[palmier]

I saw an interesting "blip" in the New York Times the other day. It stated that 2.5 million registered voters played a signifigant roll in the last presidential election.....They didnt vote.

If you hav'nt registered to vote yet, go out and register. In most states the deadline is very close. Over the phone, on line. at the library, wherever, just get it done, Then go vote!

As close as the last election was back in 2000, (by most indications) this one will be even closer I'm not telling you whom to vote for, I just believe that your convictions will make an impact with your decision. So this November, go out and express your constitutional right, and choose who you think should lead our country into the future.

My name is Palmier and I approve this ad.

[Jock]

I saw Andy Rooney on a 60 Minutes once a few Presidential elections ago. At the time the call was going out across the land encouraging everyone who is elligible to get out and vote. After all, is that not the right Americans have died protecting?
Wait a minute, says Andy. Not so fast. He says that when he votes he has given his vote a great deal of thought. He has weighed all the information available to him and is making a very informed decision when he votes. He doesn't want his vote negated by someone who is making a choice based upon the last 30 second sound bite he heard.
I support Andy's message which is basically, yes, exercise your right to vote but make sure before you do that you know what you are voting for. If you don't know, don't vote!

Jock

[Mezzaluna]

Excellent thread, Palmier.

I would especially urge the young members of our community, those 18-30, to vote. You have so much at stake! Tuitions are rising at trade schools, junior colleges and universities all over the country. It's hard for many who used to qualify to get grants and loans.

Although you may think it's way, way too early to think about retirement, most of you will have to start salting away money NOW to have a comfortable retirement by the time you're 70. That will probably be your retirement age no matter who is president.

Some of you are young parents. Your children's school buildings are aging and so are the teachers. Will you foot the bill for crumbling school buildings?
Too many teachers will retire with too few qualified replacements. How do I know? How many of your peers go into teaching?

I could go on, but sooner or later I would end with an outright endorsement. I will probably do that before long (I am ardent in my support of my candidates!), but will hold off for now. Let's get the talk going!

[chrose]

Originally Posted by Mezzaluna

Although you may think it's way, way too early to think about retirement, most of you will have to start salting away money NOW to have a comfortable retirement by the time you're 70. That will probably be your retirement age no matter who is president.

I don't want to hijack the thread, I just want to add something to what Mezz said. When you're young time passes quickly and you don't think about the future or past as much as the here and now. While that's fine to a certain extent I can't emphasize enough how important it is to start saving now. It's amazing how quickly just a little each paycheck adds up. Even if you can barely afford $5.00/paycheck now...DO IT! 5-10-20 years go by in a flash believe it or not, and if you're not ready for it, you'll be that much behind if you want to be comfortable as you get older. The time to struggle is when you are young, not old and tired! Save and invest now, it's never too soon to start!