The Random Thought Thread

[Kolchak357]

me too Kolchak !!! have you got elections tomorrow ? if so , why midweek ?

Our elections are always midweek over here. Are you Roos voting on Saturdays?

 

[Citizen]

We like our voting to be as inconvenient as possible so we can complain more about low turnout afterwards.

 

[WhiteChocolate]

We like our voting to be as inconvenient as possible so we can complain more about low turnout afterwards.

'We' is the hypothetical/metaphorical/politically-convenient/pundit/talking-head-friendly phraseolgy for 'They', now, isn't it? ;0 ;(...

 

[Naildriver74]

We like our voting to be as inconvenient as possible so we can complain more about low turnout afterwards.

It just amazes me how low the turnout is for our elections. That’s how politicians get by with making all these promises then things never change.

 

[WhiteChocolate]

It just amazes me how low the turnout is for our elections. That’s how politicians get by with making all these promises then things never change.

+1... plus there's lots of other reasons ingrained into the american psyche that 'we' think are imalleable to our voting process that are simply "rules of order" that have been hammered out by the status-quo over the decades to "manage and marginalize" the populace. (one of my favorite pet-peeves; registering to vote means being tagged for jury duty... personally, i believe it should -at least- be tied to having a driver's license, although i know that places certain restrictions upon 'traffic violation'-involved trials... so, amending that, i'd tie it to simply having a social-security number. 'no opt-outs', if you're a citizen!)

all the 'gerrymandering' going on is just icing on the cake for some deeper 'disadvantages of voting when you're working a sub-par minimum-wage job/have a family/other obligations' in this country. voting has all been skewed for a -looooong- time in this country as 'only something more well-to-do people can afford to do.'

p.s. not to mention needing to have dismantling the 'electoral college' system long ago (we are long past the 'pony express' days of the election process)... not to mention... the perils of computerized poll-hacking.

only way to go... paper ballots; popular vote. ;0 (there, that's -my- only "let's get back to the good ol' days" thing! ;0)

Love and Rockets - Ball Of Confusion

 

[EldarOfSuburbia]

I have a social security number, and I'm not a citizen (I have a Green Card, which means I get to pay taxes here and all that fun, without any say in who runs things.)

That said every time I've renewed my driver's license, the computer has asked if I want to register to vote. Pretty sure I could've answered "yes" if I'd wanted to, quicker than you can say "election fraud".

 

[WhiteChocolate]

I have a social security number, and I'm not a citizen (I have a Green Card, which means I get to pay taxes here and all that fun, without any say in who runs things.)

That said every time I've renewed my driver's license, the computer has asked if I want to register to vote. Pretty sure I could've answered "yes" if I'd wanted to, quicker than you can say "election fraud".

;0 well maybe ya -should- have a right to vote... i'm not an electioneer analyst/expert. (p.s. edit to ask, "where ya from?" if from an 'american colony', then of course, you prolly should...

but the point -was,- jury duty is -only- tied to one's desire to -be a voting citizen- in this country; hence (in the face of not making a -living- wage, as opposed to our current 'minimum wage' system) is to be considered a 'punishing' tactic to reduce the amount of voters in our country. -that,- and probably a handful or more other things, -need- changed in this country to increase votership.

 

[Citizen]

'We' is the hypothetical/metaphorical/politically-convenient/pundit/talking-head-friendly phraseolgy for 'They', now, isn't it? ;0 ;(...

Nope.

 

[WhiteChocolate]

Nope.

'nope a dope!'

 

[Naildriver74]

In Kentucky they go by Individual tax returns,drivers license and voter registration. I’ve been called up 3times in the last 20years. The judge in this county will only let you off if your dead.

 

[Citizen]

In Wisconsin the default source list for jurors is just people with a driver's license or state ID, but counties can add more sources. I've never been called.

 

[WhiteChocolate]

In Kentucky they go by Individual tax returns,drivers license and voter registration. I’ve been called up 3times in the last 20years. The judge in this county will only let you off if your dead.

right... and not many 'good citizens' would go without doing taxes, nor going without a driver's license (ignoring one's taxes, or driving without a license, of course has huge legal ramifications for oneself). it's the last part - voter registration- that then 'punishes' (there's no penalty for -not- registering to vote) with jury duty. -that's- the point.

and lest one misunderstand me - the point is -not- to create punishment for -not registering/voting,- but to -remove- that potentionally life-punitive action from -that- specific 'right of citizenship.'

 

[EldarOfSuburbia]

It's tying voter registration to getting a driver's license (or other State-issued photo ID for non-drivers) that is the problem.

Sure it might be "free" to get your State photo ID, but guess where you need to go to get one? Yeah, the same place you would go to get your driver's license. And of course since that's where drivers go to get their licenses, car registrations, and so on, these places are often only easily got to if you have a car. So if you don't drive and you don't have a friend/relative who can drive you there and there's no bus that goes there, you can't get to the place to get your State ID, and thus register to vote.

A lot of States have mandatory photo ID checks for first-time voters in a particular precinct (and some even have photo ID checks for every voter everywhere; not all such checks are mandatory - and a lot of these laws have been thrown out by the courts) which means essentially, no ID = no vote, for a lot of people.

As for the typical demographic of who loses out in this kind of scenario, I'll leave it up to the reader to figure out.

 

[Heretic]

Buncha red commies,

 

[WhiteChocolate]

-registering- to vote isn't so much the problem (although there are a number of states where they are trying to make it harder/more constrained based on economic/race standing, no doubt). and therein -is- a problem (as is often my own rallying cry as of late: RIGHTS DIFFER, STATE BY STATE). voting rights are -not- mandated at a federal level for nationwide; they are very, very much localized.

heck, last time i registered was at my local library! they asked when i was renewing my card... though i do understand, there are some states where one now has to visit a dmv that may be one, two, or more counties away. some states are trying to make voting like visiting a planned parenthood clinic... as far away and as inconvenient as possible. and, if not to restrict the ability to register to vote, but to also restrict the availability and hours of polling places.

that is, again, all only 'icing on the cake' for those who wish to keep many people from having their say in our electoral process; personally, i'd like to unravel the whole thing down to 'not voting for people, but upon specific issues', and then only leave it for hired bureacrats to simply enact what -we- voted for/against. no more 'voting for their own pay-raises/tax breaks'...

 

[WhiteChocolate]

Buncha red commies,

voting for your mommie! p.s. -nerve-gassing- your mommie, as your brit friends know by now... us old hands that remember our history and spy-jinx stories didn't need a spyglass to figure that one out.

 

[Heretic]

Ill whitey b yer ass!

 

[wolfson]

thanks everyone , I`m more informed now our local govt. , state govt, , federal govt. all compulsory , always on a Saturday with a sausage sizzle !!! we get fined if we don`t vote . all paper voting no machines .

 

[Heretic]

Oour locals havent formed a goverment in over a year got a billion from the english and couldnt pay their heating bills! Trump looks okay compared

 

[wolfson]

good one Heretic !!! also , we have only 3 year terms , so if they bull.... too much , there out next election !! some states and local councils have 4 year terms , not many and I don`t know which ones.