Why Vote? Reasons 185-1,148
191. Your grandfather won a Medal of Valor, a Bronze Star and two Purple Hearts. He was wounded twice by the Nazis trying to defuse booby-traps attached to wounded American G.I.s. He missed the birth of your father, his firstborn, recovering in an Army hospital before returning to combat. Vote for his memory and for all those like him.192. It pisses off Osama bin Laden.193. As many as 2,000 Georgians were killed or wounded defending their young democracy.
194. The people currently in office-to say nothing of the fools at the EPA-are clueless about environmental preservation and sustainability.
640. The current inflation rate is 5.6 percent. The current unemployment rate is 5.7 percent. And, gas prices are hovering near $4 a gallon. You work too hard to see numbers like this.
654-783. 130 journalists (and counting) have been killed while on duty in Iraq since the war began.
815-919. 51 countries and territories in the world are not free, 54 are only partly free, and sometimes it's hard to tell the difference between the two. That means that there are billions the world over who can't vote, or who can, but their ballots are chucked if they're for the wrong guy. To keep track of it all, the democracy think tank Freedom House publishes an annual tally of each country's track record-basically a look at who has it worse or at least as good as you do, democratically speaking.
Some countries are murkier than others. Behold, for example, the United Arab Emirates, home to the wacked-out international playground of Dubai: They wear the garb of modernity and are home to Al Jazeera, but the country is still a dictatorship, and thus not free. Other not-free countries stage sham elections then openly disregard the results. In Uzbekistan's last election, in 2007, for instance, President Islam Karimov took a whopping 88 percent of the tally. He has also won every election since 1991. In Zimbabwe, meanwhile, Robert Mugabe lost a parliamentary election in March but decided to stay put-classic "not-free."Then there are the partly free countries. From all appearances, Hong Kong seems free: it enjoys freedom of the press and of assembly, has elections and, for 14 years running, has boasted the world's freest economy. But living under China's "one country, two systems" rule makes it only partly free, because only half of Hong Kong's legislators are elected. The other half-including its chief executive-are appointed by Beijing. Since Beijing won't grant the former British colony universal suffrage until at least 2017, the peninsula will be just partly free for the near future.
922. The Bradley Effect is a recipe for last-minute plot twists. (Look it up.)923. Your girlfriend dumped you to go work for Obama, and how many times in your life will you get to cast a spite vote?
931. The average distance to a polling place in Los Angeles is about half a mile. You can walk that. Even in Los Angeles.932-958. We've been able to preserve the sanctity of the Constitution and amend it 27 times.
963. Your polling place is really easy to find: vote411.org.964-1116. New York electioneer William "As long as I count the votes, what are you going to do about it?" Tweed has been dead for 153 years and it's still fun to make him roll over in his grave.
191. Your grandfather won a Medal of Valor, a Bronze Star and two Purple Hearts. He was wounded twice by the Nazis trying to defuse booby-traps attached to wounded American G.I.s. He missed the birth of your father, his firstborn, recovering in an Army hospital before returning to combat. Vote for his memory and for all those like him.192. It pisses off Osama bin Laden.193. As many as 2,000 Georgians were killed or wounded defending their young democracy.
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195. Things could be better.
196. You didn't vote in 2000, when you were living in Florida, and we're all still mad at you for it.197. You want lower taxes.198. We stand to elect a guy who actually knows something about war.199. Even if you don't want to vote for anyone in particular, you can vote against someone else.200. Apathy isn't sexy.
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Timothy E. Wirth\nFormer senator from Colorado and president of the United Nations Foundation639. The next president will have an opportunity to present a new face to the world, strengthen America's reputation, and foster international cooperation to solve the world's most pressing problems, such as preventing the spread of nuclear weapons, stamping out terrorism, confronting climate change, and revitalizing the global economy.In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, President Bush rallied the international community through the United Nations to combat global terror networks. The administration also dramatically increased financial resources to combat HIV/AIDS, helping to rally the world. Conversely, the administration had a major disagreement with allies and much of the international community over its decision to initiate a pre-emptive war in Iraq and its reluctance to participate in cooperative efforts to prevent climate change and address other global issues. The Bush administration has increasingly called on the U.N. to take on key tasks on the global agenda, especially peacekeeping, but has not been honoring its commitment to the missions for which it has voted. As a result, the United States is more than $1.5 billion in debt to the U.N.Both Senator Obama and Senator McCain are supportive of strengthening the U.N., by updating operations and management processes. Senator Obama has committed himself to the principle that the United States should pay its U.N. dues on time and in full, without inappropriate conditions. Senator McCain has proposed establishment of a League of Democracies as an alternative when the U.N. Security Council is deemed incapable of addressing global threats, but the criteria for membership and legitimacy of the proposed league are unclear. |
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\n646. The Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act has already passed in the House. And if this Bush-endorsed bill is signed into law, it will give the government leeway to scan your emails, Facebook page, and Skype chats in an effort to determine if you're just a run-of-the-mill activist or a full-blown homegrown terrorist. Naturally, it's also up to them to tell the difference between the two, which chips away at the most fundamental American right-to holler loudly about the things you think are unjust.
647. "When the world goes up in flames, there will be one less reason to feel responsible." Errol Morris, documentary filmmaker 648. Two words: aging boomers.649. Bristol Palin isn't the only one. Teen birth rates are up for the first time in 15 years, and many blame Bush's brainchild: abstinence-only education.650. Having a black president would not be insignificant.651. Surely you remember that scene in Election, when Matthew Broderick's character tossed a couple of ballots in the trash bin and changed the outcome of the election? Yeah, that happens in real life, too.652. John McCain has an explicit, stated intention to overturn Roe v. Wade.| \n
Rose Pomponio\nAge 97First voted in 1932. She was born eight years before women were guaranteed the vote throughout the United States.I don't remember women marching in the street, but I recall men booing. I remember my mother would go with my father to cast her vote, and I think he usually talked her into voting for the same man. There was so much corruption in those days-we lived in a changing Chicago neighborhood and we had one Italian precinct captain who'd go around and want everybody to vote for his man. My father would never vote for him, so when Thanksgiving came around, the precinct captain would give out turkeys to everybody but us. The first person I voted for was Franklin D. Roosevelt, and then little Harry Truman. Beth Truman was a regular little homebody-she had her card club, and they'd come to the White House to play every month. FDR wasn't as faithful to Eleanor, even if she did give him five sons. He wanted his secretary, I guess. Some things never change. |
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Newt GingrichAuthor of Rediscovering God in America and former speaker of the house814. The world is an inherently dangerous place. Things that are now going very well can very quickly go bad. When reading the news about war and disaster in other countries, I am always reminded that, were it not for the right leadership throughout our country's history, these terrible things could just as easily be happening in our cities and neighborhoods. Voting is the process by which we choose our leaders, and thus the process by which we choose the future for our families, our communities, and our country. |
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928. Thanks to the 24th Amendment, you can do it for free.
929. Even though no one seems to agree how many people have died since we invaded Iraq, 90,000 dead civilians is a safe estimate.\n\n\n
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961. You can take some credit when things go well.
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Allen St. Pierre\nExecutive director of NORML, a nonprofit lobbying organization for legalization of marijuana962. The Bush administration has taken one of the most aggressive stances against cannabis ever-even compared to Reagan's Pollyannaish campaigns of the 1980s. Since Bush took office, over 5.3 million citizens have been busted on pot charges, almost 90 percent for possession only. I think it's time for a change. To date, McCain has said he does not support patients' access to medicinal cannabis and will continue the current administration's policies. Obama has flipped-flopped on the larger issue, first supporting decriminalization, but, when he was pressed by the conservative Washington Times, he said he supports the current federal laws. Still, it is my personal view that cannabis consumers in America will fare much better under Obama than under McCain. |
1118-1127. The Bill of Rights was really well-written.
1128. You want the troops to come home.1129. 20 percent of registered voters who didn't vote in 2004 said they were too busy to do so, and that makes them sound like people you don't want to know.
