...rests in the hands of the American voting public. I am excluded from that group because this year I have chosen to abstain. Why? Because both major candidates leave much to be desired, and both appear to be roughly equally bad.

Bush seems to do things because his instincts tell him to, not because it's the right thing to do. Mixing religion with governmental matters is unethical (although if one has religion, it undoubtedly influences one's values). The worst thing he did was not justifying the war to the American people when they asked. Personally, I don't give a damn what other socialist nations think of the U.S.; but Bush needs to be accountable to the people. Further, his administration has passed entirely too much dangerous legislation, e.g. the Patriot Act. Cutting taxes for the rich is foolish: they already obtain wealth easier than the middle-class and the poor. Trickle-down was hacked a long time ago. I don't fault Bush for not signing the Kyoto Protocol, as that's written by idiots for idiots. Why else would you give a tradeable pollution budget to the industry? It's a system waiting to be gamed and will be used to make someone a fortune. Bush was right in that case, but some of his other policies, like drilling in wildlife refuges, are blatantly influenced by his Big Oil connections.

As for Kerry, he isn't just a waffler by rumor. He too agreed to the Iraq war when votes were counted, and recanted as the political winds changed. Remember the endorsements from foreign leaders bit that was also recanted? Further, the facts show his Vietnam service was half-baked at best—although it's better than going AWOL in the National Guard, the decorations he received for trivial acts diminished the meaning of the awards. That and for the war crimes accusations to the Senate. War has no law, get over it! —but that's a philosophical discussion for another time. Kerry claims to be a hunter, but doesn't understand gun culture, that it's not just about blasting animals; and then he turns around to his liberal contingent and talks out the other side of his mouth. The Second Amendment is more important than the First Amendment, and doesn't deserve to be pissed on any more than it already has. And of course much of the general Democrat agenda I do not agree with. My big question is, if Kerry gets into office, what's he going to do with Iraq? Does he even know? Will he know until he takes an opinion poll? Howard Dean did a better job of waffling than Kerry.

As I can't in good conscience endorse either Bush nor Kerry (nor Nader), so I elect to not vote. It wasn't worth my time getting the absentee ballot. Either way, America will lose. The bipartisan system is bipolar: a battle of the extremes. People have to pick one extreme, and all we get is a distorted picture of what people really want. Then there are the morons who vote without thinking about the issues. Voting uninformed is worse than not voting at all. The time has come for voting reform in the U.S. We could theoretically go to a pure democracy that still has the hierarchical structure of a republic. That again is a discussion for another time.

Ok, I'm just sick of being asked who I'm going to vote for. I just say I think the candidates suck and why, and that seems to defuse the political baiting.

Maybe the big reason I'm not voting is because I'm a punk who won't take things as he's given. I'd rather start a revolution than vote for the lesser of two evils, haha! Seriously, politics is a farce. Politicians try to win a popularity contest among people who don't think yet demand specific agendas obtained from emotional, knee-jerk reactions. Ultimately, the decline of society has lead to a decline in the quality of the average citizen, who the politicos kiss up to. The thinking faction is a minority indeed.