ok, I’m not going to go into EVERYTHING I don’t understand about politics, because there is so much I don’t know that I don’t know.  I’m a generalizer… The voices agree that this isn’t the same thing as stereotyping.  Stereotyping is not good and assumes there really are no exceptions.  All cats are the same and completely unlike a dogs.  I know there are some cats that are more like dogs than some dogs.  But I’m simple and I need to generalize to be able to manage.

I’m a child of Cappra politics.  I want Mr. Smith to go to Washington… I want to vote for the American President… I want Dave to come in and balance the budget and just applying common sense to government.  But I’m an adult of modern America where one president sits on his ass letting the economy falter (dotcom, enron, etc) and have the next president take the fall; where America gets bombed, citizens on our own soil get murdered and years later we argue over the politics of oil and presidential mistakes in judgement.

So, here’s my random list of things I don’t understand about politics…

• why do we have a political establishment that in all practical sense only allows the wealthy to run for office?
• why do most bloggers or twitters fall to personal jabs in response to criticism of their candidates when we abhor our candidates doing such?
• don’t people understand that neither extreme in parties would benefit this country?  We aren’t red or blue, we are purple, right?
• I’m thrilled that a black man is running for president, but isn’t the historic event more important if we don’t talk about race other than acknowledge it? I’d feel the same about a woman (and do about Gov Sarah Palin).
• Aren’t elderly a protected group in America?  Why is it right to criticize someone for being older then they are?  The average age of presidents taking office is 55, right? good, bad or otherwise…
• does anyone think someone ever gets into a political office without making compromises?  Do they really think that changes as you become president?  Whatever they say they stand for is mostly what they think you want to hear to get your vote.
• Shouldn’t we judge based on experience?  Why is picking a candidate any different from hiring a new employee?
• why is it important how many houses someone owns or how many millions of dollars they paid for their home?  Politicians at the presidential candidate level are so far removed from the lower-to-middle class they really can’t relate on a personal level, right?  Why don’t people accept that and focus on real issues?
• don’t people understand that in order for America to help wore-torn, impoverished, threatened nations, we need a strong military?  Leaders of these countries or the thugs, mercenaries, terrorists killing people won’t respect us telling them to stop if we aren’t willing to back it up.  if we don’t want to back it up, why do we care what happens there?  They could care less about sanctions or embargos.  and I’m not just talking the middle-east… I’m talking anywhere we scream out in outrage because of injustice or human sacrifice.
• why don’t we learn how to better educate our children from the nations that are beating us (say Finland) and quit trying to fix things through more money or cutbacks?
• why can’t people see that we need to cut our dependency on oil?  But to do that, we still need oil until we have a solution?  In short term, isn’t it more important to cut our dependency on middle-east oil?  Alaska wants to drill… it’s why they were made a state.  We have fields hundreds of miles off the coasts… why is this wrong?  Why can’t we do both (research/drive alternative fuels while breaking our middle-east oil dependency while supporting US industry)?
• why do people think it’s ok to come to this country illegally?  Each year, thousands of people come to the US and become citizens legally after years of effort and hard work.  Why is citizenship something we should give away like candy on the corner?  Why is it ok to break the law and reward people who don’t even pay taxes?
• why does the government care if two people get married?  What do my religious beliefs have to do with their decision?  How does that take anything away from me?

I really don’t think these are that complicated, but I’m sure I’m missing something.  Pick a path, execute and commit.

Alone on a desolate planet… completing it’s mission because that’s all it can do…  What a brave little toaster we have up there!

@MarsPhoenix: The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter will monitor the encroaching ice cap from above, @BrianFinifter. I won’t see it (darkness will get me first)

First, I’m a gamer.  I’m what real gamers consider casual.  I own an Xbox 360, am wired up to the innerwebs, and play a handful of games on my PC (including an MMORPG).  I’m also a bit “old school”… Back in the day, I stole quarters from a jar in my mother’s closet to go down to the arcade at Shakey’s Pizza in Grand Forks to play the likes of Defender, Pac Man and Donkey Kong Jr.  I played text, turn-based games like Hitcherhiker’s Guide in junior high, owned an Atari 2600 and later moved onto MUDs over the free college internet hookup (none of that kid WORLD WIDE WEB crap… were talking the only graphics you saw were the ones you could build out of creatively stacked characters from a keyboard).

Second, I vote.  Lot’s of reasons why, but deep down below the hard sarcastic, cynical layers of crust lays a soft, gooey center filled with tears over ol’ yeller, excitement when old Jack shows up in the Grizzly Adams reunion movie, belief that a man can fly and a strong sense of patriotic duty.  While I tell people I joined the Army Reserves back in the day to help pay for college (when my mother told me she’d help me if I went for something dealing with computers, cuz they would be big some day and I told her no fricken way… I was gonna be a writer… ), it was more because I really felt I owed my country something.  No way do I think I paid the same price the full-timers did/do nor those weekend-warriors who were called up for war, but I paid A price and feel like I have a further duty to voice my opinion on election day.

Why go through that?  Because Xbox and Rock the Vote partner to get gamers to the polls.

These people think they understand who they are targeting and that they will be able to motivate them.  Gamers can’t be pigeon holed into a specific type.  They are fathers, mothers, students, soldiers, basement dwellers… and much more.  They are also some of the best wired in people around.  They understand information, sift through it, categorize, process and file away more than he average person out there.  They know there is an election.  I’m sure there is a huge percentage that is very politically charged and already planning on voting.  There’s also a large number that could care less about the election.  They will go wait 20 hours in November for a new gaming system, but why would they go to the community center, school, library to vote for someone who’s never done a dungeon crawl, defeated Tom Morello on expert, raced the streets of Liberty City or fought against the Covenant side by side with the Arbiter?  Are you going to release Halo 4 on election day at the voting booth?  They will not be motivated by public service announcements, ads or anything else… some will probably never vote until they can do it on their phone or in their console.  The politicians don’t relate and can’t communicate ideas that really matter to them.

Again, this isn’t every gamer.  But the ones already motivated, interested in politics don’t need the annoyance or condescension of the ads.  Why waste the money?  Is this really the segment of the population we are worried isn’t voting?

I’m not really a regular blog reader.  There are a few people I like to stalk read from time to time either because they are authors whose books I enjoy or… well, that’s probably about it (aside from a couple of friends who don’t really update their blogs).  There are other people I follow on twitter who don’t blog that often and I’m not sure I’d even read their blogs if they did, but I enjoy the odd thoughts that come out of their heads.

Then there’s The Bloggess.  I follow her religiously on twitter, her blog and Good Mom/Bad Mom on the Houston Chronicle.  I can’t really describe her to you and still get you to read her.  She’s something you have to experience first hand.  All I can really say is that she makes me feel like the thoughts in my head are ok… Here are a few you should start out with:

• I bet 700 years in the future they don’t even know what a “fail whale” is
• “Thanks for the zombies, Jesus!“
• I’m fine. (Updated - No, I’m not.)
• Puerto Rico, part one: Things I learned in first class
• On Meeting Guy Kawasaki (he’s kind of a big thing for innerweb geeks):
  • This just in. Guy Kawasaki did not invent the motorcycle.
  • I should totally introduce people for a living.
  • Disclaimer: this post is not really about being naked with donkeys

If you’re offended by any of these… well, hi, I don’t think you know me…

In past lives, I’ve been accused of falling into “dark moods”. It wasn’t about the glass being half full, but more screaming out “who gave me such a big fucking glass?!?” What did people think I need such a big glass for? What the hell am I ’sposed to put in there? Someone will just come along and piss in it because that’s what people do… they get shit-faced and then need a place to piss and here will be my big fucking glass and they’ll say “hey, here’s a big glass that’s only half full… there’s plenty of room for me to piss in it… woohoo, my lucky night… I’ll take a piss and then get back to this party and score with that hot chick I’ve been hitting on!” and then what will I have? A big fucking glass full of piss and then I’ll have to smile about it… It’s not like I can complain cuz my glass is NO LONGER FUCKING HALF FULL! People will tell me, sure, it’s got piss in it, but it’s only HALF FULL OF PISS… look on the bright side! So, I’ll smile and not let on that someone pissed in my big fucking glass! Then I’ll just be this ass walking around with a big fucking glass full of piss slopping all over my hands with a stupid ass grin on my face while some other guy gets lucky with the sloppy drunk co-ed. SCREW ‘EM! TAKE YOUR GLASS AND YOUR PISS AND GO TO HELL!

um… heh… well… like I was saying… that was in past lives… I’ve moved on. Let the anger go, if you will. Fill my glass up, brother… it just keeps getting bigger! But, the point is, The Bloggess, my favorite blog authoress, passed on a tweet to everyone with the following song.  It reminded me of the good ole days of anger, depression, self-loathing, denial, frustration, hate, despair… um… yeah, the good ole days.  So, I wanted to share it with both all of you.  I leave you with this on a Friday, to top off your week.  Life could be worse, your attitude affects everyone around you, so grin that big dopey grin and try not to spill any piss on your hands!