If You Like How Things are Going... DO NOT VOTE!!!

We need your vote. We are in a pretty rare situation here in the U.S. today. We are electing a new president (and vice president), 1/3 of our Senators and ALL of the House of Representatives. That's 87% of our Federal elected government that can be changed today!

Despite the news reports of perhaps near record voter turnout, many of you have decided that since it makes no difference if it is McCain or Obama that gets elected as our next president, that you aren't going to bother to vote today.

Even if you don't care who wins; even if you think XXX is a shoe in; you NEED to vote today.

Here's my reasoning:

1. In my opinion, if you don't vote, then you have no right to complain about how things are going. Voting is one of the most important ways of making you voice heard.

2. If you don't care for either John McCain or Barack Obama, you still have EIGHT other candidates from which to choose! A "3rd party" candidate getting a considerable number of votes will not only make news, but it MIGHT make traditional politicians take notice. While the Democrat and Republican candidates are automatically on the ballot in all 50 states and Puerto Rico, 3rd parties have to apply, lobby and petition every year to be on the ballot. The more votes they get, the more media notice, and perhaps we can get this changed. Finally, some states even have a "None of these Candidates" entry on the ballot. I'd love to see that "person" win an election.

If you vote for a 3rd party candidate, you are not throwing your vote away. Granted, one of them winning this election probably has the same odds as winning the Powerball lottery three weeks in a row, but every bit helps. And every vote for a 3rd Party is a vote against the mess we are in today.

So if you really like it the way things are in this country, stay home, don't vote and watch someone else choose our new government for you. If/When things get even worse, I don't want to hear your gripes as you did nothing to try to stop it.

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