Green Room - Week 24 - Day 1

[clauderainsrm.livejournal.com]

*kicks all of you*

I know you people consider today a holiday, and are probably off somewhere celebrating – but for real, true ‘Mericans, it’s just another day!

It’s a day of reminding you of the results from last night: http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/558887.html
The new topic: http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/559264.html
The home game thread: http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/559822.html
And, of course, the Work Room: http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/559545.html

I’m not sure if you can see them through the haze, but they are there.

Maybe you are busy mourning Levon Helm, which is acceptable, as long as you’re not constructing some sort of tribute made out of hemp to do it.

Which means you need to stop it right now. *kicks you more*

Comments

[cosmolinguist]

No, I can't vote in the UK. It's one of the few perks I'd have to wait for actual citizenship for, rather than just Indefinite Leave to Remain. And since the last I heard, the citizenship application fees are just short of a grand, voting is a luxury I can't afford.

Anyway, that's actually kind of why I do like to get involved. I reckon I've got to get at least one person to vote the way I would, just to make up for the fact that I can't :) And I've gotten pretty heavily involved with the LGBT+ Lib Dems, which are doing a lot of satisfying and successful stuff, even at a time when everyone hates the Lib Dems. People always say you should volunteer when you're off work and trying to get back to it, and this is what I'm volunteering with.

[theafaye.livejournal.com]

I was having that conversation (about voting) with an Austrian friend yesterday. In NZ you can vote if you have permanent residency - all citizenship gets you is a passport and thus freedom to leave and go to Australia, so it's not really worth bothering with. I do think it should be the same here - if you're permanently domiciled and paying tax, you should have the right to vote on how that tax is spent.

And I'm usually Lib Dem, but these days, I probably swing towards whatever Independent candidate seems to have half a brain.

[cosmolinguist]

I absolutely agree; when I had to write "voting is a luxury I can't afford", it really hurt! I don't think I should, effectively, have to pay that much in order to vote. It is frustrating, but with all the vilification of immigrants, I don't expect it to get better any time soon.

[theafaye.livejournal.com]

What really bothers me is that there is a world of difference between illegal migrants and legal migrants. The latter make an overwhelmingly positive contribution to society and are necessary for the health of said society. Yet thanks to the tabloids, they tend to be lumped in together in one big amorphous mass.

I don't think you should have to pay that much to vote either. If I had my way, if you're long term resident in a country and pay taxes there, you should have the right to vote, regardless of where you were born.