Domino wrote:Look of all the trees we are cutting down to spam people with mail they don't want to read.
The Scene: A logging operation in the Amazon Rainforest. Two loggers are standing next to an enormous tree and Logger 2 is pulling the cord on his chainsaw.
Logger 1: Dude! Don't cut that tree down entirely!
Logger 2: What do you mean?
Logger 1: There's a guy in Florida who isn't voting in the primaries, so we don't need the paper to print a brochure and mail it to his house. Just cut down 99.99999% of the tree.
Logger 2: Why isn't he voting in the primary? Doesn't he like any of the candidates?
Logger 1: No, he actually likes Bernie Sanders.
Logger 2: So why doesn't he vote for him?
Logger 1: Because, silly, that would require him to register as a Democrat and invite all manner of inconvenience to his life.
Logger 2: Like what?
Logger 1: Like getting the brochures in the mail that we're clear-cutting this rainforest to print!
Logger 2: Huh. I guess that's a smart move, it's not like voting for the candidate he prefers would actually improve that candidate's chances of getting the nomination.
Logger 1: Yeah! Even if Sanders failed to get the nomination, it's not like a significant chunk of the primary voters throwing their support behind him would influence Clinton's campaign.
Logger 2: Of course not! Politicians are notorious for being swayed by telephone polls because those numbers could translate into votes. It's not like actual votes would send a stronger message.
Logger 1: Besides, it wouldn't make any difference at all because as everyone knows...
Both: "They're all the same!"
Logger 2: That's right. It's not like all the supreme court justices nominated by Bush senior and junior have voted on strict party lines.
Logger 1: Of course not! The voting rights act is gutted, employers have the constitutional right to interfere with their female employees' sex lives, and corporate bribery is now considered protected free speech, but Gays now have the symbolic victory of marriage rights.
Logger 2: Yes, besides, registering with a political party for the sake of a single primary is a lifetime commitment that prevents you from ever voting for a candidate of another party ever again.
Logger 1: Of course! In an age of rampant gerrymandering, voter id laws, and falsely accusing minorities of being felons at the polls, why would anyone attempt to "game" the system to support their views?
Logger 2: Anyhow, voting can take upwards of half an hour of your valuable time, and it's not like someone who posts on a shmup enthusiast forum has any time of their hands.
Logger 1: Indeed. I'm sure people languishing in political prisons all over the world for fighting for democracy would appreciate the thought of him sitting on his couch in his underwear watching "Big Bang Theory" while the polls are open.
Logger 2: It's like the two important messages from the movie "They Live:"
Both: REWARD INDIFFERENCE and HONOR APATHY!
Logger 1: Anyhow, back to the deforestation. Remember to only chop down 99.99999% of this tree.
Logger 2: Sure thing. I'll just leave a really tall toothpick in the middle of a stump. That's what Democracy looks like!
Two working class dudes, one black one white, just baked a tray of ten cookies together.
An oligarch walks in and grabs nine cookies for himself.
Then he says to the white dude "Watch out for that black dude, he wants a piece of your cookie!"