I’ve highlighted the funny bits & made a few comments:
Mark Aldridge is an Independent candidate for the Federal Senate in South Australia and has been a long-time campaigner for electoral reform. He asks for people to treat their vote with the value it deserves.
AFTER A DECADE of putting forward my candidacy at state and federal level and taking up the fight for honest democracy and electoral reform, I have watched matters move from bad to even worse.
The two party system is so entrenched in our political lives, the idea of a free and informed vote has become a thing of the past. Sadly, while we continue to let those that benefit most from structural biases write the electoral laws, any hope of reform in favor of honest democracy remains in the realms of fairy tale fiction. (Forget it mate; so-called “honest democracy” is a JOKE! – BDL1983)
Names are deliberately left off ballot papers; major media outlets enforce black bans of certain candidates; dodgy postal voting applications run rife; how to vote information is absent; identities are being stolen; there is mass misrepresentation in political advertising; and candidates make false promise with utter impunity. And those are just the issues that are “out in the open”; undoubtedly, there are other dodgy practices going on in the background that never see the light of day. (He’s not wrong here & that’s only just scratching the surface! I wonder if I could run under the banner of “The Australian ‘Expel The Parasite’ Party”? Or would I get the medias “black ban” for my controversial views….. – BDL1983)
Despite public awareness of these sorts of practices in Australian elections, we continue to reward the perpetrators with our precious votes.
Dishonest how to vote information, manipulated electoral rolls, the supply of pencils to fill in our ballots and the lack of equity within the two-party counting system are some of the issues that attract little or no attention in the media. (pencil supplies are a critical part of the “democratic” process! You’ve gotta laugh – BDL1983)
Even the court of disputed returns, which is meant to enforce democratic process in elections, ensures that any petition to declare the result of an election void, regardless of the conduct it complains about, is always unsuccessful.
The media sell the party leaders, yet the parties can remove them at will. This means that in an educated and fair system electoral system, we would scrutinize the candidates we do personally vote for − the ones in the upper house and in our electorate − but who are they?
Manipulation of information has become a massive business. Manipulation of the two parties even more so. This allows those in big business who donate to the big parties and the media unbridled control over the outcomes of elections and the future of our country. (Sounds like Mr. Aldridge is on our side here….. He doesn’t like Democracy after all! Why bother standing for it then? – BDL1983)
The most important issues facing our future, such as adequate water, power, food production, health, education, civil rights and liberties, community safety, population growth, the economy and environmental issues all receive headlines but very little productive action. It seems as if inaction itself is part of a grand plan, or offers some financial benefit. (Can’t expect productivity with Dr. Do-littles sitting in parliament… – BDL1983)
The people of this fine country are so busy trying to make ends meet, and so sick of the political spin, a large majority have all but given up on the idea of change. And considering the information we are being given by the media, who only flog the two horse race of Abbot or Gillard, apathy becomes understandable. (He still doesn’t like democracy…. – BDL1983)
Read More: http://www.independentaustralia.net/2010/politics/every-vote-is-precious/
Alright, enough of that crap. I just wanted to highlight how average people think about the “Democratic process”….
Actually, Mr. Aldridge is probably a lot more aware AND better informed than the average voter, and he still knows virtually nothing about REAL political power in this country!
Mick sent me the following video on what to do when voting on September 7… By the way, we have COMPULSORY voting in this “free and democratic” country…. A Jew comes round your place demanding shekels if you DON’T VOTE!
This video shows us something we can do with our voting slips, rather than just drawing swastikas, or putting a box with the name A. Hitler and ticking it, or writing 88 on it…. I’m going to do what the video says just for the hell of it….. 99.999% chance it’s a complete waste of time…….. But……. What the hell!!! My vote is PRECIOUS after all.
This is a laugh:
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Your right to vote is… |
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| The sword of your power | and the shield of your freedom. |
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| Sword against bad Government. | A shield against dictators. |
– BDL1983