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Edited by Mrph1 on Nov 30th 2023 at 11:03:59 AM
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Urge to release rant against mandatory voting rising...
Well so much for Mr. 'I want the Government to butt out of my life.'
Senator Hatch: Immigration bill can pass Senate with my amendments
House Judiciary investigating whether Eric Holder lied under oath
edited 28th May '13 10:32:59 AM by DeviantBraeburn
Everything is Possible. But some things are more Probable than others. JEBAGEDDON 2016![]()
It would be a long deal to translate this rap song, but basically these guys are encouraging non-voters from the lower classes to vote; they probably won't get a candidate that represents them, but they at least will stop assholes such as the FN (the French fascist party) from gaining any leverage against them. The rest of the song highlights the systematic racist discrimination that pervades French culture ("We're all equal but some are more equal than others" as opposed to the US's "Dreaming the american dream? Dream on").
Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.^^
Nobody has any excuse to complain about the government butting into their lives if they don't try to vote for them to stop. All Americans have an obligation to make their voices heard, I'm pro-democracy, I just want someone I can put my support behind who will preserve my freedoms instead of eroding them. But I always vote, because not voting is essentially shrugging your shoulders and saying "I'm ok with other people making my decisions for me."
I'm not, so I vote, so at least I can say "I didn't vote for these people." when bad shit happens. Though to be honest, more people voting in their local elections is more important than on the national stage. Not enough people get out there and get involved in voting for their local elected officials, at that level the individual has significantly more sway than voting at the state and national level, though I vote at all levels.
Not to mention your local Sheriff, the change from our old Sheriff and all his cronyism to our new Sheriff who I voted for has been huge in terms of policy. It's had a big impact for me personally too, since I was able to get my CCW. In California. So it meant a lot to me.
Plus when it comes to how our Chamber of Commerce is ran, it makes a big deal to me in my town. Not me personally, but several of my best friends are local business owners, so it matters to me because it matters to them and I want to see their businesses succeed. Another huge one is because we have a harbour, which introduces an entire new level of politics and positions into a town. Our busy port and the Navy Base that also uses it are the lifeblood of my town for people who don't commute(I'd say it's 70/30, with 70 being local workers who are either involved in the port/military/civil servants/misc, and then 30 being commuters). We have a variety of elected officials who have control over policy involving the port and interacting with the longshoremans union. If the long shoremen go on strike, an economic trainwreck starts to loom. Although thankfully we've had actions taken to offset this, because as opposed to most unions, the shoremen used to have this town by the fucking balls until the local government stepped in. They still make ridiculously good wages for unskilled labor(in the 30+ dollars an hour category) and if they go on strike, it still causes vast problems, but not to the level it used to.
I think a big reason why businesses often have free reign to exploit the places they are located in is because most working class locals don't ever take the time to really look at those things, so only people who are directly involved end up voting.
edited 28th May '13 11:49:06 AM by Barkey
A Sheriff is the law enforcement chief for the county(a county is essentially a large area that usually contains several cities and towns of varying size). A Sheriffs Department has jurisdiction over anything in that county, though in a city or town with its own police department, the local police there have primary jurisdiction unless a crime crosses outside of the city limits, then the county takes over. Some counties, the more rural ones, don't have any local police departments because they are too small, so the Sheriffs Department is the law enforcement agency for the entire area.
So as an example, my county is rather large and encompasses several small towns that are on the outskirts, and then sort of a small urban sprawl consisting of a large city(Ventura), a smaller but high income suburb with a lot of high tech jobs there(Camarillo), a poorer city with high population density and Industry, Farming, and Manufacturing(Oxnard), and my smaller town(Port Hueneme) which has a port, two naval bases, and a small air force base. Those four towns/cities are all landlocked to each other(The city limits touch). But there are smaller towns like Somis, Ojai, Oak View, and a few others which don't have their own police departments. So Ventura County Sheriffs Department is the primary law enforcement agency for those small towns, as well as a good portion of the mountains and the national forest that lie within the county. All the areas that are unincorporated and not in any technical city limits are under the Sheriffs Departments protection. If a crime spans across multiple city limits, the County can claim jurisdiction if a dispute arises, though usually there is either collaboration or the department in the area where the crime initially happened takes precedence.
A Deputy is basically the Sheriffs Department version of a "Police Officer". So a Deputy works for the Sheriff, that's why they are referred to as "Sheriffs Deputy's". So compared to a police department, a Sheriff is the "Chief of Police" for the County, and a Deputy is the varying equivalent of a "Police Officer".
The Marshals service is entirely different, the US Marshals Service is a federal agency which has jurisdiction in all United States territory, across all states and protectorates. They mostly work with running the witness protection program and for hunting fugitives with warrants out for their arrest across state lines. So if a criminal commits a murder in California and has a warrant out for his arrest, and flees to Nevada, then the Marshals service coordinates with local law enforcement in Nevada to catch the murderer, serve the warrant, and bring them back to California. Though usually the Marshals Service gets involved most often for Federal crimes that are high profile, they are a rather diverse agency that gets used for a lot of things, due to them having a rather ambiguous job description and having no jurisdiction boundaries. The Department of Defense uses a Marshal when it does convoys for nuclear security, and they usually lead the convoy in the front in a marked car to essentially say "This shit is federal, don't mess with this convoy local PD." As if the trucks bristling with guns doesn't say that clearly enough.
A Sheriff is usually an elected position, it's essentially the people of a county electing a particular peace officer to be the top policy maker and person of responsibility for law enforcement in the county. On the flip side, usually the Chief of Police in a town is selected by the city council and mayor.
Make some sense?
edited 28th May '13 12:03:30 PM by Barkey
I'm a bit surprised that Sheriff and Chief of Police don't follow the same rules. Sheriffs getting elected kinda worries me. Same deal with judges. That judges are elected in the US strikes me as... strange.
Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.I think it works out pretty well, I can't really think of anybody else more qualified to pick those people.
I think the main reason it's done is to try and avoid having the Sheriff be beholden to the County Executive Officer, it's a check and balance so that the people in charge of a town, should they be corrupt, can't have law enforcement by the balls as well.
I would trust our Sheriff less if he wasn't elected by his actual constituents. At the local level you don't need representative democracy, it's probably the largest level that direct democracy actually works worth a damn in. My towns chief of police, for instance, is a very good friend of mine, and it's awesome that he got promoted recently. Thing is, we didn't elect him, he was appointed(not by his choice actually, the previous Chief got kicked out over some stupid grudges with a city manager on the council, which illustrates what I mean about why I prefer elected LE officials). He's a great guy, even if he hates being Chief, which is what makes him a good Chief. But at the end of the day the people had absolutely no say in who was Chief, they could have appointed a different guy who's been a veteran police officer who is a complete shithead instead.
edited 28th May '13 12:26:29 PM by Barkey
edited 28th May '13 12:36:51 PM by DeviantBraeburn
Everything is Possible. But some things are more Probable than others. JEBAGEDDON 2016
rollin' on dubs
The problem with elected judges: remember those crazy legal awards back in the 90's? Many judges were former trial attorneys, some had their campaigns paid for by the trail lawyers in their state. The result was huge judgements in tort law. Congress passed tort reform and that has curbed some of the abuses.
Those Police Chiefs who come out for or against [INSERT HOT BUTTON ISSUE HERE]? Many are running for office or are beholden to the party machinery. While Jacksonville Florida had a terrible sheriff in the early 2000's, Arizona has had good luck with it's sheriffs.
That said, some stellar lawmakers and governors were judges or elected LEO's.
edited 28th May '13 12:39:52 PM by TairaMai
I tried to walk like an Egyptian and now I need to see a Cairo practor......so he didnt mention Obama by name so he couldnt be forced to give Obama a hug?
otherwise I'm not sure what the fuck a chris christie entails.
as for his global warming argument, nothing new. a crotchety old man who doesnt understand science preaching to crotchety old men who also dont understand science.
edited 28th May '13 12:46:02 PM by Midgetsnowman
Barkey: Do you live in a pinko commie state willing to pay for I Ds for people who don't have them?
Even in your state, are there large demographics of ID-less voters who people would stiff for political gain?
Do you see the problem with Voter ID laws now?
Share it so that people can get into this conversation, 'cause we're not the only ones who think like this.My problem with elected judges is that they don't have the same judicial security of tenure judges appointed for a fixed term do. For instance, an unscrupulous judges might find in a way that they think will get them re-elected. So a judge in an anti-gun area might not uphold gun rights, or a judge in an socially conservative area might be persuaded to come down harder on underage lovers when the law proffers leniency.
Schild und Schwert der Partei@Taoist: Not to mention that they need to rework what is considered "proof of residency". Like, when I got my ID for Washington, they wanted a utility bill with my name and address on it, and wouldn't accept my rental agreement, despite the fact that all utilities were included in the rent. I had to get the guy I was renting from to make a writ of somethingorother and get it notarized before they would accept it and give me an ID.
Plus, they really need to expand the hours on the DMV. I had to take time off of work to get there when they were open, and that's not okay.
edited 28th May '13 12:51:28 PM by DrunkGirlfriend
"I don't know how I do it. I'm like the Mr. Bean of sex." -DrunkscriblerianNow look, a lot of people say we have an obligation to vote, and while I'm all for voting I don't recall reading about this obligation in the Constitution or the Bill of Rights. Having a voice means having the right to say nothing and mandatory voting would erode that right.
And I'm against that. You all might not be but to qoute John Kerry in America you have the "right to be stupid."
RNC hires Hispanic initiative director
I don't like that right. In the Netherlands, vote is mandatory. If there's more than forty percent of blank votes, the election is invalidated. And yes, you can vote blank, I think it's a stronger action than just staying at home.
edited 28th May '13 1:01:32 PM by TheHandle
Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
The counter-argument is that stupid people may not change their ways because they have to vote, and instead of society's morons disenfranchising themselves, they actually use their rights to make things difficult for us franchise-using Alphas!
edited 28th May '13 1:02:56 PM by Achaemenid
Schild und Schwert der ParteiAccording to the NRA the Katrina victims shouldn't have expected to be rescued.
Yeah, you people care about your fellow citizens so much.
rollin' on dubs
Ah the Media Matters Quote Mine. Slate.com (that bastion of rightwing though ) said the same thing just after Katrina. Tl;dr-why should we rebuild a city that's prone to hurricane damage
.
edited 28th May '13 1:38:30 PM by TairaMai
I tried to walk like an Egyptian and now I need to see a Cairo practor....Charming. "Something about this" seems to be defined as "buy guns and adopt anarcho-capitalism". And I imagine the reason Londoners didn't do anything was because they were shit-scared of the guys with meat cleavers and waiting for the police.
The actual interview is on the site. I don't think they've misrepresented him to any significant degree. Slate has been skating by ever since they lost Christopher Hitchens. Now, Dear Prudence is the only bit worth reading.
edited 28th May '13 1:46:12 PM by Achaemenid
Schild und Schwert der Partei
rollin' on dubs
He's a big fat hypocrite. In El Paso a woman ran over a SSG from 4-1 Cav. Granted the man was walking home and tipsy, but it was a hit and run. This is on the record, her acquittal was public knowledge.
What about the special froces solider under arrest in NYC for having a 30 round magazine in his bags? The military suicides?
Do d-bags like Katz say anything then?
btw he was a contributor to the dailycaller.com website, wonder what happened?
If you want a rightwing blog that does care about soldiers visit blackfive.net
edited 28th May '13 1:56:34 PM by TairaMai
I tried to walk like an Egyptian and now I need to see a Cairo practor....

I think it would be a good idea. I always vote, and I slap the shit out of my roomate every year and make him go out and vote, since he otherwise wouldn't.