VOTE OR WE ALL DIE!!!

         Three days before an election, I like to remind people they are not required to vote.   In fact, your vote doesn’t matter.  It never does.  You have never cast a truly meaningful vote in your life.

         Every now and then, you read about an election in some small town in Arizona or Nebraska where the two candidates for mayor each got 67 votes, so they had to draw high cards or flip a coin to see who won.  It’s cute when that happens, but it almost never does.  I’ve never voted in an election like that, and probably neither have you.  In all the elections I have ever voted in, the fact that I cast my ballot for a guy meant that he got 37,583 votes rather than 37,582.  The winner would have been the same person whether I voted or whether I stayed home or whether I had never been born.  My one vote has NEVER mattered.  Neither has yours.

         So, when you are told you MUST vote and that the future of the American republic depends on it, it’s a lie.  Pay no attention to the people who tell you this. If they believe it, they are idiots, and if they don’t believe it (but say it anyway), they are just feeding you propaganda.

         Not that there’s anything wrong with voting, you understand.  What’s wrong is lying about it and attempting to shame those who don’t wish to vote or who don’t like the candidates or who have something better to do that day. 

           I almost always vote.  It’s fun.  It’s a social event, like a Phillies game. And like a Phillies game, I care who wins.  That’s why I root, and why I wear a Phillies cap to a game.

            But rooting for the Phillies or wearing a Phillies cap doesn’t make it more likely the Phillies will win.  And voting doesn’t make it more likely that the person you vote for will win.

         Do what you like.  Just don’t kid yourself or let others manipulate you.

Copyright2026MichaelKubacki

THE ANONYMOUS JANE DOE

         The woman in the Cornell 7 rape story remains unidentified, at least officially.  It’s difficult to see why, or what interest is being protected.

         Across the country, prosecutors, newspapers and broadcasters routinely conceal the name and identity of alleged rape victims from the public.  It can, at times, be a debatable practice, though I don’t plan to debate it here.  When we are dealing with a criminal case, it is often justifiable, and it is easy enough to do.  Since a criminal complaint is usually entitled “The State of X vs. The Accused Guy,” there is no need for the victim’s name to appear in the title of a public record, and with a judge’s permission, a pseudonym can be used in the body of the indictment.  Journalists don’t fight the practice, and the alleged victim becomes “Jane Doe.”

         In a civil lawsuit, the situation is completely different.  Rules of procedure (the Federal Rules, for example), usually state that the plaintiff’s name MUST appear in the caption of the complaint.  Since the case only exists because the plaintiff chooses to file suit, normally looking for money damages, anonymity is hard to justify.  If you don’t want your name in the papers, just don’t file suit.

         In some jurisdictions, however, a plaintiff may apply for a court’s permission to file a complaint anonymously, and the court may (rarely) grant such a motion under extraordinary circumstances.  That is what happened here.

         But why?  At this point, what possible justification can there be for the State of New York to conceal her identity?  The grant of anonymity is simply more evidence of the ridiculous level of deference she is being paid by Governor Hochul and the Attorney General.

         Let’s not forget what this woman has already done.  Two years ago, after she belatedly decided she had not really consented to all the things she had consented to, the local prosecutor investigated her claims, interviewed witnesses, and determined there was no criminal case to pursue.  Then she got Cornell itself involved on her behalf, suspending two of the young men she accused, expelling two others, and shutting down the entire frat house.  That, however, was not enough for this unnamed wrecking ball.  Now, she has filed a civil suit and seeks to get well paid for all the horrors she endured, most of which she herself initiated.

         And still, she’s just Jane Doe?  She didn’t have to do any of this, of course, and originally she wasn’t going to because she had viewed herself (correctly), as a willing participant.  But now that she’s making a career of it, why can’t we at least be told who she is?

Copyright2026MichaelKubacki