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~Darrenmathias:iconDarrenmathias:

Derrence Wong  

  • Status: Member
  • Cartoonist
  • Male/Singapore
  • Offline for 2h 27m 42s
  • Deviant since Feb 15, 2006, 7:49 AM
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  • 204 Deviant Comments
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Why vote for the President at all?

Journal Entry: Sun Jul 6, 2008, 8:38 AM
  • Listening to: none
  • Reading: none
  • Watching: Ben 10
  • Playing: Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures, still
  • Eating: Sandwich
  • Drinking: Hot Chocolate
Yes, guys. You read the title clearly. Why vote for the next president of the United States when YOUR VOTE MEANS NOTHING AT ALL? Yes, I know I’m a Singaporean but I did sometimes spend some time, studying the American culture and how their government works. Now then, shall we start our rant?

(WARNING: If you are insulted easily by other people’s criticism, DO NOT READ.)

Okay, so this is how the American election system works. The American government use something called ‘Electoral College’ ([link]). What is this system, you ask? Well, The Electoral College in the United States is the body of representatives which formally elects the President and Vice President of the United States.

Rather than directly voting for the President and Vice President, U.S. citizens cast votes for electoral college representatives, known as electors. While electors are theoretically free to vote for the candidate of their choice, in practice they pledge to vote for specific candidates. Thus, voters indirectly vote for Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates by voting for correspondingly pledged electors. Because all of the electors from a state will generally vote for the Presidential candidate who receives the most votes in that state, U.S. Presidential campaigns concentrate on winning the popular vote in a combination of states that choose a majority of the electors, rather than campaigning to win the most votes nationally.

Yes, now that does sound a little unfair right? I mean it’s not the citizens of the country who decides, it’s the ELECTORS who decide who’s gonna be the next president! Also, take a look at this picture ([link]). As you can see, all those states with less population like Montana, Wyoming, Alaska, New Hampshire, Delaware and Rhode Island only get like 3 to 4 elector seats while all those ‘head’ states like California, Texas and Florida get like…27 TO 55 ELECTOR SEATS! That is why in every election, the candidates usually focus on those ‘big’ swing states in order to get more votes and higher chance in winning the elections. It doesn’t matter who wins the most states as long as they win the MOST SEATS! People win Presidential elections by SEATS! Not by VOTES! Does that sound fair?!

So guys, can’t you see? It’s not the people who decide who is the next president, it’s the government itself! Just like that unfortunate 2000 presidential election ([link]). Al Gore should have won because he won the most popular votes (which is THE PEOPLE’S VOTES) but in the end, the presidency ended up went to George Dubya Shrub.

Gore won 48.4 percent of the people’s votes but Bush gets to president anyways! That’s because Bush barely wins the elections by winning 271 electoral votes (Which is THE GOVERNMENT’S VOTES) while Gore wins 266! So in the end, Bush won the presidency not because of the people’s votes, but because of the GOVERNMENT’S VOTES! Is that fair?! Even if you don’t win popular votes, you still get to be president if you win electoral votes! ([link])

Yeah yeah, you guys always talk about Bush VS Gore in 2000, Bush VS Kerry in 2004, and Clinton VS Bush in 1992. But in 1992, I never heard anyone talking about Clinton VS Bush VS Perot! Yes guys, in 1992, there was a third-party candidate in that election. His name was Ross Perot, or should I say the biggest dumbass of 1992? Why was Perot a third-party candidate? Because he thinks he can take on Clinton and Bush? No! Because you know why? Once again, because of Electoral College, nobody ever focuses on third-parties at all!

Look guys, these days, third-party candidates never win elections. No matter how good or a natural born leader you are, you can NEVER win a presidential election as a THIRD-PARTY CANDIDATE.

Why bother being a third-party candidate when elections always talk about Democrats and Republicans? Why be a third-party candidate when Electoral college only focuses on the two main parties of the government? Only a person who is dumb enough will try his luck to be a third-party candidate and try to win the presidential election. In practice, the winner-take-all manner of allocating a state's electors generally decreases the importance of minor parties. So why even bother being a third-party candidate at all?

Therefore, sadly overall, it’s not the number of votes of the citizens of the country which decides who will be the next president, it’s the elctors of each state in America who decides who will be the next president. And therefore, this shows that your vote is completely utterly WORTHLESS.

And now, it’s time to show some articles to proof my point.

[link]

In the 1980 presidential elections, Ronald Reagan, who is still up to date, the greatest US president of all time, won the popular votes to Jimmy Carter by winning 50.7 percent of the votes while Carter won 41 percent. That sounds quite fair, right? But take a look at the elctoral votes! Reagan won 489 electoral votes while Carter only won 49! Does it sound fair that Reagan won the election by winning the popular votes by a margin while he won the electoral votes by a LANDSLIDE?! I mean look at the map for crying out loud! ONLY SIX STATES ARE BLUE! ONLY SIX!

[link]

Here’s an article to proof my point about third-party candidates. In 1992, Ross Perot won 18.9 percent of the popular votes but he never won a single elctoral vote at all. Not even a single state in the United States is coloured white. So what does this show? Voting for a third-party candidate is A WASTED VOTE!

[link]

And now, here’s the 2000 presidential election which is probably the most disappointing election of all. Al Gore won 48.4 percent of the popular votes. But George Dubya Bush still gets to be president anyways! And it was all because Bush won all the seats in Florida! And because of electoral votes and Electoral College, George W. Bush stole the stinking presidency.

So guys, I hope this proofs my point. Why vote for the president when your vote means nothing?

So I hope after writing this rant, nobody flames me about my criticism. I’m just trying to tell how I feel about the election system in the United States and why the country sometimes gets the wrong president for the wrong reasons. It’s because of no good…

ELECTORAL COLLEGE.

Devious Information

  • Current Age: 16 years old
  • Current Residence: Singapore
  • Interests: Video games, Transformers universe and drawing
  • Favourite movie: Lord of the rings, Titanic, Treasure Planet, Transformers, The Incredibles, Pirates of the Caribbean
  • Favourite band or musician: Akon, Eminem, Maroon 5, Avril Lavigne, Linkin Park
  • Favourite genre of music: Pop and rock
  • Favourite artist: Tetsuya Nomura
  • Favourite poet or writer: JRR Tolkien, JK Rowling, Michael Crichton
  • Favourite style of art: Cartoons
  • Operating System: Windows
  • MP3 player of choice: Ipod
  • Favourite game: Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts, Ico, Halo, World of Warcraft, Street Fighter
  • Favourite gaming platform: PS3 and Xbox 360
  • Favourite cartoon character: Optimus Prime, Spongebob Squarepants, Danny Phantom, Juniper Lee, Katara, Toph, Sakura Haruno
  • Personal Quote: Learning taste bitter on the outside but sweeter on the inside

deviantART Notice

Devious Comments

=phatpuppy:iconphatpuppy: 1 day 14 hours ago
Thanks for stopping by. :)
Nice to "meet" you.

Peace,

Claudia

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"Smile, don't worry, be happy!" *** George C. Bartoli
~Mariofanstar:iconMariofanstar: 6 days 5 hours ago
So, that means you're two years younger than me. I'm 18 years old and I'll be turning 19 in November. I've played Crash Bandicoot 3 on the original Playstation. Now, I play games on either my Wii, Nintendo DS or my Game Boy Advance SP. Currently, I'm playing either Mario Kart Wii, Super Smash Bros. Brawl or Super Paper Mario. By looking at your pictures, you're taller than me for your age.

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Poems take plenty of time to come up with and inspiration can come from anywhere, including real life. ;)
~Darrenmathias:iconDarrenmathias: 6 days 5 hours ago
16 years old. My first video game is Crash Bandicoot 3 and my first console is Playstation 1. But now I played my video games on Xbox 360.

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"Learning taste bitter on the outside but sweeter on the inside." - Derrence Wong aka Darren Mathias
~Mariofanstar:iconMariofanstar: 6 days 5 hours ago
Me, my sis and my cousin Bruce plays video games. My dad used to play them too, he loves to play the Tomb Raider and Metal Gear Solid series in the past. He even plays Super Mario 64 on the Nintendo 64 with me and my sis when we're little. My dad was teaching us how to play video games at the time and we were introduced to the Mario series. Super Mario 64 was the very first video game we ever played and owned and Nintendo 64 was the first console we've ever played. We seen the princess and beaten Bowser for the first time but haven't got all the stars yet. :( Not to mention, didn't see Yoshi yet. :( My family only play Mah-Jong just for fun and gambling. What was your very first game and console?

Um... I've got a question, is it true that you've been ripping off a certain someone's stories on Fanfiction.net? I'm just asking 'cause I don't know very well yet and I just known you today. It's weird that both :icon389: and :iconmorty340: have two Chinese friends which are me and you. How old are you, by the way? :-?

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Poems take plenty of time to come up with and inspiration can come from anywhere, including real life. ;)
~Darrenmathias:iconDarrenmathias: 6 days 5 hours ago
No. My family don't play anything. Only me and my sisters. We play video games. Some Chinese families in Singapore do play Mahjong but mainly because some of them do this for gambling.

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"Learning taste bitter on the outside but sweeter on the inside." - Derrence Wong aka Darren Mathias
~Mariofanstar:iconMariofanstar: 6 days 7 hours ago
That's odd... I'm Chinese too. :O_o: But I'm from the :flaguk: in Europe. My parents are born in Hong Kong and I have a big family there. Video games kinda runs in the family but Mah-Jong runs even more. Almost every family member plays it, even my grandma. So, what runs in your family? I don't have the guts to tell you my true name... actually I got two.

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Poems take plenty of time to come up with and inspiration can come from anywhere, including real life. ;)
~Darrenmathias:iconDarrenmathias: Jul 2, 2008, 6:46:07 AM
My full name is Derrence Wong. Yes, I'm a Chinese and I'm from Singapore.

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"Learning taste bitter on the outside but sweeter on the inside." - Derrence Wong aka Darren Mathias
~Mariofanstar:iconMariofanstar: Jul 2, 2008, 4:47:48 AM
Hi, I'm a friend of :icon389: and :iconmorty340: and I'm known as Flowerstar from Fanfiction.net. Are you Chinese? I'm just wondering because I've seen your surnname somewhere on your profile and your picture in your gallery. Don't worry, I'm not racist. I'm very bored right now so that's why I'm visiting your page just for kicks. :bored:

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Poems take plenty of time to come up with and inspiration can come from anywhere, including real life. ;)
~Darrenmathias:iconDarrenmathias: Jun 26, 2008, 4:59:58 AM
Thanks. Also, I have finished the first oneshot of my GF oneshot stories. Look out for it tomorrow!

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"Learning taste bitter on the outside but sweeter on the inside." - Derrence Wong aka Darren Mathias
~Nobressfae:iconNobressfae: Jun 25, 2008, 12:54:46 PM
Hy...
I made for you a "fan"cover for your fic. (Wayback) I love it!
*switchblade0739:iconswitchblade0739: Jun 24, 2008, 1:31:55 PM
Thanks for the fav........
~Jeankazuhiza:iconJeankazuhiza: Jun 24, 2008, 10:09:47 AM
Man... i don't know what to say, but yesterday i was very angry and confused, and i didn't know what do, but you know, you have my support, and i hope that makes us learn a lesson to every fanfic prospect.

Check out my Di Gi Charat AMW, the song is That's Good by Devo.
*lpspalmer:iconlpspalmer: Jun 12, 2008, 12:58:18 PM
Thank you very much for the fav :D
~Nobressfae:iconNobressfae: Jun 5, 2008, 11:45:34 AM
Hy Darren!
I toldthat I will give to you a pic about your fic. If you take a look you will find it on my deviant page!
~Darrenmathias:iconDarrenmathias: Jun 4, 2008, 7:13:16 PM
Oh wow. Thanks for reading it! The next chapter of the story is up and you WILL love it:

[link]

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"Learning taste bitter on the outside but sweeter on the inside." - Derrence Wong aka Darren Mathias
~Nobressfae:iconNobressfae: Jun 1, 2008, 11:33:16 AM
Thanks for the faw!

I read your GF fanfic on fanfiction.com (way back into love) and its sounds great! I will put up a fanart about it. Its will a picture about the family of Tia and Rocket after the "reunion". I hope they will... :pray:
~Elven-Curse:iconElven-Curse: Jun 1, 2008, 1:20:45 AM
Thanks for the fav:)

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"Your art reflects who and what you are." - Elven Curse
"Art is there before you, but it is up to you to bring it out." - Elven Curse
"Yes, I am an avid WoW addict, ALLIANCE FTW!" - Elven-Curse
~imigin:iconimigin: May 25, 2008, 11:20:05 PM
omg. yer i know you,
ive subscribed to your stories!!!!

:D

the names baby rose hip on fan!
~Darrenmathias:iconDarrenmathias: May 25, 2008, 6:54:44 PM
Yes I do. Here it is:

[link]

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"Learning taste bitter on the outside but sweeter on the inside." - Derrence Wong aka Darren Mathias
~imigin:iconimigin: May 21, 2008, 11:42:07 PM
hey man thanks for all the adds!!! :D
appreciate it!!!
i was just wondering if u had an account of fanfic coz theres an author there by the same name as yr DA name :D

tia
its worth been nice when it concerns the heart and not the mind
~hwoarang1986:iconhwoarang1986: May 18, 2008, 11:33:33 AM
thx 4 the fave^^

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Man soll den Arsch nicht höher hängen als man scheißen kann!! Ohne Scheiß^^
*SeriojaInc:iconSeriojaInc: May 13, 2008, 7:42:16 PM Mood: Joy
thanks for watching :D much appreciated!

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"A sketch is just a sketch, and a painting is just a painting. The moment it offends someone, it becomes art." -Wisest Grasshopper
*keiiii:iconkeiiii: May 11, 2008, 9:07:50 PM
Thank you for the :+fav: :D