Or, rather, 'disposes' of dank old scientific data from national repositories.

And muzzles scientists, especially in climatology and ecology.

If growth is going to take us down, I'd rather go down without the added ignorance.

but not voting isn't going to save us either. I say vote your conscience, lets get this election past us, and then throw our bodies onto the gears of the machine en masse if we're seriously passionate about it.

I no longer believe in "change from within", and I just can't bring myself to vote for the lesser of four evils any more, given everything else that rides on the coat-tails of such a vote. I'm a bit of an absolutist where Life and my conscience are concerned.

if a conservative party wins, and speeds along the process of death, is that a victory? I can say that because we Yanks tried that in 2000, and the lives of millions were lad upon the altar of making some people feel good.

The bulldozers will go on smoothly if you refuse to vote.

All political victories represent a loss for the rest of the biosphere. The only thing that we accomplish by choosing one party over another is a slight shift in the timetable, not a change in the outcome. I understand that this is not a popular view.

doesn't provide its own suitable alternatives.

If the politicians' thinking isn't up to muster... protest vote!

(Its really easy.)

Or maybe an Abbey-Kaczynski write-in ticket?

or coordinated in any way if your only goal is to signal a protest.

The establishment WILL take any/all missed votes as a sign of support or at least public acceptance. These days its their biggest source of legitimacy -- I say don't let em have it.

It's simply to act in line with my own conscience.

his vague impression of Clinton as a "rational" person. And either candidate is 'about the same' since they'll both just be scandal-fodder for Republicans.

He initially thought my posts about Hillary was an attempt to show him false Republican baloney. When I corrected him, he said her consistent war mongering was the same as Bernie's one vote for the Afghan war.

I guess he's half way to your brand of Buddhism since he's already detached from any details that yield hope and risk.

Here's why I'm emphasizing this position right now. I believe we are at a social and ecological tipping point, and are entering a time that will be characterized by increasing upheaval. IMO the greatest good is served by understanding, publicizing, discussing, strategizing, and acting from a holistic view of our collective situation. Any energy spent in partisanship comes at an opportunity cost too high to bear.

Politics and economics are the two main social technologies that have tightened the noose around the neck of life on this planet. For an informed person who has this perspective, engaging in this phony political process seems almost inconceivable.

I'm not engaged in simple shit disturbing on this issue. Our federal election is a good teaching moment, because positions like mine are thrown into stark relief against the nation-wide backdrop of X-marking drones who have never examined, let alone questioned, the consequences of that act.