Election Day in the U.S.A.

America will vote. Trump will lose. Trump will leave.

...and the rest of the World will take a deep sigh of relief, with the singular exception of the autocrat Vladimir Putin and Russia.

Elections have consequences, so vote, vote, vote!

SP Elections: Last Chance to Vote!

The Second Pride elections end today at 12 AM (midnight) SLT. If you want a chance to influence the selection of Marketing Director and Building Director you need to get your vote in.

The candidates for Marketing Director are
1. Jimmy Augustus-Gracemount (jimmmmmy) url or
2. Kaiden Brandt (Kalculate) url

The candidates for Building Director are
1. Sтαятєя Ɛνєηѕтαяя (starter232) url or
2. Dҽʋιɳ Kɳιɠԋƚ Dɾαƙσɳ (devindevin1111) url

(The url's lead to each of the candidates statements at the Second Pride website)

How to decide whom to vote for
So how do you choose whom to vote for?

There are multiple techniques used by voters throughout democratic history to decide on whom they vote.

A) Beauty Pageant/Talent Pageant
This technique is mostly used by people who are completely uninterested in politics or ideology. They look at the pictures of the different candidates and decide on that fact alone which candidate they will vote for.

"They have beautiful hair/eyes/body/nails/feet", "They are so sexy", "I don't like their eyes, they look mean" or "I would do them", are the answers you most often get when you ask the voters how they decided.

B) Relationship
This method is usually used by voters more interested in relationships than politics/ideology. They will rather vote for someone they or their friends known and like than someone they don't know, and definitely, rather than someone they or their friends dislike for whatever transgression/reason through the history of mankind.

"I know them, they are an asshole", "They are good people", "My friend says they are batshit crazy and drama-seekers", "Their partner is a friend of my friend and they are so nice" or "variations of "The enemy of my enemy is my friend".

C) Analytical
This method is used by people who don't give a shit about anything else than if the person is qualified for the job. These are the people that will read the candidate statements and decide based mainly on that, and maybe check their references or previous work history.

"I trust they can do the job", "They seem to be qualified enough", "I've seen their work before and they seem trustworthy", "They seem to have the right priorities", "I like how they think".

D) Haphazard/Lottery
This method is good when everything else fails and you still see the choices as equally good or if all the above methods fail.

Flip a coin, and let that decide.

"I don't know any of them", "They both look great", "Both of them see qualified to do the job"
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There now you do not have an excuse not to vote. Get the f*** off your ass and teleport to the Polling Place (SLurl) at the second pride sim.

VOTE! VOTE! VOTE!

I Want You...

...to vote in the Second Pride board election, if you are a member of the Second Pride Festival Group!

You only have until 12.00 AM (midnight) SLT on September 26, 2018. The sooner you do it, the better it is (for my piece of mind). So go, just do it NOW!

Go here to vote: Polling Place (SLurl).

Pick up a ballot at the entrance and follow the instructions. It's easy-peasy.

SP Board Election: Voting September 1 - 8

Get your asses in gear, members of Second Pride. Voting in the board election started today and continues through midnight September 8.

You have two positions to choose your preferred candidate for, Marketing and Build.

If you haven't read up on the candidates running for the position before - you slackers - you can do so before voting by going to the Second Pride website (url). Click the 2018 Election tab and a roll down menu will pop-down.

In the menu, you can find the candidate statements and their responses to the questions that have been posed to them.

To vote, go to the Second Pride sim (url), there will be voting booths set up for your voting-convenience.

Click the candidate you wish to vote for and you get a blue menu. "Address" is just a note card, when you click "Vote" it will register your vote.

Still Shattered &Disillusioned

Following the American presidential election and Brexit referendum in Great Britain has now given me a sound skepticism towards opinion polls. I will never trust their results again,

Ever since I saw the final results in both these elections my thought wander off to somehow come up with as viable explanation - I am getting nowhere and then I just feel a great sadness.

I have to leave it behind or I will go crazy.

It Works Now, But... (Updated)

The Second Pride website crashed spectacularly a while back.

Work has since been going on to revive it again. There seems to be some progress as this is what I got when I just tried.

However, even if it will be in order soon - according to the original timeframe decided upon - the candidate statements should have been posted there on August 31, 2016, and there was to be a questions and comments period going on right now until the evening today. 

The actual voting should start tomorrow and go on until wednesday, if the board doesn't decide anything else considering the unforeseeable server-crash. 

I strongly encourage the board to first see to it that the website is up and in working order, then decide on a new timeframe for the elections. After all the eligible voters have not been able to know who the candidates are or to pose questions to them.

Update (after a fast response from the board of directors)

I have been informed that work is feverishly going on on the new website (they have to work from scratch).
LLedge Eames, the chair of SP, and Karl Kalchek, the chair of the election committee, after a discussion yesterday, agreed that the goal is to post candidate statements during this weekend. The timeline for the election will be adjusted, once they have access to the  website.
The candidates that have stepped forward have been informed of the above.
Viktor Sandamn, the secretary of Second Pride, will post a notice concerning this to the Second Pride Festival Group today.

"Republicans May Vote For Bock", Laird Says

If you ever needed final proof that The Much Honored Bock McMillan, laird of Southern Charm etc. etc, is a softy, you got it today when the Laird's Household released the following statement. 

"My heart goes out to my Republican friends in the United States of America as they must choose a presidential candidate  among the bigoted, neo-fascist and despicable losers that have offered their names for consideration. They face the choice between pestilence and cholera, and there is no lesser evil among them.

After much contemplation and soul searching I have come to the firmly held belief that I must act to give the G.O.P. a reasonable and sane candidate at the upcoming convention. 

Although I do not share the usual Republican belief that economical issues and taxes are more important than human rights, I still feel they need to offer ya'll a better lineup to choose from.

Here are my positions on a couple of the issues in this year's political conversation. 

I am for

• equal rights and opportunities for all human beings

• a separation of state and church (incl. the removal of references to God on money)

• a woman's right to choose anything that concerns her body

• universal and comprehensive health care and expanding the ACA further

• very strict gun control

• same-sex marriage and adoptions

• a photo ID being required to vote

• continued government funding of Planned Parenthood

• health control providers being required to offer free birth control 

• requiring that businesses have both women and men on their board of directors

• the military allowing both women and men to serve in combat roles 

• legalization of marijuana

• raising the debt ceiling

• raising the minimum wage

• businesses being required to provide paid maternity leave for full-time employees

• trade unions

• affirmative actions

• increased government environmental regulations to prevent global warming

• the U.S. remaining in the United Nations

• declaring war on ISIS

• increased foreign aid spending

• government funding of stem cell research

I am against

• the death penalty

• secular business being able to deny service due to their religious beliefs

• states displaying the racist Confederate flag on government property

• cuts in public spending to reduce national debt

• juveniles being sent to prison and the use of solitary confinement for them

I believe in 

• the theory of evolution

---

To avoid any "birther issues", please let me refer you to Second Life, who can attest to the fact that Bock McMillan was born on March 11th, 1997, on a server placed in California, U.S.A. I am therefore a "natural born citizen" of the United States of America. 

I offer my name with pride and confidence that you will do that right thing! Now the ball is in your court. It's easy peasy, just write me in next time you vote!

Yours always,

Bock McMillan

Laird of Southern Charm etc. etc. 

Vote! Vote! Vote!

It's time to perform your civic duties once again!

Go vote for next year's board of directors of Second Pride.

Here is your landmark to the Voting Booth at the Second Pride sim! (Link updated! Thanks Petr and Kahvy!)

Voting is open through Wednesday (SLT)

P.S. Parts of this post was mistakenly posted yesterday evening (CET), I don't function properly when I am tired.

SP Meeting Today@2:30 PM

General Meeting in the Second Pride Headquarters Conference Hall (SLurl) today Saturday June 13, 2015, at 2.30 PM SLT

Agenda
1. Call to order

2. Bylaw changes

Ratification of bylaw changes posted on the website and passed on May 17, 2015

3. Board vacancies

Board vote to fill the vacant Secretary seat

4. Motion to adjourn
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And following shortly after this meeting we have

PRIDE WEEK IN SL!

Friday June 19th - Sunday June 28th

Thank You, Our Irish Straight Allies!

As Rachel Maddow, the television host of the MSNBC has said: “Here’s the thing about rights – they’re not actually supposed to be voted on. That’s why there’re called rights.”

But in the case of Ireland there was a definition of marriage written into the constitution, so to have it changed there was a constitutional requirement to put it to a ballot of the Irish people.

And according to all analysts the outcome is already clear, based on among other things by the huge voter turnout and the fact that even usually conservative constituencies have voted Tá/Yes. The only question now seems to be if any of the 43 constituencies will return a Níl/No-vote.

You can follow the counting here Irish referendum - Results by constituency. From there you can click on the detailed listing on the upper left of the page.

An Irish Cabinet minister, Leo Varadkar, who came out as gay at the start of the government's campaign, said: "We're the first country in the world to enshrine marriage equality in our constitution and do so by popular mandate. That makes us a beacon, a light to the rest of the world of liberty and equality. It's a very proud day to be Irish."

I could not agree with him more and would like to thank all our wonderful, sexy, beautiful, amazing, wonderful, marvelous, awesome, wonderful, amazing, beautiful, wonderful  and down-right sexy straight-allies in Ireland! I love and adore you all! 

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

The Irish Referendum

Tomorrow Friday, May 22, the Irish electorate will take to the polls to vote on the Marriage Equality Referendum.

The electorate will be asked whether or not they approve of a Thirty-Fourth Amendment of the Constitution which proposes to add a new clause to the Article 41 of the Irish Constitution. If the referendum is passed, Article 41.4 will be added and read as follows: "Marriage may be contracted in accordance with law by two persons without distinction as to their sex."

I had originally planned to write a rant about how cowardly the Irish politicians are to let a matter of human rights be decided by a referendum, how gay rights are human rights and how it is every human beings inalienable right to pursue happiness in the way they choose.

However when reading up for this post, I encountered several reports stating that any change to the Irish constitution must be put to a vote, so there will be no rant today, alas... (If I have misunderstood something in this regard, please don't hesitate to tell me so, I feel a strong urge and need to have a good rant to cleanse my system!)

Instead I feel encouraged by the polls that seem to show that a huge majority of the wonderful Irish people will vote for the amendment, even if the naysayers seem to be catching up slowly as the day of the referendum has gotten closer.

Please join me in keeping your fingers crossed and hoping for a win for "Yes" in tomorrows referendum.

Vote for Your Favorite Anything in SL

Voting is now going on in SecondLife's 2013 Avi Choice Awards.

You can vote for absolutely a-n-y-t-h-i-n-g and e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g concerning SecondLife, from your favorite Skin Designer, Hair Designer, Avatar Accessories and Mens and Womens Apparel over your favorite groups, dance troupes, dance choreographers or  & AO-creators (male or female) to favorite blog/blogger, male Petite avatar-maker & machinima producer. Anything and everything I tell you, even your Favorite Linden. Just go there and start voting and see for yourself.

It is with great pride I noted that my friend, mentor and fellow Rhino Writer Eddi Haskell has been nominated in the category Favorite SL Blog/Blogger, that the awesome Arcangelo Hellman has been nominated in the category Favorite DJ,, that junivers Stockholm has been nominated as Favorite Male Musician and the Second Pride Festival in the category Favorite Event.

Go here to vote in SecondLife's 2013 Avi Choice Awards (url)

The voting ends on December 12 at 8:00 PM SLT.

Ruffled Feathers

It seems that my previous post "Rumors..." has annoyed and irritated some of the candidates. I have, among other things, been accused of rumor mongering and for tarnishing the name of Second Pride.

Arlain Morrison "Ruffled Feathers II"

Today I have been asked by two different candidates (names withheld) in IM never to mention their names on my blog again. I have replied that if they get elected to the board of Second Pride they will most likely be mentioned from time to time in the future. To one of them I also added that I would most certainly mention his/hers name if he/she was elected and then immediately resigned.

My intention with the post was simply to remind the candidates what they had promised us voters during the campaign, not to hurt their delicate feelings.

I Voted Today!

I voted in the election for the Second Pride board of 2014 today, at the earliest possible opportunity for me. As I had followed the forums and other activities closely during the campaign it was not difficult at all for me to decide whom I should vote for.

For a while I contemplated sharing how I voted for the different candidates with you, but I decided against it. I did so mainly because I did not want to influence you one way or the other.

Whom you vote for is a matter for you alone to decide. We trust or distrust people for a huge variety of different reasons and we all have our individual preferences and personal visions for the future of Second Pride.

All I ask of ya'll is that you do your part now and cast your votes. Your vote matters! And oh, just one more thing, rest assured the world will still spin and Second Pride will still survive whatever the outcome will be.

Be Responsible, Go Vote & Be Proud!

Just Do It !

Voting will commence in the election of the Second Pride board for 2014 at 00:01AM August 5th through midnight August 9th.

You must have joined the Second Pride Festival Group by midnight August 4th to be able to vote for your candidates.

Vote wisely, vote with care but above all just go it - VOTE!

Lena Dunham: Your First Time

(via J.M.G.)

I remember my first time too. How very important it felt to get it "right"! That was of course a very, very, long time ago and was way before I became a jaded and cynical old slut...

Vote, Vote, Vote

Voting has began for the 2013 Second Pride Festival Board.

Log onto the website at  http://second-pride.com/ to cast your vote.

Only votes by members of the Second Pride Festival group will be counted. If you are not registered (create a profile) on the website do so now...then vote.

Good luck to all the candidates

Don´t Forget To Vote

The registered members of Second Pride have from Saturday July 23rd until Saturday July 30th to vote for the Board of Second Pride 2012.

For easy voting first login on the Voting Platorm, then use the links for the different positions that are conveniently provided in the e-mail that has been sent to you from Second Pride.

Bock McMillan says: <---------------------VOTED!