Digital Cowboy

I disagree with my friend Joseph Farah, not in substance but in long-term strategy.

I confess I have not yet read his book so it’s entirely possible that we don’t disagree at all. But here’s the crux:

He’s refusing to vote for either McCain or Obama as am I. In fact, I like his characterization of this campaign as the “McCain Pain” vs. the “Obama Trauma.” Truly that’s what it is.

The addition of Sarah Palin to the ticket swayed many fence-sitters on the “conservative” side, but I’m not a conservative. It swayed me, but not to vote. It swayed me to pray that McCain-Palin wins this election. That’s where Mr. Farah and I differ. I see his historical point about Carter’s incompetence creating the opportunity for us to get Reagan.

But I’m not so sure the crumbling American empire will last long enough for us to recover from an Obama presidency and I see Sarah Palin as evidence that God’s hand is at work in this election. She’s no shallow, religious phony like the one we have in the big house now. She’s a Word-speaking believer. (I wouldn’t publish that if this blog had any reach or influence because it would energize the demons that bow before Obama and, like him, operate in veiled hate. But this blog is a tiny little secret, so I can speak my mind.)

I actively refuse to vote and I have for quite some time. The reason I do is because I still believe that the just powers of government are derived from the consent of the governed. I cannot in good conscience give my consent to anyone who makes campaign promises to violate the oath of the very office they seek. There are only two possible outcomes there: the candidate is a liar or they are promising to commit treason.

Neither deserves my consent and, what’s more, it will not be done in my name. I do not give my consent to be governed by liars or those with no respect for the founding law of this land. Indeed, when someone trots out the old trope that “if you don’t vote, you have no right to bitch,” I respond by saying, “You have it backwards. If you vote for someone that you KNOW does not represent your views, you have no right to bitch. You gave your consent. And by the way, thanks a lot for saddling all of us with this illegal, immoral oppression. Not only do I have a right to bitch, I have a right to bitch AT YOU. It’s YOUR fault.”

Palin will be a mole in that cesspool we call our capitol. I pray that McCain is elected because I believe he’s accidentally backed into selecting her. I have almost no respect for McCain. I see his selection of Palin as a shrewd political move on his part that will likely work. He did the right thing for the wrong reasons. He’ll be a horrible president. But he’ll be better than Obama and will – unbeknownst to him – bring a praying, Word-quoting believer into the White House.

I’m well aware that the VP has no legal influence on anything. In fact, when I look at the special needs child that Clinton chose for his, I’m relieved about that. But never, ever underestimate the effect that can be made by a Proverbs 31, virtuous woman that knows how to pray.

I would vote for Sarah Palin but I cannot give my consent to be governed by John McCain.

So I’ll withhold my vote and pray.

I deleted a comment here today because it was a personal attack on me and it was done anonymously.

In the past I have tolerated both attacks on me and anonymous comments. I’ve been more liberal and tolerant than just about any blogger I know in that respect.

I will no longer tolerate the two combined.

If you would like to make an anonymous comment here, feel free. If you would like to personally attack me, feel free.

But if you have a personal problem with me, don’t hide and snipe. I’ve reached a point in my life where I’m forced to deal with passive-aggressive people far more than I would like already. Many of them are lawyers, their clients and judges.

There’s an email address posted near the top left of the page. (Not that it matters. History tells me that most anonymous snipers already have many other ways to contact me directly.)

If you’ve already communicated the problem to me and I haven’t responded, it’s probably because I don’t have a response for you yet. I’m a man. I tackle problems head-on and address them. Sometimes the queue gets a bit backed up.

It’s nothing personal on my part. Don’t make it personal on yours. I have priorities and evidently you just haven’t made it to the top of the list yet.

Also don’t fall in to the trap of thinking that somehow I’m the solution to your problem. That’s a dangerous place to be. As cool as I am, I’m very clearly not God and if you’re trusting anyone else as your source, you should address that rather than attacking me. I’m not your problem or your solution.

I can probably point you in the right direction, though.

A few weeks ago, I sat at a (virtual) table with Keith Sexton in a HORSE tournament.

I won.

I didn’t just beat him. I took control of the table and bluffed him out of at least three pots. I also beat everyone else at that table. I wasn’t prepared for the fame/notoriety I got.

From that point on, I’ve had stalkers in the online poker world. People I don’t know telling me that they “know me.” But not just that, they also know that I’m a donkey (a poker term for a fool – you just keep carrying money to the table) and an “idiot.” It took me a while to figure it out, but there is a new generation of poker player that thinks they can use SharkScope to measure a person.

That “idiot” comment came from someone just before I busted him in heads up play. He said he “knew” I was an idiot because of my “ROI.” (That’s from sharkscope.) Those were the last words he typed as all his chips were shipped to me.

That’s a fool’s errand and I welcome it. If you think you can size up a player by reading dubiously collected stats of their performance over the last two or three years, PLEASE sit at my table. Did it ever occur to any of you math geniuses that I’m working on a table image and you’re gullible? When I want to win, I usually do.

I just beat Keith Sexton again as well as everyone else at the sit-n-go table where I played him. This time I chatted with him a bit. He’s a very nice guy.

I’m not overly impressed anymore with beating Keith. He plays every day for a lot more than the $55 buy-in at that (online) table. He’s also there to build interest and dump money so that others will. No matter what it looks like, I’m not stupid.

But there were 7 other people there that also lost all their chips to me. Again.

I came away thinking that, though this is another win for me, it also puts the target on me again.

I may have to lay low and play low for a while because every stupid teenager with access to his mother’s computer and credit card will be gunning for me – checking sharkscope and concluding I’m an “idiot” or “donkey” or “river-chaser.”

In that respect, I’ve learned what it’s like to be a “pro.”