I voted 7:30 AM – took 20 minutes. Wife voted at 7:00 – 25 minutes. My 95 year-old (Caucasiod) lady volunteer couldn’t find my name (she forgot O comes after G), and an Affrican American woman with a white t-shirt with “ATTITUDE” on it went up and down the line imploring us to “take out your picture of ID – TAKE OUT YOUR PICTURE OF ID!!!”.

Also, we are being told that cops are close by the voting areas, just in case riots begin if the “wrong” candidate wins (or the “right” one loses – take yer pick).

Yes, the more things change…

Obama 51% McCain 46%. Obama 311 EV.

Got my tickets to the Grant Park rally, chances a huge riot breaks out because there could be close to a million people only intrigue me more. Nothing could be dumber than trusting people to act civilized after one of the most important elections in recent memory.

although my t-shirt says he’s on the ticket with Gilbert Arenas, not Joe Biden. I was dissappointed to see Biden as the VP candidate.

But anyways… My reasoning is rather long-winded (I’ll try to keep it short), but here it is: I’m not a ‘fanboy’, but I view BO as the lesser of two evils. Both seem to be somewhat different forms of big government, and I’m not a fan of that from either side. I like Obama’s “intelectual-ness”, too — I kind of like having a guy at the top who’s rather sharp (not to say McCain isn’t, just that Obama seems to be a few steps ahead in this category).

Then there’s my more ‘peripheral’ reasons for casting a vote for BO. I want to see the Republican party transformed a bit. They may tout conservativism but that’s a load of crap. My ideal Republican candidate would be small government minded socially liberal, economically conservative with a foreign policy of “leave other countries the fuck alone”. McCain — at least in my (somewhat) limited reading — doesn’t seem like any of the above. Furthermore, Palin is so much suck combined into one party — what a joke of a VP candidate (not that Biden is much better).

There’s also some aesthetic reasoning behind my voting. Obama’s campaign has drawn me into politics in a way that no other candidate was able to do (part of this is also coincidental, as I’m probably at an age where a good number of folks start to get more interested in politics, regardless of candidates).

I got in and out in five minutes. Tracy Jordan was wrong—I could not have played three games of pool in the time it took me to vote.

Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:

The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay $1.
The sixth would pay $3.
The seventh would pay $7.
The eighth would pay $12.
The ninth would pay $18.
The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.

So, that’s what they decided to do. The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve. “Since you are all such good customers,” he said, “I’m going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by $20.”Drinks for the ten now cost just $80. The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes so the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free. But what about the other six men – the paying customers? How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his ‘fair share?’

They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody’s share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer. So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man’s bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay.

And so:

The fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% savings).
The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33savings).
The seventh now pay $5 instead of $7 (28savings).
The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 ( 25% savings).
The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 ( 22% savings).
The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings).

Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to drink for free. But once outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings. “I only got a dollar out of the $20,”declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man," but he got $10!" “Yeah, that’s right,” exclaimed the fifth man. “I only saved a dollar, too. It’s unfair that he got ten times more than I!” “That’s true!!” shouted the seventh man. “Why should he get $10 back when I got only two? The wealthy get all the breaks!” “Wait a minute,” yelled the first four men in unison. “We didn’t get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!”

The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.

The next night the tenth man didn’t show up for drinks, so the nine sat down and had beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn’t have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!

And that, boys and girls, journalists and college professors, is how our tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore. In fact, they might start drinking overseas where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.

David R. Kamerschen, Ph.D.
Professor of Economics
University of Georgia

with full color photos of Scarlett Johansen….tits and ass….how fucking glorious that was…i’m sure you all made the right choice too…if you didn’t…expect your home to be torched

I walked right up and wrote in myself….. I should have did that anyway. I actually voted for Obama. Two main reasons led me to this – 1. If the president croaks i have more faith in Joe Biden then i do Sarah Palin….. 2. Obama is a Sox fan and said so in an ESPN interview.

Oh wait, it was never going to be close. A White Sox fan in the White House, I thought I’d never see the day!

I was in tears as soon as he got called and pouring during the speech. All of the points he hit on were things that my dad has always told me he thought a President had to be to guide America to be as great as it can be. I’ve never experienced a more beautiful moment. Somehow is just a little more perfect and possible and I don’t get it but I’m in awe of it. God bless us.

I saw the Sox win the world series 3 years ago, and now I see a Sox fan in the White House. I saw one guy in Grant Park with the ‘83 Sox Logo with OBAMA written underneath. I was so damn envious. I have been waiting for this day for about 2 years. IT’S A GREAT DAY NOT ONLY FOR SOX FANS, BUT FOR THE NATION AND WORLD!!!!

Congrats. Strap it on, boys and girls. BO and gang have their work cut out for them, and it’s us who have to do the heavy lifting. No whining from here on out.

The media wouldn’t dare criticize or inslt Barack Obama, right? I’m very concerned about the lack of comedy, hell even SNL was somewhat enjoyable for the past few weeks.

http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/results/polls/#USP00p1

look at the race figures. it appears that racism is more than alive and well in this country. it’s just that it’s black people that are engaging in it. i know it won’t be covered in the media, and certainly won’t be made to be the issue that it would were it white people doing it, but how about those stats? 95% of black people voted for obama? wow. does anyone else find that interesting?

NO?! It’s been almost 24 hours! Fuck!

In the mean time…before tonight’s victory rally…here’s something to chew on regarding "taxing the rich" (i.e. "sticking it to the man"):

To my valued employees,

There have been some rumblings around the office about the future of this company, and more specifically, your job. As you know, the economy has changed for the worse

no shit!
 
 
and presents many challenges. However, the good news is this. The economy doesn’t pose a threat to your job.

hmmm, then why all these thousand layoffs? is it the weather?
 
 
What does threaten your job however, is the changing political landscape in this country.

WORK-DESCRIPTION-DELETED-FOR-SPACE-REASONS

I respect and admire your work ethic
 
 
You, of course, only see the fruits of that garden — the nice house, the Mercedes, the vacations… you never realize the full story and the sacrifices I’ve made.

you do not mention the hard work and sacrifice of others that made it possible for you to do what you do

people lost their lives defending this country where you have your business

people paid for the education of the workers you employ

people paid to build the roads your company uses to maneuver goods, employees, etc.
 
 
Now, the economy is falling apart and I, the guy that made all the right decisions and saved his money, have to bail-out all the people who didn’t.

business have to bail-out people?

when did that happen?

didn’t bush & cheney use taxpayer money to bail-out the banks?

was there a tax imposed on business and I missed it?
 
 
The people that overspent their paychecks suddenly feel entitled to the same luxuries that I earned and sacrificed a decade of my life for.

‘the people’ you say?

lehman, meril, aig, coyntrywide, and the other banks are ‘the people’?

whoah nellie!
  
 
Yes, business ownership has is benefits but the price I’ve paid is steep and not without wounds.

Unfortunately, the cost of running this business, and employing you, is starting to eclipse the threshold of marginal benefit and let me tell you why:

I am being taxed to death and the government thinks I don’t pay enough. I have state taxes. Federal taxes. Property taxes.Sales and use taxes. Payroll taxes.Workers compensation taxes. Unemployment taxes. Taxes on taxes. I have to hire a tax man to manage all these taxes and then guess what? I have to pay taxes for employing him. Government mandates and regulations and all the accounting that goes with it, now occupy most of my time. On Oct 15th, I wrote a check to the US Treasury for $288,000 for quarterly taxes.

I’ve paid too. I don’t complain.

I live in the best country on the world and I’d like my kids to be able to do the same. It’s not only business that pays/sacrifices.
 
 
You know what my "stimulus" check was? Zero! Nada! Zilch!

you forgot the tax-cuts you got
 
 
The question I have is this: Who is stimulating the economy? Me,

you do? then why is the economy falling apart?

seems you didn’t do a good stimulating job
 
 
the guy who has provided 14 people good paying jobs and serves over 2,200,000 people per year with a flourishing business Or, the single mother sitting at home pregnant with her fourth child waiting for her next welfare check? Obviously, government feels the latter is the economic stimulus of this country.

if the pregnant mother doesn’t have a job to earn the money to buy the products of your business then your business is screwed
 
 
The fact is, if I deducted (Read: Stole) 50% of your paycheck you’d quit and you’d wouldn’t work here. I mean, why should you? That’s nuts. Who wants to get rewarded only 50% of their hard work? Well, I agree, which is why your job is in jeopardy.

Here is what many of you don’t understand … to stimulate the economy you need to stimulate what runs the economy.

the last administration did what you ask

they cut your taxes

why didn’t it work?
 
 
Had suddenly the government mandated to me that I didn’t need to pay taxes, guess what? Instead of depositing that $288,000 into the Washington black-hole,

whoah, we are dealing with a genius here!

let’s all stop paying taxes

who needs an army?

who needs roads?

who needs schools?

let al-qaida invade, let bin laden come over!

the stimulation will be off the roof!
 
 
I would have spent it, hired more employees, and generated substantial economic growth.

why didn’t you do it when the government cut your taxes?
 
 
My employees would have enjoyed the wealth of that tax cut in the form of promotions and better salaries. But you can forget it now.

better salaries? why didn’t you do what you say but chose to pad your profits?

why did you send jobs in other countries so you can earn more for yourself?
 
 
When you have a comatose man on the verge of death, you don’t defibrillate and shock his thumb thinking that will bring him back to life, do you Or, do you defibrillate his heart?

I don’t see why I should trust your prescriptions
 
 
Business is at the heart of America and always has been.

replace ‘business’ with ‘labor’

here’s an appropriate quote for you

Labor is prior to, and independent of, capital. Capital is only the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if Labor had not first existed. Labor is superior to capital, and deserves much the higher consideration.

 
 
To restart it, you must stimulate it, not kill it.

fascinating! dr. stimulus explains us what to do!
 
 
Suddenly, the power brokers in Washington believe the mud of America are the essential drivers of the American economic engine.?

I thought our economy is based on consumer spending
 
 
Nothing could be further from the truth and this is the type of change you can keep.

and you can keep your advice
 
 
So where am I going with all this?
      
If any new taxes are levied on me, or my company, my reaction will be swift and simple. I fire you. I fire your co-workers.

if you fire your workers who’ll keep your company going?
  
 
You can then plead with the government to pay your mortgage, your SUV, and your child’s future. Frankly, it isn’t my problem any more.

Then, I will close this company down, move to another country, and retire.

saudi arabia is nice!

don’t complain if someone chops your head off
 
 
You see, I’m done. I’m done with a country that penalizes the productive and gives to the unproductive. My motivation to work and to provide jobs will be destroyed, and with it, will be my citizenship. While tax cuts to 95% of America sounds great on paper, don’t forget the back story: If there is no job, there is no income to tax. A tax cut on zero dollars is zero

thanks [for the financial advice] but no thanks

your [financial advice] record sucks
 
 
So, when you make decision to vote, ask yourself, who understands the economics of business ownership

not you
 
 
and who doesn’t. Whose policies will endanger your job?

the policies you describe
 
 
Answer those questions and you should know who might be the one capable of saving your job.

ok
  
 
While the media wants to tell you "It’s the economy stupid" I’m telling you it isn’t.

ok professor!
  
 
If you lose your job, it won’t be at the hands of the economy; it will be at the hands of a political hurricane that swept through this country, steamrolled the constitution, and will have changed its landscape forever. If that happens, you can find me in the South Caribbean sitting on a beach, retired, and with no employees to worry about.

employees? the ones you fired?

Obama moved to Chicago late in his life, so I question when he became a White Sox fan? When he lived in the Philippines or Hawaii? I doubt it. He is probably only a White Sox fan for political reasons, the same reason as I hope he went to that church on the southside, unless he actually believes what his racist American hating pastor preached.