[Coco] Way OT: was Re: ... Halloween Party

[James C. Hrubik, Sr.]

We never were set up to be a democracy.  Democracy is nothing but 
glorified mob rule.  The more "democratic" a government is, the less 
freedom the individual possesses.  Our government was _supposed_ to be 
a representative republic, with the Bill of Rights shackling the 
government.  But then we stupidly ratified the 17th Amendment, which 
neutered the states, and blindly drank FDR's Kool-Aid, and voila, we 
turned our system over to the central government and the 2-party 
system.  We can't blame Europeans for not understanding our system, 
when the majority of our own citizens don't even know what's in our 
Constitution because they never read it, not even in High School civics 
class.

And Ward, that rooftop bit sounds something like what I told my son 
years ago -- that casting of ballots actually started out in ancient 
times when people picked up big rocks and the guy who got the most 
"ballots" lost.   %^D

On Saturday, October 30, 2004, at 05:17  PM, Ward Griffiths wrote:

> On Saturday 30 October 2004 09:06 pm, John R. Hogerhuis wrote:
>> On Sat, 2004-10-30 at 17:32, Torsten Dittel wrote:
>>>> Is the scary part "naked", or is it "libertarian"?  (Just
>>>> wondering).
>>>
>>> Well, scary is the US election system. Voting e.g. Libertarian
>>> looks like a lost voice to me. I wonder how long it will take to
>>> change the system to some more democracy. I understand the people
>>> were voting that way 250 years ago, but in these days it makes no
>>> sense if one candidate is getting more voices (that means: the
>>> mayority of the American people voted for him) but the other one
>>> wins. Like I said, scary...
>>>
>>> Torsten
>>
>> Yes, that is why we need some from of instant runoff voting. In such
>> a system, you rank your candidate preferences, and if you voted third
>> party, and they didn't even come close, your vote could be counted
>> for one of the more popular candidates.
>>
>> So say if you wanted a Libertarian most, a Republican second most,
>> etc. you might vote Badnarik, Bush, Nader, Kerry for example...
>>
>> But Badnarik probably wouldn't win, so you'd end up voting for Bush.
>>
>> (I'd be voting Nader, Kerry, Badnarik, and Bush wouldn't make the
>> cut...)
>>
>> Basically this prevents you feeling like you are "throwing away your
>> vote" when voting third party.
>>
>> The two parties have esconced themselves in government however, and
>> it will be a very difficult to unseat them. But some type of runoff
>> system would be a good start.
>
> If I voted Demoncrat or Republicant, I'd be throwing my vote away.
> Kerry will take New Jersey no matter what I do.  So since I can't vote
> "None of the above is acceptable", it's Badnarik, whom I have met, like
> and find OK, since he's willing to get us out of the second stupidest
> war that Congress never declared.  If It was some silly-assed system
> where lowest scorer's votes go to somebody I can't stomach (and Bush,
> Kerry and Nader all fall into that category) I'd simply have to start
> voting from the rooftops.
> -- 
> Ward Griffiths    wdg3rd at comcast.net    
> http://home.comcast.net/~wdg3rd/
>
> You had to admire the way perfectly innocent words were mugged, 
> ravaged,
> stripped of all true meaning and decency, and then sent to walk the
> gutter for Reacher Gilt, although "synergistically" had probably been a
> whore from the start.                 -- Terry Pratchett, _Going 
> Postal_
>
> -- 
> Coco mailing list
> Coco at maltedmedia.com
> http://five.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/coco
>
>
===============================================================
| O thus be it ever, when free men shall stand                |
| Between their loved homes and the war's desolation!         |
| Blest with vict'ry and peace, may the Heaven-rescued land   |
| Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a Nation!  |
| Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just;            |
| And this be our motto: "In GOD is our trust!"               |
| And the Star Spangled Banner in triumph shall wave          |
| O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.        |
==========National Anthem, United States of America============
......................AIM : appraisebee........................