Don't vote; don't whine

You're tired of it all.

So do something about it. Get out and vote today. Skip class or go to work late or leave early if that's what it takes. But do it. Go to the polls and vote.

Sure, people say it doesn't matter if you vote or don't, because your vote won't count. Who are these anonymous people and what qualifies them to say you don't count? They probably represent the people you do not want in office or the backers of that proposition that will hurt you if it passes.

Obviously, you listened to them and did not vote when measures such as Proposition 187 -- which makes undocumented immigrants ineligible for public social services, health care and public school education -- were on the ballot. Smokers would still be able to pollute the air in bars and restaurants if they had voted when that issue was on the ballot. 

Stop being lazy and apathetic. The candidates with the most money backing are counting on you not voting. Only four out of 23 names on the ballot are familiar to you because the others did not have the financial backing for media blitzes and nationwide campaigning.  Money talks, but so can you.

What happens to this country is really your decision. The man who moves into the White House decides how you live or if you die in a meaningless war. 

Cleaner water, safer parks, open marriage, more criminal laws for juveniles, more gambling on Indian reservations, open marriages and expanding the death penalty are some of the propositions on the ballot that will affect California lifestyles. 

It's your choice.

Remember: If don't vote, you can't complain.