(posted on Bassnectar's myspace, here ensues the original post and responses to a dissenting fan, I thought this seriously rocked some toesox, as is usual...)

Friday, October 31, 2008


VOTING DETAILS: How To, When, Where, What, Voters Guide, ETC

whats up everybody!!!

the tour has been incredibly off the hook, i am so grateful for all the support and high energy and nonstop enthusiasm. THANK YOU!!!

So the election is THIS TUESDAY!
i do not need to preach to the converted, or yap your ear off. it's simple:

1. We MUST maximize our democracy and we MUST vote the Republicans out of office. we MUST make Obama the next president.
But beyond that, are TONS of local issues that affect you and your family. MAXIMIZE the democracy by getting involved...EDUCATE yourself.

2. You can make an enormous difference by taking a few hours over the next few days and make sure everyone you know is going to vote or already has. Help your friends and your friend's friends, and your friend's parents, and your enemies parents and your parole officer and your girlfriend's neighbor FIND THEIR VOTING PLACE and make sure they go and vote. (whoever thinks they are too cool to vote or talk politics in this country is a fool and does not deserve the constitutional rights that they have)

3. There are a LOT of issues besides the obvious presidential issue. Loads of propositions, and congressional/senate votes too! Lots of LOCAL issues too! Lots of BAD IDEAS with good names, seeking your (our) money, and vice versa. SO YOU MUST EDUCATE YOURSELF AND EACH OTHER. (a great example of this is the california initiative: Alternative Fuels And Renewable Energy. GREAT NAME RIGHT?? except this is a FUCKED initiative wit a nice name...be careful of the names of these things... you gotta RESEARCH)
***In california, BOTH INITIATIVES with nice eco-friendly names are BAD for the cause, they are tricking you. great example of how important it is to RESEARCH and EDUCATE YOURSELF before voting.


4. Below is a voting guide. I used it. i trust it, but YOU SHOULD READ IT and decide for yourself. i vote in accordance with The League of Women VOters about 90% of the time...they are ON POINT. my friends at False Profit also have some really good insight. Read, and then decide for yourself. GET OUT THERE AND CRUSH IT, MY FRIENDS!!!!!

(i happen to know more about the California issues than other places, but if you research trustworthy sources like LWV and Green Party you are on the right track.)


NATION WIDE:
You can find your ballot & polling place for ANY state by visiting:
www.smartvoter.org/


the "official website" of the California secretary of state w/info on voting in California:
www.sos.ca.gov/elections/

league of women voter's California proposition recommendations
ca.lwv.org/action/prop0811/flyer.html

Also, here are the green party recommendations on California ballot propositions: www.cagreens.org/elections...1104.shtml


ANNDD.....
Here is the False Profit guide to the propositions. I voted with an absentee ballot, but if i was home i would vote early and i would follow this:

California Propositions


• Prop 1A: High-speed rail from SF to LA - YES

This proposition would authorize about $10 billion in bonds, which would be used in conjunction with federal and private funding, to aid in constructing a planned high-speed rail system in california. This chunk of funding would be directed to the SF-to-LA corridor in particular. SF to LA in 2.5 hours for $55?? Hellz yeah--let's get building! Maybe not the best use of funds right now, but damn it'd be sweet.


• Prop 2: Fair treatment of farm animals - YES

This requires by law that farm animals have enough room in their cages to move. This is more humane than not giving them the room to move. yesonprop2.com/
(and even if you are not an animal rights activist: healthier farms = healthier food)


• Prop 3: Children's Hospital Bond Act - YES

Authorizes $980 million in general obligation bonds for remodeling and equipping children's hospitals in CA. Currently the California health care system is crippled by a staggering number of uninsured patients and underfunding for the struggling MediCal system. These financial woes are compounded by the Seismic Safety Law that went into effect in Jan of this year requiring that all CA hospitals renovate or rebuild in accordance with strict earthquake standards. Hospitals unable to comply face closure by 2013. I think the SF Chronicle put it best: "Our reservations about obtaining bond money through the initiative process are trumped by the need to assure that these facilities - known for their specialized care and groundbreaking research - remain open."


• Prop 4: Waiting Period and Parental Notification for Abortion - NO NO NO

This would require that all women under the age of 18 get parental consent before they can be legally given an abortion. This poses a significant challenge to the right of women in this age group to have abortions. This is the third attempt to chip away at abortion rights for minors in the past few years. We think that is a shame. I want to stress people vote NOOOOO on this dangerous legislation that would require young women who find themselves in difficult situations to tell their parents before receiving an abortion. Don't get me wrong, I am a mother and would want my daughter to tell me if she were pregnant, but I DO NOT WANT the state FORCING her to do so. www.noonprop4.org/


• Prop 5: Nonviolent Offenders: Sentencing, Parole and Rehabilitation - YES

According to the ACLU, An ambitious criminal justice reform measure, Proposition 5 offers common sense solutions to prison overcrowding by providing drug treatment as an alternative to incarceration for non-violent offenders, saving California taxpayers billions of dollars.
I just want to second the "yes" on this one - I've been hearing about it from the Drug Policy Alliance for months, and the consortium of groups including the ACLU and DPA that have been working really hard on this prop is excited about its potential to let CA become a model that influences criminal justice policy nationally in a more humane (and economically practical) direction. Big yes...Obama has been distracting me from making as much noise about this one as I should be. B/c as befits any common sense crime-related bill, it's the subject of baseless "criminals are scary and are coming for your children, if Barack Obama and his cadre of terrorists doesn't get them first" type campaigning.


• Prop 6: Criminal Penalties and Laws and Public Safety Funding - NO

This will allow more people under the age of 18 to be tried as adults. It is costly to the state and to society as it will mean more people are in jail.


• Prop 7: Renewable Energy - NO NO!

This prop is will force small renewable energy companies out of the market, disrupt that market, and is opposed by everyone with a pulse. Too fast, too simple, unconsidered (www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi


• Prop 8: Limit on Marriage - NONONONONONO
This prop would write discrimination into an amendment to the state constitution. Prop 8 eliminates the rights of same sex couples to marry and states that the only legal marriages are ones between a woman and a man. It would significantly reverse America's progress on equality by denying an already recognized right to a community that includes many individuals we know and admire. Furthermore, San Francisco has a strong tradition of honoring and celebrating diversity. We welcome people of all creeds, colors, beliefs and sexual orientations. As a result, this city stands as a beacon to those who seek to live their lives free from discrimination. It is also the reason San Francisco has been at the forefront of movements for civil rights and equality for more than a century. We can't backpedal on this one. www.noonprop8.com/home


• Prop 9: Criminal Justice System: Parole and Victims' Rights - NO
According to the ACLU, Prop 9 is a well intentioned but poorly written and truly dangerous initiative. It will negatively impact California's most vulnerable residents — our children — by diverting hundreds of millions from schools and education to spending on prisons and jails. It puts huge burdens on local law enforcement and creates more red tape but does not provide new services to victims.


• Prop 10: Alternative Fuel Vehicles and Renewable Energy - NO

Using less oil is good. So is developing renewable energy sources. However, the devil is in the details. The way "alternative fuel vehicle" is defined in this measure, the vast majority of the public funds set aside will go to unnecessary natural gas car and truck subsidies. This is a developed technology that private investors are already funding, and the vehicles are already selling well. More importantly there will be little or no reduction in the environmental impact, mainly because natural gas vehicles are only slightly cleaner than regular cars. Prop 10 is backed and funded by T. Boone Pickens, a Texas oilman who has recently made large investments in natural gas. It's a bad return on taxpayer investment, basically designed to enrich a small set of businessmen.


• Prop 11: Redistricting Amendment - NO

This prop changes the authority over the geographic boundaries for state and federal congressional districts from elected representatives to an unelected commission of fourteen. Even if the process for selecting these fourteen people was not as absurdly convoluted as it is proposed, it would still be a bad idea to give fourteen people control over a power that is so contentious its abuse has earned its own moniker: gerrymandering.


• Prop 12: Veteran's Bond Act - YES

This proposition would authorize the state to issue $900 million in bonds to the existing Cal-Vet Loan Program, to help veterans buy farms and homes. Con: The Cal-Vet Loan Program applies to all veterans, rich or poor, from combat or non-combat service scenarios. Pro: Veterans don't get adequate support from the federal government, so a program like this is warranted.


THANK YOU!
VIVA LA VIDA
RESISTANCE IS FERTILE


i wanted to thank my assistant Cerrithwen for putting all this together, as well as Gina Grandi from League of Women Voters, and Stephen & Kru from Flase Profit!!!!

2, this is just my opinion: pretty much across the board with senate/congressional seats, i strongly reccommend VOTING AGAINST the republican. The argument that we need to avoid "party politics" or "partisanship" is confusing and potentially manipulative (because it is true in theory) BUT:

The Republican Party is an insidiously corrupt, criminal system. It is 100% dedicated to control with a commitment to secrecy, lying, theft, and even murder. It is ok to say I STAND AGAINST THE REPUBLICAN PARTY just as it is ok to say I STAND AGAINST THE NAZI PARTY!

Don't let FOX News and Karl Rove cover their asses and avoid critique by now suggesting that we have non partisan discussions. There is a cancer in our country and it is called REPUBLICAN.

There are many other problems. And i hope that as soon as possible the debate in our country is between the Democrats and The Green party. (where the Democrats will be the conservative right in comparison)
With the Republicans as irrelevant and laughable as they should be.


The only thing we need to do with members of he Republican Party like Karl Rove, Dick Cheney, etc, is prosecute them as CRIMINALS, and in countries where they have fought to preserve the death penalty, we should use it on them and give them what they deserve; legally.

I say that with love for innocent people and an intolerance for global corruption and the Republican Party. I am not a fool, and i do not think the Democrats are the be all end all. Although i do have a lot of hope for Obama, and i know he is at least a STEP in the right direction.

compared to McCain he is 1000000% ESSENTIAL.


end rant.

much love from the bottom of my heart

*********(response to dissenting fan)**************


hane thats too bad

a) if a letter/blog like what i wrote turns you off, then its your loss. i stand behind my words man.
whats the OVERALL POINT OF MY BLOG? its for citizens of this country to get involved, help each other, activate, and bring about change. How you can react with disaproval to that is nothing short of baffling.

b) about Republican Party...i know i am extreme on this. But it is JUST DESSERTS. You claim i am just speaking generally. I am not.
I am speaking about Karl Rove, Dick Cheney, Scooter Libby, Scalia, Ted Stevens, Tom Delay, George Bush, and almost every single crooked member of the administration who supports war over peace, upperclass over middleclass, secrecy over honesty, derregulation over reasonable corporate accountability, profit over environment, corporations over health care and education, etc....and arguably the WORST aspect of it is how HARDCORE THEY LIE.... like Palin having the audacity to say that her and McCain are mavericks for peace and for the people.... insinuating that Obama is a crooked politician, while Palin is supposedly a woman of the people. Cheney (part of the Nixon administration) planned the Iraq war before they stole the election in 2000. If you do not know about this stuff, i am REALLY SORRY FOR YOU, but i cannot help it.

If you read my words you would see that i am POSITIVE that Obama is corrupt as well, being a politician and part of the Democratic party means you are not to just be trusted completely. But there is NO DOUBT that his administration will offer more support and representation to the middle class, with a more honest and transparent attitude. I think that is a no-brainer.

if you want nothing but music; go elsewhere (how boring). if you care about my thoughts, read the words i wrote on the jambase interview. That sums it up.... i am realistic about the government, the political reality, and i do not naively think Obama is The Savior or something...but comparing him to McCain is like comparing a stubbed toe to a broken neck.
Do i want a stubbed toe? NO.
Do i prefer a stubbed toe over a broken neck? HELL YES.


And if someone just broke my neck and my mother's neck and my father's neck like George Bush and Dick Cheney did, do i want to just be glad its over?!

HELL NO my friend. I will not forget. In 5 years i will still be working to see Dick Cheney behind bars. Those people need to take accountability for the WARS and TORTURE and THEFT OF BILLIONS of dollars that they caused.

In part to make sure it does not happen again.
Do not let yourself get raped. Do not just roll over...RAGE AND FIGHT BACK, and you can do so lovingly and positively. I do what i do out of love and out of compasion for the innocent victims of injustice. I do not want to live in a world where mammalian greed dominates humanistic compassion and empathy.


The Republican Party is EXTREMELY corrupt. CRIMINALLY CORRUPT.
not to mention the propoganda cronies like Limbaugh, O'Reilly, Fox News, and all who are complicit in pushing this agenda. if you are unaare of it, then take the Bassnectar dare
;)
stop watching Fox News, start doing some real research (try democracynow, infowars, indymedia, zeitgeist, one good move,)

Read Al Gore's The Assault on Reason, and Howard Zinn's The People's History of the united states.

of what i just mentioned, of course some of it will not resonate, but a lot will...i think taking an attitude in defense of The Republican Party (a criminal institution dedicated to preserving the wealth of the minority through war, torture, lies, propaganda, etc) means you are either wealthy (or your parents are) or you haven't stopped to think critically.
It really is not a matter f opinion. The Republican Party stands for control of the population through any means necessary, control of the military, and control of the treasury. By the hands of a very privileged few.

If you do not know this, then do some research.

If you think this means ANYTHING about Democrats, you are missing the point. The Point is about Republicans. saying the democrats are corrupt misses the point...you cannot say that as a way of defending the republicans because its a black and white issue. The Republican Party is irrevocably corrupt.

As it happens, i distrust the Democrats as well, but it is the extreme lesser of 2 evils, and once the Democrats become the norm (that will take a lot of work) then THEY become the subject of critique...get it? its baby steps, shane.


If that makes me loose you as a fan, then that's a shame. i am not doing what i do to keep you as a fan.
that is not my dream.



I hope you do not take this as personally rude. You can stop being a fan of my music at any time, but there is more ot me than music. I encourage you to get involved on a theoretical/intellectual/critical level and my door is always open

L

****Response 2*****


SHANE, i love this back and forth, THANK YOU:

1. Prove what i said is True
Ready?
a) Senator Ted Stevens INDICTED YESTERDAY on extreme ethics violations
firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archiv...46.aspx

b) Tom Delay STEPPED DOWN due to ethics violations (attempted to EASE the ethics policies so he could stay in office...he and Bill Frist were involved in the RE-DISTRICTING of the Texas to illagally manipulate the vote in Texas...look it up. Unfortunately they were vindicated by the same right-wing Supreme Court - Bush Appointed - that has overseen extreme erosion to the constitution in favor of GOP policies like torture, wiretapping spying, etc.
www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...70.html

c) Ashcroft - do i need to explain him to you?
d) Cheney - Secret Energy Task Force (PRE-2000 ELECTION) with select lobbyists, ENRON corporate officials and other oil heads, and select heads of state...totally secret to the public
e) Rove: threw his PA under the buss (scooter libby) instead of confessing to the Plame felony commited by himself (and likely Dick Cheney)
www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...42.html
www.usatoday.com/news/wash...sues_x.htm

f) or check out the indiiduals who Bu$h put in charge of government organizations (like the EPA) who were actually ex-corporate officials or lobbyists, whose main causes of previous support were the same causes the government organization (like the EPA) was charged with overseeing. Does that make sense? You take something like the Environmental Protection Agency (charged with protecting the environment, hence the name) and you replace the head of such organization with someone who previously sought to favor corporations (and republicans) over the environment.... So when an initiative like THE CLEAN AIR ACT is supposed to PROTECT the environment, but they pass THE CLEAR SKIES ACT, which sounds nice but weakens THE CLEAN AIR ACT....that is an example of corrupt Republican politices. DOES THAT MAKE SENSE BRO?
www.sierraclub.org/cleanair...skies.asp

g) Gonzalez - illegally fired judges. then suffered amnesia.
www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php


Any of these folks been prosecuted?

NOPE.

Torture. Illegal War. Theft of Billions. Ethics Scandals Up The Ass. Deregulation. Dishonesty and Secrecy. Spying. Erosion of The Constitution.

THat not enough for you?
that took me about 10 minutes.

and that was 10 more minutes i could have been working on my set for Smasheville tonight


so if you love my music, help me out and do this research yourself, so i can create some more womp instead of trying to catch people up to really obvious shit like the fact that the GOP is a criminal organization.

ooops
when i said "these folks" who havent been prosectuted, i meant:
Bush, Cheney, Rove, Ashcroft, Gonzalez, Scalia, Wolfowitz, Bremer.



***********response 3****************
shane:
1. ALL RESEPCT! i posted your comment in public and respect your right to have it AND express it. i dont mean a personal diss.
2. i STRONGLY disagree with your opinion and do not see anything that makes sense to back it up. So i do not think you are making much sense, nor offering a convincing argument.
3. the one thing i DO NOT LIKE is being boxed into having to please you with my political views in order for you to like my music...if you do not agree with me, ENGAGE ME BRO! starting off with "you have lost me as a fan" is a dead end street. Why not just reply with 5 points that run counter to what i am saying that will persuade us all to agreee with you? i told you im open. i am also pretty educated and very well thought out so just get your ideas together and hit us back


WOMP


BRiiiiiing Thaaaaa NOOOOOYZE