WIL WHEATON dot NET: 1.5

YEAHHH!I'm the 1st!!!!:)))

"Didn't he know about the elevator?"

Could be worse. You could live in Georgia, Wil. My state sucks.

Brad

I got you Wil:))!! I am really happy(see my first:D)...and what about the carpest which flys?;)

Wil, just so you know, it's not just California. Here in the Crap-tastic Cape Breton Regional Municipality, our elections are so horrible that I've decided that i'm not going to vote at all next time around.
I mean, it's like saying: Do i want to die on an island with no food or water? or do I want to try to swim the 800 miles to the closest inhabited place and drown on the way instead?
As for the 3rd option you spoke of, you could take all of your belongings and light them on fire in the hopes that a smoke signal will be seen by anyone in the remote chance they won't just mistake it for a rain cloud.
When it comes down to elections you really only have two choices: don't vote or choose the candidate with the name that you think is either the coolest (i.e. former Govenor Jessy 'The Body' Ventura) or more amusing.

Everywhere is bad. It's more of a 'lesser of two evils' type thing. No matter which way you look at it, we're all fuct in the end.

Yeah, I know about bad govenors. I was stuck with Christie Todd-Nitwit, I mean Whitman, for 2 terms. It seems in CA it may be worse, tho. (I am truly frightened that as far as Bush's appointees go, Whitman is actually the least dangerous and most sensible!)

Ok, I had a real smart-ass comment about that infuriating smirk but I forgot it. Hopefully my friend Cory is reading this today b/c he always seems to have something funny to say about The Smirk(tm).

Arnold Schwarzenegger or Warren Beaty, you decide!

Man, I would love to see a serious third party, one that can govern with a mixture of something like idealism and common sense.

Sure, these things seem to be opposites a lot of the time, but neither of them seems to be a flavor of the day for the parties currently in power.

Those guys seem to run on cutting the deal and demagaugery (sp?). Oh yeah, and pandering to voting blocs and special interests.

Feh.

Sure, I know that it's the nature of politics, but I would support some person who can build bridges out of something besides smoke and my ass.

P.S. I promise to post this only once.

Later.

Wil,

If you think that is bad try my canidate. Tim Hagan. You may know his wife Kate Mulgrew from Star Trek Voyager he is using her influence over Star Trek fans to get votes. She even put on a fundraiser for him that William Fucking Shatner attended on the 24 of August and he was rude to William Shatner. John De Lance (Q) was there as well as most of the Voyager cast. I don't know about you but pimping out your wife and her friends to influence a group of people to get votes is on the bottom of my shit list. Hagan will not get my vote based soley on his methods of campaining.

Best of luck to you Wil in all that you do and best wishes to your family.

Until your next post......

Matt......

Hey, I lived in Texas when Dubya was the governor. We'd hear different "Jenna Drunk" stories--our envornment is the worst in the 50 states--we kill the most convicts--and he still managed (paid) his way to the big white house.

Third party all the way, Wil. Make it so ...

You think Georgia and California are bad - I live in Texas, home to the Shrub himself!! Our candidates for governor just insult each other - I don't know how they stand on a single issue!

Wil, my fellow Californian, do as I do when I don't like any of the bastards: vote for yourself. At least I know I agree with myself (most of the time). I write myself in, and know that I've voted my conscience.

Add another state to the list where politics suck. Utah. We have so many crazies thinking that they should be in politics, that a lot of the political activists are active just so the crazies have less of a voice. They recently filibustered Salt Lake City to remove all support from our Democratic candidates (what little they had), and the majority leader in the Legislature said "If the people hadn't wanted us to do that, they wouldn't have voted us in."

There are those who attribute all the problems to the Mormon Church (of which I am a member) I'll attribute most of our problems to rampant stupidity. Something that seems to be wide spread in this US of A.

You may want to go to my home state: Vermont.

Ever just stop and look at CSPAN when they are showing the House votes? Democratic, Republic, and the OTHER? That's Bernie Sanders, Socialist from Vermont.

Why don't you run for office? If, for the only reason, to make more people aware of the politics and problems in your area. If you win, fine, if you lose, fine. But get those who don't know or don't care involved. Politics are often not about what is best for the country, but what is best for the politician. We need to stop selling our country out to the highest bidder...

Wil, you have the brains. Why not hop into the political pot yourself? I know, I know once you stick your foot into the shit, everything begins to smell.

I'm in the same boat with you on this. Fuck even George Washington wanted a third party system.

I'm surrounded by simply minded morons who can't see how we are getting our asses fucked by the Bush agenda.

Fuckit, are people THIS stupid?

Opps, I kind of had a mini tangent.

During the last big election I voted Third party on a major candidate. These morons around me either bitched because I helped Bush get elected or bitched because they thought I was a weak fuckwit, who wanted to bring down the country.

WTF??

Hello? Don't we have FREEDOM TO CHOOSE OUR Person??

Oh, I forgot.... I live in a country where it's okay to be a mindless zombie as long as I BUY BUY BUY!!!!

Save the Dollar!!! God wants the USA to be RICH!!!

Spend Spend Spend!!

I'm so sick of this shit.

Freedom is slipping away and no one cares enough to listen to the changing winds.

Sadder still is if you try to fight it.

Freedom is what you get when you use your brain and stop thinking - "My government loves me and would never do anything to deceive me."

Wake up ass cakes; you've got the big dick of Uncle Sam up your ass.

Sorry, I'm just so sick of morons.

I'll stop now.

Thanks for your time.

The herd needs thinning out. Give politicians the right to legally duel each other.

Chthulu for Govenor!

Why Vote for the Lesser Evil?

You've touched a little on something that's a pet peeve of mine. Don't know anything about your local politics, but I've noticed a lot of people 'vote strategically'

Apparently you can't 'waste your vote' on a third party candidate. Seems you shouldn't bother, That person's not going to win.

I take great offense to the idea that a vote is wasted because the person voted for didn't win. It's not a contest people! The reason you vote is to have your say, make your voice heard. It's not a guessing game where you win a prize if you guess correctly!

Strategic voting is an insult to what the whole process is supposed to stand for - just my two cents.

Reminds me of the Simpsons Halloween episode when Kang and Kodos are exposed as the Republican and Democratic candidates. Someone says, "I believe I'll vote for a 3rd party candidate," to which the aliens respond, "Oh sure! Throw away your vote!" Everyone, of course, abandons the idea and votes for enslavement instead.

Voting Republocrat IS throwing away your vote. I'm voting Libertarian, as I usually do.

UGH!!
I can't stand either Davis or Simon.
Both of them are so crooked they are going to have to be screwed into the ground when they die.
No matter how I look at it, it's SCARY!!

hear hear, mcbeth ....
i agree with you totally...

i once read Frank Zappa's autobiography...(a hilarious book from a brilliant mind)
and he wrote
"scientists claim that hydrogen is the most abundant substance in the universe...
i disagree...
i think stupidity is."
oh..by the way...Orson Scott Card...
excellent mormon sc-fi writer..

Cool...I thought I was the only one who thought our political system was going down the drain. It really does suck doesn't it? Wanting to vote...knowing that person you vote for will get like .05% of the vote...it's very frustrating.

I'm voting 3rd party in the CA gov'nor election as well. They leave me no choice, really.

Simon & Davis are one good reason for leaving CA... Everyone in CA might as well start stretching now to make bending over easier, cause no matter who wins y'all are going to get royally screwed...

republicans suck monkey balls!!!!!!!!!

Well why don't you run then? You seem to be an intelligent person... Plus you could use your celebrity status to get you the job. Might make you feel good at the end of the day too.

I emailed Creation to thank them for getting Wil,
and Adam Malin wrote me back. Very cool.

Dear L. Davis:

Thanks for the e note. We feel the same way about Wil and are grateful we
were able to get him to appear at the ST:NG 15th Anniversary. It wouldn't
have been the same without him!

I appreciated getting your letter and look forward to seeing you at the
event.

All the best-

Adam Malin

Will:

I am planning to vote for "Mr. Janeway". Why? One reason is I hate the Republicans here. Second, he is a predicted loser, simply because he dosen't have the money of the opposition. It really burns me that politics is about money, not what is good for the people.

I think it is about time we citizens demand a limit on campaign spending and level the playing field for all candidates.

Wil-

Just a side note, I don't think the Governor of California lives in the Governors Mansion in Sacramento. Seems to me that it was built during R. Reagans term and then Jerry Brown was elected and refused to live in it. Instead he lived in a small apartment and drove a 1974 Plymouth. However, that wasn't the point of your comment, so I'll stop on that now.

I left California 6 years ago, and it's starting to appear that I've made an excellent choice in doing so. After speaking with my relatives that still live there, it appears the two major parties are giving Golden State residents the choice between Dumb and Dumber. Go third parties!

At least you have not had to live under Jesse Helms like I have. Talk about frightening...

Damn. Sometimes I just don't get the US.
Don't get me wrong, it's not like everything is totally wonderful in my country (Sweden) and it's not like I hate the US. On the contrary, there's so very much to like and admire about USA (in fact I'd like to live in New York, but that's another story).

But... having what is basically a two party system (and a constitution that apparently promotes a two party system) seems dangerously close to not being a democratic system at all.

There are problems with having between five and a dozen political parties in the parliament, to be sure. But at least it guarantees a measure of diversity and gives people a slightly more reasonable chance to vote for a party that, to some extent, have the same goals and ideals as the people voting for them. Having a mere two choices seems... a bit constricted. At least to an outsider. I could be wrong of course... ;-)

Will,

Boy do I feel like the lucky one. Here in Minnesota we DO have a LEGIT 3rd party candidate (Tim Penny). Our current Gov. (Jesse Vetura - like you didn't know that) is an independent and no doubt that helps Mr. Penny. He's not new to politics, he was a representative for years (D), but kinda got fed-up with the whole Washington scene so he didn't run again (this is 6-8 years ago).

So we have 3 candidates who could all win. Roger Moe (way out on the left), Tim Pawlenty (on the right but by no means an extremist) and Tim Penny (literally right down the old political center).

What could be kinda cool, if Penny wins, the other two life-long politicians will be out of office. In MN you can't run for two offices at the same time. So Moe (Senate Majority leader) and Pawlenty (House Majority leader) would both be out of office - holly new blood batman!

Wil, your comments remind me of my reactions around the last Presidential fiasco, er, election.

First, let it be known that I (well, along with the majority of Americans) did not vote for the person who is currently in office... but anyway, that day, I got up, exercised my right to vote, then got on a plane and went to England.

I thought, "I'll be free from all of this nonsense for two whole weeks - huzzah!"

Boy, was I wrong! I'd forgotten about Britain's press corps and their zeal. So, every day, I'd see the Times, and every day, in HUGE PRINT, front page, above the fold, was another headline about the American election.

Aurgh!

There was one editorial, and I WISH that I had saved it... it went something like this:
"Sir,
I believe the experiment has failed. What do you say we invite the United States to rejoin the Commonwealth?"

I would LOVE to see a "None of the Above" box on the ballot. I'm of the opinion that "Mr. None of the Above" would wind up holding a lot of elected offices.

I live in Florida. I'll trade you anyone for Jeb Bush. You don't know pain untill Duh-bya's brother has run your state (into the ground). Please take him, I'll even throw in some Disney World tickets and maybe a short cruise. Of course, the psycholocical scaring will never fade. But at least we would be rid of the dreaded "younger brother".

I am not sure a 3rd party is the way to go given the way our system works. I was a Green for a while, but it seemed that by voting Green, I was only ensuring the Republicans would be elected which was not one of my goals. I would like to see the progressives, true liberals, environmentalists, etc. take over the Democratic party the way the religeous right did the Republican. At least give people a real choice to make when voting.

Lesse...Bob Taft or Tim Hagan? The guy whose ancestor got stuck in the Whitehouse tub, or the guy who pimps his actress wife around the state for votes? Maybe I'll just vote Eastman (Natural Law)...or the write-in candidates who can't afford a campaign website, so they use Yahoo!

Ahh, who am I kidding? Ohio's been screwed since Rhodes left office...so yes, we definitely hear ya guys in California from here...

Under marital law until further notice.

The phrase "Four legs good, Two legs bad" comes to mind when I think about the political structure of the United States. How sad, how very sad. I'm going to crawl under my bed now, someone get me when we put an honest person into office. On second thought, this'll take a while, better make some room next to uncle Walt and Ted Williams...

Remain clam everyone... we are under marital law... does this mean no more sleeping around, or what?

Sly, Wil, really sly. I gotta hand it to you. First, you rant about Star Trek conventions and you get a call from the head of the convention begging you to sign on. Right now, I bet you're waiting for a political party's convention to call, begging you to be on the ticket.

Devious.

Damn thing about it it, I'd vote for you. Way to go, Wil!

I feel your pain concerning the need for a strong 3rd party, Wil. As a Minnesotan, I've enjoyed the last four years without a Democrat/Republican in the governor's chair. The best thing you can do is keep voting for a 3rd party. One day, you just might be surprised.

Wil,

sorry, but I can handle only 1 thing at a time..

Justin or Kelly????

which one of these average, very average singers
do I choose????

it's giving me a headache...
later

Well, Will, could be worse. You could be in Canada.
You see, in Canada, once Ontario and Quebec vote, the election is essentially over. Why? Coz that's where the population is. Well...the gross majority of the population.
British Columbia comes in at third, making a small dent in the election results, but not much. You can understand that the prairie provinces and maritime provinces are reasonably disgusted.
This, of course, is why the one political party that started and was attempting to represent more of the western provinces (Western Alliance Party) has been infiltrating it's way into the east. I guess that they just couldn't get far enough in Canuckian politics by representing everything west of Manitoba. Oops.

STFU Wil

To paraphrase Stargazer..

WIL WHEATON FOR GOV.!!!

(Ya know you COULD win...remember Ronnie Ray-gun
ZAP!!)

"I would like to see the progressives, true liberals, environmentalists, etc. take over the Democratic party the way the religeous right did the Republican. At least give people a real choice to make when voting." Quote Stephe

That's still a limitation on what people are allowed to believe in.

I think that's the part of the problem with the silly system we have now.

We live in a world that is ever changing. Nothing is black and white. And yet we are expected to CHOOSE from only two Types of belief systems for how we would like our government to run.

So I can either be a Republican or a TRUE Liberal.

What about the gray areas.
What about when a large group of people have their own voice. Should I "pick the lesser of two evils"?, Should I say fuckit and simply not vote - stick my head in the sand and claim no responsibility for who was elected?

Part of the problem is people are afraid of CHANGE. They don't want more than two choices because people are simply too fucking stupid to think for themselves long enough to research the candidate qualities.

They just want to sit back and say, Yup my Daddy was a Republican and so I will be one two. Or I'm a bunny hugger and I'll vote all Democrat because they want to save the environment.

Fuckit!! Why even use those labels?

Why not just have the candidates PROPERLY state their beliefs and REAL agendas?

Would half of the voting Moron population even know what they were talking about?

Sadly NO.....

*sigh*

If everything WERE black and white, left or right your plan might work Stephe. That's just not reality though.

Why don't you run for a political position in your state then? Heaven knows that politics need to be infused with some personal decency and a sense of humour...

I lived in Louisiana in 1991 when our choices for governor included Edwin Edwards, a crook (recently convicted on racketeering charges), and David Duke, a past KKK grand wizard. Voted for the crook.

A third party is part of the answer. WE need to seriously consider term limits and reducing the size of government.

Our founding fathers did not ever intend for the federal government to ever get this big. They did not intend for people to make a profession of being a politician. They expected a person to serve one or two terms and then go back home and continue on with their life as if they had never been elected to office.

Well you could always move to Minnesota and have Jessie for another month or two :-) Although theres a pretty damned good chance of us getting another Independent Governer this election.

Wil,

GOT FREEDOM?
VOTE LIBERTARIAN!!!
Libertarian candidate for CA governor:
http://www.lpwolfpack.net/copeland/
There is ALWAYS another choice.
http://www.lp.org/
"The price of Liberty is eternal vigilance."
- Thomas Jefferson

The only true third party to vote for is the Libertarians. VOTE LIBERTARIAN WIL! GO GET YOUR DRUTHERS! :)

The Libertarians are the largest third party in American, running more candidates nationwide than all other third parties combined. They are the only ones who stand on principle and will act that way when elected. It's time to get some Libertarians elected to the local and state level.

Vote libertarian wil! It's the only true third choice in America.

Considering the racial diversity of California it's amazing how we keep electing these pasty-faced rich white guys. Of course, race is insignificant in the face of corruption, so it probably doesn't matter who we elect-- by the time you get to that stage of the game you're already corrupted, perverted, paid off and bought. Maybe we need more freaks like Jerry Brown. A lot of the talk about him may have been negative, but at least people were talking. As for George Bush, the reason he has that smirk on his face is that every moment he is conscious (notice I didn't use the word 'awake') he is aware of a little sequence of words endlessly repeating through his mind like background noise-- "Ah can't fuh-kin be-LIEVE Ah'm President!"

Third party, oy vey.

Vote Quimby!!!

"Don't blame me. I wrote-in Wil Wheaton."

I hate politicians.

Wil,

I mentioned in an earlier post something that I'm fond of mentioning when relating to politics n such....
"When I learned that Bush won the election, I locked myself in my room and cried. I refused to come out for a few days!"

I'm in Minnesota. I LOVE JESSE!!!!!!!!!
I really liked Gore and thought we'd be able to work with him in office, however I voted GREEN because I wanted to prove a point (and i really liked him too)

we NEED to clean house when it comes to government. with all the "shadow-government" crap going on, we need to do something drastic....but i doubt that'll happen, so maybe i'll just move to Ireland or something...

Wil Wheaton for office???? hmm.....yeah, ya know, i'd give you my vote for sure! for many many reasons.

Eternally,
Ember

I think you'll appreciate this site:

http://www.smirkingchimp.com

Enjoy ;)

- Patrick

WIL FOR GOVERNOR!

WIL FOR PRESIDENT!!

as a netting observer from the other side of the atlantic it might be of slender comfort for you to know that politics British style is little better though we now have the entertaining diversions of the Welsh assembly and the Scots Parliament flexing the megre muscles against the bullyboys of London. Our politicians tend to be on a smaller scale with a Prime minister composed entirely of smiling teeth, a leader of the opposition who is all but invisible and a leader of our third party, the liberals, who is fond of the water of life that makes you fall down giggling. To pick up on kendoka's comment the door is alweays open for America to come back into the fold of the Commonwealth, after all communism didn't last forever. it would mean you being ruled by an old queen though, which isn't always bad.

as a new visitor via the net from the other side of the Atlantic I would just like to give you a small crumb of comfort in that politics this side of the pond are no less depressing though we now have the entertaining diversions of the Welsh Assembly and the Scottish Parliament flexing their tiny muscles against the bully boys of London. There are three main parties in British politics though at the moment we have a Prime MInister, Labour Party, who is composed entirely of smiling teeth, a leader of the opposition,Conservative Party, who is all but invisible and the leader of the third party, Liberal, who quite likes the Scottish water of life that makes you fall down and giggle a lot. To pick up on kendoka's comment the door is always open for America to come back under the wing of the commonwealth, after all communism didn't last forever. It would mean being ruled by an old queen but that isn't all that bad given some of the alternatives.

bugger!!! sent it twice sorry.

Move to Australia, Wil. That's all I have to say to you.
Safe schools for your kids minus guns and security check points.
Great beaches with even greater beach babes.
Pretty damn excellent weather.
Fantastic food.
Irreverant senses of humour.
Yeah, lousy, stupid politicians, but no one takes any notice of them anyway.

Heaven is down under, Wil. Your wife and kids will love it. Even Ferris will love it!

"Now, I can go off on a major rant here, but I won't."

Stealing Dennis Miller's bit now? :)

-Locke

Well, having more than 2 parties sure helps finding someone you can put your cross at, but I'm afraid it won't save Germany from Stoiber (as conservative as Bush, just a little more intelligent) either. Only 17 more days to that election :-(

So, you're not alone in your misery.

Hey that's a thought for all you out there in California land .. write in Wil Wheaton as your choice for Governer!

Reminds me of the movie 'Brewsters Millions' where Richard Pryor's charactor created the party 'None of the Above' ... which in the end, that party won by a LANDSLIDE!

Maybe someone should start an independent party with the same name ... and insist to be listed as the LAST line on ALL ballots.

(smirk)

I wonder if by doing JUST that ... if then the candidates WOULD win.

However ... I still say ... Write in Wil Wheaton for Gov of California!

Yo Wil ... if Elected ... would you accept?

;-D

Yah, Australia. Where the crime has skyrocketed since the ban on weapons and taxation is just as bad as here in the US.

I wouldn't move to Australia if you paid me. Visit it, hell yes, but I'd never live there.

About the only other place in the world which has as much liberty as the US is Costa Rica.

Of course, we could all sign the petition begging Michael Moore to run for President! Forget governorships, let's aim for the big game!

Look at who's running for governor of my state (New York). The younger Cuomo just pulled out of the race recently and we're left with not much of a choice. To me, all they are looking out for is who they get in to the offices to fill their 'patronage' positions. Many things in New York were moved to Albany so Pataki could put his friends and cronies into them. (example, nothing for unemployment can be handled or straightened out at your local office. Only through the Albany number during the hours of 8:30-4:30M-F. The reps in Albany make more of a mess of something that should be simple which results in more hearings locally). Up until 2000, you could handle everything locally. Patronage is a sick thing but not for those it benefits. I would like to see those people hunt around for a job by themselves.

Recently I switched to the Independent party.

Wil,

I know this is a little of comment for this post but I just opened a door on my computer desk and there it was staring at me..looking me in the face like a ghost from the past. You see it was a memorial card that says "In Memory Of Those Lost 9-11-01" and it has a picture of the twin towers right before they were hit. I guess it effected me more than I thought for me to keep this little memorial on my desk this long.

What does this have to do with politics and elections? maybe nothing or maybe everything..we sure as hell need to vote the right people in office if we want anything good to happen in this country.

Just something to think about..

until your next post......

Matt......

Meant to say "off comment" not of comment

DUH!! Oh well I'll be perfect next time. LOL

Matt......

Interesting. Texas is in the same situation. They have Republican who is in the pocket of George Dub, and another twerp, Tony Sanchez, who is really a Republican (and *also* in the pocket of George Dub) but is running on the Democratic ticket because he's Latino and thinks he can fool the Hispanic population of Texas into thinking he is a Democrat.

And if betraying his own culture isn't enough to make you realize what a jerk this guy is, consider that he was most recently known for being the one who managed to scare off a world-class architectural firm (Herzog and de Meuron) brought in to build a kick-ass art museum for The University of Texas, upon whose Board of Regents he sits. Sanchez insisted that the museum's design match the 100 year old Mediterranean architecture on the rest of the campus. Herzog and de Meuron scoffed, and rightly so. So now the university will be the proud home of what is essentially the "LaQuinta Museum of Art."

Will,
The problem you are talking about is easily explained. A Person can be intelligent, articulate, witty, thoughtful ... all of the nice things we like to think about ourselves... But, and this is important, PEOPLE are stupid. The bovine mentality exhibited by voters late in the election (looks like my side is winning, so I won't bother to vote) is more proof. One person can never be a riot, but normally sane individuals become caught up in stupidity and do lots of dumb things. They riot, out of anger (Rodney king) out of joy (Chicago Bulls championships), or even out of misunderstanding (Minneapolis), but NO ONE, after the fact, could provide a valid reason why rioting was thought to be a “good idea at the time”
A Person is smart, PEOPLE are stupid. And Politicians are voted into office by PEOPLE. Also.. once a person is in office they join a group of PEOPLE, thus dropping off half their brains at the door and behaving like people. Stupid.

Stepping off soap box
Alacrity
PS.. Glad you liked the Business card!

I'm not voting in our upcoming local elections--I know that sounds irresponsible of me, but I don't like any of the candidates. Maybe it would just come down to the lesser of two evils. Or three. People keep telling me this over and over again: If you don't vote, you can't complain. I say i can complain anyway.

you know for an "old guy" you're kinda cool :)

Watch what you wish for. You could end up like us in Minnesota with Ventura. I mean I voted for him, but I just wanted the party to get matching funds. I didn't want him in office! Ventura spends most of his time being a weenie to the media. Yeah, it's the media's fault people make fun of you, not your own policy...rightttttt.

Regarding "throwing your vote away."

If you seriously don't see one candidate as better than the other between the Rs and Ds...then yes...voting third party is the way to go.

But if you do see one as a better good than the other (and not one as a lesser evil...there is a difference) Then voting for a third party is helping out the one you like less. In the current winner-take all system.

I remember reading about a country, I forget which country, that has "Automatic Run-off" elections where you rank the candidates. And if by counting all the #1 votes no winner is found, the votes for the last place contender are redistributed among the #2 votes. And so on until there is a clear winner.

This system would encourage an honest ranking. Everyone would know that even if their 3rd party candidate didn't win...their choice for 2nd would count if needed.

I do prefer the American system over a Parliamentary system in that I don't like the President being the leader of the majority party It removes an important check, I believe. If Congress actually chose the President, that would make the President beholden to Congress. Not to the People.

Another way to reduce the weakness of third parties would of course be to remove the power of money in the equation. The abilities of the two parties to generate money gives them an unfair advantage over independent candidates.

It would take an H Ross Perot to break through in this system....but of course, while he had the money...he was insane.

Maybe we need a Hollywood-based Third Party. It would likely be progressive in nature. And they'd definitely have the money to fund it.

mmmm, evil. when I'm faced with choosing between two evils, I always like to go with the greater of the two. trust me, once you try evil you'll never want to try good again!

I nominate Wil Wheaton! Our next governor of California!!!!!! YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!

Come on, Wil? You can run for the Common Sense party. You'd slaughter these two morons!

Scott

Ignore this one too- I've been having trouble posting, and here I am, trying again...
Love, Alicia
www.thewagband.com

Now why is it that when I have something important to say and I type out a whole big thing, it says I'm not allowed to post, but when I just try a test post, it shows up? Help!
Love, Alicia
www.thewagband.com

I definitely hear you. In MassaTAXetts, we have to choose between squeaky clean, scary, Mitt Romney or pick one of the four Dems who are squabbling amongst themselves. Unfortunately, I feel like a third party vote gets you folks like Geo. W 'cause it splits things, but that's just my opinion. They just raised our income taxes and there still isn't one damn road sign in the state. Where does the money go? End rant.

Wil,

My thought on voting is that everyone who can vote should. I do not care if you are a dem, or a pub, or a green, or a lib, or a const or whatever. Vote the way you feel.

The reason I say this is that ALL the votes that come in are counted and noted by the powers that be,(PTB). When the PTB see a trend then they will change policy to take that trend into account. If you vote for a dem or a pub and do not really want that dem or pub in office then you are giving bad data to the PTB.

Think of government kinda like a jet plane that has its controls only linked electronically via wires to the actual actuators that make the rudder, ailerons, and horizontal stabilizer move. The politicians that are in office are kinda like the rudder, ailerons and H.S. . They are put in office by the PTB, the actuators in this example. We as the people can only control the stick to give the PTB a clue as to whether we want our plane to go up, down, loop the loop or roll. The voting process would equate to the wires that talk to the actuators.

Who are the PTB? They are not all nameless. Some of them are called electors. Some are prominent business people. Some are religious leaders. Some are military leaders. They nudge and push and plan and make things happen. But they are not telepathic. They need data that is valid. Give them this data. Vote the way you feel.

I like your site and you seem like an ok guy also.

dzimmerm

Wil,

In all seriousness, run for office. Run in a local election. The trouble with most independent campaigns is that they always "start at the top," where there is little chance of winning. Obviously these campaigns are trying to raise awareness (like the Nader campagin), but they have little chance of winning. You have a great chance of winning on the local level (where you can actually make a huge difference), and work your way up the political ladder. Change takes time, as you know. You can help foster in this change. Start small, and work your way up. You have the name recognition (which we all know helps a great deal), and your political views are awesome. You really should make it happen Wil. You can do it. Seriously. If not, you know that things will never change, and the only famous people to get in office will be right-wingers with loads of cash. Give it a shot. The country needs more people like you in office.
Peace.

Wil,
One last thought on this whole "to take office or to not take office" idea.....

No matter what you decide, your fans (the real ones) will support you completely. You are an extremely intelligent man, and you are totally capable of succeeding at whatever you set your heart and mind to. Run for office and we'll vote for you. Don't run for office and we'll just have to be excited for whatever else you have in mind :)

Journey long my friend,

Eternally,
Ember

Wil,

Which third party do you think you'll vote for? There's the Libertarians, the Commies, Ross Perot's loons, the Greens, The Flat Earth Society... the list goes on. Your brand of liberalism is alive and well in the Democratic party. They have to change they're tune to get elected. They fool us all. Thats why the election of 1992 was the LAST time I voted for a democrat or third party. I turned right soon after.

By the way, did you send your 600 dollar rebate back to the IRS ot did you keep it. Will you send back the extra money from the tax cut back as well? ALL of my Liberal friends...and they are legion... kept theirs. Of course a couple of them stopped talking to me when Bush won...another story.

Keep plugging away. Love the site.

Bart

I just love the fact that he made the I'm Gonna Git You Sucka quote as his topic. I love that movie.

I still crack up when I see Damon Wayans throw himself down the stairs.

There are still Liberals (with a capital L) in the Democratic party, but they are a dying breed.
If you truly believe Clinton was such a person, you are sadly mistaken. He may have occasionally flirted with the left, but for the most part he remained in the middle of the road all 8 years.

Personally, my favorite third party is the Natural Law Party. The only part of their platform I wish they'd discard is the slightly off-kilter bit about Transcendental Meditation. Otherwise they're great.

The Greens are also a good party...but I don't like Nader. Can't tell you why, I just don't.

But whenever I go into a voting booth, I have all the candidates ranked in my mind. I will do whatever is in my power to make sure the person on the bottom of the list doesn't get elected. Even if that means voting for the person who is second.

HAHAHAHAHAA!!!!! I'm totally with you on the creation of a 3rd, and even 4th and 5th parties - dang, I wish someone would do an www.egray.org like-thing to Virginia's bunch of one-sided poli-sickens. We have a saying in Virginia: Where Northern Virginia goes, the rest of the state is sure to fight it and vote Republican. Ha ha! OK so that's not really a saying here, but having lived in both urban-extremely-overboard-democratic parts of the state and less-dense-hypocritically-republican towns... what was my point? OH yeah, that partisan politics have little point left to them. Anyway, thanks for the laugh, and for being someone else out there in cyberspace who is an inde-D**N-pendent!!!!

Uhhh, that's all fine and good, but what 3rd party candidate could do more, or anything, for the current state of California? None that I know of. Our budget is in a shambles, true. But it is not totally Gray Davis's fault. As far as "the issues" are concerned, I feel Davis is the only way to go. Republicans all over the country are REALLY close to messing things up bad if we don't pay attention (i.e. - destroying what's left of the environment, taking away the right to choose, placing funding in ridiculous places, and going to war...again...it's what they do). I want to make it clear that I am a registered Green Party voter, and I still feel that Davis is the best choice. Voting 3rd party only works when the 3rd party candidate is worth as much (or more) than the Democrate (hahahaa! sorry Republicans...uhhh, no I'm not).

This is a SF Chronicle article on how party disinterest in even their own candidates has never been higher:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2002/09/05/MN55825.DTL

Normally, I vote libertarian, and believe we should vote for who we believe is the best candidate. However, American elections are being assaulted by corporate interests, resulting in candidates neither of the parties that are most likely going to win even want.

I think we have to decide who our First Enemy is, and thwart it. Gray Davis is an incumbent owing favors to corporate interest. There is no other visible Democratic contender. Bill Simon buried LA Mayor Richard Riordan under negative ads.

Now, my knowledge of Riordan's politics is very poor. This is the one thing I know about him: He has the trust of one of the two parties -- but has been passed by the First Enemy.

The freer and freer exchange of information we are participating in is revealing more and more the "dark matter" of corporate influemce on these elections we are enduring. It's basic evolution: we have been blind to this First Enemy of corporate influence, and it has been feeding off of us.

In terms of thwarting the Enemy, between salvaging the office of governor and salvaging the election process itself, to me it looks like salvaging the election process is the "source of the river" where the Enemy is vulnerable, and the more realistic goal.

Again, my knowledge of Riordan's leadership is very poor, but it appears to me that if he were to win as a write-in candidate, while it may not salvage the office of governor -- for all I know it may saturate the office with even more corruption -- as a statement on how the office depends on the election, and not the other way around, well, that's what the Enemy wants us to forget, isn't it?

"You know, we haven't figured out how to take your vote away from you yet, but it's so unimportant anyway, like some gnawed chicken bone we can just toss at you, it doesn't matter which way you'll vote, we'll get what we want anyway." This is the first deception the Enemy is counting on us to believe -- that they're vulnerable to the elected office when they are vulnerable to the election.

I think our best option is to *sacrifice the office to put the election back in the hands of the voter.* If we keep chasing the office -- keep chasing the bait the Enemy keeps dangling at us -- we will continue to lose both the office and our influence as voters. I think the shortest road to waking everyone up is if Riordan gets in on a write-in campaign. Yes, the Enemy will try to "run in front of the parade" if that happens -- but smart people like Wil will know what to do if such a disruption can be generated in the first place -- and the Enemy aren't vulnerable with the way things are going now anyway.

What do the rest of you think?

Can anyone figure out why a whois on the egray site doesn't work? I can't get any information on who created it.

Thought I had tonight:

I am a Progressive. I believe in personal freedoms. I am against The War on Drugs. I am in favor of increasing fuel-efficiency standards. I support unions. I oppose the death penalty. I am pro-choice. I am in favor of gay and lesbian marriage. I favor school vouchers. I want the US out of the rest of the world, and out of my house and bedroom. I am in favor of gun control, but I believe in the right of individuals to protect themselves. I am against the draft. I want public financing of campaigns and I want campaigns to be limited to 6 weeks before an election. I want quality healthcare to be guaranteed to all Americans, and I support a strenghtening of our immigration laws and boarders.

So who is there for *me*?

Seems like the ultra-conservatives have the Republicans to vote for.

Seems like the moderate Republicans have the Democrats to voe for.

Who is there for *me*?

Hmm how about Wil for dictator... I shouldn't try to be funny when I'm half asleep... *Drags himself off to bed* :)

Unfortunately wil, the same goes here in Australia, it seems as yet there is no escaping it. We have 2 major parties, Labour or Liberal, and recently I've been so disillusioned with the Liberal government who are now in power (and who I'd previously favoured over Labour), and I've realised that each is as bad as the other. Sure, there are a few seats occupied by members of "smaller" parties but unfortunately they don't provide much of a voice, drowned out by the ramblings of the 2 major parties. The saddest part is that people get disillusioned with one, vote for the other at the next election, and thus the vicious cycle continues - let's raise taxes some more, let's sell off more Australian companies to bring in the dollars, let's not sign Kyoto, let's silence protestors, let's not bring in reforms which may go against the church, let's build another detention centre, let's go to war. Hell, I could go on, but you get my point. It really is disheartening. But hell, we're lucky we even get a vote, and so I won't waste mine by falling for their tricks anymore, I'll vote in those parties that actually believe what they're saying.
[/rant]

Vote Cthulhu in 2004: Why choose the lesser of two evils?

Well, I kissed off the country a year ago after the coup-d'etat, but prior to that I religiously voted for any progressive third-party I could find including: Greens, Peace and Freedom and Communist (only once or twice...Peace and Freedom is pretty widespread in California).

I say vote your conscience regardless of consequences. Really the US needs proportional representation like much of the world, else it's a sham democracy and will continue to be.

Civils liberties, decriminalizing consensual activity, fuel-efficiency standards to cut our dependence on oil and giving the environment a break... you mostly cite political values that are obvious to everyone -- but we aren't getting them.

Wil, you phrased your thoughts as an American consumer, and as long as we address our politics as consumers, the corporations picking the candidates for the major parties will continue to convince the average voter that picking between their two choices is all they can do -- that's it, no more.

I'm going to use what may be a very bad analogy, but one which I believe Wil is familiar with since he mentioned reading Neil Gaiman's Sandman comic book. Gaiman once did a story about how a young woman was trying to sneak the living head of Orpheus out of France during the the Revolution. One of the tactics she used to hide the head to avoid its confiscation was to leave it in plain sight among the other decapitated heads piling up from the purge taking place.

I use this analogy because I believe the spin of the election campaigns we are witnessing seduce voters into losing sight to our one right they are vulnerable to, which is selecting our own write-in candidates. "Taxes, domestic defense, education, your government is a commodity like your supermarket -- come check out what's available, get yours right here! Our way is faster and we do it all better."

The reason a third party won't solve this is because consumerism is all about avoiding isolation -- a third party solution is an alternative consumer solution, and fights against the strong fronts of the two major parties. A third party solution is still an attempt at consumer gratification, and it only makes the two major parties stronger -- you're just trying to put out fire with gasoline.

In my previous post, I suggested Riordan as a possible write-in winner -- it can be anyone, but anything short of a write-in victory is a waste of time, because the corporate interests will always continue to manipulate us as long as they can count on gratifying us as consumers, from our fear our isolation (which is why the only thing we have to fear is fear itself).

Look at it this way: should anyone be entitled to government office without the endorsement of any party? If your answer is no, who does that benefit more, you or Haliburton CEO Dick Cheney, who made more money rebuilding the oil fields of Iraq than all other US corporations combined? (http://www.dfw.com/mld/startelegram/news/columnists/molly_ivins/4005941.htm)

If I haven't been repeating myself, I can count on doing so beyond this point, so I will avoid returning to this issue if it doesn't begin to walk on its own. Thank you for your time.

In a few days, I turn 18, and will be registering to vote. I'm afraid. I'm very afraid. The very first election I'll be voting in, and already it's a lesser of evils decision. I haven't followed politics; never thought I had a reason to. Now, I'm beginning to wish I did. I have 2 months to determine my politcial opinions, and choose the gubernatorial candidate who's stances on issues best reflect/least conflict with my own.

I digress. I guess this is a strange way of thanking you, Wil, for waking up the future voter in me. Color me politically aware, or at least no longer politically ignorant.

Wil come to Florida,People here don't know how to vote.Take a good look at the run for president thanks to some of the voters here in Florida we have another Bush in office.An now today the polls opened 2 hours late because in Florida we have a new way to vote with the computers pople still don't know what they r doing.Besids that people here r waiting 45 mins or more to vote becaue th computers r not working right so Jeb Bush ordered that thepolls stay open 2 hours later.Boy i should move back t New York where they no how to vte and everything works right....

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