Sunday, October 26, 2008

Bite Me Rock The Vote

Like a good American, I sent in my voter registration on August 28 of 2008, well before the October deadline. Like a good fan of Rock and Roll, I used Rock The Vote for my registration. On October 14th I called into voter registration in my neighborhood only to find out that my registration was not processed and I will not be able to vote in the 2008 presidential election.

That's when I decided to give Rock The Vote, an organization that I, the band's I manage and my company have endorsed for years and years ... a piece of my mind.

Submitted on October 14, 2008
Full name David J Ciancio
Subject General Question
Message Less of a question and more of a complaint. I followed your
registration directions to the letter only to find out my registration
did not go through. I could not be more frustrated and angry. I've
been waiting for a follow up email, phone call, mail package to let me
know and nothing has arrived. I called today to find out and it turns
out I am not registered. Your system could use some upgrades. I can
get a million updates a day from myspace but nothing from my voter
registration? C'mon. David J. Ciancio


To Rock The Vote's credit, they sent me a very prompt response;

Alison Porter

to me
show details Oct 15 (11 days ago)
Reply

David-

We actually do not have any access to your personal information, only
your Secretary of State or Board of Elections has this power. We are
only here to provide people with an easier way to register and help
with questions about voting. I apologize that your registration forms
were not processed, but that is your state's fault. Depending on how
long ago you sent in your forms, there is a chance that it has yet to
be processed. At this time of year it can take a month and maybe even
longer to process your forms depending on your state.

Alison Porter
Rock the Vote


And while that was very nice of them, it certainly didn't address my issue and I wrote them another letter;

Alison

Thank you for the personal and quick response. I wish your business service was as good as your customer service. Unfortunately for me and for this country, even though I followed the registration instructions to the letter and well in advance, I'm am not registered to vote in this election.

I suggest RTV look into ways to tracking the registration process more carefully and in depth. If the ups can tell us the status of a delivery, the dmv can give you up to date information on violations and igoogle can remind us of everything, the technology certainly exists.

On that note, my company manages artists who have helped to promote RTV campaigns and for years have supported the company through a myriad of campaigns, I'm sad to say, this will cause a turn in our devotion. We want people to vote but we want reliability and I don't think its wrong to demand the same from a registration company the same thing that we demand from our political leaders.

Thank you


This letter never received a response. I am quite perturbed and disappointed with a company I so loving supported. Flash forward to yesterday when I received the following mass in email in my account;

It appears that the New York State Board of Elections is not processing some voter registration forms in a timely manner. (Rumor has it there are at least 35,000-40,000 forms in the backlog).

So, we’re taking action immediately. We need to make sure every single eligible person who mailed a registration application to the NY Board of Elections is properly registered and able to vote on Tuesday November 4th.

Please check your registration TODAY at https://voterlookup.elections.state.ny.us/votersearch.aspx. Please email us at Vote@rockthevote.com if you have encountered a similar problem.

Record numbers of people are registering to vote this year. That is a good thing. Elections officials should be praising you, not screwing you over.

Read the entire blog here.

I click the link and of course, I am not registered. My disgust is at an all time high. First they screw me, then deny responsibility / take the blame and come to find out, there is indeed a problem with their system?

Screw you Rock The Vote. Bite me where the sun doesn't shine.

As for the state of New York, one less Obama supporter is going to be able to vote so please don't let me down.

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Tour De Bronx 2008



What's the perfect thing to do on a cold and sunny, Sunday in October. Go for a 40 mile bike ride in The Bronx! Specifically, the 14th Annual Tour De Bronx (http://www.tourdebronx.org/). It's billed as "New York's Largest Free Cycling Event" and boy did it show! It was a fun day but too many amateur rides and too many turns on a course that was not well planned. The Bronx police even got us lost at one point! By about the 35th mile, we decided we had enough. After burning several thousand calories, it was time to head back into the city via the 5 train and help ourselves to a beef touchdown at The Shake Shack http://www.shakeshacknyc.com/)!

A great way to end the riding season!





LINK TO ALL PHOTOS

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Tuesday, October 14, 2008

850 Miles!!!!!!!!!!!!

At the end of the 2007 season, i had ridden 820 miles on my bike. I set a 2008 goal of 850 and as of this very morning, I overcame the goal with 854 total miles. I'd like to take a moment to pat myself on the back for a job well done.

From 850 Miles


I would also like to thank everyone else that rode with me this summer. We shared a lot of interesting paths, a roller coaster, a gigantic trophy, the tragedy of a lost wallet, a windy bridge and a lot of great food.

From 850 Miles


None of this would be possible without you. I was told never to forgot the little people; Hi Jackie!



From 850 Miles

Thursday, October 2, 2008

Sarah Palin Drinking Game

It's sweeping the nation in bars every where, its the SARAH PALIN DRINKING GAME! And who better to bring it to you than Sobriety Is For Assholes . As the McCain / Palin ticket drives more and more of us to drink, it's better to establish rules.

WHEN SARAH SAYS -- YOU DRINK
Alaska -- 1 sip
Hockey mom -- 2 sips of beer
Joe Six Pack -- 6 sips of beer
Wall St and Main St
-- 1 sip Scotch washed by 1 sip of Bud Lite
Saturday Night Live -- 1 tequila SLAMMER
Maverick -- 1 shot
Oil Reserves -- Jagermeister shot
Bless
-- 1 sip of white wine
"Nuke-Yoo-Lerr"
-- 1 Jager BOMB
June Cleaverisms I.E. Gosh,Golly, Darn, Betcha, Heck, Doggoneit, etc -- Wine Spritzer
Pro-life -- 1 Aborted Fetus shot (Pour peach in standard shot glass. then pour cream over a spoon for the layer, last drop grenadine down center slowly to create the fetus.) ITS REAL - CLICK HERE


Special thanks to my fellow Tweeters.

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

September 26th - Steak Club 7



Steak Club 7 goes to the big easy and finds out some-bunny loves them.

Click here for details.