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Edited by Mrph1 on Nov 30th 2023 at 11:03:59 AM

Wildcard Since: Jun, 2012
#52126: Apr 2nd 2013 at 12:43:47 PM

I think the biggest secret of this forum is we are all quite weird and nobody wants to admit it.tongue

Yeah Starship and I'm the guy who's gonna hand out abortions like candy, make Christians not allowed to marry, take up all the guns for the government, and censor anybody who disagrees.

edited 2nd Apr '13 12:44:12 PM by Wildcard

TheStarshipMaxima NCC - 1701 Since: Jun, 2009
NCC - 1701
#52127: Apr 2nd 2013 at 12:44:31 PM

Fool! I'm not going to kill the gays. The men will be my shock troops and the lesbians will be my harem!

MUHAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!

Note

It was an honor
Wildcard Since: Jun, 2012
#52128: Apr 2nd 2013 at 12:46:35 PM

Starship don't worry, I think marijuana should be legal, meaning I will be handing out in the middle of the town by the time any kids of yours enter adolescence.

edited 2nd Apr '13 12:49:15 PM by Wildcard

Silasw A procrastination in of itself from A handcart to hell (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: And they all lived happily ever after <3
A procrastination in of itself
#52129: Apr 2nd 2013 at 12:47:07 PM

While my shock troops hunt down Starship (so we can force him into a gay marriage) should we get back to discussing US politics?

edited 2nd Apr '13 12:47:23 PM by Silasw

“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran
Wildcard Since: Jun, 2012
#52130: Apr 2nd 2013 at 12:48:06 PM

Yeah sure. Why is the electoral college still a thing?

SeptimusHeap from Switzerland (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Mu
#52131: Apr 2nd 2013 at 12:48:56 PM

  1. To prevent small states from becoming irrelevant and
  2. because the US Constitution is extremely hard to amend.

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
DrunkGirlfriend from Castle Geekhaven Since: Jan, 2011
#52132: Apr 2nd 2013 at 12:49:16 PM

[up][up] Inertia, mostly.

edited 2nd Apr '13 12:49:21 PM by DrunkGirlfriend

"I don't know how I do it. I'm like the Mr. Bean of sex." -Drunkscriblerian
TheStarshipMaxima NCC - 1701 Since: Jun, 2009
NCC - 1701
#52133: Apr 2nd 2013 at 12:49:46 PM

[up][up] Correct. And [up] also correct.

edited 2nd Apr '13 12:50:05 PM by TheStarshipMaxima

It was an honor
Wildcard Since: Jun, 2012
#52134: Apr 2nd 2013 at 12:49:59 PM

This last presidential election was already decided before some states tallied their votes. Number 1 isn't working.

Silasw A procrastination in of itself from A handcart to hell (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: And they all lived happily ever after <3
A procrastination in of itself
#52135: Apr 2nd 2013 at 12:51:37 PM

[up] But it's not the smallness of the state that makes it irreverent, it's the predictability of a state that makes it irreverent.

“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran
deathpigeon Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: One True Dodecahedron
#52136: Apr 2nd 2013 at 12:51:39 PM

Because yes, the few rotten apples will spoil the barrel.

A couple of things to that. First, while a few rotten apples will come across the border into us... Some rotten apples will go the other way. Second, the people on either side of the border could always communicate. Like, "Hey, USA! This is Mexico! There's this mass murderer who we really want to catch who was last seen near the border. Would you help us out?" "Sure, Mexico! I mean, We don't want him killing anyone in here! Oh, a bank robber we really want to catch was last seen near the border, too! Can you help us with that?" "Sure, USA! We don't want our banks to get robbed either!" Not only would it be good for relations for them to do that, but it would be good for both countries.

Wildcard Since: Jun, 2012
#52137: Apr 2nd 2013 at 12:52:34 PM

@Silasw; I'd still say it's failed in it's duty of making everybody relevant then.

edited 2nd Apr '13 12:52:44 PM by Wildcard

Swish Long Live the King Since: Jan, 2001
Long Live the King
#52138: Apr 2nd 2013 at 12:54:02 PM

This last presidential election was already decided before some states tallied their votes. Number 1 isn't working.

To be fair, the last election was decided before all the states tallied their votes... The winner was "projected" to be Obama at 11pm, Romney conceded at about 11:30, and the first state to finish counting votes did so at about midnight(all times EST).

edited 2nd Apr '13 12:54:12 PM by Swish

Wildcard Since: Jun, 2012
#52139: Apr 2nd 2013 at 12:57:17 PM

I wish we had a more direct democracy. One area where I think government would be improved by being slower.

Silasw A procrastination in of itself from A handcart to hell (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: And they all lived happily ever after <3
A procrastination in of itself
#52140: Apr 2nd 2013 at 12:57:32 PM

[up][up][up][up] That only works if the two countries have good relations and compatible judicial systems. If the two countries don't get on then you can have serious problems, say Mexico has a prison overcrowding problem, instead of dealing with it they can just release all their violent criminals across the border. Now that's a worst case scenario, but you need to have good relations with a country and compatible judicial systems (so as to avoid a guy who commits what isn't a crime in his home country just crossing over and committing it in a neighboring one) before you can have open borders. That's why most of Europe has border free travel, because our governments get along (kinda) and because our judicial systems all work together (normally).

[up][up][up] Not gona disagree with that.

[up] High levels of direct democracy has its drawbacks. The Swiss are probably the best example and they can pull it of logistically because they are rather small, and suffer the drawbacks of everyone having to come round to a position (look at how long it took them to give women the vote).

edited 2nd Apr '13 12:59:37 PM by Silasw

“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran
TheStarshipMaxima NCC - 1701 Since: Jun, 2009
NCC - 1701
#52141: Apr 2nd 2013 at 12:58:37 PM

pigeon - I can't get behind your system of government, but I can sure get down with your foreign policy!

It was an honor
deathpigeon Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: One True Dodecahedron
#52142: Apr 2nd 2013 at 12:59:45 PM

@Silasw: That's one of the many reasons I see full open borders to be something that won't happen for a long time. I mean, this open border stuff would have to be in a treaty between nations which not only opens borders but facilitates communication.

@Starship: Even though I'm a bleeding heart pacifistic environmentalist liberal-pinko-commie-hippie when it comes to foreign policy?

edited 2nd Apr '13 1:01:13 PM by deathpigeon

Wildcard Since: Jun, 2012
#52143: Apr 2nd 2013 at 1:04:07 PM

@Silasw: *Looks up Sweden woman's suffrage." Huh good point. 1920s to finally get it all passed? Okay how about just for elections of officials than?

[up]DP I wouldn't worry. Ship's a bit of a pinko himself.tongue

edited 2nd Apr '13 1:04:45 PM by Wildcard

Silasw A procrastination in of itself from A handcart to hell (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: And they all lived happily ever after <3
A procrastination in of itself
#52144: Apr 2nd 2013 at 1:07:33 PM

[up][up] Well I can get behind that. I want fully open borders to, but the way I see it coming about is via a one world government. Which makes it a long term project (assuming my shipment of Naquadah continues to be delayed). The reason we allow people convinced of a crime (after servings their sentence) in Scotland (where the judicial system is different) into England is because we accept that even though the system is different, when it says justice has been done, justice has been done. That's the same reasoning behind allowing someone with a criminal record of a crime committed in New York go down to Texas, because the two systems trust that if one says justice has been done, then it has been done. Even if this area would have done it differently.

[up] Switzerland not Sweden, Switzerland only introduced universal women's suffrage in 1970s.

edited 2nd Apr '13 1:14:04 PM by Silasw

“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran
DeviantBraeburn Wandering Jew from Dysfunctional California Since: Aug, 2012
Wandering Jew
#52145: Apr 2nd 2013 at 1:08:33 PM

The Swiss are probably the best example and they can pull it of logistically because they are rather small

*Looks up Sweden woman's suffrage."

....... No Comment.

edited 2nd Apr '13 1:09:30 PM by DeviantBraeburn

Everything is Possible. But some things are more Probable than others. JEBAGEDDON 2016
Achaemenid HGW XX/7 from Ruschestraße 103, Haus 1 Since: Dec, 2011 Relationship Status: Giving love a bad name
HGW XX/7
#52146: Apr 2nd 2013 at 1:10:35 PM

Democracy as we understand it is an old idea but a young practice.

Take the Anglosphere:

Women didn't get the franchise on equal terms with men in the UK until 1924. Until 1950, students, property owners, and shopkeepers could vote twice or even three times. Northern Ireland was much like the Deep South, only discrimination was along religious rather than racial lines, and anti-Catholic gerrymandering was endemic until direct rule from London was imposed in '72. The Troubles only sorted themselves out in the early 2000s, and problems persist.

One could argue that the USA didn't become a full democracy until the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

The theory of democracy is ancient, the practice is a phenomenon of the last half-century, and is still being worked on in the West and beyond.

[down] Agreed. Poor use of language on my part. Have edited (edits in italics). Thanks. smile

edited 2nd Apr '13 1:18:01 PM by Achaemenid

Schild und Schwert der Partei
Swish Long Live the King Since: Jan, 2001
Long Live the King
#52147: Apr 2nd 2013 at 1:12:57 PM

[up]Alternatively, Democracy is an old custom.

The new idea is the view that everyone is a person worthy of voting...

edited 2nd Apr '13 1:13:26 PM by Swish

Wildcard Since: Jun, 2012
#52148: Apr 2nd 2013 at 1:15:16 PM

Switzerland only introduced women's suffrage in 1970s.

Holy shit! WOW! Sorry for the mistake, I wasn't reading carefully but wow just wow. Okay I don't want our government like that.

edited 2nd Apr '13 1:19:49 PM by Wildcard

Ramidel Since: Jan, 2001
#52149: Apr 2nd 2013 at 2:07:16 PM

@Starship: I hate to rain on your parade with a conspiracy theory, but the groups who are funding the Republican Party like the status quo on immigration: they want to make legal immigration almost impossible, so as to drive desperate Mexicans into America illegally, where they can be exploited as cheap labor and simultaneously piss off the angry white guys. Thus, the Republican Party can make noise about enforcing the border when they know full well that it's unenforceable; meanwhile, attacks on employers who employ illegal immigrants never actually go anywhere (the race card is played to shit up discussion if it ever looks like it'll do anything).

The reason the Republicans are starting to "evolve" on the issue is because the wheels are coming off and the Hispanic vote is clearly coming to outweigh the angry-white-guy vote.

Midgetsnowman Since: Jan, 2010
#52150: Apr 2nd 2013 at 2:08:39 PM

[up]

This. I know some of the local factories here LITERALLY have recruiters right down by the border so they can grab illegals, sell them on hw they have a great job waiting for them in missuri, then exploit them and threaten to turn them in to immigration if they complain.


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