My “Lesser Evil” problem

I have been following the 2016 Democratic Primary with much interest.  My inner rationalist thinks Clinton will win the nomination unless Bernie Sanders can amass a large delegate count heading into the convention.  The Super delegates are all prepared to throw the convention to Clinton.  But the convention is a long way off.

I have to decide how I will vote in November if Clinton is the nominee.  Here are my thoughts on the problem of voting for the “lesser evil”.

• Our election rules are terrible.  First past the post voting (plurality) and the Electoral College are institutions that only function to maintain the status quo. And that means the 1% and their corporations rule the world.  There are perfectly good solutions to these problems, but getting them enacted is a long shot.  Check out Approval Voting sometime and Proportional Representation systems. Also read about the National Popular Vote campaign.
• Campaign finance is an open sewer in the US.  Dark Money owns the Executive, Legislative and Judicial branches at the federal and state level now.  And they are starting to go after the local level too.
• Defensive Voting behavior has NOT improved my life.  Corporate Dems including Obama have sold out the working class and expanded our Military-Industrial-Prison Complex to new and obscene levels.
• One Vote to Rule Them All… one vote in a presidential election is not going to decide the contest.  That pesky little anachronism called the Electoral College is lurking out there to manufacture a faux majority on election night. If the election were indeed that close, what is stopping the SCOTUS from anointing a president again?   Also, the Constitution would throw the election into the House of Representatives.
• My Conscience tells me that I need to stop voting for Saddam Hussein because he is better than Stalin.  Albert Einstein tells me “Insanity: Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” My Philosophy of Life (a witches brew of Stoicism, Pre Christian Celtic beliefs, Buddhism, and mystical/transcendent messages attributed to Jesus all tell me its time to “grow the hell up Dave, face facts, be realistic…”
• So I will…I will vote for Jill Stein (Green Party) if Bernie does not get the nomination. You see Bernie is my “lesser evil”. And I cannot bear the thought of looking my children in the eye and proudly saying “I thought she would be better than the Rethuglican.”

Former staffer: Michigan GOP ‘rigging the deck’ with fast-tracked bill to move suits against state | MLive.com

Former staffer: Michigan GOP ‘rigging the deck’ with fast-tracked bill to move suits against state | MLive.com.

 

F***ing Republicans are at it again…they are filth and the lowest form of bootlick whores!

‘Window of Opportunity’ to Curb Climate Change Quickly Closing: Report | Common Dreams

The likelihood of limiting the world\’s overall temperature to a 2 degree Celsius rise and avoiding the worst affects of climate change has become \”ever more elusive\” and will not be possible without immediate and drastic measures on a global scale, a new report by the United Nations Environmental Program warned Tuesday.

via ‘Window of Opportunity’ to Curb Climate Change Quickly Closing: Report | Common Dreams.

 

We need to get off fossil fuels NOW!

• All electrical power should be generated by wind, solar, geothermal, and hyropower.  Unfortunately, we will have to use nuclear to provide base load electricity until we can become more efficient.  There are many safer designs out there than current (that means 30-40 yr old) plants
• We need to stop overproducing read meat.  Cattle cause more GH gas than the transportation industry
• We need robust mass public transit and more telecommuting.

Eclectablog: Half of MI African American No Longer Have Democracy

Eclectablog.

 

“As I have already detailed in a post that has been cited byMSNBC and Huffington Post among others, this will result in 49% of the African Americans in Michigan being without a democratically-elected government.”

UPDATE: Chrysler Warren Stamping Workers Still Fighting Alternative Work Schedules | Labor Notes

New work schedules have just been posted at Chrysler’s stamping plant in Warren, Michigan, to take effect March 11. People are upset and angry. Since United Auto Workers Local 869 leaders announced management’s intent to start the “Alternative Work Schedule,” the firestorm of protest has raged.

via UPDATE: Chrysler Warren Stamping Workers Still Fighting Alternative Work Schedules | Labor Notes.

 

Ahhh…I can smell the stench from here.  High ranking UAW officials are allowing the stamping plant workers to get fucked by management.  Even the UAW isn’t acting like a union anymore.  PS: this is the same plant that has already had one “wildcat” work stoppage over this shit.

Why Obama Must Meet the Republican Lies Directly | Common Dreams

The first big lie is austerity economics – the claim that the budget deficit is the nation’s biggest economic problem now, responsible for the anemic recovery.

Wrong. The problem is too few jobs, lousy wages, and slow growth. Cutting the budget deficit anytime soon makes the problem worse because it reduces overall demand. As a result, the economy will slow or fall into recession – which enlarges the deficit in proportion. You want proof? Look at what austerity economics has done to Europe

via Why Obama Must Meet the Republican Lies Directly | Common Dreams.

 

He may be short…but he is tall on ideas!  Go Robert Reich

American Assassination History for Dummies | Alternet

American Assassination History for Dummies | Alternet.

 

Cmon kids…WAR is our only export that is growing.  Why are we surprised?

Atheist Group Created at Christian School Wants Official Recognition | Alternet

Atheist Group Created at Christian School Wants Official Recognition | Alternet.

 

 

AWESOME!!!!!   Go FreeThinking Frogs!

Moyers: Rampant Capitalism Has Created a Social Disaster — How Do We Right the Ship? | Alternet

Between 2009 and 2011 alone, income fell for the 99 percent, while it rose eleven percent for the top One Percent. Since the worst of the financial crisis, that top One Percent has captured the increases in income while the rest of the country has floundered. Stunning, isn’t it? The behavior of many of those One Percenters brought on the financial crisis in the first place. We turned around and rescued them, and now their wealth is skyrocketing once again. At the bottom, working people are practically flat on their back.

via Moyers: Rampant Capitalism Has Created a Social Disaster — How Do We Right the Ship? | Alternet.

America’s Spiritual Death: It’s Time to Learn the Dark History of the U.S. You Were Robbed of … and Oliver Stone Will Help | Alternet

America’s Spiritual Death: It’s Time to Learn the Dark History of the U.S. You Were Robbed of … and Oliver Stone Will Help | Alternet.

 

I never thought I would mention Oliver Stone in the same breath as Howard Zinn or Studs Turkel…but he is doing a good job with these programs.  Try showing one in a US History class and see how long you keep your job!