Don't hate. Chill out, and just go somewhere and vote

Please do not get mad at your friends and family who forgot to send in their absentee ballots or if they decided, "Eh, I don't need to vote." Maybe it won’t matter if they don’t cast a vote in a reliably blue or red state – not that they should be allowed to forget that they failed to exercise their right.

States that are considered "a given" - California, New York, D.C., Massachusetts - that classically run blue for the Democratic candidates like Barack Obama, can spare a few non-conforming registered voters without changing the outcome. Polls in California, especially, Obama appears to be winning by a pretty long, green mile.
Similarly, Texas and Alabama may fall short of a few thousand voters but it seems likely that they'll be Republican-leaning states for a long time.

But, you ought to whup your friend's, boyfriend's, co-worker's, or teammate's sorry tail if he or she is from a state like Ohio, Florida, Pennsylvania or Missouri and hasn’t made the effort to go out and vote. Those votes are necessary. Those votes could turn the election, seriously!

Their not voting is like saying, "I don't care about how much I pay in taxes next year," or "I know exactly what we are doing in Iraq, and the war does not need any new framework," or even "I could use four more years of my current president."

I really hope no one is thinking any of the former things – especially that last one.

States like Missouri are teetering on the line of driving black people and white people alike crazy, and leaning mostly toward a Democratic electoral possibility. Indiana voters are evenly tied in their decisions for the next president, according to CNN.com. McCain, who claims he's going to be the underdog winner in this race for the presidency, says Indiana will remain red. Furthermore, and more importantly, I think, voters should not waste their time in states that either candidate has given up on. For Obama, South Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi. For McCain, Michigan, California and D.C...

Has McCain even come through D.C. more than once? I don't think so.

If they are putting in the effort, why should you?

Funny moment of the day (and possibly for life): Palin voted today in Alaska. When asked who she voted for, she said she wouldn't tell, saying she's exercising her right to privacy and is "not telling you."

by Christina Burton, Reporter