Wednesday, September 23, 2020

I'll Never Vote in a National Election Again

George Carlin - Voting is a meaningless exercise

 “Voting is a meaningless exercise. I’m not going to waste my time with it. These parties, these politicians are given to us as a way of making us feel we have freedom of choice. But we don’t.”
— George Carlin

After 2020, I won't be voting again for any candidates for President, House, or Senate. Why should I bother, when my vote really doesn't matter? Don't try to tell me "every vote counts." Maybe in some swing states they do, but not in California. I live in a solidly Democratic district in a solidly Democratic state. Gerrymandering has made my vote for representative meaningless, while the Electoral College makes my vote for president meaningless, because California is a "winner take all" state. California will have two Democratic Senators for the foreseeable future, and so my voting for Senator certainly won't ever change the outcome.

The System is Broken

The ideal of one person, one vote completely disappears in the Electoral College and the Senate. Right now we have a president who lost the popular vote in 2016 and a Senate where there is a 53-person Republican majority that represents tens of millions fewer Americans than the 45-person Democratic minority and 2 Independents.

The Senate greatly magnifies the power of small states. GOP controlled Wyoming, population 582,000, has two senators and so does Dem controlled California, with a population of 38.8 million. As a result, California's Senators represent 66 times more voters than Wyoming’s. 

The GOP enjoys many institutional advantages that have allowed them far more power and control than they deserve.

  • Electoral College -- a relic of slavery compromises.
    red states represent far fewer actual voters
  • Gerrymandering -- both sides do it and it means few seats are actually at risk in each election
  • When voting takes place on a workday, the party with older and more-affluent voters enjoys a boost at the polls.
  • Two-party system means that Republicans who don't want Trump have nowhere else to go
  • Republicans control voting in the "Red" states and engage in voter suppression, via Voter ID, purging voter rolls, limiting polling hours and places, etc.

Republicans have won the popular vote in presidential elections just once in the last 30 years. Much of the Republican base views defeat as catastrophic. White Christians are losing more than an electoral majority; their once-dominant status in American society is eroding. They have reacted to perceptions of an existential threat with a win-at-any-cost mentality.

Even when Republicans lose they employ any means necessary to hold onto power. After losing the governorship in North Carolina in 2016 and Wisconsin in 2018, Republicans used lame-duck legislative sessions to push through a flurry of bills stripping power from incoming Democratic governors. 

Needless to say, Republicans will never give up the institutional and structural advantages that allow them to control the US government with a minority of the popular votes. 

Meanwhile, Democrats in safe House and Senate seats, like my representatives, don't have to do what's best for their constituents, because just like the so-called "moderate Republicans" Liberals and Progressives have nowhere else to go. As a result we have "corporate Democrats" who pay lip service to progressive goals while continuing to do the bidding of giant corporations. 

California has one Senator now -- Diane Feinstein -- 87 years old and the ranking member of the Judiciary Committee, who should never have been re-elected in 2018 because she was already notably slipping mentally and she has only gotten worse. Not to mention that she has been way too conservative for California for at least the past 12 years, but she was re-elected anyway because the Dem primary is too much of an uphill battle for challengers.

In short, while one can expect at least some positive changes over time, the overall trend is mostly negative. America had already become an oligarchy long before Trump ever took office, and Trump has added demagoguery, authoritarianism and kleptocracy. The divide among Americans continues to grow and the future looks very bleak indeed.

Authoritarianism on the rise


And it's not just happening in the US. Much of Europe is heading in the same direction, not to mention China, Russia and the rest of the world. 

You do what is right for you. If I lived in a so-called "battleground" state my votes for national office would matter. I don't and so I don't see any point in it. I'm not getting my hopes up or validating the current broken system with my votes. However, for what it's worth, I will continue to vote on local representatives and issues that I can still influence.

Tuesday, September 15, 2020

Funny Vintage Ads (42)

 Advertising has always been an interesting way to look at history. But when you see these vintage advertisements, the past seems a lot stranger than you thought.

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How to Attract Women
Just get a giant magnet and point it at that metal plate in her head. 
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Drink Thunderbird Instead
Thunderbird is a fortified wine, also known as a "bum drink"

that has been described as a hangover in a bottle that tastes like cough syrup.
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Army Steady Jobs
Since the US Army became all volunteer in 1973, their best recruiting tool has always been high unemployment.
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Stillman's Freckle Cream
Stillman’s Freckle Cream contained toxic mercury compounds until the 1970s, when restrictions or prohibitions were placed on the cosmetic use of mercury by the FDA.
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Larger Than Life Poster of Yourself
She doesn't need a "larger than life" photo because she is already scary enough with those raccoon eyes.
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Cube Lube
Just solving the puzzle is the easy part. How quickly can you do it?
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Here's what we'll wear -- in space
This is what the experts came up with for astronauts to wear in case a space ship depressurized.
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Barnum & Bailey trained pigs
Winston Churchill is quoted as saying, "
I am fond of pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals."
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Radiation Cook Book
Radiation in this context meant radiant heat.  A Regulo-Controlled Gas Cooker controlled radiant heat with a thermostat and
a "Radiation Recipe Book" was included with each sale.
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Bombardier Cockpit
"The pilot's physical fitness, eye test and coordination tests are included" so you don't crash your cardboard cockpit.
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Miss your mom? Call her long distance
On February 12, 1877, the first long-distance phone call in history was made from Salem to Boston, MA. They had to wait till after 6PM when the rates went down.
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Blatz - Liberace
Liberace didn't seem like a Blatz beer kind of guy.
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Sleep With Donald Trump
In the 1990s, Playgirl ran a contest (Probably paid for by Trump) where the grand prize was a pillowcase with Trump's picture on it.
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Monkey Brand
Monkey Brand soap was introduced in the 1880s as a household scouring and polishing soap. Each package included the admonition, " Not to be Used on Clothes!" because the soap included pumice.
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Raise Giant Frogs
The Goliath frog can grow up to 13 inches in length, and weigh over 7 lbs. During the Depression of the 1930s, people were encouraged to grow "Giant Frogs" for fun and profit.
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watu wazuri use afro sheen
"Now that you've decided to be beautiful"
Huh? You can just decide to be beautiful?
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Remco Exploding Booby Trap and Mine
The Remco "Monkey Division -- for Jungle Warfare" line of weaponry and accessories, including 2 different bazookas and a mortar was introduced in 1963.
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Atora Beef Suet
Suet is raw beef fat from around the joints and kidneys. Beef Suet pudding is a traditional British recipe. Doesn't that look delicious?
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Prophylaxis prevents venereal disease
Apparently only "loose" women spread venereal disease.
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Black Cat Cigarettes

Carreras Tobacco Company was founded in 1788 in London by a nobleman from Spain, Don José Carreras Ferrer.
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Rectal Disorders
And who doesn't want a free "illustrated" book of rectal disorders?
Dr. A. S. McCleary founded the McCleary Clinic and Hospital in 1901, which specialized in rectal and chronic diseases.
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Bashful -- Richard Blackstone
"Shame on you!"
Published in the March 1929 issue of Physical Culture magazine.
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New Cordless Body Vibrator
"Fantastically Exciting...Deep penetrating relief to your body never before experienced." Obscenity laws prevented companies from advertising devices for sexual pleasure until the 1970s.
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Alaska Down Bustle
Exaggeration of the feminine posterior has been a common theme in Western fashion. The bustle was first patented in 1857 and was popular until the 1890s.
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Kanekalon -- Keep easy hair
Kanekalon -- for that helmet head look!
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Indoor Toilet
A chemical toilet in your house is probably not going to be "odorless."
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Gay Book Magazine
 Gay Book (1933-1945) was a magazine for men that featured cartoons, pin-ups and sexy stories.
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Budweiser - Where there's life there's Bud
 Budweiser - Where there's carb-loading there's Bud!
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Frigidaire Stereo Cooling
"Stereo Cooling" 
 Instead of blowing cool air directly at you, this Frigidaire air conditioner directs the cooled air away from you. Genius!
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I Love Lucy Baby Doll
 "She drinks, wets, blows bubbles, can be bathed, CRIES with a lusty voice and real tears"


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