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There is no way this country is going to elect a woman or a black man with a mid east sounding name. There are way too many nascar fans for that to even be possible. Democrats' only hope is if this McCain affair thing turns up something that upsets the evangelicals. Get ready for more of the same.
...Flaco send me an email. I dont have yours and I got a Deso/Gray in July.
No, he's saying if you haven't served in the military, you don't have the right to criticize a war (I think).
I'm the one saying if you haven't been in the military, you shouldn't have the right to vote. But I make exceptions for other types of non-military public service.
The torture policy advanced by Cheney/Rumsfield with the passive/tacit approval of Bush is the shame of our military's lifetime. It is not preventing any loss of life, and is perhaps costing them. It is also undermining US diplomatic power by making us the equivalent of Cuba, North Korea, and so on.
I don't care that the terrorists don't bestow the Geneva Convention rights to others. They never signed it. We did. And contrary to popular belief, signatores to the Geneva Convention aren't just to give those rights to others who signed the accords, they are to give them to anyone we capture on the field of battle.
I will not let my government keep nameless people imprisoned without charge, indefinitely, in the name of my own protection.
Those who would sacrifice their liberty for security deserve neither (I think that was Ben Franklin, but I'm not sure)
You are dead on about a lot of points, but dead wrong on the military service requirement for voting. There is a reason we have civilian control of the military. Normally it would provide some sort of checks and balances as the civilian heads are subject to civilian vote. Our current mess comes from a couple of draft dodgers and influence awolies. Technically, Bush had military service, and look how it helped him formulate his strategy!
No it is important to have a mix of ex-military types and non-military types in office as it keeps multiple viewpoints heard. Same with voters. As far as elect ability, just looking at the nation wide trend of 2 dems voting per every 1 rep, shows the motivation in the dem camp and the apathy in the rep camp. That big get out the vote push on the rep side has backfired on them now. All the ultra conservatives are going to boycott the vote where the dems will show up in troves. The redneck nascar block will get lost trying to find the polls and independents will more then match their numbers.
No matter what, we will be better off. Anyone could do a better job then Bush running this country. Maybe we can have an energy policy that benefits the country, rather then the oilman. A tax policy that is responsible rather then giving money back to the top couple percent of earners. A foreign policy that actually promotes U.S. interests rather then training 10 fold more terrorists. An economic policy that works to create jobs here in the states rather then over seas would be helpful to the country too.....
“The tree of liberty, from time to time, must be refreshed with the blood of Patriots and Tryants.”
“I would rather be exposed to the inconviences attending too much liberty then those attending too small a degree of it.”
Thomas Jefferson
Anyone could do a better job then Bush running this country.
For years Republicans have been telling us about how ineptly-run the government is and for the last 7 years they've been doing their best to prove it.
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Nothing in the world is more yielding and gentle than water. Yet it has no equal for conquering the resistant and tough. The flexible can overcome the unbending; the soft can overcome the hard. - Lao Tse
For years Republicans have been telling us about how ineptly-run the government is and for the last 7 years they've been doing their best to prove it.
I feel like that's kinda the strategy when they're in power- starve the government agencies and push out the legacy folks that have all the experience; and then when they totally and completely fail (FEMA & Katrina) they tell us: "SEE?! SEE?! Government agencies don't work- that's why we should PRIVATIZE these types of government functions!"
Then out come the no-bid contracts, and the Old Boy network of political contributors. And we all know how that turns out.
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"This is the reason why your headache didn't go away: That's actually pronounced analgesic, not anal-gesic. The pills go in your mouth."
There is no way this country is going to elect a woman or a black man with a mid east sounding name. There are way too many nascar fans for that to even be possible. Democrats' only hope is if this McCain affair thing turns up something that upsets the evangelicals. Get ready for more of the same.
I disagree- The republican secretaries of state can't steal enough votes this round. As the Republican vote swindlers look at the number of Dem's showing up at the primaries, they are realizing they can't purge the rolls with their caging list, convicted felon thing, provisional ballots, or multiple registration schemes. They need more than a few points this time. What to do, what to do???... ENTER RALPH NADER.
-d
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"I think I handled my alcohol pretty well considering how drunk I was." -Cousin Dan
For those of you who think military service should be a prerequisite for voting, do you think it is just a coincidence that your criteria for voting matches exactly your own resume?
You pay taxes, you vote. Taxation without representation- we fought a war over that one.
-d
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"I think I handled my alcohol pretty well considering how drunk I was." -Cousin Dan
I'm the "No service, no vote" guy. I got the idea from Heinlein's book "Starship Troopers". In it, only citizens can vote, but non-citizens (of a world-unified government) can participate fully in all other aspects of society. Citizenship is gained (in the book) only through service.
I advocate something like this policy because an uneducated electorate should not be voting, period. For me, it's not really that military service is required for full citizenship, but more of a philosophy that 1) Giving the right to vote to anyone is like giving the right to breed to anyone: You end up with a lot of stupid, lazy people dragging down the whole. 2) Voting should only be allowed to people who practice being educated about issues, candidates, and things beyond their own immediate needs.
And with regard to this policy I favor, I don't insist on military service. If you want to work in a hospital (weather as a doctor, cook, or candy striper), as a police officer, or even being the city dog catcher for a few years to prove you are willing to make a commitment to "the greater good" then that qualifies. A purely militaristic society isn't a good thing, either.
I don't see the problems of society getting better until we at least restrict the right to breed, and I don't see government getting better until we restrict the right to vote (or we adopt a parliamentary system where immediate dissatisfaction with the government can lead to its change).
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The real problem fundamentalists have with the theory of evolution is that it wasn't written on a sheepskin in the Bronze Age. Evolution is something science can't explain to willfully irrational people.
Population Connection: Learn More zero population growth is one of the concepts. seems like they renamed themselves. not only does the US not understand the concept but if I wanted to have 12 kids I could get tax breaks for all of them.
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"I'm not here to make a record, ya stupid cracker" Governor Pappy O Daniel
I agree that there are a lot of stupid people out there. Making them enter the military is not going to make them smarter, it is going to make them good at following orders.
If you want to fix the problem in general terms, work on better education as a whole. Spend the trillions from Iraq and general military expenditures on education, better pay for teachers, more research on more effective ways to educate. Teach about population control and the other issues you are bitching about.
Do you want to take away from people who already have little or give them tools to make themselves better? If the first, I see it quickly evolving into a slave society. You think there are predjudices now? Try it with citizens and non-citizens. Great, something else to fight about.
Your #2: If only educated people should vote, who writes the test I'd have to take before I enter the polling booth? If Republicans can discount enough votes to steal two presidential elections, imagine how easy it would be to bias an entrance exam to vote! The few percent they stole in the past would not compare. Or if the Dem's wrote the test; all they would have to ask was one question: "What is the minimum wage?" There goes 90% of the republican vote (the nascar fans would get it right though).
-d
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"I think I handled my alcohol pretty well considering how drunk I was." -Cousin Dan
Basing voting off a sci-fi book has to be just a little nutty. Now I do appreciate Heinlein's books, but it has been 25 years since I read them, and 49 years since Heinlein wrote Starship Troopers. There is no way a two tiered level of citizenship would fly in todays day and age. Starship was written, in part as a reaction to the threat of nuclear war and had to be influenced by the atrocities of WWII.
Through our history, various tactics were used to keep blacks, minorities, poor people and woman from voting. The ranged from outright bans to requirements to own property and poll taxes. None of these schemes have stood the test of time or a morally right test. There has been many a riot that can be blamed on the in-equities of society back then, and even now.
In the last presidential election, only about 40% of eligible voters actually voted. The argument could be made that most poor and uneducated folks did not vote. So being a ‘citizen’ does not really motivate people to get to a polling place. If they were more concerned how they were going to keep food on the table, or a pay the heating bill, they would not bother to get to a polling place to be intimidated by the repulsive machine. The key to improving the voters, is, of course education.
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