unsmart people should not vote

I have a radical Idea ! in order to register to vote you have to pass a
test. The contents of said test could be up for discussion, but in short it
would need to contain basic elements of history ( what is the bill of
rights ), civics ( what are the three branches of government ) and current
political affairs ( multi choice - pick three current world leaders ). I am
really serious about this. maybe this would lessen politicians need to make
campaigns pander to the absolute lowest common denominator. I can't imagine
it could makes things much worse ? The state requires you to pass a test to
drive, hunt, etc voting is as important and potently deadly as any of those.

btw I realize this is a utopian concept...this post was really
just an intellectual steam valve.

counting the days till Loveland opens and I can refrain from posting this garbage
:D

Before we start licensing people to vote, how 'bout we license people to become parents. I think clueless parents are a greater issue than a clueless electorate.

A revival of Jim Crow?

me thinks it might be a tough sell.

While we're throwing out crazy, but brilliant ideas. I'd like to cast my vote for executing CEO's who steal millions from their own employees and shareholders and then piss it away. For example: Tyco CEO Dennis Kozlowski, Kenneth Lay of Enron, and Bernie Ebbers of WorldCom. I'm sure a few public executions would go a long way to stopping corporate corruption. As it stands now they destroy the retirements of thousands of hard working citizens and then use all that money they've stolen to buy the best lawyers and then skate. Kill the bastards. A kid with a gun in a gas station sees more time in prison than these clowns. Say the average potential lifetime income for an american is 1 million dollars. If that were true stealing a million dollars would be like stealing someone's life. How many lives have some of these assholes taken.

I guarantee a swift end to corporate corruption.

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Originally posted by mr_gyptian
A revival of Jim Crow?

me thinks it might be a tough sell.

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In all fairness though to take a stance like mine I would be
remiss if I did not take into account the continuing problem of educational inequality in this country, however I do not feel that a radical educational system overhaul needs to take place before a system like I propose be instituted. maybe just in conjunction with...however libraries are free and we all have access to them

^^I like MD9's idea^^

http://www.normanreedus.wz.cz/boondock/boond9.jpg

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Originally posted by meatdrink9
I'd like to cast my vote for executing CEO's who steal millions from their own employees and shareholders and then piss it away.

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Have you been talking to China?

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Originally posted by meatdrink9
While we're throwing out crazy, but brilliant ideas. I'd like to cast my vote for executing CEO's who steal millions from their own employees and shareholders and then piss it away. For example: Tyco CEO Dennis Kozlowski, Kenneth Lay of Enron, and Bernie Ebbers of WorldCom. I'm sure a few public executions would go a long way to stopping corporate corruption. As it stands now they destroy the retirements of thousands of hard working citizens and then use all that money they've stolen to buy the best lawyers and then skate. Kill the bastards. A kid with a gun in a gas station sees more time in prison than these clowns. Say the average potential lifetime income for an american is 1 million dollars. If that were true stealing a million dollars would be like stealing someone's life. How many lives have some of these assholes taken.

I guarantee a swift end to corporate corruption.

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One word: caddy.

that would be much worse for any one of those guys than death.

however, Skilling's current Leaving Las Vegas rendition begs its own reality show.

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Originally posted by road trip
Before we start licensing people to vote, how 'bout we license people to become parents. I think clueless parents are a greater issue than a clueless electorate.

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Agreed. Easier yet, anyone (F) on welfare gets a manditory Depo-Provera shot with every third check. Not a civil rights issue becuase welfare is not a civil right. If you want the money, take the shot.

monster dump for president!

And a conscripted army taken from homeless shelters too.

How about just testing them to become president?

If you can't beat the average high-schooler at politically-focused jeopardy, you can't be president.

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Originally posted by mr_gyptian
Skilling's current Leaving Las Vegas rendition begs its own reality show.

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werd.

You could call it "Being Jeff Skilling." The dust-up in New York would have been off the scales for reality television ratings.

An army of Sardaukar would work but homeless don't have the gumption.

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Originally posted by Geronimo
And a conscripted army taken from homeless shelters too.

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In refernce to me or monster dump ?

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Originally posted by Oarhead
^^I like MD9's idea^^

http://www.normanreedus.wz.cz/boondock/boond9.jpg

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i love you oar-(of a revolution?)-head

Hey take your Boondork Saints fetish to the convention boys lest I hi-jack one of your threads with my political rants

There are way to many reforms needed to put down in one thread.I agree with parenting issues,I saw a woman at the grocery store yesterday ask her 3 or 4 year old if it was OK to buy some specific items! I could & couldn't believe it! Looking to a preschooler for guidance.Everybody says their kids are the greatest,so where do all these spoiled ,self -centered ,ill mannered,dumb-ass cretins keep coming from? They are the greatest,...pain in the ass & hope for the destruction of what's left of our "culture".

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Originally posted by monster dump.
Agreed. Easier yet, anyone (F) on welfare gets a manditory Depo-Provera shot with every third check. Not a civil rights issue becuase welfare is not a civil right. If you want the money, take the shot.

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Yay! Three times the STD rate as women on the pill already! Possible causation-correlation (needs to be further tested). Let's kill all the welfare moms! [/sarcasm for those of you that are color blind]

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Originally posted by meatdrink9
While we're throwing out crazy, but brilliant ideas. I'd like to cast my vote for executing CEO's who steal millions from their own employees and shareholders and then piss it away. For example: Tyco CEO Dennis Kozlowski, Kenneth Lay of Enron, and Bernie Ebbers of WorldCom. I'm sure a few public executions would go a long way to stopping corporate corruption. As it stands now they destroy the retirements of thousands of hard working citizens and then use all that money they've stolen to buy the best lawyers and then skate. Kill the bastards. A kid with a gun in a gas station sees more time in prison than these clowns. Say the average potential lifetime income for an american is 1 million dollars. If that were true stealing a million dollars would be like stealing someone's life. How many lives have some of these assholes taken.

I guarantee a swift end to corporate corruption.

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Just in the news today from China: China executes four for bank fraud

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Originally posted by 3pin
Just in the news today from China: China executes four for bank fraud

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Sory but you're not allowed to talk about that in this thread. Only voting stuff allowed.:p ;)

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The precise number of people executed for all crimes in China is a state secret. Reports range from 5,000 to 10,000 a year, many for murder, but they have also been killed for corruption and crimes as minor as bottom-pinching.

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Note to self: Must wear handcuffs while intoxicated in China.

What if only stupid people could vote - would things be worse or better?

Does it really matter now that Diebold controls the elections?

Maybe we should let our pets decide.

Woof.

Great. Radical leftism.

This is the United States.

1. Everyone, no matter how stupid, has the right to vote. Disenfranchisement based on any metric is a bad idea.

2. The notion of executions carried out by the government is also dangerous. You should already question the goverment's right to execute anyone. If you examine the numbers, a shocking number of criminals that are excuted turn out to be innocent. Plus, political agendas could be (have been?) carried out via abuses of the death penalty.

if unsmart people couldn't vote, republicans would never get into office (and wouldn't that be a shame)

edit: forgot the ;)

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Originally posted by joshbu

2. The notion of executions carried out by the government is also dangerous.

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Agreed.

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Originally posted by Potsy
What if only stupid people could vote - would things be worse or better?

Does it really matter now that Diebold controls the elections?

Maybe we should let our pets decide.

Woof.

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My dog is smart. My fish seem kind of stupid though.

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Originally posted by roadtrip:
Before we start licensing people to vote, how 'bout we license people to become parents. I think clueless parents are a greater issue than a clueless electorate.

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Originally posted by monster dump:
Agreed. Easier yet, anyone (F) on welfare gets a manditory Depo-Provera shot with every third check. Not a civil rights issue becuase welfare is not a civil right. If you want the money, take the shot.

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I'm proud of the above statements.

We are breeding a weak society. We need to be more animalistic. Only the strong survive and breed. But in modern society, it is the other way around. We are killing ourselves as a species.


Spelling errors edited to save my life and possibly pass on my DNA in the distant future.

I suggest that people who can't spell the word 'weak' and 'mandatory' be sterilized.
Or at least not allowed to post in serious threads.
Society's getting too soft on those who can't spell, we need to turn this around. Get rid of those poor-spelling genes.

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Originally posted by freshie247
are the greatest,...pain in the ass & hope for the destruction of what's left of our "culture".

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wait, we had a culture to begin with?

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Originally posted by board
... I can't imagine
it could makes things much worse ? The state requires you to pass a test to
drive, hunt, etc voting is as important and potently deadly as any of those...

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Well, Hunting & Driving are not fundamental rights of US citizens, believe it or not, they are PRIVILEDGES that can be taken away by society. Voting is not just considered a right, but a "civic duty," whatever that means, and the only way to lose that right is to comit a Felony.

The danger in what you propose is subtle. The Electoral College was established back in the day so that the various landowners (the only recognized voters) could continue working their land and send one person from their community to cast their vote for them while they worked his land for him durng his absence. It was also easier, in this way, to have central polling places - the delegate, being a landowner, had access to transportation that a mere family farmer didn't.

Then look what happened in 2000. The guy with the most common votes did NOT win. This is why I bristle every time someone claims we have a true Democracy in the US. We don't; it's a representative democracy where we appoint people - be they delegates, electors, Congressmen, or Senators - to hopefully do what we want them to do. Understand that NONE of these people is obligated to do so, legally. Look at the outgoing Gov. of Michigan pardoning every death row inmate a few years ago. Betcha that wasn't the majority opinion. Remeber how much derision Clinton got for actually wondering (through polls) what the majority of the US would like to have happen? How COULD he??!! I mean really - should Shaniqua Laticia Johnson have the same voice as a Yale/Harvard/Stanford man? :rolleyes:

The only recourse for change is to elect someone else next time around. The true genius in the system invented by T. Jefferson et al. is that it's flexible enough not to break and there are some checks & balances. However - make NO mistake. The Electoral College exists because the founding fathers thought like you: how can the un(der)-educated masses be trusted with such a weighty decision as electing our leaders?

I say we start a bit smaller: Licenses for guns.

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Originally posted by joshbu
Great. Radical leftism.

2. The notion of executions carried out by the government is also dangerous. You should already question the goverment's right to execute anyone. If you examine the numbers, a shocking number of criminals that are excuted turn out to be innocent. Plus, political agendas could be (have been?) carried out via abuses of the death penalty.

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Looks like somebody missed the first sentence of my post. ;)

"While we're throwing out crazy , but brilliant ideas."

I'm still down with the death penalty. People got's to be afraid of something to keep them in line. The death penalty isn't to blame for wrongfully incarcerated people. The legal system is.

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Originally posted by ak_powder_monkey
if unsmart people couldn't vote, republicans would never get into office (and wouldn't that be a shame)

edit: forgot the ;)

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Anyone else think this board has made Seldon, and now AKPM into liberals/dems/anti-republican?

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Originally posted by Dexter Rutecki:
I suggest that people who can't spell the word 'weak' and 'mandatory' be sterilized.

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Did you mean: I suggest that people who can't spell the words 'weak' and 'mandatory' be sterilized.

Or did you mean: I suggest that people who can't spell the word 'weak' or 'mandatory' be sterilized.


Is it time for your vasectomy? ;)

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Originally posted by dipstik
Anyone else think this board has made Seldon, and now AKPM into liberals/dems/anti-republican?

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Not me if anything its made me more conservitive

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Originally posted by Trackhead
Did you mean: I suggest that people who can't spell the words 'weak' and 'mandatory' be sterilized.

Or did you mean: I suggest that people who can't spell the word 'weak' or 'mandatory' be sterilized.


Is it time for your vasectomy? ;)

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I meant and/or. Obviously.

Tippster I agree the Electoral college is a hindrance to Democracy and I join you in calling for it's immediate elimination. The voter testing system I am suggesting does not water down the electorate, theoretically 100% of the population would be eligible to vote. This is not a class system suggesting only white male land owners can vote. Everyone under my system can determine their own eligibility.

A little insight into what spurred this post. It is no secret that I am a card carrying liberal commie pinko fag, but this idea was born out of frustration with my fellow man's intellectual laziness, not his political biases. This idea, for me anyway, is utterly non partisan. I actually think it might have a negative impact on the Democratic party, but I haven't seen anything that would back that up ?

Simply put Merican's are lazy ! We CHOOSE to engage ourselves in activities that give instant gratification while ignoring anything that smacks of effort and time. Case in point I bet you have friends/co-workers/acquaintances who can rattle off fantasy football stats like Chris Berman reading a tele prompter but couldn't pick out the president of Mexico in a multiple choice quiz, or can tell you the Oscar dress designer of every major female actress but can not identify who the US Sec of Defense is, or have solved 100 plus hours of Final Fantasy but have no idea what position Gerald Ford held before he became president. This is disturbing and I don't want their vote canceling my vote. This is not intellectual elitism. I am not suggesting people have to write a 1000 word essay on the principles of Keynesian economics, simply high school level civics/history/current events. The capacity is there. People if they choose to be, are capable of maintaining a basic level of knowledge.

For some, ignorance is truly bliss, and to those people I raise my ice cold can of Duff Dry to you good sir ! However life is full of choices and choices come with consequences, so if you choose to make professional wrestling your area of expertise at the expense of others areas of knowledge that is your democratic right as a Merican, but don't cry foul on election day when you are locked out of the voting booth because you answered B. 1903 to the question " In what year was the Louisiana Purchase made." You can sleep well knowing that you can tell people how many times and in what year Hacksaw Jim Dugan was WWE " Champion". Let dem Poindexter's in Washington work out the details, you've got some Nekkid lady mud flaps that needs installin.

Who gets to develop the test? What if the questions were less eurocentric and were more along the line of:

What year was Malcom X born? In what year did the second battle at Wounded Knee take place? What organization did Cesar Chavez found? Etc.

Would such a voter test be good for America?

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Originally posted by board
because you answered B. 1903 to the question " In what year was the Louisiana Purchase made."

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ok i don't usually do this political thread thing, but:

[political spam] vote "NO" on Proposition 212--repeal the Louisiana Purchase!--we kept the receipt, and Lousiana DOES NOT FIT! [/political spam]

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Originally posted by meatdrink9
Looks like somebody missed the first sentence of my post. ;)

"While we're throwing out crazy , but brilliant ideas."

I'm still down with the death penalty. People got's to be afraid of something to keep them in line. The death penalty isn't to blame for wrongfully incarcerated people. The legal system is.

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Heh. The whole gist of it is that it's not possible to create a system that is 100% right. Same as the voter sorting. It's just not possible.

Worse, because the system holds so much inherant power, (power over human life, power over the selection of leaders) it's bound to be corrupted.

Finally, there is substantial evidence that the death penalty does not deter major crime at all. The murder rates in death penalty states are in line (often higher!) with states that ban the death penalty. (Check http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/arti...cid=12&did=168)

The reason it doesn't work is that murder is generally commited by people who are mentally unstable. They aren't able to make the "if I do this and they catch me, I die" connection necessary to make it any sort of deterant.