Apologies in advance to Tucson City Council candidates Nina Trasoff, Karin Uhlich and Richard Frimbres, but they all lost my vote Sunday afternoon.
Pile o' crap-o-ganda/Ryn Gargulinski
That’s really a shame, as I was poised to vote for at least one of them, possibly more.
I’ve interviewed Karin Uhlich in the past and found her hardworking, caring and, unlike some windbags that end up in various elected positions across the country, a real person.
But the trio did the unthinkable, something I cannot easily forgive.
They interrupted my Sunday afternoon nap.
No, all three did not come banging at my bedroom door, but an unidentified man rang the doorbell before leaving a pile of crappy propaganda material on my doormat.
Sticker from Miller's Surplus/Ryn Gargulinski
Never mind that Sunday is a day of rest, relaxation and escape from the garbage of the weekly world.
Also never mind my front door is outfitted with three signs that say “Go Away,” “No Soliciting,” and “Trespassers Will Be Shot.” Two of the signs have skulls on them. One is even translated into Spanish, just in case.
Election propaganda, or lack thereof, has been a deciding factor in my votes for quite some time.
Folks who leave me alone and let me decide my vote by my own research or flip of the coin are going to be higher on my list than those who send minions to ring the doorbell, send the dogs into a frenzy then shove crap-o-ganda on my doorstep.
Unwanted home visits – especially on my sacred Sunday afternoon – are the lowest form of propaganda annoyances, although they have prime competition with the throng of pre-election day phone calls.
Sign and photo by Ryn Gargulinski
A cheery woman who mispronounced my name recently telephoned, asking if I could please vote for the school propositions numbered 401 through 404. I may have – until she called.
We are also bombarded with the pre-recorded phone calls, as if listening to a monotone spiel is supposed to make us feel warm and fuzzy or send us into an obsession for voting for that monotone voice.
The final nail in the propaganda coffin are those campaign workers who lurk the designated distance from the voting facilities, trying to smash a last-minute brochure into your hands.
Are that many folks still so clueless even as they are walking towards the voting booth? Will handing them a flier really make a difference?
Sign and photo by Ryn Gargulinski
My propaganda theory is if candidates are so annoying before they even secure the elected position, they will only be 200 times more annoying once they get some power.
Perhaps my anti-propaganda voting method is childish and rash. Maybe even stupid. But so is invading our homes, telephones and doorsteps with those crappy fliers. Those fliers are so crappy they don’t even leave enough white space to use them as grocery lists or tattoo sketches.
Besides, I’m allowed to be childish and rash. I’m still cranky from my interrupted nap.
[tnipoll]
What do you think?
Do you welcome pamphlets being shoved in your hands and doorsteps?
Will you sway your vote in someone’s favor if they automate your phone number with a pre-recorded phone call?
My Sunday morning paper reading (which I covet) was interrupted by Jehovah Witnesses yesterday. Of course, she was dragging along two beautiful little children. Who can be mean when an adorable little six year old girl starts reading a scripture to you? I can’t, but inside I was ripping my own face off.
You are doing the right think by not voting for the above mentioned folks anyway.
hiya AZMouse – thanks for your ‘vote’ of confidence in my voting decision (haha). how crummy about your paper reading being rudely infused with a child reading scripture. i agree that it’s tough to be mean to an adorable kid, but i’ll bet the adults know that and use the children as a ploy – just like the beggar children in Slumdog Millionaire when the guy blinds them on purpose so they’ll bring him more sympathy money with their begging.
as an aside, when i went outside this morn (monday) about 7 a.m. to take photos of my door signs, a slovenly guy with messy hair and a crinkled t-shirt was JUST ABOUT to hand a cox advert on my doorknob. dammit!
now i have to change my internet provider, too (haha).
I have a Kingdom Hall right down on the corner of my street, and usually they are dragging some poor 102 year old woman around with them instead of little kids. I can’t be mean to the elderly either. argh.
Switch your Cox and you’ll start getting Direct TV adds hung on your door. lol
You can’t win.
You could totally and completely waste your vote and go for a Party of No or Faux News Tea Party shill…
Mornin’ Rynski. Simon and Garfunkel had it right, “laugh about it, shout about it when you have to choose, any way you look at it you lose”.
Maybe you could have some sort of pet door, remote controlled of course, which would allow Sawyer and Phoebe(with her claws that will kill you) to ‘greet’ unwanted pests properly…since the threat of a bullet between the eyes is apparently insufficient. 🙂
hahhaha! i was thinking of getting the dogs involved in my quest for privacy IN MY OWN HOME – but came across three deterrents:
1. once the dogs get outside and maul the unwanted guest, they are liable to run off to hunt for bunnies instead of coming back in the home.
2. even if someone were on my private property invading my privacy and wholly annoying the crap out of us, couldn’t the intruders do something stupid like sue if my dogs killed them?
3. i don’t want a dead body in my front yard. backyard would be OK, but not the front….
Re: #3-might make a nice doormat Rynski….
Ps-is this a scientific poll? 🙂
ADDENDUM: 8:02 a.m. Monday – just got an e-mail on my personal account for a Nina Trasoff rally. just another example of invasion.
Although she’s a reasonably attractive woman, Nina seems to look angry, as her nostrils are in a state of constant flare.
I always get robo-calls from Gabby Giffords. Very annoying.
now you made me dig out the propaganda and look for nostril flare.
I emailed you some Nina pics. You be the judge, but it makes her look edgy.
I think it is sad that this is what the Tucson Citizen has become. Why is this blog being published by the TC?
Only to annoy you…
Cuz its AWESOME!
Don’t be a hater…and go read some other blog if you’re going to be a grouch about it. Sheesh. 🙂
thanks, radmax and jennatoolz for your support!
i wasn’t sure what to say to bob, if anything, but i am wondering if he was the man who rang my doorbell sunday afternoon….
Candidates publish such rubbish about their historical accomplishments in politics that it is laughable. Very few of them are realistic and honest. Politicians live in a different world than those of us who work or have worked for a living. Why should I spend my time reading such waste. I look at their ability to get things done, at what they have or have not actually supported in the past and how much of a pol they really are. Then I usually vote for a newcomer who won’t bring a bunch of baggage with them. Experience in politics is not a positive resume item.
thanks for chiming in, ron e. like your tip about voting for folks who won’t bring a bunch of baggage into the fray. it’s also a good way to choose relationships (haha).
Actually I like getting campaign literature to see how candidates promote themselves in an election. I am anxious to see how people vote in this poll, but “chuck it without reading it” is winning right now, which may mean that most of the campaign money on these mailers is wasted.
hi carolyn,
i was wondering about the usefulness of mailers myself – not only the cost but the amount of waste they generate in this time of “save of the earth-dom.”
glad to hear you find them useful – so at least it’s not ALL a waste.
thanks for chiming in.
p.s. even though i do usually chuck the propaganda without reading it, i did glance at this latest batch as I was photographing it – and i found the photo montage of fimbres throughout the years quite interesting. check out his younger days army veteran pic.
61% of the 55 persons who voted so far said they chucked these pamphlets. Oh well, I’m in the minority on this one.
61% of 100 persons voted the same way in this poll, which is a bit discouraging for the 2009 General Election campaigns which sent out a lot of literature to advocate their position and/or candidate.
You aren’t a minority in real life – just in the right wing online world of TC ;
Cheer up – real life is better 🙂
Rynski, I’ve come to find out that solicitors cannot read…hence why you still get propaganda scattered about your door step. 😛
Another thing that I find really annoying, is those riots or whatever. You know, a bunch of people on one side of the street screaming and yelling about one side of an issue, and the same thing is happening on the other side of the street about the other side of that issue. All of them holding up enormous signs, and dressed up like clowns. This only causes a huge distraction, and the traffic gets backed up. Overall, I think these little rally’s are unsafe for the already-terrible Tucson drivers…not to mention aggravating when I’m trying to get somewhere and I get stuck in a huge mess of traffic. Ugh! 😛
hiya jennatoolz – thanks for input – and laugh. since the solicitors cannot read, maybe i’ll have to hook up an automatic recording that goes on if someone steps on the porch? or flashing lights and sirens? oh, now it’s going to be whole project (haha).
i also hear you on those pseudo-riot things. i also find them horrible. i was actually going to try and research how many fender-benders they cause but that would be too formidable a task. first i’d have to compile all the whens/wheres all those things were going on and then compare accident reports, provided the crashes were reported….
i don’t really have time for that now that i have to hook up sirens and lights to my porch (haha).
haha, a siren would be amazing! I’d install a hidden camera as well so you can catch the surprised looks on these peoples faces! It would be hilarious!! 😛
I just thought of another annoying propaganda thing you didn’t mention. There’s nothing like hopping in your car after a trip to the mall, then realizing theres a large piece of flyer trapped under your windshield wiper. Often, I’ll already be in my car, buckled in and ready to go…then I’ll notice the flyer, and have to get right back out of the car to take it off. As I do this, I take notice of the hundreds of the same flyer all over the parking lot. Not very friendly to the environment, if you ask me!
more good points, jennatoolz.
like the hidden camera idea – then i could blog slide shows with all the funny photos of surprise.
i now wonder how many fender-benders were caused by initially unnoticed fliers blocking windshields (hahah).
…and every time i see such mass littering, all i imagine is another forest ruined and all that wildlife that has to come live in our backyards now until people complain and then shoot a jaguar….
I think that most people do not realize that government at the lowest levels – city council, county government, state government – has the greatest effect on our day-to-day lives. Because they fail to realize that, many people don’t inform themselves and do not vote in these elections. If you wish to bite your nose to spite your face and vote for candidates about – at the worst – whom you now nothing or very little, that’s your privilege as an American. These candidates are desperately working to let you know where they stand on the critical issues that will affect you every day!!! This is different from solicitations that sell products. People get the government they deserve. It’s just a shame that the rest of us have to suffer with the rest!
Hi Francine,
thanks for your input. i definitely see your point. i also agree that random votes, or those based on the flip of a coin or other less-than-practical methods (i.e. my “scientific” anti-propaganda determination) may not put the most ideal folks in office.
also wholly agree with your statement: “It’s just a shame that the rest of us have to suffer with the rest!”
it is a shame. but it seems that’s one of america’s “beauties” all around – that a few can make it crappy for everyone, no?
Mornin’ Ryn.
I’m guessing you’re registered as a Democrat. Candidate material is generally aimed at those of the same party affiliation. I think the primary purpose is to increase the numbers of party X that go to the polls or vote by mail.
The bulk of it is sent out toward the end of the election cycle, by which time my research is done and my choices have been made. Plonk…unread.
hiya korek –
thanks for bringing up a very interesting tidbit on candidate material distribution. never thought about it that way nor did i really think anyone was targeted. i thought it was more of a random spew.
one would think the candidates from OTHER parties would be the ones leaving propaganda to try and woo the voters to new territory or affiliations.
Don’t know if that tidbit makes things better or worse (haha), but it is very interesting nonetheless.
Woo-Hoo! I’m behind you all the way!
thanks! i can tell you have a good head on shoulders from your flower in it!
Now, if some watchdog outfit could provide us with facts regarding who’s pocket each candidate is in on one of these fliers, it might actually prove useful.
maybe it’s in the fine print? should i send you the stuff that was left on my doorstep so you can look? hahah
Rynski! This is serious s…tuff! Try to get in some satirical jabs at the sneaky, underhanded, double dealing, sorry state of politics in our fair city/state, and Rynski’s makin’ jokes… 🙂
PS- these fliers make excellent bird cage liners.
In a way I can sympathize with your reaction to the annoyance of campaign propaganda. I boycott products or services that offend my sensibilities. I avoid secular businesses that display the Jesus fish, and I refuse to eat at Carl’s Jr (I love edgy, but their commercials are only edgy if you are an immature 20 something with a superiority complex.) Voting with my wallet, if you will.
I’m not losing out on anything, as there are plenty of other businesses and burgers out there. Plus, I can go out and buy a Big Carl (I keep wanting to call it a Hot Carl, which just keeps me further away from Carl’s Jr.) anytime I want. It doesn’t work that way with our elected officials. Absent a recall, we’re stuck with them for their entire term.
I know that a lot of people will argue that all politicians are interchangeable and equally ineffectual, but this really untrue. There are differences. Even the cynic that believes that pols only screw things up must realize that each candidate is going to screw it up in a different way. To be responsible, they still need to decide which mess is better.
You might as well base your vote on the candidates haircut and shoes, as that is just as meaningful.
Actually, as I typed the last sentence in the above post, I realized that I definitely would pay more attention to a candidate that had the balls to break out of the mold and sport a haircut and shoes like yours.
My ultimate vote would still be based on platform ‘tho.
hahahha!
I won’t vote to any candidate who puts up those annoying signs in the road. The more signs you have, the more I vote for the other guy.
Especially if they are illegally in the right of way. If they violate the law on their signs, who can trust them.
good point, dale. unlawful signs can just be an indication of more deeply seated lawbreaking waiting to happen….funny but true.
Sorry we didn’t have any candy bars to sell you. We were just giving lit bundles. I’m sure you would have to the Publisher’s Clearing House to sod off as well if they tried to give you things.
Huh? Can you read your “lit bundles”? Look up the definition of “Go Away” and “No Soliciting”. Some people want this stuff, others don’t.
In regards the no trespassing and no coliciting signs which accompany the blog, sorry but neither apply to political campaigners. Political campaigners, according to LAW are exempt from the no solicitation thing, even on private property unless the gated entry is locked.
Geez, so only the rich are not subjected to this crap? Who the hell would let this law pass…never mind. How about, “Go Away”? Is that not plain enough? Oh, the overwhelming concerns of the potential candidates override ANY rights or respect whatsoever. Is it any wonder why politicians have such low esteem in the public’s eye?
I got a recorded message from former Mayor George Miller telling me to vote the way I had planned….now I wonder if I should change my mind.
I have a periwinkle hued brick wall by my front door and wrote on it with magic marker – No soliciting No bible thumping
People still come to the door to solicit. Obviously, they can’t read. Or they say — I’m not selling anything but… Unless you’re invited, you shouldn’t be at my door.
I have nothing against religion, I just don’t like to be interrupted with people trying to get me interested in door to door bible study. I consider that religious spam.
I see these people walk up the driveway and before knocking pause and then walk away but not without leaving their literature on the step.
“but, I’m not selling anything…”everybody is sellin’ something, be it God, ‘indespensible knowledge’ or widgets. 🙂
Hiya Ryski,
I agree I am annoyed by the infomail, the knocks on the door, and the phone calls when I am relaxing. Really an unprofessional approach but then who are the majority of voters. I vote on the issues and on the peeps running for office. No doubt their job is not easy, however Tucson is lagging the country in many area’s protecting their citizens. 1) Transportation in the city and the dangerous traffic signals which can easily be shown to create hazardous situations. 2) The photo enforcement which is purely for revenue. 3)The misuse of the police force to bring in revenue by ticketing. Which creates the situation for no. 4) The lackadaisical response of our police force to crime. My house was broken into and I had $8000 worth of equipment stolen and it took 2 weeks, 6 phone calls, and a threat to go to the city council for the police to show up. 5) The lack of protective laws for green citizens who are not driving cars but riding bikes, and are injured or killed by cars. 7) The backwards mentality for promoting new business. Have I said enough. The list continues. I hope the new city council is more responsible, if not then I hope citizens command for change.
I also believe in voting for the peeps regardless of the party they represent. Lets face it, their are bad choices in either camp. Instead, whoever they are, they must earn my vote and my respect by being smart, and doing the right thing for the community.
Respectfully Responding