VOTE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

An e-mail I wrote to some of my less-political female friends:

Hi ladies,

  This is an e-mail to bug you all to vote in November; to nag you to register if you have not, or to urge you to get an absentee ballot if you will be to busy on Nov. 2 to vote.
   I don't usually discuss politics too much with you guys. There are friends with whom I do talk politics on a daily basis. But with most of you, we mostly talk life stuff. And I don't want to be one of those annoying in-your-face political people.
   But I must stress how important this election is. For real. It could be the most important election so far of our lives and this is not an exaggeration. Our future and the future of your kids could depend on who gets elected.
   I support John Kerry, of course. My main reason is because George Bush is an idiot who did not win the election in 2000. Remember that I lived in Palm Beach County, voted on the butterfly ballot, and covered the story for 37 days. Bush stole the election. But more than that, he got us into a war that has already taken 1,000 lives. And it was under the false pretense of looking for weapons of mass destruction. It was a lie.
   Okay, if you are a Bush supporter, you stopped reading at that last paragraph. Come back. Here is my non-partisan pitch: No matter who you support, the point is to VOTE. Here is why: Women only got the right to vote in 1920. That is less than 100 years ago! We owe it to all those women at the turn of the century who fought for this right to actually USE it.
     "But I will be too busy that day." The polls are open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. You can sneak in 10 minutes.
    "RandomReality, my life is so hectic and busy. You are a single person. You don't know what you are talking about." True enough. So get an absentee ballot. You can request one from your local board of elections and they mail it too you. But you have to act SOON so you don't miss the deadline.
     "Oh, my vote doesn't matter." HelllOOOO. Go back to the point above, about this being a really close race, just like in 2000. Your vote matters. Vote for Bush because you think he has a cute butt. Vote for Kerry because you like his wife's ketchup. I don't care.
    Just vote!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    Am off my soapbox now.