This country is so doomed.
Check out this unbelievable article at Michelle Malkin’s site about a “free taxi program to register the homeless in Ohio” to vote. But before you do anything else, watch the video. This country has gone to the dogs…the snoop doggs, that is. I love the way the one guy in the video seems to indicate that he only went along with it because the drivers said they’d drop him off anywhere he wanted to go afterward.
Josh H.
The Smoak House 
Oh good grief.This reminds of middle school elections, when you voted for whomever gave you the best candy.
no kidding. I think I remember those.
Wow – “the snoop doggs”… How totally racist of you. And how terrible! They were giving people the chance to vote! What’s this country coming to! Check this out… http://www.keatingeconomics.com
Hmmm… So all homeless people are “thugs”? They may have made some bad choices that resulted in them being homeless, but that doesn’t make them thugs. You’ve never ever made a bad decision in your life. You’ve never been homeless so you can’t possibly be bad, not like those homeless people. They’re just wicked “thugs”.
My aunt made some bad life choices at one point and became homeless in Texas. She was homeless for months before my mom finally found her in a park. Thank God my mom didn’t give up on her and call a “thug”, leaving her homeless.
I think it’s GREAT that they gave homeless people the chance to vote.
So you mean that you have to have a certain financial status in order to vote? If you really think about it, there are a LOT of people these days that could be considered homeless because their houses are being foreclosed. Oh, wait, there’s a Republican effort to remove those people from the voting rolls too. Seems if you aren’t white and wealthy, they don’t want you to vote.
And for the record, I’m not voting for either candidate.
I find it highly interesting that the Democrats now want to point fingers at McCain for the Keating 5 scandal when –
1. He and one other person were absolved by the Senate from any fault in the situation, and
2. The only other person exonerated was the former astronaut and Senator John Glenn…who just happens to be doing surrogate work for B. Hussein himself.
Not to mention the fact that McCain has repeatedly apologized for exercising poor judgement for his involvement with Keating, something B. Hussein has NEVER done for his involvement with Ayers and Rev. Wright and the like.
Who has the poor judgement?
Angi, remember the topic of conversation here. We’re talking about homeless people voting. I just threw that link out there and probably shouldn’t have. Not on topic right now. Take a breather and continue believing that John McCain and the Republican party as it stands now is the same party that it used to be…
Ok Ray, you’ve got to admit that the people in the video were pretty snoopdogish. Obviously not all homeless people are like that but he was referring to the video, not homeless people in general. Besides, homeless people have always had a chance to vote. They are free to vote, they are just generally (I SAID GENERALLY, YES I AM PUTTING THEM IN ONE BIG BOX AS A GENERALIZATION) too uninvolved with what really goes on in government to care at all or make an informed decision. Let’s face it people, most of the reason so many more people have registered to vote this time is because it’s the first time we’ve had a black person run for president. It’s novel, and most of these new registered voters are voting on novelty (or race!) and not so much on the issues. I am not racist, neither is Josh, if Barack was a conservative, I’d vote for him in a heartbeat! But since he’s a liberal idiot, I’m voting McCain.
I’m with Zeez – I assumed Josh was referring to the video, too, not homeless people in general.
I’m not a racist either, but it’s a fact that many homeless people (and black people, homeless or otherwise) simply ARE voting for Obama because he black and “new”. Granted, that’s their prerogative, you can vote for whoever you want, but I find it sad that people are voting based on race/novelty/”hope and change”/rhetoric instead of taking a few minutes to look at the issues and the facts.
As far as the “do his thug thizzle” and “do his thang” in the title of this post, those are direct quotes from one of the homeless voters. Not some racist slang thrown up there for no reason.
Of course I think homeless people should vote if possible, that’s never been denied to them, but it would be nice if someone would take the time to set aside bias and inform them of the issues and the facts surrounding those issues before taking them by the carload to check the first box they see in exchange for a ride somewhere.
@Ray and Amy: you guys know me better than that.
What we’ve got here is a failure to communicate. Let’s not jump to judgmental conclusions. This is why a lot folks in America are afraid to say what’s on their minds. They’re afraid of being labeled. Disagreement is great, the more ideas and opinions the better, but I think you have the wrong idea about me.
My “snoop doggs” remark was made because of the use of the term “thug thizzle”, a form of speech popularized by Snoop Dogg, who just happens to be black. So what? If the guy in the video had said “I’m gonna vote for Barack ’cause he’s da’ real slim shady” I would have made a similar jab playing on the name of Emininem (who just happens to be white). The race of the man in the video or of Snoop Dogg was not even in view when I wrote that. What was in view was the ignorance that is demonstrated by such purposeful butchery of the English language (“Pygmalion” anyone?). Bill Cosby has addressed this same issue–of course folks came down on him too, so I guess I shouldn’t expect any special treatment either. That’s why I made the “snoop dogg” joke.
The thing that really bothered me about the article is that the people featured in the video didn’t seem to have any interest in voting or bettering the country, except for maybe the older man sitting in the car who was the only one to make a coherent, logical statement. They simply went along with it so as to get a ride somewhere. The man said it himself, “just sign the paper…do what they tell you to do.” He did not care about the political process. If any of them did, then we wouldn’t have to drag them to the polls.
Anyway that was the point in my posting this. I am not denigrating any race or group. The people I was criticizing happen to be black and I happen to be white. Purely coincidental. I wanted to point out that we should not have to coax people into caring enough to vote nor should we have to lure them to the polls.
Allow me to be the voice of reason.
1) I believe there is a 25% chance “Ray” and “Amy” are the same person. Their comma usage is identical. If they want to prove me wrong, I challenge them to both appear, at the same time, in my office here at work in 5 minutes.
2) Ray (aka Amy) is clearly looking for a reason to be offended. Josh didn’t call homeless people “thugs.” He was quoting one of the homeless people in the video. You would know that if, A) you watched the video first before commenting, like Josh asked, and B) if you weren’t so easily offended. As for the “snoop dogg” reference, correct me if I’m wrong, but I think one of those guys being interviewed WAS former rapper Snoop Doggy Dog.
3) For argument’s sake, Amy (aka Ray), if all the homeless people in Ohio wore “I Support John McCain” buttons and shirts, how gung-ho do you think the volunteers would be to round them up and taxi them to the voting booth? If you think that wouldn’t make a difference, you are living in Never-Never Land. What’s it like there this time of the year, by the way? Is it nice? I bet it’s nice. Tell Peter I said hello. And tell Tink I said to call me.
Just for the record, Kevin, Ray and Amy ARE 2 different people. We are husband and wife. And if you actually read the posts you would know that because we have two very different opinions. Ray never looks for a reason to be offended, he was simply trying to make a point just like everyone else. Oh, and by the way, I don’t live in “Never-Never-Land” and there was no need for the snide comments. It doesn’t reflect well on your character. I know you are supposed to be a Christian and belittling others that you don’t know isn’t setting a good example. Everyone has a right to voice his or her own opinion and that is all I was doing. Josh knows me well enough to know I meant no harm by my comments. It is the way I think. Just because my opinion differs from yours does not make me the enemy. For the record, I don’t think either candidate is what this country needs right now. I am neither a Republican nor a Democrat. I vote for the individual not the Party. By the way, I don’t recall the interview stating that they were only helping Democratic voters to register or forcing them to vote one way or the other. Oh, and you are wrong about Snoop Dogg. He was not in the video. The people in this video are not much different than every other voter. People vote for McCain because he is white and a veteran so how is that any different? Being white and a veteran doesn’t make you a good candidate, just like being black and wanting change doesn’t either. At the end of the day most Republicans vote for the Republican candidate and most Democrats vote for the Democratic candidate. The independent voters, as well as new voters, are usually split pretty evenly. It’s politics, people. The candidates bash each other enough. Don’t let it overflow into your own life.
Just to throw in my $.02, the thing that saddened me about that video was just what Josh said in his reply here. I think if someone isn’t interested in voting then they shouldn’t. If someone is not motivated enough to find a way to get to a polling place, then they shouldn’t vote. Obviously there are people who are unable to get out and such, but they can get an absantee ballot if they’re interested. It would be one thing if the homeless were asking for rides to a polling places, but these people weren’t. I think if you aren’t interested enough in politics to findo or procure a way to a polling place, then you shouldn’t vote. Encouraging people to vote is one thing, bribing them is quite another. If you have to be bribed to go out and vote, then you should stay home.
Amy, this is rich. In what way is calling a longtime friend “racist” not belittling? In what way is “supposed to be a Christian” not the same thing?
I’m going to cut you some slack for misunderstanding Kevin, because his sense of humor does appear a bit snarky (you know, sorta like…well, everyone who blogs and comments on the Huffington Post and the Daily Kos). His remark that someone on the video was actually Snoop Dogg would have been spotted as an attempt at lighthearted humor by anyone who is used to him and his writing. Once again, I realize you’re not that familiar with Kevin, so it’s quite understandable.
But Ray and Amy, that’s no excuse for misjudging Josh and publicly maligning the character of a friend. I mean, this is Josh we’re talking about! What’s happened to you guys? His point – painfully obvious to anyone who 1) uses critical thinking skills when reading, 2) knows Josh, or 3) is interested in maintaining a relationship with him – was that the kind of people who choose their votes based on who they think can best perform his/her thug thizzle is the kind of people from whose votes our country should expect less-than-favorable results. And the video did point out that the clear majority of the homeless they talked to were voting for Obama.
Moreover, the article that he linked to clearly pointed out that there have been a lot of voter fraud problems going around Ohio. The reporter in the video even wrote of her misgivings about the group responsible for this particular effort here (also linked in the article). Here’s a sample: “After the cameras were off, my new THUG-THIZZLE friend told me that he wasn’t even from Ohio and that he was getting on a Greyhound to go back to Chicago. Yet he was voting in one of the key battleground states? How was that fair?”
It’s not out of bounds to question the party whose devotees answer the way the third guy responded (01:01): “Obama.” “Why?” “Cause, hih-hih, he’s the bes–the onlythangIcando*mmbammbma*President.” At any rate, it’s definitely not out of bounds to call into question the kind of effort that pulls in people to vote who don’t even know what the crap they’re voting about. Everyone’s got the right to vote, sure enough, but if you knew that an effort like this taxi program was going to bring people in to vote who would potentially defeat your favored candidate due mostly to their monumental ignorance, would you be so thrilled with it? It’s only right to rue the fact that too many people exercise their rights in ways that may be harmful to everyone in the long run.
WHAT??!? Check the Kool-Aid, friend. Nothing of the sort was ever said by Josh or in the linked article. Such an out-of-the-blue, overwrought jump to a ridiculous conclusion justifies Kevin’s own conclusion that Ray was “clearly looking for a reason to be offended.”
Again, Ray, who do you think you’re talking about? And who said anything about “bad” or “wicked”? Stupid, yeah. Ignorant, you betcha. But here again: no one said anything about everyone who is homeless being this way! Josh’s remarks were clearly directed only toward the people who made those inane comments. That said, the reporter clearly thought these guys were representative of the group, and if this is indeed the case (and since when do opinion blogs ever ferret out the objective truth to all reality?) and these clowns get together and make up a voting bloc, our country is indeed going to go to the dogs. If they had been voting for Josh’s favored candidate instead of Obama, I guarantee he would have been equally chagrined.
And Matt – good point about the absentee ballots.
Wow,Josh! Did you “stir up a hornet’s nest” or “open a can of worms” or “push some buttons” or what??? As your tag says “Where there’s smoak, there’s fire!! 🙂 I’m convinced that the thing we have to remember is that “the king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; He turns it wherever He wills.”Prov.21:1 So, no matter the results in Nov.(or what happens before then) our God is sovereign ALWAYS!! And,BTW, you are blessed to have friends(and family) to help pull out those fiery darts!!