Vote or not to Vote

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There are times one should not encourage despots, must stand against them; this is one of those times. To vote for a republican one should have millions in the bank, for a working person to vote for the criminals, that makes you an accessory after the fact. To vote for a democrat you must be into S&M. The only rational thing to do is vote third party or sit out the election by writing your name in all or part of the voting form. Time is running out and we must take very strong positions.

I could write a long article but you all know the reasons I am calling for a complete boycott of this election in November. I know that the republicans may take over the House of Repression and/or the Roman Senate but hell, they are all corrupted so let's split up the power and let them fight each other for the approval of the Corporate State.

We are at a four way fork in the road, take the wrong turn and our form of life will cease. Take the sad road and your children and their children will pay for your passivity. Stop on the road and you will be run over, we must pick the correct road to travel, there is no more grace time remaining; you must choose.

Meetings, phone calls, signing petitions, Saturday protests, (parades) or asking politicians to please pay attention is now a waste of time and resources---time is up.

You need to get off your asses and the safety of your home and get into the streets and scream as loud as you can. It is better to go down fighting than asking Sen. Merkley or Sen. Wyden to help us in the Middle East when they take money from the representatives of the Israeli government, (AIPAC.)

It is a waste of time, money and people power to march around DC on a Saturday and hope the corporate media will cover it. It would have been something to see if the unions would bring in the 18 wheelers and slow up traffic and cause some inconvenience to the member of Congress, say on Friday afternoon, when the rats are leaving the city.

Note: Funny line from Patty!

After writing this rant, said to my partner in this journey of life, "I don't think this is going to endear me to many people."

"Joe, you don't have that many friends left anyway." said Patty with a smile.

Authors Bio:
Short Bio

I was born in Brooklyn, New York in May of 1942. My first memory was the wonderful block parties that celebrated the end of WW2. I don't remember much but it was exciting and I could see how joyous people could be during a major event.

My cousin Danny and I lived near or actually in the same house for most of our childhood and shared great adventures together. We went from playing marbles to dating girls; it was a magical time in Brooklyn.

I attended Our Lady of Good Counsel grammar school, my early teachers were women and in the fourth grade we were taught by the Franciscan Brothers.

High School was the beginning of a journey that continues to this day. I wondered where I was going and why I was making the trip. I entered the Capuchin Seminary after the eighth grade to study for the priesthood. After 15 months I left the seminary and returned home. My studies allowed me to pick which Catholic high school I was going to attend. I lasted less than a year at Trinity High. One of the teachers excommunicated me from the Catholic Church because I thought birth control was a good idea.

After leaving Trinity, I started full time work, and completed high school at night; I was only sixteen and already lost in the world. I worked at Dictaphone for about four years and played on their softball team. I loved sports and was a good center fielder.

In 1962 I entered the Navy and spent nine years traveling around the world, including two tours in Vietnam. In 1970 I openly opposed the war and asked to be released.

In 1971, I was given an honorable discharged and once again I was looking at a whole new way of thinking. I was married, entered college and in 1979 finally received my Bachelor of Arts from the College of New Rochelle. I went to work at Long Beach Naval Shipyard and retired from civil service in 1995. I was a Union Official most of my time at the yard but did take a supervisory position for the last three years of service.

Since retirement I have been a substitute teacher in Nevada and teacher's aide in Oregon. My two great loves are my four grandchildren and my wife Pat.

Since arriving in Portland in 1999, I have been part of the protest against the Bush Wars, torture and what I see as a loss of our liberties. I am the co-founder of Individuals for Justice, Veterans Against Torture, member of Vietnam Veterans Against War, (VVAW.) I support the Veterans for Peace, Coed Pink and the fight for Single Payer Healthcare. I have been arrested three times, once in Gordon Smith's office, again outside of Congressman's Blumenauer's office, and the last time protesting AIPAC.

My favorite books are: Life of Pi by Yann Martel, The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz, How To Know God by Deepak Chopra, almost anything written by Stephen King.

My favorite movies are: The Shawshank Redemption, Wolfen, Lawrence of Arabia, The Quiet American.

My preferred hobbies are: Enjoying time with family and friends, listening to music and creating things with my hands. I love to write, and completed a play called, -"The Trial of George W. Bush.-"-