Well now. We just had a primary election. Whoopee. We are told we live in the greatest country on earth, and we live in one of the most important and pivotal states in this great country. So why do our elections bore me to tears? The ballot I voted on had so little of interest, was so out of touch with the issues confronting us that I almost went to sleep while marking it. On a very local level there was some excitement. A chance to change the makeup of neveda city council, but I live outside the city limits, so I couldn’t vote on that one. County elections? Any real choices here? We are going to get a new district attny. That’s important. Amongst other chores, the da decides decides the priorities for law enforcement. He decides who gets prosecuted for what and who doesn’t. Other than that? Yawn. When you get up to state and national choices, with a few notable exceptions it gets even more tweedle dum and tweedle dee. And when you factor in the near impossibility of any challenger defeating an incumbent, no matter how incompetent or corrupt that incumbent might be, it becomes truly sad. Let me remind you that we could be voting on bringing our loved ones home from killing and being killed in iraq and Afghanistan. We could be voting on if we want to send our national guard to our southern border to fiddle around preventing latin Americans from coming here to work at jobs Americans don’t want. We could be voting on whether we give a damn who marries whom, or if we want to give equal rights to any two people who profess to love one another and want to live together. Instead we get nonsense to vote on, and mostly tweedle dum and tweedle dee candidates to chose from. Yes, there are some important differences amongst some candidates, but the races where we have a clear choice on how we want to be represented seem few and far between, and what seems lacking from our political spectrum are truly differing viewpoints and ideas for governance. Perhaps the nov election will give us more real choices. If nothing else it will be interesting to see if enuff corrupt incumbents can be unseated by their challengers to return America to some semblance of a two party system. That is assuming that election machines in place in most of America allow for real elections. From travis t hipps’s report this morn, across our great nation, corrupt incumbent after corrupt incumbent returned to power. either no one gives a damn, or most voters perceive personal gain from the corruption, or could it be that in select elections the fix is in the machines? Sometimes I wonder, and most of the time im afraid to wonder. I was pleased to go to my polling station and find the old familiar paper ballots and black pencils. Amazing. In nev co we still vote the old fashioned way and it still works. I commented on that fact to my poll worker and she replied that many many voters had made similar comments. Here is a proposal so radical it will never see the light of day. How about an initiative we can all vote on. Do californians want election voting machines at all or do we the people insist on only voting on paper ballots marked with good old black pencils? Alas, I fear we will never be given that basic choice to vote on. Democracy, I hardly knew ya.

Next item: There is a Story here somewhere. Im not sure what it is but I smell a story. One candidate for nev co judge spent more than any other by a huge margin and most significantly his contributions did not come from local sources. The money came from so cal. Remember this is a local judgeship. Who in so cal gives a rats behind who is elected for judge in nev co? and why? Big Money is never spent for frivolity. Someone has a plan and is willing to spend big money for its implementation. Why? Whats in if for them? More importantly, Whats in it for we the people of nev co?. I don’t agree with a lot of the prevailing political sentiment in nev co but im even less comfortable with money pouring in from outside our co to influence our elections. We have a weird political system and its getting weirder. Is there any way to remove the money from politics or are we doomed to be ruled by the wealthy, the fearful, and the greedy? And just as important, what will it take before more voters get beyond their knee jerk pattern of always voting for a particular label? I always vote rep, or I always vote dem. Most voters seemingly will vote for any incompetent or scoundrel as long as that scoundrel is of their political party. it seems more of a religious preference than a political choice. And the politicians count on this blind religious faith and chose the banner they will carry based upon their perception of what will get them elected rather than based upon any political convictions at all. Democtats and republicans? Or the same greedheads, waving different flags? And our system does not allow for any 3^rd party to have any real power. Its an illusion. In any election but the most local, a vote for a 3^rd party candidate is a hollow statement signifying little and heard by none. Unless and until we manage to change our system to a parliamentary system where minority opinions are given actual political expression, a vote for a 3^rd party is a wasted vote. It’s a statement that you don’t really understand todays political reality. I admire and probably agree with many of your views but todays reality is that you are wasting your vote. Taking over one of the existing party structures seems to be your only hope, and im not sure you can achieve that either. If you are on the outside, the system is rigged to keep you on the outside. Sort of like starving children peering thru the window of a restaurant watching the rich folks stuffing themselves. You got to get into the restaurant before you can eat. Sorry to be so blunt, but that’s how I see it. And the few refreshing and honest candidates? Buried under and marginalized by the political machines of the corrupt incumbents. Bah humbug. Ok, that’s enuff of my pissing and moaning. My solution? The initiative process seems to be our only hope. bring important issues directly to the people. And the first initiative must be to require that the monetary sponsors of any initiative be clearly identified on the ballot. Show us where the money came from and most voters can easily determine how we want to vote. You want to take back your country? take power away from the politicians and return it to the people. Make elected officials on state and national level superfluous.

Well I seem to have squandered my commentary on the elections, so I’ll now read some articles I hope you find interesting. If any listeners disagree with my viewpoint, you are welcome to call in and tell me how full of it I am. I can take the hit. 265-9555 or 1- 800- 355- 5867