My Political Rabbit Hole, Why I Won't Vote Obama OR Romney..Left or Right EVER Again.

I posted this political journey on my FB because people who aren't on ATS are just very hard to speak to about the reality of our spiraling nation. I recently had a small debate with a storekeeper who tried to tell me something that I have been very disappointed to hear quite often on ATS lately... "Voting 3rd party is a vote for Romney!" Well you know what? That fired me up and inspired me to write this. To hell with it. The rabbit hole goes deep and I'm getting tired of the ignorance. I also know quite a few people who think it's trendy to make fun of anyone even slightly concerned about the current direction our nation is headed.

People often ask me, “why do you care so much about politics? Politics is a joke, politicians are stupid and it’s not like anything can be done about it anyway. What can you really do about it?” *sigh* Yes, we all know politicians are stupid, and it’s weird how they ALWAYS are no matter what we do..which is actually a big red flag right now. I would ask that you read my reasons for this long-winded passion.. it may be long winded, but anyone who knows me should at least hear this case, then decide that it’s “no big deal”. Part of my reason for writing this is because I’m tired of explaining it when not many really care anyway, and I’m sick of the little sneers and giggles some people give me because they have either ignored the reality around them, or have chosen to stay in a state of apathy that I can only say could be the #1 reason for the eventual things to come.

Several years ago now I started noticing things happening around me that just seemed…strange. Something had happened between the 1980’s, the era I grew up in and now that had drastically changed before my very eyes. After 9/11 happened, the threat of “terrorism” had become a normal household topic. Under the Bush administration, new rules and regulations had been placed into law that began to start affecting the daily lives of Americans. One of the first things I remember was that if a person said “bomb” even out of context or as a joke, they would be escorted out of the airport or facility the “event” took place at and would be detained/questioned until they were either taken to jail or determined to be “non-threatening”. Other “rules” would soon follow. Kids were suddenly being monitored and screened at schools and expelled for things like bringing plastic forks to school or anything else that could be deemed a “threat”. (School wasn’t like that for me, but of course kids were always pricks no matter what) In some case, kids were and are still not only expelled but are arrested and sent to jail. Schools are now prisons monitored by cameras everywhere and screened for “weapons” etc.

Stories of kids and old ladies being tazed by police became almost daily. The TSA was formed and had began groping little kids and again, old ladies all in the name of safety”. The patriot act, which allows the government to spy on it’s own citizens in the name of “national security” had been enacted. I began to read stories of U.S Veterans being “accidentally” gunned down by poilice because law enforcement felt they may have been a “threat”. Police were being equipped with military grade equipment more and more to deal with domestic “threats”. The terrorist watch list was created and people (again little KIDS) were put on the list because the list was so flawed in the first place that it never should have been created. The internet was now monitored by the FBI and certain words are bad bad bad!

The list goes on and more and more things are being legislated to this day all in the name of this “safety” from the bad guys. A few good recent examples under our current administration are the NDAA act which our current president (Obama) proposed and then later signed in the law or the U.N. gun control treaty that the president is currently still reviewing as we speak. NDAA gives the govt the right to detain indefinitely without trial or kill American citizens if they suspect someone may be a “terrorist”. (what if they just don’t like you?) The U.N. gun control treaty is a proposal by an international body that dictates U.S. gun control laws. (it’s in the fine print, of course) Another is SOPA which basically restricts our freedom on the internet again all in the name of “safety” from the “terrorists”.

Let’s not also forget one more recent “change”. Protesters now have what’s called “free speech zones”, and those zones have already been strictly enforced against OWS protestors on several occasions. Protesters have been filmed being “snagged” by police officers randomly, and now the police (in riot gear) have the right to use tactics like trapping protestors into a corner then arrest them all. Tier gas is warranted now just for walking. Watching the Oakland OWS protest was very much like watching “Mad Max”, it was all live on the internet filmed by several protestors onsite. Like them or hate them (OWS), this is America and they should have the right to protest without standing in special “free speech” zones. At that point, I didn't even agree with everything OWS was asking for, but this is ridiculous!

Then, on the social front, there is a left/right battle going on which I believe is totally fabricated to keep us all pissed off at each other so that we don’t focus on the REAL underhanded issues happening that just keep getting worse and worse. (look up “divide and conquer”) The left is consumed with social issues like gay marriage and racism, while the right is fixated on religion and abortion. The government can’t fix racism no matter how many laws are added, and the government can’t stop abortions no matter how many laws are added. No atheist is going to agree with a Christian no matter how much the government intervenes and visa versa. Sure, the government can pass laws that force states to give equal rights to gays, but can the government force everyone to accept it? The truth is, the government CAN’T really solve those issues, but loves to make us think this so as long as they keep us distracted with illusions.

Our dear sold-out leaders love when we just shut up and vote for their used car salesmen so-called presidents while they sell out our country. Aside from the issues the government really can’t fix, there is no difference between the 2 parties, only the illusion of one.

Something is really wrong, no doubt about it. At first I started really looking deep into 9/11 since all of these new rules had started because of that day, it seemed really quite shady to me. After very many long hours went in to researching it, I have concluded that there are WAY too many things about that day that don’t add up. Do I claim to know who was really behind it, or all the reasons why? No. But I can conclude that there are more questions than answers, and the 9/11 commission report and the government backed NIST did a piss poor job of explaining it. That’s just the entrance to the rabbit hole and doesn’t even require a “conspiracy theorist” to say it. I won’t go into that any more.

Not ENOUGH people care so long as it doesn’t affect their daily lives, but the fact is, this DOES affect our daily lives now, right down to the things they think we should be allowed to eat. (Mayor Bloomberg, anyone?)

I became very interested in politics around 2009. Right around the time my eyes became VERY open to the fact that our government is nearly 100% ran by lobbyists (who work for major corporations/special interests) and almost every decision our “elected officials” make is not in the interest of me and you, but in the interest of corporations/special interests. I learned that those corporations are owned/partnered/ran by a handful of big elite banks. Those same banks are all centered around the Federal Reserve (which is NOT federal it just has it in the name, it’s privately owned and operated) and the Federal Reserve is the ROOT reason for our massive now $16 trillion deficit. The banks claim they don’t have the money to make a loan, so the FED prints it (hypothetically) loans it to the bank, and the bank charges the customer interest. The bank NEVER owned the money (neither did the FED, but it can print it whenever it wants), and it never pays it back to the FED either. So the bank makes huge profit while loaning money to people who don’t have it, and they go into debt. The money that is never paid back goes into the deficit. It’s corruption is the core of evil who quite literally own America.

What happens when a major corporation is on the verge of bankruptcy? No problem, they (the FED) will just print the money out of thin air and loan it to them. Companies that don’t do well are MEANT to fail, that is how capitalism is supposed to work, but this is no longer capitalism.

Around the time I began researching this, I learned of a lone congressman and former OBGYN doctor (Ron Paul, a quirk?) who was trying to END THE FED. This was his campaign slogan. Not only did he want to end the FED, but also end the IRS! Imagine that, no income taxes, I was shocked to hear that mainstream democrats loathe this man! I saw interviews of lobbyists saying that they never even approach this congressman anymore because he has never said yes to a bribe in 30 years. (yes, it’s LEGAL for these lobbyists to bribe congress it’s what they do, not only that, most of them are former congressmen/women! Insane, right?!) I also found out that this man had a consistent track record of never voting “aye” on anything (like the patriot act) that took away our personal freedoms in the name of “safety”. His foreign policy was to end the wars and bring our troops home because a: the wars are both unconstitutional , b: we can’t afford it and are $17 trillion in debt and c: only serve the special interest groups. But this is where the rabbit hole got even deeper…

The media acted like Ron Paul didn’t even exist. I started learning the political process to get this man elected, and let me tell you, sometimes I wish I didn’t. See, the media is owned by 4 big corporations. 3 of them are defense contractors (war interest) and the other is G.E. Now it was making sense, no wonder they don’t like him! They would all be out of a job because this man would immediately bring the troops home which would put the defense contractors out of work (wah!) and at the same time he would rally for an audit of the FED which would expose their bosses! Oh the deep level of corruption..

I rallied anyway, with passion. I watched as the news failed to mention his name. I watched Jon Stewart speak the truth since comedy shows are the only place we apparently can get that anymore. (Geroge Carlin knew what was up too!) The Paul campaign made major strides by first coming within something like 200 votes of WINNING Iowa. I watched while the media couldn’t stop talking about Mitt Romney who came in third. They never mentioned second place. They even mentioned Santorum who got last. In fact, they decided to just talk about Sarah Palin who wasn’t even in the race when Ron Paul got almost mentioned.

Tactics like this continued for months on end! Imagine the frustration! The Paul campaign learned that the Romney camp was putting dead people on his ballots, true story! Rumors of vote flipping (giving Rons votes to Romney and Romney’s to Paul’s) were all over the place. The media was claiming wins left and right for Romney yet, where the hell were his supporters? Online polls by CNN/FOX/MSNBC were never reported on because Paul won every_single_one. They just claimed that thousands of people were hacking/cheating over and over because they had nothing better to do. I saw tens of thousands Rally for Ron Paul from videos submitted by grassroots supporters. Arenas filled up and entire backdrops filled with thousands of supporters. I never saw more than a handful of people from pics of Romney rallies let alone any passionate support behind the used car salesman.

The debates were a joke. 89 seconds given to Ron Paul in a 2 hour debate. Questions like “how are you electable” seemed to be the only type of questions asked, or “why are you an isolationist?” when in fact he is a “non-interventionist” not even comparable to North Korea, and 100% for free trade. When they couldn’t get the audience to boo the foreign policy they would ask him about why he wants to legalize drugs, when actually he only wants to let the states decide (most specifically the use of medical marijuana), not the federal government. Yes the word play was only what I can describe to be insane. I then saw the religious right-wingers cheer war on, and boo the golden rule Paul stated we should abide by. Total insanity.

I know, I’m going long here, but it’s important that this be as well explained as I can possibly explain it. We’re almost done..

Then we move further into the election and the only ones left are Ron Paul and Mitt Romney, except the media had convinced the public months ago that Paul dropped out, even though he did not. I won’t explain the election process, but all I will say is that the strawpolls the media talks about quite literally mean nothing, yet their rigged polls for Romney were all they talked about. People show up to the convention physically to do the *actual* vote at the convention and Ron Paul had a LOT of them. He had so many in fact, that the RNC changed their own rules. The rules state that 5 state wins put a candidate on the ballot at the convention. Paul had 7. So the RNC changed the rules on the spot to make it 8 now. Then, the RNC decided that Paul had too many delegates in too many states. (People VOTED for these delegates) They changed the rules to not allow grassroots campaigns to have a voice any longer. If the “party” doesn’t like the delegates that are chosen, the party will replace them. They went ahead and removed many delegates from the Ron Paul campaign from several states and replaced them with Romney delegates instead. In other words, the people who voted just got shunned.

This is a big deal, and a bigger deal than many people realize. This quite literally means that grassroots candidates in 2016 and beyond might as well not even run for office. The votes of their candidates don’t matter anymore and the GOP admitted it. Of course, Bohener called for objections and clearly the “nays” had it (it’s on video) but he decided to say there were no objections anyway and passed the new rules..

Still want to vote Romney or Obama? Do you think going 3rd party (personally I’m supporting Gary Johnson now that Paul is out, it wouldn’t hurt you to research him, same principles as Paul for the most part) is some tactic to cause Obama to win? I’ve said this before but telling me to vote Romney to get Obama out is like saying “Vote Hitler to get Stalin out!”, totally delusional. Are you upset at Paul supporters bringing this up so much? Too bad. If anyone thinks that Ron Paul supporters owe something to Romney and are “selfish” for not giving in to the mainstream establishment car salesman special interest pandering presidential “nominees” then I’m afraid you are very sadly informed on reality.

The GOP lies about Ron Paul from the start, rigs votes against him, changes rules so that his delegates don't have a voice, literally did away with ANY future grassroots campaigns, then finally mock him and his supporters by playing a "tribute" video followed immediately by "Mitt Romney is our man!" And NOW you want to also BLAME Paul supporters if Obama gets elected AND want them to stay in the GOP? If you think this, you must have totally lost your mind.

Hopefully this clears things up for those who are sick of me talking about politics. This stuff is no joke and I really could have made this even longer, into a book..but the attention span of most stopped way before this paragraph, so if you’ve made it this far, kudos! Just try to remember that because you may or may not care about the state of our once great nation does not give you the right to laugh at me or talk to me like I’m some kind of crazy nutcase who sides with “crazy uncle Ron!” Now you know. I’m perfectly willing to discuss this stuff with anyone, just so long as they don’t mind me answering.

We are doomed because frankly The People just don't care on the whole. Sure, there is always the 30% that does but who cares about them?

It is going to get much much worse for the people who actually pay attention. There will be no "revolution" or "martial law". Why should there be? Things are fine just the way they are to TPTB and the masses are just too busy and oblivious to care about such things. Mention what you see in politics to a majority of people and they will look at their watches as if they have to be somewhere else.

reply to post by Wookiep


That was quite the read. Well thought out and pretty much spot on...with one exception. GE is also a big defense contractor as well. They make engines for our planes and that is just the tip of the iceberg.

You are just another victim of the phrase...

"Be careful of what you are looking for, you just may find it and not like what you find."

But I am happy that people are doing research, not enough are doing it though, but the more people that critically think the better. May this particular rock pick up speed.

With luck, the people that blindly follow their particular political ideology will become irrelevent.

every time that I vote and have voted (I'm 51 now) I always vote a write in candidate

and I always write the same candidate

it's "None of the Above"

why the heck should I be forced to pick the "lesser" of two evils



VOTE THE BLANK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks for the responses so far and for taking the time to read the OP (I know it's long, but it kinda has to be!). In an effort to give the thread a little bump (Since I wrote this way early in the morning with a battle with insomnia) I wanted to remind others of how far off our once great nation is just by simply definiing what has been lost:

re·pub·lic

noun /riˈpəblik/

1.a state in which the supreme power rests in the body of citizens entitled to vote and is exercised by representatives chosen directly or indirectly by them.

dictionary.reference.com...

reply to post by Wookiep


Wook,

I feel ya. To add to the small bit you did not really speak much about... Think about this factor: Institutions of intelligence, high education, and learning... The two places I spend my time at in these recent days is college and ATS. Unfortunately, both junctures yield a mass of people who won't listen, don't care, feel indifferent or have "obamneyfied" political motivations... ATS is the smartest place on the web open to the general public and yet here we are, perpetually seeing clouded thought processes and lack of common sense. I go to one of the top schools in the state, if not the top and yet... Out of the ~30 or so people I have personally talked to about politics maybe only 2 of them knew anything at all and only 1 of them could use the information they had to think critically about things...

And what does this do to people who do have the notion in their mind that the government is failing? It kinda ruins us. It's like we are oppressed by both the people that control us and the people who are enslaved with us. It's lose lose and quite depressing. But oh well right?

P.S. I like how you put the part about attention span on there. No one wants to take the time to get all the information available, that's a pretty deep seeded problem that actually relates quite well to how the government is so able to control the masses.

3S+1F

reply to post by PhysicsAdept


You're right, I didn't even touch on the subject of education, let alone the ignorance of many in attendance at these schools. (off the path of where you were going real quick) Many people have the wrong idea about our education system. The government is too often relied upon to fix these issues. A student such as yourself must take a gamble on higher learning, and I admire anyone who takes it. Tuition rates are no joke. The idea to end the department of education is often translated in to "oh great so now you dont care about our children and their education" when quite the opposite is true. Take it out of the hands of government!

I applaud you and others like you for your willingness to seek out the real issues our country is facing. It's a sad thing that the students at your institution are blind to it almost beyond repair. I guess we just have to continue trying to reveal the insanity to others one at a time. With that said, our youth seem to be more willing to be educated than in any other generation, so this gives me hope. Good post, thanks!

reply to post by Wookiep


Inspired by this thread that I read this morning, I just got into a large political debate with my entire floor in the dorms.

Wanna guess how it turned out?

reply to post by PhysicsAdept


Don't even want to guess, but indeed, do tell?

reply to post by Wookiep


So I walked into my hall after work study, saw one of my best buds in the hall way so I stopped to chat. I still had my backpack on, which has my beloved Ron Paul sticker on it, and quickly the topic changed from gossip to politics. He says "Oh you support Ron Paul? I guess we cannot be friends anymore then."

Totally a joke and something that holds almost no meaning. Yet, it sparked my emotions because I already knew where the conversation ended before it even started. We began to talk. He said, "well anything is better than Romney I guess", and things like "anything but Republican, and Ron Paul is a Republican". I began to boil.

So, here I chose to begin my rant. I asked him how he felt comfortable with a president that had no problem spying on him for merely existing, or murdering him without trial. How he felt with soon becoming part of a poor country with no value to back up the increasing amount of green paper that is put into circulation everyday, and how he feels about supporting a president that doesn't mind feeding other countries with insurgents, killing innocents for political gain. I ranted on a great number of things, and though sometimes you feel like you are just spitting out information, this time I could tell I hit just the right points at just the right intervals. He almost had a breakthrough.

But, OF COURSE, everyone in my hall that is a liberal had to come out and start giving him hugs and high fives just because he said he would never vote republican. (Oh, the ignorance...)

I tried to assure them that Obama was not very liberal and in many aspects he was less liberal than Ron Paul, socially, and with foreign policy. BUT NO, he ran Republican so he is evil and I am a dumbass for supporting him. They were walking away from me in smiles as if they someone won an argument without even saying anything to support themselves, and I told them that running away from the problem and voting for "just a color" is what ruins countries and other peoples' lives.

I was shunned, and told to shut up. So I did. There is no saving them and there is no hope for people like them. Unfortunately this means there is not even hope for myself I suppose, or the people in this country that want things to be where they should be.

Shame.

reply to post by PhysicsAdept


That's really too bad and I'm sorry it ended up that way. At least you stuck to your guns. It can be very frustrating when a hive mentality always seems to take over. Obama is nothing but a "fad" for todays youth IMO. I say keep on keepin on, and I'm sure if ever you are given the opprotunity to face any one of them 1 on 1, they wouldn't be able to just run away from the issues like that so easily.

reply to post by Wookiep


Thank you for you're well thought out post. You express what many of us are currently grappling with.

Wow ... just came across this and I am overwhelmed. Good move putting a link in your signature block.

Cheers!

reply to post by Snarl


Thanks for the post! This thread hasn't been bumped in a long time!

reply to post by Wookiep


me too, just read through this today and i agree with much of what you said

i'm currently reading some of paul's books and they are very captivating... i'm only disappointed it took me this long to figure out how life is working before my eyes... it's a huge intricate web of disinformation.

i only now hope i can convey words like this, in a positive and understandable matter to those i come in contact with, and also that i research further to make sure i am not simply being led astray to a different viewpoint similar to what i think i am understanding currently

peace!

a reply to: Wookiep

Dear Wookiep,

I agree with you one hundred percent, I also want to thank you for putting into word's that which I have tried so many times to explain to a few other folk's.

I wish I knew what I could do, I do not want my children to grow up into slavery, I care much for them and have no interest in them living a life of apathy and distraction, I also wish Ron Paul would have ended up the president. Anytime I bring Ron Paul to anyone Left or Right (which I is believe as you said is one), they say oh Ron Paul and spout off some fact's they heard on the news... sigh.

How can we fix this, why is everyone else, okay with this blatant destruction of a nation several hundred year's ago men, bled and died for, strong men with moral's and a cause, one they were willing to die for. Why are none of us willing to die for what we believe in?

Is it fluoride in the water, or is it us who just need to fall in line, is something wrong with the way "I" think?

I wish everyone in the entirety of the world would read this, perhaps they would wake up, and there would be no need for "us" to fall in line with everyone else.

Great thread man, slightly depressing but the truth tends to feel that way

S&F

a reply to: iclimbtowers

Thanks Iclimb for the great post.

I often ask myself the same questions you pose.. I think about it EVERY day. Even if 10% of the U.S. population stood together on these issues and demanded answers, demanded the current system be shaken down and rebuilt, the corrupted exposed, the lobbying etc, the whole country could be on a much better path.

I often imagine 30 million people on the doorstep of the White House. Why hasn't it happened yet? Because too many people are comfortable right where they are, even if their rights are stolen from them right under their noses. Whenever the bubble finally pops, and it will, very few will be comfortable anymore, and will demand answers and real solid changes within the govt infrastructure.. I truly believe starvation will be the catalyst for the next revolution in this country. It's sad that it has to take that long, and it has to come to starving families and riots etc, but I'm confident it will soon.

Thanks again for the post, it's been a long time since this has been bumped!