Showing posts with label Politics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Politics. Show all posts
03 November 2014
Michael McDermott For New York State Governor 2014
Please consider voting for Michael McDermott for New York Governor on November 4th. While victory is a long-shot, getting over 50,000 votes will give the Libertarian Party of New York ballot access. That will allow them to challenge the Republicans and Democrats in areas where they run unopposed.
If you do vote for him, please be careful filling out the ballot. The board of elections is screwing us again by having us share a line with another party.
Thank you for your consideration.
08 November 2011
Another Election Day
Since I've been eligible to vote I've voted in every election except for one. Even back in the old days when I owned some stock (before I had to sell them to get the money for the down payment on a car) I would try to vote for the Boards of Directors and on any other proposals if the mood struck me.
Today before work I went out and did my civic duty. It was not one of the better years for choice. There were many uncontested races. Luckily someone from the other party ran for town supervisor an another for town board. Don't know how they'll do, but at least there was an option.
No real third party candidates in my area. The only so-called third party lines with candidates were the Conservatives, Working Families, and Independence parties... but the almost never run their own candidates, they instead keep nominating a Democrat or Republican.
If all those who didn't vote started voting for actual third parties it wouldn't be long before we actually had a third party. There is no way a third part can be legislated into existence. Also don't make the mistake I have in past years of voting on this alleged third parties that just nominate the D or the R, if no one votes on their lines maybe they'll give some real options of their own or go away.
At least the contested races on the county level seem to be going my way right now. I'll have to see about the town in the morning.
Today before work I went out and did my civic duty. It was not one of the better years for choice. There were many uncontested races. Luckily someone from the other party ran for town supervisor an another for town board. Don't know how they'll do, but at least there was an option.
No real third party candidates in my area. The only so-called third party lines with candidates were the Conservatives, Working Families, and Independence parties... but the almost never run their own candidates, they instead keep nominating a Democrat or Republican.
If all those who didn't vote started voting for actual third parties it wouldn't be long before we actually had a third party. There is no way a third part can be legislated into existence. Also don't make the mistake I have in past years of voting on this alleged third parties that just nominate the D or the R, if no one votes on their lines maybe they'll give some real options of their own or go away.
At least the contested races on the county level seem to be going my way right now. I'll have to see about the town in the morning.
17 January 2011
LPNY 2010 Results
In the last gubernatorial election here in New York the Libertarian Party of New York had its best showing in its forty-year history. Unfortunately that still ended up being 1,614 votes too short. Candidate for Governor Warren Redlich earned 48,386 votes but didn’t receive the 50,000 needed to give the LPNY ballot access.
What is ballot access? Ballot Access would allow for primary elections and allow for statewide candidates to be exempted from having to petition. Petitioning in a process where, for statewide candidates, over fifteen-thousand signatures are required from a majority of the state’s congressional districts to get on the ballot. It is an expensive and time consuming procedure. That’s just the basics, as with anything else it is more complicated. Check out the New York State Board of Elections for more information.
Ballot access would allow for resources to be spent in better ways. Informing the public about a candidate and running their campaign as opposed to trying to get signatures.
The televised Governor’s debate that brought in all of the candidates was of great help. It allowed the LPNY to get part of its message out. Unfortunately I don’t think that we’ll see the third parties invited back again.
Who gained ballot access in the 2010 election? Just six parties making up only three candidates. The Democrats and Republicans both easily had over 50,000 votes each… they each easily had over a million votes each. Beyond that were the Conservative, Working Families, Independence, and Green parties. Out of these additional four only the Green party ran its own candidate for governor. For the most part the other parties I mentioned just nominated a Democrat or Republican for all of the slots they wanted to fill. To me that makes these other parties less legitimate, the Greens and Libertarians ran their own people but the Conservative, Working Families, and so-called Independence party did not.
Now there is nothing wrong with a candidate running for a couple of parties. Smaller parties may want to take advantage of nominating a couple of candidates from other parties if their philosophy is favorable. Its just when entire third parties exist that have nothing of their own to run on. To be fair the Conservatives have run their own candidates for governor in the past, but not many recently. The Independence party should really have been called the Golisano Party since it was the vehicle for his own attempt to win the governorship. Once Golisano left I’m not sure what the point or ideals of the Independence Party are.
So basically instead of having six choices we only have two or three choices with different party names attached to them to make us feel like we have choice. Of course maybe I’m out of touch; if the people wanted more than two parties they would vote for a third, forth, and fifth party. All I usually hear is a lot of grumbling about the lack of choice by people who either end up not voting or voting for one of the two major parties. In a way that is amusing, in another way that is sad.
If everyone who didn’t vote who could have in the last election here in New York voted for Warren or Jimmy McMillan that person would now be Governor, so don’t think you don’t have power.
Campaign finance reform, fairness doctrines, and civility won’t save our political system. People going out and voting for what they think is best is what we need. The Democrats & Republicans want you to stay home on Election Day, they already have enough votes.
What is ballot access? Ballot Access would allow for primary elections and allow for statewide candidates to be exempted from having to petition. Petitioning in a process where, for statewide candidates, over fifteen-thousand signatures are required from a majority of the state’s congressional districts to get on the ballot. It is an expensive and time consuming procedure. That’s just the basics, as with anything else it is more complicated. Check out the New York State Board of Elections for more information.
Ballot access would allow for resources to be spent in better ways. Informing the public about a candidate and running their campaign as opposed to trying to get signatures.
The televised Governor’s debate that brought in all of the candidates was of great help. It allowed the LPNY to get part of its message out. Unfortunately I don’t think that we’ll see the third parties invited back again.
Who gained ballot access in the 2010 election? Just six parties making up only three candidates. The Democrats and Republicans both easily had over 50,000 votes each… they each easily had over a million votes each. Beyond that were the Conservative, Working Families, Independence, and Green parties. Out of these additional four only the Green party ran its own candidate for governor. For the most part the other parties I mentioned just nominated a Democrat or Republican for all of the slots they wanted to fill. To me that makes these other parties less legitimate, the Greens and Libertarians ran their own people but the Conservative, Working Families, and so-called Independence party did not.
Now there is nothing wrong with a candidate running for a couple of parties. Smaller parties may want to take advantage of nominating a couple of candidates from other parties if their philosophy is favorable. Its just when entire third parties exist that have nothing of their own to run on. To be fair the Conservatives have run their own candidates for governor in the past, but not many recently. The Independence party should really have been called the Golisano Party since it was the vehicle for his own attempt to win the governorship. Once Golisano left I’m not sure what the point or ideals of the Independence Party are.
So basically instead of having six choices we only have two or three choices with different party names attached to them to make us feel like we have choice. Of course maybe I’m out of touch; if the people wanted more than two parties they would vote for a third, forth, and fifth party. All I usually hear is a lot of grumbling about the lack of choice by people who either end up not voting or voting for one of the two major parties. In a way that is amusing, in another way that is sad.
If everyone who didn’t vote who could have in the last election here in New York voted for Warren or Jimmy McMillan that person would now be Governor, so don’t think you don’t have power.
Campaign finance reform, fairness doctrines, and civility won’t save our political system. People going out and voting for what they think is best is what we need. The Democrats & Republicans want you to stay home on Election Day, they already have enough votes.
11 November 2010
Sports, Black-Outs, and Tax Money
This Sunday’s Buffalo Bill’s game will not be televised.
Back when I was younger and still had a television I would get ticked off when my usual weekend viewing was interrupted by sports. Nothing is more annoying than looking forward to the latest episode of your favorite show only to have it replaced by a bunch of grown men playing a silly game. At least now that I don’t have a television I watch what I want when I want online or on DVD so there are far fewer disappointments in that regard.
I’m not much of a sports fan. Football…. or I guess it should really be called Tackleball, is certainly not something I would watch. A bunch of overweight men in tight pants bending down around a ball is not my idea of an entertaining time.
However, as a taxpayer I find the Bills being able to black-out the game as highly offensive. While I don’t like football many other people do. Millions of taxpayer dollars went to help pay for a frickin’ playing field for a bunch of millionaires and now that the locals don’t want to buy overpriced tickets to sit in cold weather and watch a terrible team play the high-up muckity-mucks in the Bills organization black-out the game.
Screw them. That stadium is owned by the government not the Bills. When you don’t pay your own way you shouldn’t be able to decide if your game is televised or not. Everyone in western New York is owed a lot by these ungrateful schmucks. If you won’t televise all the games then give us our money back.
Of course the government won’t ever make such an interpretation of things. How many communities have been fleeced by various professional sports teams. Countless times have crybaby millionaires complained that a ten or fifteen year old stadium is no longer suitable for their childish little game and if they are not given tens or hundreds of millions of dollars they will take their toys and go somewhere else. Next comes the stream bureaucrats telling how the community will actually make more money by keeping the team in town and push through the funding.
After the taxpayers get fleeced for the stadium next comes the police overtime. Then if the community is really lucky the team is good and wins a couple championships… and then the related victory riots burning parts of the city that the police don’t dare try to stop without hearing cries of police brutality.
In return we get some low-paying seasonal jobs at the stadium, increased traffic accidents as tens of thousands of people (many of whom are drunk) try to leave the city at the same time, increased sales of multi-colored body paint (and the related sales tax revenue!), and an over-inflated sense of self worth because we have a big sports team.
And another thing; how can anyone have any loyalty to a team? Players are traded and move with more frequency than they did thirty years ago. The team is made up of a bunch of carpet baggers not local talent.
I have no problem with people who play sports for fun. It’s great exercise and competition is a good thing. I just hate having my money stolen for something that doesn’t benefit me or at least the community.
Finally, I’ve heard a number of people say that the Bills have a chance this weekend to defeat the Lions and get their first win. I still have faith in them. They are going to what they are best at… finding a way to fail.
FUN NOT REALLY FACTS
#1 The average football fan that goes to a game weighs 220 pounds. With 70,000 people crammed into the stadium that makes 7.7 kilotons of flesh and bone. With each person consuming an average of 1.7 pounds of food at the game… almost like 541 additional people leaving when the game is over!
#2 Enough urine is excreted at the stadium on game day to fill a 12 by 24 foot in-ground pool 3.5 feet.
#3 For every person that thinks the fan that the camera always zooms in on who is shirtless and covered in paint is cool there are 577,314 people laughing at him. While these 577,314 don’t want that guy in the gene pool, the are more than willing to push him into the pool mentioned in fun not really fact #2.
Back when I was younger and still had a television I would get ticked off when my usual weekend viewing was interrupted by sports. Nothing is more annoying than looking forward to the latest episode of your favorite show only to have it replaced by a bunch of grown men playing a silly game. At least now that I don’t have a television I watch what I want when I want online or on DVD so there are far fewer disappointments in that regard.
I’m not much of a sports fan. Football…. or I guess it should really be called Tackleball, is certainly not something I would watch. A bunch of overweight men in tight pants bending down around a ball is not my idea of an entertaining time.
However, as a taxpayer I find the Bills being able to black-out the game as highly offensive. While I don’t like football many other people do. Millions of taxpayer dollars went to help pay for a frickin’ playing field for a bunch of millionaires and now that the locals don’t want to buy overpriced tickets to sit in cold weather and watch a terrible team play the high-up muckity-mucks in the Bills organization black-out the game.
Screw them. That stadium is owned by the government not the Bills. When you don’t pay your own way you shouldn’t be able to decide if your game is televised or not. Everyone in western New York is owed a lot by these ungrateful schmucks. If you won’t televise all the games then give us our money back.
Of course the government won’t ever make such an interpretation of things. How many communities have been fleeced by various professional sports teams. Countless times have crybaby millionaires complained that a ten or fifteen year old stadium is no longer suitable for their childish little game and if they are not given tens or hundreds of millions of dollars they will take their toys and go somewhere else. Next comes the stream bureaucrats telling how the community will actually make more money by keeping the team in town and push through the funding.
After the taxpayers get fleeced for the stadium next comes the police overtime. Then if the community is really lucky the team is good and wins a couple championships… and then the related victory riots burning parts of the city that the police don’t dare try to stop without hearing cries of police brutality.
In return we get some low-paying seasonal jobs at the stadium, increased traffic accidents as tens of thousands of people (many of whom are drunk) try to leave the city at the same time, increased sales of multi-colored body paint (and the related sales tax revenue!), and an over-inflated sense of self worth because we have a big sports team.
And another thing; how can anyone have any loyalty to a team? Players are traded and move with more frequency than they did thirty years ago. The team is made up of a bunch of carpet baggers not local talent.
I have no problem with people who play sports for fun. It’s great exercise and competition is a good thing. I just hate having my money stolen for something that doesn’t benefit me or at least the community.
Finally, I’ve heard a number of people say that the Bills have a chance this weekend to defeat the Lions and get their first win. I still have faith in them. They are going to what they are best at… finding a way to fail.
FUN NOT REALLY FACTS
#1 The average football fan that goes to a game weighs 220 pounds. With 70,000 people crammed into the stadium that makes 7.7 kilotons of flesh and bone. With each person consuming an average of 1.7 pounds of food at the game… almost like 541 additional people leaving when the game is over!
#2 Enough urine is excreted at the stadium on game day to fill a 12 by 24 foot in-ground pool 3.5 feet.
#3 For every person that thinks the fan that the camera always zooms in on who is shirtless and covered in paint is cool there are 577,314 people laughing at him. While these 577,314 don’t want that guy in the gene pool, the are more than willing to push him into the pool mentioned in fun not really fact #2.
31 October 2010
Warren Redlich for Governor
"Stop wasting money!"
Tuesday is election day. Here in New York we have numerous choices for Governor, seven of them to be exact. For those who are not happy with either Cuomo or Paladino we have candidates form numerous other parties: the Libertarian party, Anti-Prohibition Party, Rent is 2 Damn High, Green and Freedom party. If you are disillusioned with voting because of the direction New York has been going under the two main parties, please consider voting for one of the 'third' parties.
Warren Redlich and the Libertarian Party of New York will work to bring liberty back to New Yorkers. First by stopping the wasting of money by the State. Warren's website also lists his stand on other issues such as taxes, tort reform, eminent domain, the second amendment, and drug policyreform. His view on the issues is what is in the interest of the citizen not what's in the interest of the politician. If you want government intrusions in our life reduced or just want to scare the major parties into working for us instead of the party bosses, please give Warren your vote.
While I'm not going to tell you that you have an obligation to vote (voting is a right not an obligation) I will ask you to please help shake things up this year. Let's make sure that voter turnout for this race is better than the voter turnout on Dancing With the Stars.
Tuesday is election day. Here in New York we have numerous choices for Governor, seven of them to be exact. For those who are not happy with either Cuomo or Paladino we have candidates form numerous other parties: the Libertarian party, Anti-Prohibition Party, Rent is 2 Damn High, Green and Freedom party. If you are disillusioned with voting because of the direction New York has been going under the two main parties, please consider voting for one of the 'third' parties.
Warren Redlich and the Libertarian Party of New York will work to bring liberty back to New Yorkers. First by stopping the wasting of money by the State. Warren's website also lists his stand on other issues such as taxes, tort reform, eminent domain, the second amendment, and drug policyreform. His view on the issues is what is in the interest of the citizen not what's in the interest of the politician. If you want government intrusions in our life reduced or just want to scare the major parties into working for us instead of the party bosses, please give Warren your vote.
While I'm not going to tell you that you have an obligation to vote (voting is a right not an obligation) I will ask you to please help shake things up this year. Let's make sure that voter turnout for this race is better than the voter turnout on Dancing With the Stars.
01 April 2010
Taxation Without Representation
The new health care taxation bill passed in the House a while back. The thing is I didn't have a representative at the time. I don't mean that my Congressman was of an opposite view as me (well, he was) or that he didn't bother to show up for the vote. I didn't even have a representative who could have just taken the day off.
My congressman seems to have suffered from a strange bout of insanity. Now I know that most people in Washington DC seem insane but the guy from my district really lost his grip. He ended up resigning before the health care vote.
So far the Governor of New York has refused to call for a special election to fill this vacancy. He claims it would cost the counties too much money, a regular election is coming in November (seven months away), and he doesn't want to disenfranchise the military vote. There is also the fact that the seat would most likely go to someone who is not from his party (aha!).
The cost shouldn't be an issue. We need someone in Washington to watch out for our area's interests, we don't have that now. It's also strange with the State wasting tens of billions of dollars on all sorts of crap they can't spend some millions to have an election so the people will have a voice.
How is not even giving anyone a vote going to keep the military from becoming disenfranchised? These people are on the front lines fighting in a war for this country and their own state has decided that they should not have someone looking out for their interests in Washington.
It is time to demand that the Governor set things in motion so that we can have a special election and fill this vacancy. How many more taxes and laws affecting us will get passed while we have no representation in the 29th district?
My congressman seems to have suffered from a strange bout of insanity. Now I know that most people in Washington DC seem insane but the guy from my district really lost his grip. He ended up resigning before the health care vote.
So far the Governor of New York has refused to call for a special election to fill this vacancy. He claims it would cost the counties too much money, a regular election is coming in November (seven months away), and he doesn't want to disenfranchise the military vote. There is also the fact that the seat would most likely go to someone who is not from his party (aha!).
The cost shouldn't be an issue. We need someone in Washington to watch out for our area's interests, we don't have that now. It's also strange with the State wasting tens of billions of dollars on all sorts of crap they can't spend some millions to have an election so the people will have a voice.
How is not even giving anyone a vote going to keep the military from becoming disenfranchised? These people are on the front lines fighting in a war for this country and their own state has decided that they should not have someone looking out for their interests in Washington.
It is time to demand that the Governor set things in motion so that we can have a special election and fill this vacancy. How many more taxes and laws affecting us will get passed while we have no representation in the 29th district?
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