VOTE

Relishing in our new digital converter box this past Saturday night, I turned on the ol' tube to watch, dare I say it, the now funny-again SNL. During a commercial break, the following Starbucks ad certainly caught my attention:

Perhaps it has been so long since I've watched actual broadcast television that I completely missed all the telltale signs, but I didn't realize it was Starbucks commercial until that fact was actually revealed near to the end of the ad. I felt both surprised and duped.

I understand Starbucks' product is coffee and that they want to offer an incentive to come by their shops (because no doubt you'll add a pumpkin cream-cheese muffin to that free java), but it just seems a bit odd to offer someone a stimulant in exchange for patriotism.

With Oregon's mail-in ballot system, the events of tomorrow are feeling a bit like a spectator activity -- I actually dropped my ballot off last Tuesday (I guess that makes my coffee a week overdue). Even if there aren't poles to visit, I'm still happy to have contributed to my county's 64% voter turnout thus far:

All of that aside, I heard a woman on the radio from Texas today say she wasn't going to vote tomorrow because she was busy. Hers is a blunt reminder that many people out there are still unmoved by the political process. Whether you're a nail-biting political junkie who's been keeping tabs on the events leading up to this election for the past few years or you just happen to like coffee, I implore you, my friends, loved ones and casual passerby: Please exercise your right to vote.