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Crescent Shadows On-Line Newsletter of the Hudson Valley Pagan Network, Inc. |
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Crescent Shadows On-Line Newsletter of the Hudson Valley Pagan Network, Inc. |
Well, it’s voting season, and the two major parties are duking it out while the other “third parties” struggle to find a little friendly exposure to help them rise above the others. Vice President Al Gore struggles to free himself from President Clinton’s fragrant shadow, while Texas Governor GW Bush tries very hard to make himself appear as someone who can think for himself. Both nominees have their work cut out for them, and in a way it’s kind of funny watching them jump through hoops to appease certain voting blocks, while they snipe at each other. It kind of reminds me of what a wise man once told me (wise men are always stopping by to tell me something): If God had meant for me to vote, he would have given me real candidates to choose from. Let’s think about that. Real candidates to choose from. Hmmm. Let’s see what each candidate has to offer:
Al Gore: Big time environmentalist. Ex-tobacco farmer. Bred and born to be a politician (father was a Senator). Wife Tipper successfully got record companies to label their product with warning labels if needed. Frank Zappa hated that. There’s more, but that’s enough for now.George W. Bush: Governor of Texas. Born-again after many years of serious drinking. Big Oil connections. Father was a somewhat wishy-washy President. Wife Laura seems harmless enough in a chipmunk sort of way.
Patrick J. Buchanon: Used to be on CNN’s Crossfire. Syndicated columnist. Once worked on President Nixon’s administration (uh-oh). Jumped ship from the Republican party over to Ross Perot’s Reform party. Very big with labor and the Christian Right. Many think of him as a Nazi-esque fascist, and thus think him to be a scary guy.
Ralph Nader: Green party. Hates big Corporations. Sticking up for the little guy since Forever. Also very big with consumer safety. After that, really not much more to say about him.
Harry Browne: Libertarian candidate. Hates big government. Loves the idea of cutting taxes. OK with drug legalization, prostitution, guns (what a mix) and has actually read the Constitution. About even with Nader in the third party race.
| Now there’s obviously more to each candidate than what I’ve mentioned. It is up to each registered voter to learn as much as possible about the candidates and then make your best choice. As Pagans , we all share concerns on certain issues —the environment, religious freedoms, other personal freedoms, safe communities, etc. Each candidate scores well on some issues, and not so well on others. Pat Buchanon doesn’t really stand a chance with us, and probably George W. Bush will suffer as well. That leaves Al Gore, Nader and Browne. No matter how hard he tries, Gore can’t escape the Clinton influence. He flip-flops on many issues, and to me personally, doesn’t seem like a strong leader. That leaves Nader and Browne. Personally, I just don’t buy into the Green party. I just can’t take them seriously. That leaves one choice for me... Harry Browne. To call him a long-shot dark horse would be a masterpiece of understatement. I know he doesn’t stand a chance in hell. But he’ll get my vote. I just like his stand on smaller Government, tax cuts, and defense of our constitutional rights. It’s a shame that such a platform faces such a huge uphill battle. It kind of makes me wonder how we drifted so far from the Libertarian party ideals Anyway this isn’t about what I think really. What is important is this: You MUST get involved. You must NOT take your freedoms for granted. You must speak up and FIGHT for what’s important to you. If you decide to sleep through this political process, you deserve to lose your rights. So get involved. If, however, you don’t want to get too directly involved, try this: go to www.VOTE.com and let your voice be heard. It’s painless and kinda fun. Thanks for reading my rants. | “As Pagans we all share concerns on certain issues.” |
—Randy
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January 30, 2002
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