2016: The Year the Americans Found out Our Elections Are Rigged

a reply to: TrueBrit

TrueBrit:

You're a great speaker. You might even be a poet.

But every single thing you have said in this thread can be likened to a can of Milwaukee's best sheathed in a Crown Royal pouch.

It looks good from the outside, but everything inside is either synthetic or mopped off of the floor.

Let me tell you the difference between all those victims you speak of and myself: They are not doing the right thing.

It sounds good to say that the poor poor person with 4 jobs is just doing their best. In reality, that person is a veritable idiot, putting no thought at all into how to improve their situation, but only doing what seems to be expected, until somebody in charge comes along and makes things better.

Crying for the unfortunate is not wrong. But to excuse their lack of desire to improve?

Let me offer you a nice brew, still made the right way, with substance; and toss that Crown Royal bag, because it is only good for holding dice, anyway, and I'm not playing games.

Let me tell you the story of a man who has dealt with that reality which you discuss.

But the story is different because this man was no fool. A bigger heart may manifest a bigger brain.

Instead of allowing the employers to keep screwing him over... instead of allowing society to dictate how he should live... instead of constantly being the victim! - this man instead realized, when he wrote down his problems, responsibilities, and goals, that he could have organized his life sooner. When he wrote down all the tools he had at his disposal, he realized he had a LOT more than he thought. You can't eat a pencil, but you CAN write with it.

It began to dawn on this man that the whole time he thought he was a victim of other people that he was actually the worst offender.

He realized he could write his own paycheck.

Legally.

You can start your own business in the United States as a sole proprietor using only your own Social Security number. Eventually you will need to do other things, but you can start.

I went from never earning more than $10 an hour doing the hardest jobs all over and never having enough at all, especially for my family (and I hate welfare programs, I refuse to use them, even though for a couple of months we did)...

to making $45 an hour.

Because I bought a vacuum cleaner, a broom, a bucket, paper towels, Lysol, foaming glass cleaner, and an extension cord.

That's all.

I put out an ad I made on a computer and printed and literally placed the ads randomly on sidewalks, making it look like it was someone else's trash. I imagined that I was spreading seed when I tossed the papers. I did it knowing that people hate bulletins usually, but are oddly curious about random loose garbage with words on it.

I now also have a photography and video business that I was able to invest in because of the cleaning.

Those both now fund my introduction into music, which has been a dream of mine, and Chess is next.

I earn what I demand. I'm the boss. I'm never late. My work is excellent.

I haven't yet gone the LLC route, but this next year is making it look necessary.

And ALL income is reported.

The idea that we would drag out of this was absurd to everyone, including one man I know who thought like you and told me I was a fool and should just get help, everyone needs help.

Yes, everyone needs help. But that help should be a lesson in reality and the ability to use one's brain. That lesson is only learned by Actually Loving your family, or Actually Hating your enemy. The former is better and the route I took.

Stephen Hawking is useless, but he finds a way to do what he thinks is good.

Sob stories that do not end up with the protagonist being a hero are only good at making people more useless.

Here's some motivation for any here if you feel stuck: TrueBrit is wrong. Write down your life, your pain, your struggles... then write down your goals, your dreams, and all the tools at your disposal - do not neglect the library, a fork, a plastic bag, toilet paper, the bus route, etc. EVERYTHING is a tool at your disposal.

Then start to connect the dots. Discover what central theme there is to your tools, your talents, your problems, and the pain of those around you.

The answer will appear. That's the easy part. The hard part is believing in that answer and developing a plan to execute a strategy based upon that answer to solve your problems.

Or you could let 4 different lower management individuals who think they're hot # tell you how to think everyday. ...

It really still is up to you.

a reply to: TarzanBeta

The larger point you raise: entrepreneurialism. The company i work for requires you to be entrepreneurial. You are accountable for decisions, and have next to zero oversight beyond legal regulatory oversight. But if your results aren't there....it doesn't matter why. And I watch smart people go down in flames regularly. The tolerance is about a year. If you can make it a year, you're in and are my battle buddy.

But on the larger point: we are on the cusp of a revolution. For the last 15 or so years some folks have been making a killing. But the ones who work for other people, instead of themselves, are stuck in their jobs (not careers). So the cusp has been going on for awhile. Why?

Because people aren't entrepreneurial, and prefer waiting on the boss to come tell them when to pick their nose. When the industrial revolution came around, you had an entire nation ready to figure out how to capitalize on it. When the technological revolution came around, you had an entire nation use it to sit and look up LOLCATS, ignoring real capitalization opportunities.

We, generally speaking, do not think about ho to monetize our skills. We just go give those skills away for pennies on the dollar to someone else.

I do it, too. But have been moving towards not doing it anymore over the last few weeks. It'll be a long road, so we will see. But thanks for sharing the perspective.

a reply to: bigfatfurrytexan

You're welcome.

I was not a natural. It was only my big heart that kick started my dulling mind.

I believe when one has suffered enough and has watched enough other people suffer, the fear of failure is simply another annoying obstacle, and a tiny hurdle at that.

Best to you!

a reply to: bigfatfurrytexan

I wanted to touch on something else that you mentioned also.

I think there are two kinds of smart people: The kind that come up with the right answers and the kind that come up with the right questions.

Too many people have been convinced that to be smart, one has to have the answers.

I think the truly intelligent individual learns to ask the right question.

Insecure people, regardless of how smart they are, always ask the wrong questions. Having the right answer to the wrong question profits nothing.

I think the answer to all problems, including the problem of rigged elections, is to ask the right question.

Not "Why are elections rigged?", but rather, "Who is doing it and How do we put a stop to it?"

If your answer was, "The Elite and we can't", then I think you forgot to ask yourself another question: "Why do I care?"

That last statement to everyone.

But I wanted to touch on what you said about smart people going down in flames. Questions are a bag of gold, but an answer is a coin.

originally posted by: reddragon2015
a reply to: 727Sky

Incorrect: Only a small % of Americans know the election is a sham. The masses will believe what Fox news and the Kardashians tell them.

I agree. Many ATS members know this, because there are threads dating back many years on the subject. The media is clueless, and the American people are even more so.

a reply to: 727Sky

Counterpoint: at the neighborhood (precinct) level in Colorado, we can't pay people to make them want to get involved. Time commitment? One Saturday per month from 1-5 pm. Precinct chairs, such as captain or secretary go up for grabs at nearly every caucus, and no one volunteers, so the positions remain the same.

At the precinct level we coordinate with the county chair and together write the platform for the entire party, from the county level, up through the state and national party. The platform is not written at the top and handed down from on high. It is written by precinct captains and county chairs and state volunteers and passed upwards, where it is argued by other state reps at the national level.

None of these are elected positions, generally, though we would love to have a vote if we have more than one volunteer for any available job or position.

Generally speaking, people talk out their askhole about party politics, oligarchs and public policy. They can't be bothered to donate four hours a month to their own communities, and expect to be taken serious with their gripes.

a reply to: UKTruth

Please get back to me when you are ready to volunteer four hours a month at your local precinct -- for ANY party. Until then, I'll assume your revolution is pointless masturbation and posturing.

a reply to: 0zzymand0s

Who decided to cancel the caucus in Colorado?

originally posted by: 0zzymand0s
a reply to: UKTruth

Please get back to me when you are ready to volunteer four hours a month at your local precinct -- for ANY party. Until then, I'll assume your revolution is pointless masturbation and posturing.

Excuse me? You have to work to earn the vote now eh?
You don't need 'askholes' gathering to plot rules. You need people to run a fair election - something you seem to know little about.

a reply to: TarzanBeta

Couldn't tell you. I assume the decision was made at state level, but I am not a GOP volunteer or delegate.

originally posted by: TarzanBeta
a reply to: 0zzymand0s

Who decided to cancel the caucus in Colorado?

Must have been some other 'askhole'.

According to the Denver post it was a committee of 24 led by Steve House on 21st August 2015, two months after Trump entered the race and at a time when he had shot to the top of the polls. Oh, and 10 days after House himself had made disparaging remarks about Trump.

Doubt very much it was group of dudes meeting for political masturbation once a month at the local precinct.

a reply to: UKTruth

When record numbers of voters turn out to vote for Bernie or Hillary, but we can't get one volunteer to help coordinate the precinct, and we have to cajole kids who are too busy playing with their phones to volunteer as a delegate for their chosen superhero at the county convention, you get the election you deserve.

If you won't help make the sausage, who cares what you think of how it tastes?

a reply to: UKTruth

The masturbation session is what coordinates the primaries / caucuses, works with the county, state and national party, "rents" the buildings where you show up to vote, cleans up the mess afterwards, and, yes -- writes the platform that is argued (and decided) one level higher.

But you wouldn't know anything about that, would you? You're just outraged when things don't go your way.

my 2 cents to the OP....I became aware of this when I was a teen back in the 60's....there are parents who do not talk to their kids about politics. and, there are those who are aware and they simply don't care.

originally posted by: 0zzymand0s
a reply to: UKTruth

When record numbers of voters turn out to vote for Bernie or Hillary, but we can't get one volunteer to help coordinate the precinct, and we have to cajole kids who are too busy playing with their phones to volunteer as a delegate for their chosen superhero at the county convention, you get the election you deserve.

If you won't help make the sausage, who cares what you think of how it tastes?

How about stopping with the excuses as a starting point.
The whole system is a joke - not just staffing at the precinct.
Tear it down and start again - and bring in legislation (and methods of funding) that worries less about stealing delegates and more about proper administration.

a reply to: 0zzymand0s

Your advice all fails to have substance if you recognize that all of that work is for nothing if the results are discarded at the state and national level.

What you are asking is like asking people to not be angry with a child molester because it wasn't their own child.

originally posted by: 0zzymand0s
a reply to: UKTruth

The masturbation session is what coordinates the primaries / caucuses, works with the county, state and national party, "rents" the buildings where you show up to vote, cleans up the mess afterwards, and, yes -- writes the platform that is argued (and decided) one level higher.

But you wouldn't know anything about that, would you? You're just outraged when things don't go your way.

Simple administration.
Hardly an excuse for taking away people's votes, which is what this thread is about.
Staffing levels is just about the lamest excuse I have heard so far for a group of 24 people to change the rules.

a reply to: UKTruth

You can't possibly be this dense. They didn't change the rules. These are the rules, and yes -- they are messed up! If you want to change the rules, you need to wash up and get ready to make sausage, because that is how the rules get changed. Not by posting rants at ATS.

a reply to: UKTruth


"Not enough staff" is indeed a lame excuse! No states have enough staff until hire them for the election. Geesh!

originally posted by: 0zzymand0s
a reply to: UKTruth

You can't possibly be this dense. They didn't change the rules. These are the rules, and yes -- they are messed up! If you want to change the rules, you need to wash up and get ready to make sausage, because that is how the rules get changed. Not by posting rants at ATS.

They (they being a group of 24 individuals who have nothing to do with staffing precincts by the way) did indeed change the rules on Friday 21st August 2015 - as I said, 2 months after the Trump entered the race and 10 days after Steve House had publicly attacked Trump.

Stop lying.

Denver Post

Not sure what kind of sausages they were trying to make - but they sure don't taste very nice to the disenfranchised voters who will be out in force to protest tomorrow. Why don't you turn up to talk about sausages - see what reaction you get.

Colorado is just one example of a much bigger problem as the OP points out.