Just a Gwai Lo fun within prescribed limits http://justagwailo.com/node/1982/atom/feed 2007-08-31T17:28:49-07:00 Low Voter Turnout Not So Bad? http://justagwailo.com/filter/2002/09/26/low-voter-turnout-not-so-bad 2002-09-26T13:31:10-07:00 2007-08-31T17:28:49-07:00 Richard George Jonas: “When few people bother to vote, it may not be due to their alienation or civic disengagement. It may be due to their confidence that any one of the political parties and persons seeking their mandate can do the job. In contrast, when voters consider that times are hard or ominous; when they regard one or more of the contending parties as menacing, and when they think that their choice of government might vitally affect their essential interests, few are likely to stay home on election day.”

I'm in in the unusual position of agreeing with Preston "Refoooorrrm" Manning, who in a speech “made it clear, though, that he considered voting virtuous.” (New political slogan: "Voting is Virtuous!") This article illustrates one of the reasons I like the media outlets like The National Post and Slate. A lot of their columns have a similar theme: either "What you think is bad is in fact good" or "What you think is good is in fact bad."

Totally unrelated: the September issue of The Atlantic Monthly, as I found out last night, is unfathomably good. Even the letters to the editor (with replies from the authors of the articles the letter-writers were referring to) rocked my world.

]]> George Jonas: “When few people bother to vote, it may not be due to their alienation or civic disengagement. It may be due to their confidence that any one of the political parties and persons seeking their mandate can do the job. In contrast, when voters consider that times are hard or ominous; when they regard one or more of the contending parties as menacing, and when they think that their choice of government might vitally affect their essential interests, few are likely to stay home on election day.”

I'm in in the unusual position of agreeing with Preston "Refoooorrrm" Manning, who in a speech “made it clear, though, that he considered voting virtuous.” (New political slogan: "Voting is Virtuous!") This article illustrates one of the reasons I like the media outlets like The National Post and Slate. A lot of their columns have a similar theme: either "What you think is bad is in fact good" or "What you think is good is in fact bad."

Totally unrelated: the September issue of The Atlantic Monthly, as I found out last night, is unfathomably good. Even the letters to the editor (with replies from the authors of the articles the letter-writers were referring to) rocked my world.

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