to the other side of the pen where the floor wasn't electrified. So they electrified that side, and the dogs jumped back over to the first side, which was now turned off. They did this several times, and after a few times, the dogs didn't even bother whining or barking, they just immediately jumped over the low wall as soon as the floor zapped them. No big deal, they knew what to do to alleviate their pain.

Then the researchers electrified both sides of the pen at the same time.

At first, the dogs jumped the low wall as usual, but when they got to the other side, that floor zapped them, too. So they jumped back over and got zapped by that floor.

They jumped back over, and then over again. Well, it didn't take them long to figure out there was no way to escape the shock. So after a little while, they just stayed on one side of the pen and whined and cowered. The researchers turned the floor off, then then back on again, and again the dogs jumped the low fence to escape the shock only to find that once again there was no escape. This time they didn't bother jumping back and forth, they just stayed where they were and howled and paced.

The researchers did this a few more times, and the dogs stopped trying to get away at all, just whining and cowering. After several more times of this, they didn't even whine.

Then the researchers turned off the other side of the floor and electrified the first side.
The dogs did nothing.

The researchers turned off the floor, then turned it on again. Nothing. So they zapped them over and over and over, trying to get them to jump the low fence and find out the other floor was now safe, but the dogs just cowered and huddled miserably, never attempting even once to jump over to the floor which was no longer a danger to them.

They had learned it was useless to do so. So now, even when relief was available to them, they didn't bother to try to find it.

That's learned helplessness. And the United States is a nation of sufferers. To say nothing of the rest of the planet.

We're the doggies. We've been carefully and intentionally manipulated, conditioned, trained, cowed, humiliated, and intimidated into not reacting to injustice and suffering.

We've been taught not to complain and not to believe in our ability to change things when we are unhappy with them. We've been told we will be happier if we just leave things the way they are, that change would just bring about more pain.

We've been taught not only that the other side of the pen is just as painful as this side, but that we'll be humiliated, ostracized, and otherwise punished if we even try to jump that fence.

The Indigos

And then we have the Indigos. They're different. They're new here, and they don't react to things like most people do.

You see, the Indigos are a new group of doggies. They haven't been living through the floor experiment. They've come from a place where doggies run free in grassy fields full of toys and happy playmates. Where they're provided with all kinds of wonderful, interesting, delicious and nutritious food to eat, and soft, comfy cushions to sleep on when they're tired. Where the sky stays clear and the temperature is just right, and there's always a new hollow log to explore, a new trail to follow, a new smell on the air to investigate.

And now they awake to find themselves in a strange, small, ugly, featureless cage with a weird floor. The first thing they notice is they no longer have the freedom they once had. There are walls here, made of steel, and they can only walk around in a small area. They can't see the sky anymore either, just a dull painted ceiling. The lovely smells are gone, there's no soft grass, and the food is odd and bland and doesn't make them feel very good. No soft, fluffy cushions here, either, and their playmates are sullen, cowering, fearful balls of patchy fur that barely whimper when approached.

These new doggies react to their new environment in shock and dismay, and begin scratching at the floor and walls, jumping and whining and barking. They howl miserably, and nip at the other occupants of the cage, trying to get a response out of them. They begin to fight amongst themselves out of anger, fear, and frustration, and soon the floor is streaked with blood.

But these doggies are different in other ways as well. Their sense of smell is much more acute than that of the first group of doggies. And through the steel walls, they catch the scent of a field nearby. It wasn't long ago at all that they were running free in fields like that, so they recognize the faint smell in the air and know it will lead to a place like their wonderful Home. They begin to bark louder. They howl and scratch and whine and throw themselves against the walls over and over. They can smell Home! It's just outside the walls! And they're not gonna stop until they get there again.

Well, the first group of dogs, exhausted and sad and sick and miserable, get totally fed up with all the barking and scratching and fighting and whining, and muster up just enough strength and motivation to attack the new dogs, trying to beat them into submission so they can get a little peace again. But the new dogs are stronger and absolutely will not be dissuaded from their quest for Home.

The researchers, not wanting the second group of dogs to upset the first group and incite a true revolt, develop a drug. It's called Prozac, and it makes the second group of dogs more content with their environment. They forget to want anything better than what they have. This amazing wonder-drug induces artificial serenity and stops the second group of dogs from trying so hard to get Home. It dulls their sense of smell and makes them just not care anymore, and they lie down and eat their bland food calmly, and curl up on the hard floor and sleep for hours at a time, finally quiet.
Thank God, think the first groups of dogs. Now we can finally get some peace around here again and rest our frazzled, fried bodies and minds.

And that's when the researchers turn on the war...I mean, floor.

But at the same time, animal liberation activists have pried open the door on the other side of the pen. And that door leads out into a hall, which leads to another open door, which leads out into a parking lot, which is bordered by a low fence, and on the other side of that fence is a huge, grassy field full of hollow logs and streams of pure water, and all kinds of interesting food, and soft, comfy cushions to sleep on.

The animal liberation activists are hoping that the second group of doggies, who have not yet been conditioned to believe that jumping the low fence will only lead to another electrified floor, will leap right up and over, and that the first group of doggies will see that and follow them. And that once they all get over to the other side, they'll see the open door. And they know that the second group of doggies will fearlessly bound through it, smelling Home just outside, and they're hoping that despite their fearfullness, the first group of dogs will follow, and that soon they'll all be in the field chasing butterflies.

But most of the second group of doggies, drugged into submission, just lie there and whimper as they're zapped, just like the first group. A couple get up and pace around, yelping and whining, and then they finally jump the fence and find the way out. But the rest of the dogs, both the first and second group, ignore them or assume they're dead and don't even attempt to follow their lead. The remainders from the second group do yelp a little louder, and because they haven't learned not to they do get up and pace a little, looking for a way out, but the chemicals in their systems dull their pain and their sense of urgency, so they finally just lie back down and take it, chowing down a little Zanax provided by the researchers to calm their anxiety.
That's our country, people. That's where we're at right now. The floor is electrified, and our Indigos are offered a dozen new prescriptions every week to combat their anxiety and depression, so that rather than showing us how to jump the fence and bound through the door, down the hall, into the parking lot, over the other fence and into the field, they're sullenly snapping at us and at each other, often killing themselves and occasionally killing each other. Only a few ever make it over the fence themselves, and by then they're so terrorized by their experiences on the first side of the pen that they rarely come back to show others the way out, and when they do, they just get snapped at until they go away again.

Sad freakin' predicament, isn't it? But the answer is simple. And Indigos have lots of it.

Anger.

Okay, here's the thing. Depression is what keeps us from making this world a better a place. It keeps us just barely functioning, in a perpetual state of disappointment and fear, and dulls our lives to a sullen gray void. And our entire nation is experiencing an epidemic of it.

What most people don't know, and what the 'researchers' don't want us to know, is that depression is anger that is denied, repressed, and turned inward. We beat the anger out of ourselves and condition ourselves not to want anything anymore, becoming more and more tolerant of intolerable situations. And because it serves the interests of those whose goal is to maintain the status quo, rather than being taught to express our anger and thus move toward change, we're offered a new medication every other day that's designed to help us numb out to it.

In other words, we're not depressed, we're angry as hell!

And Indigos are even MORE angry, both because it's our JOB to be angry because the others have forgotten how to, and because we KNOW it can be SO much better than this!

We have GOT to stop taking all the drugs, prescribed and recreational, that numb us out to our natural reactions to an increasingly intolerable situation! We MUST get in touch with our RAGE! We MUST feel the righteous anger over the constant barrage of poisons, most of them very intentional, in our food, water, and air! We have to allow ourselves to experience the justified fury at the constant intimidation, manipulation, and disrespect we get from our government and educational system, and we absolutely MUST acknowledge the horrifying injustice of the totally unequal distribution of wealth and power in this country!

The damned fence isn't even THERE, people! It never was! They just made you believe it was, taking away bits and pieces of your freedom day by day, year by year, piece by piece until you eventually forget you ever had any!

WE CAN CHANGE THE THINGS WE DO NOT LIKE!

And we MUST!

You see, the wires in the floor have shorted out and fused together after so many years of use, and the voltage on the floor is increasing by the moment. It's not only going to make our feet hurt, now it's going to kill us.

We don't have to tolerate the intolerable! And we MUST NOT TRY any longer!

You know what Indigo energy really boils down to? The end of the bull****.

Indigos can't stand bull****. We demand authenticity, and we hold a deep, untouchable knowledge of the truth that makes it absolutely impossible to settle for anything less. And drugging us and beating us only enrages us more.

And rightly so!

People don't have to be sick and hungry and homeless! It's ridiculous to accept this as the norm! We can cure every single disease on this planet, feed every mouth, house every man, woman, and child, and heat and light those homes without raping and poisoning the planet to do so!

The answers are RIGHT THERE! They're IN you! And they're in the Indigos full power! THAT is why our kids are so ANGRY and DISCONTENT! Because they KNOW it isn't supposed to be like this! They KNOW there is no EXCUSE for it not being better! And because of their very make-up, they CANNOT TOLERATE the way things are!

YOU know the truth, whether you're Indigo or not! A few simple questions is all it takes to HEAR it in your heart!

Do you think more money can be made TREATING cancer and AIDS and every other disease, or in curing them?

Do you think people are easier to control if their food supply keeps them fat, sick, and tired, or if their food supply makes them strong, healthy, and energized?

Do you think children are more likely to TOLERATE intolerable situations if we keep the public schools just the way they've always been, encouraging comformity, obedience, memorization, and standardization, or if we encourage creativity, uniqueness, cooperation, self-empowerment, and unconditional self-love, giving children the resources to develop their own unique contributions to the health of this planet?

See, you KNOW the truth! It's IN you, too! You KNOW what they're doing to you! But don't waste time falling into the blame game. That's just another dead end. 'They' are NOT your enemy, YOU are! Because they can only DO this to you if you continue to LET THEM!

YOU are more powerful than THEY ARE! Their ONLY power is in the FEAR they can create in YOU! The more FEAR they can create in you, the more POWER they have over you!

Take back your own power! SEE through the lies and manipulations! Refuse the drugs and the poisons! Stop fearing, and instead DEMAND and CREATE, change!

Get angry! Rant and rave and vent and cuss and throw fits and howl! And then USE that newly moving energy to GET BUSY and CHANGE THE WORLD!

I'm telling you, there ARE people out here who have jumped that fence! And they're waiting on the other side for you to peek over and ask them how they did it! They're waiting to show you the open door and lead you down the hall and outside, so you can play in fields with the others who have made it out!

There are people who know what foods will support the health of your body and what foods will make you sicker!

There are people who know how to HEAL every ailment human beings have ever experienced!

There are people who are DESPERATE to help develop the self-worth, power, and potential in every precious child and adult!

There are people who know how to redirect the flow of money so that it is evenly distributed to all!

There are people who know how to create self-perpetuating energy that is FREE for the use of all!

There are people who know how to help other people find the oneness in us all and combine our unique perspectives to create a more beautiful, peaceful whole!

There are people who know how to practice the absolutely miraculous art of forgiveness!

There are people who know how to create a sustainable, loving, healthy, peaceful, cruelty-free, and SUCCESSFUL business!

There are people who know how to HEAR the voice of their Higher Selves and how to teach others how to do so!

There are people who know how to create total self-love and radical self-acceptance in themselves and in others!

There are people who know how to help YOU heal all the trauma you've experienced in this or any other lifetime!

For anything on this planet that you find intolerable, there are people who know how to make it BETTER!

And part of what 'they' do to us is keep us afraid of one another! We MUST see past the lies in that! We MUST see the truth that we are ALL ONE and stop living in isolation from one another! We MUST reach out to one another and open our minds to radical new ideas! We MUST open our hearts to all the love that we naturally feel for one another!

We MUST reclaim our power and TAKE BACK this planet! And never tolerate another intolerable situation again, but instead use our incredible power to HEAL IT!

So dig down and figure out what you're really, really angry about! Because THAT is what you are here to help heal, and the world desperately NEEDS your anger!

----

~Satina M. Scott~Dharma Work Spiritual Empowerment

Please feel free to share this material for the Highest Good of All, as long as you keep the information intact. Thank you!

I always vote for the one that seems the most likely to be the antichrist.

so much disrespect in this country.

You can take 30min or less to vote but you wait in line some where

See that is being. What's in it for me!!!

Just remeber the next time you need anything it might not be there because we stop fighting for your rights.

When you don't vote you surrender your power to those that hope to dominate you.

I won't argue with those that say we have bad or limited choices in this election. You may be right.

Still...stop and think. Discouraging you from voting allows those in power to hold their power.

Think about how many people don't vote because they feel they have no choice and then think again...fear, the desertion of the American ideal, on-going and never ending war, corporate government, the separation of church and state and the future of your sons and daughters. Are you willing to just say..."Oh well, my vote isn't important"?

Screw just voting...write letters, volunteer in your community, take a class, talk to your neighbors and people you don't know, and if you are from a spotless and unimpeachable run for office yourself!

Umm I want a real woman or man to run. Someone who's made mistakes haha