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DeviantBraeburn Wandering Jew from Dysfunctional California Since: Aug, 2012
Wandering Jew
#50777: Mar 7th 2013 at 12:32:21 AM

Rand Paul’s filibuster in opposition to Brennan, drone policy ends after nearly 13 hours

You have to admire his stamina.

Everything is Possible. But some things are more Probable than others. JEBAGEDDON 2016
Serocco Serocco from Miami, Florida Since: Mar, 2010 Relationship Status: Faithful to 2D
Serocco
#50778: Mar 7th 2013 at 1:47:45 AM

Where were you, Elizabeth Warren? Sherrod Brown? Bernie Sanders?

Where were you when the Republican cared more about civil liberties than you?

In RWBY, every girl is Best Girl.
Medinoc from France (Before Recorded History)
#50779: Mar 7th 2013 at 3:18:57 AM

Re "Ban on early abortions": I'm not sure I understand: To me, it bans late abortions, or we don't have the same notion of "early".

"And as long as a sack of shit is not a good thing to be, chivalry will never die."
Bluesqueak Since: Jan, 2010
#50780: Mar 7th 2013 at 5:30:32 AM

the poor have trouble taking time off to vote

This may be me being incredibly thick, but why should you need time off to vote? Polling stations in the UK are open from 7am to 10pm, specifically so that people do not have to take time off work to vote.

It ain't over 'till the ring hits the lava.
DrTentacles Cephalopod Lothario from Land of the Deep Ones Since: Jul, 2012 Relationship Status: Having tea with Cthulhu
Cephalopod Lothario
#50781: Mar 7th 2013 at 5:52:53 AM

[up] In the US, they often aren't open that late (especially in Democratic districts.), and the poor tend to work multiple jobs.

Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#50782: Mar 7th 2013 at 6:43:13 AM

Also, election days in the U.S. are not holidays. It can take hours to vote in some districts and a poor person can literally lose their job for taking time off to vote.

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
Greenmantle V from Greater Wessex, Britannia Since: Feb, 2010 Relationship Status: Hiding
V
#50783: Mar 7th 2013 at 6:55:57 AM

Election Days in the UK are not Holidays. And since you have to pre-Register*

, it normally takes a few minutes to vote, since every ward has a Polling Station.

edited 7th Mar '13 6:57:06 AM by Greenmantle

Keep Rolling On
Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#50784: Mar 7th 2013 at 7:03:31 AM

It's not a coincidence that the poorest districts in the U.S. tend to vote Democrat and also have some of the longest lines to vote.

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
deathpigeon Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: One True Dodecahedron
#50785: Mar 7th 2013 at 7:19:18 AM

Adding to this, a lot of people on the far-left end are completely disillusioned with the electoral system and can't be arsed to get out and vote at all.

That's me, for the most part. The way I see it, while the Republicans are definitely worse than the Democrats, the Democrats aren't much better. Sure, they have better economic policies, but, to me, the choice is between being tortured to death (Republicans) and being shot in the head (Democrats). Sure, I'd prefer being shot in the head over tortured to death, but do I really want to be shot in the head?

On a side note, I consider the Greens to be far to moderate for me. I mean, they're reformists, and I don't think reformism will ever achieve the results I seek while constrained within a hierarchical society.

MarqFJA The Cosmopolitan Fictioneer from Deserts of the Middle East (Before Recorded History) Relationship Status: Anime is my true love
The Cosmopolitan Fictioneer
#50786: Mar 7th 2013 at 7:21:27 AM

NYPD will arrest you for carrying condoms
... Seriously?!

From Braeburn's filibuster story:

The record for the longest filibuster belongs to Sen. Strom Thurmond, who spoke for 24 hours and 18 minutes beginning on Aug. 28, 1957, in opposition to civil rights legislation.
Does that include the inevitable breaks for meals, washroom stuff, and a good ol' night of sleep?

Fiat iustitia, et pereat mundus.
Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#50787: Mar 7th 2013 at 7:21:56 AM

Maybe he had a catheter? More seriously, you can get colleagues to hold the floor for you while you take breaks.

edited 7th Mar '13 7:22:22 AM by Fighteer

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
Greenmantle V from Greater Wessex, Britannia Since: Feb, 2010 Relationship Status: Hiding
V
#50788: Mar 7th 2013 at 8:07:41 AM

It's not a coincidence that the poorest districts in the U.S. tend to vote Democrat and also have some of the longest lines to vote.

How big is a US Ward?

In Britain, a Ward is often a village (or part of one), or even a part of a Housing Estate — there are 7707 individual Wards alone in England. Each of those has a Councillor, that sits in their Local Council, and each has its own Polling Station, which is used for all Elections. They can be in Church Halls, Community Centres, Schools & Leisure Centres, or even in a temporary Portacabin. As such, queues to vote are rare.

edited 7th Mar '13 8:10:55 AM by Greenmantle

Keep Rolling On
RadicalTaoist scratching at .8, just hopin' from the #GUniverse Since: Jan, 2001
scratching at .8, just hopin'
#50789: Mar 7th 2013 at 8:13:26 AM

@Serocco: I'd like to know. Maybe they were cheering Wyden on.

@Greenmantle: we call them "districts" in the U.S. (and "ridings" in Canada, if you were wondering). How large they are depend on how crazy the last round of gerrymandering was.

Share it so that people can get into this conversation, 'cause we're not the only ones who think like this.
Greenmantle V from Greater Wessex, Britannia Since: Feb, 2010 Relationship Status: Hiding
V
#50790: Mar 7th 2013 at 8:18:49 AM

In British, sizes of Wards and Constituencies are set by the Boundary Commissions. Electoral Matters are the responsibility of the Electoral Commission.

Basically, our Elections are Run by Non-Governmental, Independent Bodies.

edited 7th Mar '13 8:19:26 AM by Greenmantle

Keep Rolling On
Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#50791: Mar 7th 2013 at 8:19:34 AM

In the United States, they are set by whichever party is in power in each state, and therefore arranged in whatever way is most inconvenient for the voters that they don't like. That is, except in states monitored by the Voting Rights Act, which is currently in front of the Supreme Court on the grounds of being "obsolete".

edited 7th Mar '13 8:20:24 AM by Fighteer

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
Zendervai Since: Oct, 2009
#50792: Mar 7th 2013 at 8:20:42 AM

In Canada they're arranged by population. In most of Canada they're kind of big, but the Greater Toronto Area has a ton of tiny ridings mostly because 20% of the population is in the GTA. Also, the ridings are fixed until the population changes enough. The last reorganization was in 2003 and we're having another one.

Random fact spoiled to prevent derail: The GTA is: the Amalgamated City of Toronto and 24 other cities in Durham, Peel, York and and Halton regions. Occasionally the Hamilton region is included in which case, the Greater-Toronto-Hamilton Area is one of the top 50 most populated places in the world.

edited 7th Mar '13 8:28:50 AM by Zendervai

tclittle Professional Forum Ninja from Somewhere Down in Texas Since: Apr, 2010
Professional Forum Ninja
#50793: Mar 7th 2013 at 8:21:43 AM

[up][up] Even then, the party in charge still has some strong power over the process, see Texas in the last two rounds of it.

"We're all paper, we're all scissors, we're all fightin' with our mirrors, scared we'll never find somebody to love."
SeptimusHeap from Switzerland (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Mu
#50794: Mar 7th 2013 at 8:23:12 AM

The only requirement for electoral districts in the US is that they a) need to have roughly similar populations and b) that they may not be set in racially discriminatory ways. I recall that courts have explicitly stated that politically-biased redistricting is OK as long as it meets the previous standards (And that is easy to do).

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Belian In honor of my 50lb pup from 42 Since: Jan, 2001
In honor of my 50lb pup
#50796: Mar 7th 2013 at 8:26:22 AM

@ 50791...With a couple of exceptions. There are a few places where a couple people get locked into a room and do the best they can to be non-political.

The biggest problem with fixing it is that the people who would change it are the ones that are using it the way it is. And the people who vote for them like it because it lets them get what they want without worrying about the rest of the population.

Another thing you have to remember: the US is HUGE and the government has to pay the people who work the polls. It doesn't pay a lot, but it can still be a significaint expense for the government. Why would they put up more polling places than they need? This means that some districts in the countryside are rather large and your polling place could be quite a ways away.

edited 7th Mar '13 8:28:03 AM by Belian

Yu hav nat sein bod speeling unntil know. (cacke four undersandig tis)the cake is a lie!
Greenmantle V from Greater Wessex, Britannia Since: Feb, 2010 Relationship Status: Hiding
V
#50797: Mar 7th 2013 at 8:27:02 AM

Has anyone tried the Bright Idea of removing parties' control over the organising of Elections?

Keep Rolling On
Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#50798: Mar 7th 2013 at 8:28:28 AM

Of course, but as noted, to do that, you'd need the people in power to vote for it, when the status quo benefits them.

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
Greenmantle V from Greater Wessex, Britannia Since: Feb, 2010 Relationship Status: Hiding
V
#50799: Mar 7th 2013 at 8:33:52 AM

* Sigh *

I shouldn't be surprised, really. But I guess change in the US Electoral System won't happen until a big enough abuse happens that can't be ignored...but that won't happen either.

Keep Rolling On
QuestionMarc Since: Oct, 2011 Relationship Status: Having tea with Cthulhu
#50800: Mar 7th 2013 at 8:34:11 AM

Did you try telling them how you felt about this situation?

Maybe try to convince them that you're gonna move to Canada?


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