OVER 90 MILLION VOTERS DIDN'T VOTE IN THE 2016 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

     

Voting is a fundamental right of adult U.S. citizens; it's protected by the 1st, 14th, 15th, 19th, 24th, and 26th constitutional amendments. 

It seems unfair that some State laws make it more difficult for certain Americans to exercise such an important democratic right.

Some people were barred from voting by law, and others were effectively blocked by the obstacles put up by new restrictions or by the memories of bad experiences the last time around. 

For others, child-care and work demands proved too difficult to juggle with going to a polling place. 

Some decided not to cast a ballot on principle. 

Others were simply too lazy and /or apathetic to vote.

Over 231 million Americans are eligible to vote, but, based on early results from the 2016 Presidential election, just over 130 million of them voted for either Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump. 

In some of the key battleground states that decided the election, less than a few thousand votes decided the result, proving how important every vote counts.

Over 100,000 people in Michigan voted in every race on their ballot except the Presidential race. They apparently could not summon the courage to vote for either presidential Candidate.

It is in the shame of those who didn't vote in this crucial election that disgusts me the most. In particular among people who have the most to lose in their lives by either candidates political platform.

To not have voted means that America gets what it deserves.

To not have voted means that accountability for what happens in the future is caused by the huge amount of people who did not vote.

To not have voted means you are full of shit to complain later about what happens or doesn't happen to our Nation.

To not have voted means don't blame the results on other people or other "things". 

To not have voted means YOU are to blame if the result was not what you wanted.

As of Thursday afternoon November 10, 2016, projections from the United States Elections Project 
show that there were 231,556,622 Americans eligible 
to vote, but 131,741,000 voted. That means that 43.2 percent didn’t vote, while 56.8 percent did. 

Here's the still being tabulated National popular vote  count, from the AP as of 10:30 PM, Nov.10, 2016: Candidate Vote Total Percentage Hillary Clinton 60,438,903 47.7 Donald Trump 60,049,440 47.4
The number of eligible voters who turned out in 2016 was a slight increase in eligible voter turnout from 2012.  FEC data from that election shows that 54.87 percent of the voting age population cast a vote for president, or 129,085,410 of the 235,248,000 eligible voters cast a vote.  However, 2016 was still far from the high reached in 2008, when 58.23 percent of the voting-age population participated. In 2008, 131,313,820 total votes were cast. In Minnesota, enough people cast ballots to put the state at the top of the pile, said Steve Simon, Minnesota's top election official. With its higher-than-average education and incomes, Minnesota has traditionally led the country in voter turnout, although it did slip to sixth place nationally in the 2014 midterm election.

Below is a list of the highest to lowest State voter 
turnouts of eligible voters in the 2016 Presidential election.

Note: All turnout data is preliminary and may not reflect provisional ballots, absentee voters or final vote counts.

Trump was able to pull off the most stunning upset in American political history thanks to the states of Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan, but it also helped that Hillary Clinton lost millions of votes that Obama won in 2008 and 2012.

The result in Pennsylvania was particularly surprising, and Trump won about 80,000 more votes there than Barack Obama did in 2012. Trump also took the state of Wisconsin, even though nobody thought of it as being a potential swing state even a week ago. The Republican candidate won the state with 47.9 percent of the vote, though this falls short of Obama’s decisive victory in the state in 2012, when he earned 52.8 percent of the vote.

The number of voters might have been up nationally, but if everyone registered to vote really did cast a vote, the results might have been different. 

Ballots are still being counted, though, so it’s highly possible Clinton’s margin over Trump will wind up being even higher than that.

Of course Trump won the deciding Electoral College count 290 to 232 for Clinton.


Here are the number of popular votes cast in each state, via data from The New York Times.

STATE	Donald Trump	Hillary Clinton	Lead
Alabama	1,303,576 (62.9%)	717,138 (34.6%)	586,438
Alaska	129,786 (53.0%)	92,013 (37.6%)	37,773
Arizona	947,175 (49.7%)	864,053 (45.3%)	83,122
Arkansas	677,904 (60.4%)	378,729 (33.8%)	299,175
California	2,965,704 (33.2%)	5,481,885 (61.5%)	2,516,181
Colorado	1,075,770 (44.8%)	1,126,384 (46.9%)	50,614
Connecticut	637,919 (41.7%)	823,360 (53.9%)	185,441
Delaware	185,103 (41.9%)	235,581 (53.4%)	50,478
Florida	4,605,515 (49.1%)	4,485,745 (47.8%)	119,770
Georgia	2,068,623 (51.3%)	1,837,300 (45.8%)	231,323
Hawaii	128,815 (30.0%)	266,827 (62.2%)	138,012
Idaho	407,199 (59.2%)	189,677 (27.6)	217,522
Illinois	2,117,479 (39.4%)	2,976,534 (55.4%)	859,055
Indiana	1,554,959 (57.2%)	1,029,127 (37.9%)	525,832
Iowa	798,923 (51.8%)	650,790 (42.2%)	148,133
Kansas	655,035 (57.2%)	413,482 (36.2%)	241,553
Kentucky	1,202,942 (62.5%)	628,834 (32.7%)	574,108
Louisiana	1,178,004 (58.1%)	779,535 (38.4%)	398,469
Maine	328,546 (45.1%)	349,922 (47.9%)	21,376
Maryland	873,646 (35.3%)	1,497,951 (60.5%)	624,305
Massachusetts	1,082,521 (33.5%)	1,964,433 (60.8%)	881,912
Michigan	2,278,630 (47.6%)	2,265,938 (47.3%)	12,692
Minnesota	1,321,003 (45.4%)	1,363,742 (46.8%)	42,739
Mississippi	675,842 (58.3%)	461,105 (39.8%)	214,737
Missouri	1,585,753 (57.1%)	1,054,889 (38.0%)	530,864
Montana	260,767 (56.9%)	161,341 (35.7%)	99,426
Nebraska	485,819 (60.3%)	273,858 (34.0%)	211,961
Nevada	511,319 (45.3%)	537,753 (47.9%)	26,434
New Hampshire	345,379 (47.3%)	346,816 (47.5%)	1,437
New Jersey	1,502,524 (42.0%)	1,964,586 (54.8%)	462,062
New Mexico	315,875 (40.0%)	380,724 (48.3%)	64,849
New York	2,635,300 (37.5%)	4,142,719 (58.8%)	1,507,419
North Carolina	2,162,074 (50.5%)	2,339,603 (46.7%)	177,529
North Dakota	216,133 (64.1%)	93,526 (27.8%)	122,607
Ohio	2,771,984 (52.1%)	2,317,001 (43.5%)	454,983
Oklahoma	947,934 (65.3%)	419,788 (28.9%)	528,146
Oregon	725,090 (40.9%)	919,591 (51.9%)	194,501
Pennsylvania	2,912,941 (48.8%)	2,844,705 (47.6%)	68,236
Rhode Island	165,810 (40.3%)	225,445 (54.9%)	59,635
South Carolina	1,143,611 (54.9%)	849,469 (40.8%)	294,142
South Dakota	227,701 (61.5%)	117,442 (31.7%)	110,259
Tennessee	1,515,242 (61.1%)	865,693 (34.9%)	649,549
Texas	4,677,115 (52.7%)	3,852,923 (43.4%)	824,192
Utah	360,634 (46.8%)	217,820 (27.8%)	142,814
Vermont	95,025 (32.6%)	178,072 (61.1%)	83,047
Virginia	1,731,155 (45.0%)	1,916,845 (49.9%)	185,690
Washington	750,719 (37.8%)	1,118,772 (56.3%)	368,053
West Virginia	486,198 (26.5%)	187,457 (68.7%)	298,741
Wisconsin	1,409,467 (47.9%)	1,382,210 (46.9%)	27,257
Wyoming	174,248 (70.1%)	55,949 (22.5%)	118,299

I AM BETHANY THOMPSON

                                           
                                           REST IN PEACE BETHANY THOMPSON              

Bethany with her parents, Wendy Feucht and Paul Thompson, at the Relay for Life. Nerve damage from cancer treatment affected Bethany’s smile.

 At 3 years old Bethany Thompson was diagnosed with a brain tumor and battled through radiation treatments. 

Though cancer free since 2008, surgical treatment caused nerve damage that changed Bethany's smile. 

That, and her curly hair, led to bullying, said Bethany's mother, Wendy Feucht.

This precious,11 year old brave child was bullied by cowardly students in her school because she had a different type of smile and had curly hair.

Not very significant things to bully someone about, making fun of her in the cruelest ways.

Bethany killed herself earlier this month because the bullies would not stop harassing her.

I can't even begin to wrap my hands around this senseless horrific tragedy. 

This defies any sense of humanity on the part of those who bullied her, and the usual disgustingly familiar defensive, meaningless statement from school officials who did nothing to protect this child. 

Bethany at 3 years old survives a brain tumor but her nerve is damaged by the surgery that saves her life, that nerve controls the way she smiles. 

Her hair is a beautiful curly style.

All of this is cosmetic, superficial, yet she becomes a magnet for the slime balls who decide that she is "different" and they endlessly bully her.

No-one, not the students, not the school officials who all knew she was being tortured by the bullies, none of them recognized her for the courage to have won her battle against a brain tumor, and her strength in fighting back against the bullies.

No-one supported her, except her family and a few friends.

The relentless bullying became too much to handle for this 11-year-old girl with a "crooked" smile, her mother said.

Feucht said after a particularly tough Wednesday with bullies, Bethany told her best friend she couldn't take it anymore, and was going to take her own life.

Outside Triad Middle School, Bethany Thompson hopped on the school bus Oct. 19, 2016 with a consuming darkness shared only with her friend.

“She told her she loved her and that she was her best friend forever, but that she was going to kill herself when she got home,” said Wendy Feucht, 34, Bethany’s mother.

The short trip to her home in Cable in rural Champaign County would be the 11-year-old’s last.

Shortly after stepping off the bus, instead of playing with her cats and dogs or visiting with her pet snakes, she went to the back porch and shot herself

Her friend's father called Bethany's mom, but it was too late. Bethany found one of the two guns kept in the house, and shot herself just minutes after getting home. Her stepfather was asleep in another room.

Feucht said Bethany would have had to go searching for a weapon, as she and her husband never told their children where they were and kept the guns out of sight.

"There's a piece missing, I've had this constant in my life for 12 years and now it's gone," Feucht said. "Nothing's going to be able to fill that hole."

"She was my princess, that's my baby girl. Life revolved around her for me," said Bethany's dad, Paul Thompson.

Her family and friends remember Bethany as generous and loving, and full of life. She loved swimming and animals and listening to music.

School investigated the problem

Triad Middle School was aware of the bullying problem, Feucht said. She had talked to the principal as recently as the Monday before Bethany's death. The principal told her he was investigating, Fuecht said.

"Something has to change, something is broken in the system and there are lots of different ways that this could have been handled," she said.

In hindsight, Fuecht said she didn't get mad enough; to parents she said, "Call them, call them every day if you have to and eventually they'll be tired of hearing from you and actually do something."

Triad School District Superintendent Chris Piper confirmed the school was aware of the bullying.

"Last school year, district officials investigated a complaint raised by the student and appropriately resolved the same. As many school districts across the country are currently doing, the Triad Local School District is undertaking efforts to bolster anti-harassment and bullying training for both students and staff," Piper said in a statement." 

Bethany suffered overwhelming emotional pain from the mouths of the bullies who made her so miserable that killing herself was the only way out of this cruel life that she could think of.

Try to imagine how much desperation and hurt this 11 year old child was feeling to take her own life.

Yet there is no accountability by Mr. Piper for the schools failure to protect this child, just worthless bullshit, not a human feeling, no remorse in his entire statement.

Bethany studied in the Triad school system her whole life, so while her family considered transferring Bethany, her mom thought it safer to stay in a school where everyone knew her story.

Bethany saw a counselor to help her find coping mechanisms and deal with her struggles with self-esteem, Fuecht said.

Having the support of friends wasn't enough to keep the bullying away, however, and some boys in her class were known to bully Bethany and others regularly, Feucht said.

Bethany and her friend went to administrators with anti-bullying posters on Bethany's last day at school, and were of course told they couldn't be used, Feucht said.

Hmmm.....Bullying was tolerated by school officials but empowering Bethany & her friend to peacefully fight back with carrying anti-bullying signs were not allowed, it just might raise awareness or worse, call attention that there is a serious problem in the community, at that school not being addressed.

A community of support

The community has rallied around Bethany's family.

A fundraising page in memory of Bethany has been set up online.

Nearly 400 people flocked to the North Lewisburg United Methodist Church for a fundraiser to cover funeral costs. 

The family plans to use the remaining funds to set up a scholarship fund in Bethany's name and to raise anti-bullying awareness.

As the family tries to move on with a positive memory of Bethany, Feucht wants others to learn from their experience and identify with her daughter's struggles. "I am Bethany. Anyone who's been picked on, they've been Bethany."

They hope to be a part of movement, and that Bethany's memory will live on as a reminder of the importance of kindness and a zero tolerance for bullying.

"If this were the last life, that her death could stop it, she would be thrilled," Feucht said.

Sad to say Bethany Thompson will not be the last child to kill them self because of bullies.

Bullies are not born that way, they learn to disrespect others with vile cruelty.

Where do these bullies come from?

Where are the parents of these bullies in their lives & upbringing about what their children are doing?

Where are the parents of the other students who see this happening?

Where are the other students who are not bullies but remain silent & do nothing.

What a truly sick world we live in when so many of these innocent children take their own lives because of bullies who kill them with cruelty, it just keeps repeating itself over & over.

No one seems to care about our children and a human life of a victim is worthless to those who kill and those who are supposed to protect. 

As a society we are beyond help & have crossed into a jungle of animals preying on others.

BORIS THE VOLVO 850

                                To The Munchkin's

I heard that "Boris" the rare, unique, reliable, ever trustworthy, 1996 Volvo 850 who never let any of us down in over 250,000 plus miles of driving over a period of over 20 years, has been abandoned by you its current owners. 

Let me tell you a little about Boris that you may not know.

Boris was so radical for his time, far ahead of all the other cars, proudly one of his kind.

All Volvo 850's like Boris came equipped with standard equipment such as 4 disc brakes, dual front airbags, anti-lock braking system, head restraints, three-point seat belts for all passengers, power windows, door locks, mirrors, cruise control, dual zone climate control, traction control, leather interior, power glass sunroof, power seats, heated seats, automatic climate control, and automatic transmission.

There were hardly any other options to order because most everything was included as part as part of the regular price.

Boris was the first 5 cylinder car ever made, the first front wheel drive car sold in North America and the first all wheel drive car manufactured by Volvo.

Boris was launched by Volvo with the slogan "A dynamic car with four unique innovations" which referred to the newly developed five cylinder transverse engine, the Delta-link rear axle, SIPS which is a specially structurally designed protection for side impact crashes, and the self-adjusting seat belt reel for the front seats.

I always admired and worshiped Boris because he never gave up. 

Sure when I gave him to you several years ago he was falling apart cosmetically, a fender here, a window there, the leather worn out, but not mechanically. His engine so powerful, smooth, purring like a race car, always ready to move at the tap of his accelerator pedal.

There also was that distinct engine sound so that you hear Boris coming down the street even before seeing him. Such a special, wonderful sound of someone coming home safely with him.

And oh what fucking amazing brakes. I have never had a car, ever, that had these legendary brakes stopping power in the world, that could stop literally on a dime in nano seconds, at any speed.

It is sad, to hear that Boris has been "rewarded" for his ever loving loyalty to all of us by no doubt (don't believe what that car donation Organization said about someone will take good care of him) they will soon chop up, crush Boris into pieces in a junk yard for a few pennies of his scrap metal value.

You know, that I know, we all know that Boris is human, not "just" a car. We have all spoken to Boris, thanking him for getting us safely to wherever we asked him to take us. 

Unlike that ego maniac, attention seeking, endlessly gabbing "Herbie the Love Bug", Boris was particularly shy he never said anything, but he had a personality, a beating heart, anyone who drove him could feel him taking good care of us.

Did Boris ever complain that his paint was prematurely peeling off after only a few years, or that grandpa was racing down the street at 90 miles an hour and making wild u turns in front of your house? 

Did Boris whine about not being washed, left alone in all kinds of places, no he never complained and was always there to welcome you when you needed him, regardless of what time it was, day or night.

They "broke the mold" when Boris was made and there will be no more cars made to replace that red looking, blushing hero who literally gave his very best to all of us.

I hope you were not there to see them tow Boris away today, because if you were, I know that he was crying and never expected to be dumped like a piece of garbage. 

I know you loved him and understand it was time to let go, even taking him out last night for a goodbye ride.

It has to be painful for you to look out your window, go outside and Boris is not there waiting for you.

Sure we still have Wanda, but she will never be a Boris, he is irreplaceable.

Boris was a victim of his time, built to last, not part of the modern planned obsolescence mind set,  always obedient, stylish, sort of the Superman of all cars. 

He did his job superbly for all of us and just outlasted his aging cosmetic flaws & the real uncertainty of his parts suddenly breaking, that comes with becoming very old. 

When you are very old, we want to have a young, pretty, new car, with that addictive new car smell.

You did well Boris, we will all miss you.

Rest In Peace.