Do you vote?
Will you vote?
If not, why not?
Do you think voting is a civic responsibility?
Do you think your vote matters?
Should Independent voters be allowed to vote in primaries?
Do you vote? - I have once in the UK. I've been out of the country since then and never bothered to set up my mail-in vote.
Will you vote? - Maybe.
If not, why not? - Because one vote doesn't matter. I would find it more effective to spend that energy convincing all my acquaintances to vote, pretend that I do, turn off the tv and sit down with a good book on the night itself.
Do you think voting is a civic responsibility? - Yes.
Do you think your vote matters? - My personal vote - no. The influence of the idea of whether I vote or not, has upon my social circles - yes - a powerful one. Apathy is seductive, gotta keep up those appearances.
Should Independent voters be allowed to vote in primaries? - Yes. Technically I agree that political parties should be able to decide who to field to represent them, but since I hate the concept of political parties, I say let's screw with them.
I guess I should answer my own questions.
Do you vote? Yes
Will you vote?Yes
If not, why not?n/a
Do you think voting is a civic responsibility? Yes
Do you think your vote matters?Yes
Should Independent voters be allowed to vote in primaries?After declaring without registering for a party, yes. No double dipping.
Quote from: Doktor Charley Brown on August 02, 2010, 04:09:11 AM
Do you vote?
Will you vote?
If not, why not?
Do you think voting is a civic responsibility?
Do you think your vote matters?
Should Independent voters be allowed to vote in primaries?
I vote, and I will continue to do so
I do not think it is a civic responsibility, if you are not well enough educated on the candidates or issues to know the difference please abstain.
I think my vote matters a very little bit.
Primaries should be abolished.
Quote from: BabylonHoruv on August 02, 2010, 04:32:18 AM
Quote from: Doktor Charley Brown on August 02, 2010, 04:09:11 AM
Do you vote?
Will you vote?
If not, why not?
Do you think voting is a civic responsibility?
Do you think your vote matters?
Should Independent voters be allowed to vote in primaries?
I vote, and I will continue to do so
I do not think it is a civic responsibility, if you are not well enough educated on the candidates or issues to know the difference please abstain.
I think my vote matters a very little bit.
Primaries should be abolished.
Please explain.
Quote from: Doktor Charley Brown on August 02, 2010, 04:37:22 AM
Quote from: BabylonHoruv on August 02, 2010, 04:32:18 AM
Quote from: Doktor Charley Brown on August 02, 2010, 04:09:11 AM
Do you vote?
Will you vote?
If not, why not?
Do you think voting is a civic responsibility?
Do you think your vote matters?
Should Independent voters be allowed to vote in primaries?
I vote, and I will continue to do so
I do not think it is a civic responsibility, if you are not well enough educated on the candidates or issues to know the difference please abstain.
I think my vote matters a very little bit.
Primaries should be abolished.
Please explain.
Parties are about the only part of our election system that is not enshrined in the constitution. Listing the party affiliation should not be on the ballot, the Democrat and Republican candidate should not be listed before the others. If we are going to vote for the candidates and not have formal aknowledgements of parties like parliament systems that help to encourage multiparty systems then we should not be giving the party establishments any privileges or special powers.
Quote from: BabylonHoruv on August 02, 2010, 04:40:21 AM
Quote from: Doktor Charley Brown on August 02, 2010, 04:37:22 AM
Quote from: BabylonHoruv on August 02, 2010, 04:32:18 AM
Quote from: Doktor Charley Brown on August 02, 2010, 04:09:11 AM
Do you vote?
Will you vote?
If not, why not?
Do you think voting is a civic responsibility?
Do you think your vote matters?
Should Independent voters be allowed to vote in primaries?
I vote, and I will continue to do so
I do not think it is a civic responsibility, if you are not well enough educated on the candidates or issues to know the difference please abstain.
I think my vote matters a very little bit.
Primaries should be abolished.
Please explain.
Parties are about the only part of our election system that is not enshrined in the constitution. Listing the party affiliation should not be on the ballot, the Democrat and Republican candidate should not be listed before the others. If we are going to vote for the candidates and not have formal aknowledgements of parties like parliament systems that help to encourage multiparty systems then we should not be giving the party establishments any privileges or special powers.
Thank you.
Do you vote?
Well, it's compulsary here in Australia, but that doesn't stop me from donkey voting (IE not voting "properly") if I don't feel anyone is worth my vote at the time
Will you vote?
This, year, yeah, I've actually found a political party I can get behind, FOR ONCE.
If not, why not?
Most of the time though, I hate every "choice" I'm given.
Do you think voting is a civic responsibility?
I think manditory voting is a joke as it forces uninformed people to give their uninformed choices.
Do you think your vote matters?
About as much as a drop of water in an ocean of urine.
Should Independent voters be allowed to vote in primaries?
I don't even know what this means, I'm guessing this is an American thing.
Quote from: Lysergic on August 02, 2010, 04:46:20 AM
Do you vote?
Well, it's compulsary here in Australia, but that doesn't stop me from donkey voting (IE not voting "properly") if I don't feel anyone is worth my vote at the time
Will you vote?
This, year, yeah, I've actually found a political party I can get behind, FOR ONCE.
If not, why not?
Most of the time though, I hate every "choice" I'm given.
Do you think voting is a civic responsibility?
I think manditory voting is a joke as it forces uninformed people to give their uninformed choices.
Do you think your vote matters?
About as much as a drop of water in an ocean of urine.
Should Independent voters be allowed to vote in primaries?
I don't even know what this means, I'm guessing this is an American thing.
Ever considered running for office?
Republicans and democrats can put forth more than one candidate. A runnoff called a primary is held. The winner runs on the party ticket.
Quote from: Doktor Charley Brown on August 02, 2010, 04:48:51 AM
Republicans and democrats can put forth more than one candidate. A runnoff called a primary is held. The winner runs on the party ticket.
I don't think we have that in Aus, the party just puts forward a candidate for us to vote for. However our system is less of a two party system than the US. Over here the house of reps is essentially two party, but the Greens have a decent amount of control in the senate, and occasionally independents and minor parties get a seat or two in the senate.
As for me, well I wasn't old enough to vote last election., and this time, I am not certain where I am in enrolled, because the applying system is kinda screwed up.
As for civic responsibility, well I've become more and more cynical about democracy lately, and I think I agree with Lysergic.
Voting matters in that it stops me getting a fine. But apart from that it matters only a very small amount.
Then again, if less people voted my vote would matter more. It is odd.
Protip Rumckle: Vote #1 sex party.
They are the only party that matters in Australia atm.
Quote from: Doktor Charley Brown on August 02, 2010, 04:48:51 AM
Quote from: Lysergic on August 02, 2010, 04:46:20 AM
Do you vote?
Well, it's compulsary here in Australia, but that doesn't stop me from donkey voting (IE not voting "properly") if I don't feel anyone is worth my vote at the time
Will you vote?
This, year, yeah, I've actually found a political party I can get behind, FOR ONCE.
If not, why not?
Most of the time though, I hate every "choice" I'm given.
Do you think voting is a civic responsibility?
I think manditory voting is a joke as it forces uninformed people to give their uninformed choices.
Do you think your vote matters?
About as much as a drop of water in an ocean of urine.
Should Independent voters be allowed to vote in primaries?
I don't even know what this means, I'm guessing this is an American thing.
Ever considered running for office?
Republicans and democrats can put forth more than one candidate. A runnoff called a primary is held. The winner runs on the party ticket.
Considered running for office? Nope.
Considered starting my own political party which will exist solely the critisize the fuck out of every other party by parodying all the worst aspects of politics?
All the time.
And yeah, I think I see how this independant/primary thing works.
Do you vote?
Yes.
Will you vote?
Yep.
Do you think voting is a civic responsibility?
No. I think you ought, though, if you know enough about the issues.
Do you think your vote matters?
Not particularly.
Should Independent voters be allowed to vote in primaries?
Yes.
Yes
Yes
No
Yes-SWING STATE!
Yeah but they would have to pick which party to vote for? otherwise registered party people should get to vote in all primaries too
Quote from: FredleySneijder on August 02, 2010, 06:06:24 AM
Yes
Yes
No
Yes-SWING STATE!
Yeah but they would have to pick which party to vote for? otherwise registered party people should get to vote in all primaries too
You would need to declare the primary you wanted to vote in.
Do you vote? - Yes
Will you vote? - Yes
If not, why not? - I wouldn't vote in a situation, where there's only (equally) bad options available.
Do you think voting is a civic responsibility? - Yes. Mandatory voting would be problematic, though. I think this civic responsibility includes the right to decide not to vote.
Do you think your vote matters? - Yes.
Should Independent voters be allowed to vote in primaries? - While I only know the basics about this system, yes.
Do you vote? Yep.
Will you vote? Yep.
Do you think voting is a civic responsibility? Yes.
Do you think your vote matters? Yes. I know if I didn't vote then meh, no real difference. But the fact voting behaviour (especially voter fatigue) is a group issue, and that your own behaviour/values affect the world around you means yes I do.
Should Independent voters be allowed to vote in primaries? I suspect not, but could probably be persuaded otherwise.
Quote from: Doktor Charley Brown on August 02, 2010, 11:11:04 AM
Quote from: FredleySneijder on August 02, 2010, 06:06:24 AM
Yes
Yes
No
Yes-SWING STATE!
Yeah but they would have to pick which party to vote for? otherwise registered party people should get to vote in all primaries too
You would need to declare the primary you wanted to vote in.
which is practically the same thing as registering for a party
Do you vote? Most of the time.
Will you vote? Probably not
If not, why not? Local voters approve of lazy corruption, and the main opposition candidate's party is in a coalition government with the incumbent's party.
Do you think voting is a civic responsibility? Sometimes.
Do you think your vote matters? I know it doesn't.
Should Independent voters be allowed to vote in primaries? LOL America. The parties pick the candidates here from "centrally approved lists", either with minor input from the rank and file or with none at all, so you can suck it up or move abroad, hippie.
Is voting compulsory over there Cain?
Nope, about a third of the country, on average, don't vote at all.
:argh!:
Why does it feel like Australia is the only place were uninformed idiots are required to vote?
Which, a lot of the time, feels like the majority of the voting population :cry:
Well, they could just not register. My sister doesn't vote, for example, despite being an Australian citizen. In fact, I know that over here there can even be some personal benefits in not registering, since electoral rolls are frequently sold to third parties, making you easy to track and solicit from.
Yeah, my parent's forced me to enroll, because they were afraid we'd get fined if I didnt.
My god my parents are so fucking gullable.
My head doesn't want to wrap around mandatory voting.
You can still spoil the vote, too.
Oh, most of the time, I do just donkey vote, and write discordian things on the voting cards like "LAND RIGHTS FOR GAY WHALES" and make sure I number "666" in the "Family first" party box, but this year, the sex party are getting my vote, they're the only party I've seen that for the first time ever, I completely support in all their policies... and I'll be helping them out and volunteering my time to help out at the polling booths handing out "how to vote cards" and hitting on all the other volunteers there. :mrgreen:
I wish these guys were still a party:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deadly_Serious_Party
Do you vote?
Yes
Will you vote?
Yes
Do you think voting is a civic responsibility?
Yes
Do you think your vote matters?
Not always, I am in NY and we tend to swing the way I vote so... Plus, I am still bitter about the Supreme Court giving the 2000 election to Bush
Should Independent voters be allowed to vote in primaries?
I used to think yes, then this: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/08/alvin-greene-upsets-vic-r_n_605365.html He got in because Republian's voted him in the primary. WTF?
I really think that we need to move from the 2 party system to a 2 house system with one house elected as a Parliment and one house electing candidates directly.
Finally, as Jerry Garcia once said, "Choosing the lesser of 2 evils is still choosing evil." So, sometimes, even though I do vote I get really angry and bitter afterwards. I feel you can't complain about the shitty politicians unless you voted for or against them
Quote from: Apikoros II on August 02, 2010, 01:59:27 PM
Do you vote?
Yes
Will you vote?
Yes
Do you think voting is a civic responsibility?
Yes
Do you think your vote matters?
Not always, I am in NY and we tend to swing the way I vote so... Plus, I am still bitter about the Supreme Court giving the 2000 election to Bush
Should Independent voters be allowed to vote in primaries?
I used to think yes, then this: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/08/alvin-greene-upsets-vic-r_n_605365.html He got in because Republian's voted him in the primary. WTF?
I really think that we need to move from the 2 party system to a 2 house system with one house elected as a Parliment and one house electing candidates directly.
Finally, as Jerry Garcia once said, "Choosing the lesser of 2 evils is still choosing evil." So, sometimes, even though I do vote I get really angry and bitter afterwards. I feel you can't complain about the shitty politicians unless you voted for or against them
So, like Australia then... where most people think they're voting in a certain person but then (rarely, but as proven this year) they can just magically change who the head of the government is overnight without anyones approval?
Quote from: Doktor Charley Brown on August 02, 2010, 04:09:11 AM
Do you vote?
Will you vote?
If not, why not?
Do you think voting is a civic responsibility?
Do you think your vote matters?
Should Independent voters be allowed to vote in primaries?
Yes, Yes, N/A, Yes...
If it's a local election, then yes. If it's federal, only partially. I live in MA, which is solid blue when it comes to the electoral college (Scott Brown was more of a fucked up laziness on the part of the Dems, rather than a solid Republican win). I do feel I can have an effect with third parties by at least giving them a high enough percentage to be recognized as viable the following year (if they get 5% of the national vote, they qualify for federal funding). So while the candidate I usually like won't win, they will at least get my support, which can help.
Primaries are good because if we just went straight to the general elections, we'd have 5 Dems, 5 Reps, and then at least 5 Third Parties. The third party candidates would get drowned in the noise.
I think it might be nice if independents could vote in every primary. So the primary candidates wouldn't be forced to go extremist in towing the party line to win the primary, and then go running back to the center for the general elections. I'm probably missing some vital element here, but I would hope it would make them at least more consistent.
Quote from: Doktor Alphapance on August 02, 2010, 02:16:29 PM
Quote from: Doktor Charley Brown on August 02, 2010, 04:09:11 AM
Do you vote?
Will you vote?
If not, why not?
Do you think voting is a civic responsibility?
Do you think your vote matters?
Should Independent voters be allowed to vote in primaries?
Yes, Yes, N/A, Yes...
If it's a local election, then yes. If it's federal, only partially. I live in MA, which is solid blue when it comes to the electoral college (Scott Brown was more of a fucked up laziness on the part of the Dems, rather than a solid Republican win). I do feel I can have an effect with third parties by at least giving them a high enough percentage to be recognized as viable the following year (if they get 5% of the national vote, they qualify for federal funding). So while the candidate I usually like won't win, they will at least get my support, which can help.
Primaries are good because if we just went straight to the general elections, we'd have 5 Dems, 5 Reps, and then at least 5 Third Parties. The third party candidates would get drowned in the noise.
I think it might be nice if independents could vote in every primary. So the primary candidates wouldn't be forced to go extremist in towing the party line to win the primary, and then go running back to the center for the general elections. I'm probably missing some vital element here, but I would hope it would make them at least more consistent.
Here in conservative Kansas Republicans need to say two things. "I am pro life and Pro guns." Since I am Independent I can't vote in a republican primary but even though I lean left I would choose to vote in the Republican primary, for the more centrist candidate.
The sex party just shot out of nowhere recently. Very exciting.
Also I'm very pleased about the Greens looking at an increased vote.
Do you vote? Every election since I turned 18
Will you vote? I'm the Cal Ripken Jr. of voting!
Do you think voting is a civic responsibility? I think so, yes.
Do you think your vote matters? Sure. It matters more the more local you get.
Should Independent voters be allowed to vote in primaries? I wouldn't say should. I mean, it is their party. I was faced with that this year. A Democrat I really wanted to win was in a 4-man primary. In the end, I valued my party-independence over being a part of the Dems to vote for the guy. And he lost, but he was going to lose anyway. But if independents were allowed to vote in primaries here I certainly would participate.
Quote from: Doktor Charley Brown on August 02, 2010, 04:09:11 AM
Do you vote?
Will you vote?
If not, why not?
Do you think voting is a civic responsibility?
Do you think your vote matters?
Should Independent voters be allowed to vote in primaries?
Yes,
Yes,
This one time we had to vote for the city council and I had an afternoon nap and got distracted until 10 minutes before the booths would close, I grabbed my voting card, jumped on my bike, drove as fast as I could, only to find the door just being locked in front of me, rules are of course pretty strict when it comes to voting. I felt like such a dumbass.. :(
Yes, I like the way Roger put it, taking part in the state just means three things, you gotta pay taxes, you gotta vote and you gotta do jury duty. Except we don't have juries. I feel like voting is not too much to ask, getting a bit informed, and because of our coalition system we have loads of parties and there's usually some pretty-okay and/or not-really-that-bad ones to pick from, for most political positions.
Kind of. I think discussion politics and talking points with your friends before the elections matters more. With more parties, people get swayed easier, as they often have multiple favourites anyway. Unfortunately I don't get the Geert Wilders voters that way, because none of my friends are that dumb.
And I cant really give an informed opinion on the independent primaries thingy.
Do you vote?
Yes.
Will you vote?
Probably.
If not, why not?
n/a
Do you think voting is a civic responsibility?
Yes, but it's also a civic responsibility to be educated about the issues and the consequences of your ideology. If you can't do that, you shouldn't vote.
Do you think your vote matters?
Yes.
Should Independent voters be allowed to vote in primaries?
Absolutely not. Party primaries should be reserved for members of a party. A primary is a party function, not a State function. Parties should not enjoy State-sponsored privileges such as access to State funds to hold primary elections, no matter their size or popularity. If you want to have a political party, that's great, but the national election system should be completely party-agnostic. Allowing independent voters in primaries blurs the line that should absolutely separate political parties from governmental entities.
Do you vote?
Yes but unless its a really close race, I vote by die roll
RANDOMOCRACY, BITCHES
Do you think voting is a civic responsibility?
only if you care. if you can't be arsed to educate yourself about the issues, it's probably best that you don't vote, as your vote will be informed by stupid things.
Do you think your vote matters?
definitely not. I think it's largely arbitrary participatory wanking. That's why I vote by die roll.
Never once in my life have I said, "Thank god I voted for that guy." Might as well choose randomly.
Should Independent voters be allowed to vote in primaries?
I do. I change my party affiliation based on what elections I want to vote in. I am a registered republican just so I can vote against people like Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee whenever I can.
Most people are saying that voting is a civic responsibility if you're educated about the issue. Maybe there should be a short quiz at the beginning of every ballot just to make sure the person is qualified to have an opinion.
"If demand for a product goes up, the price of that product (a) increases (b) decreases."
"A 'Flat Tax' on income of 10% results in wealthy people paying a (a) higher (b) lower percentage of their income in taxes than poor people."
etc.
If you fail the quiz, your vote isn't counted.
I hear Libertarians have similar ideas about money and voting.
I think it is a civic responsibility but I wouldnt' walk down the road of talking about being educated, etc. I think it would be nice if more people would research candidates and ballot initiatives, but I'm not comfortable using election law to encourage, institutionalize, or mandate that. Because when you go down that road, you invariably end up disenfranchising voters.
Quote from: Rev. What's-His-Name? on August 02, 2010, 04:54:43 PM
I think it is a civic responsibility but I wouldnt' walk down the road of talking about being educated, etc. I think it would be nice if more people would research candidates and ballot initiatives, but I'm not comfortable using election law to encourage, institutionalize, or mandate that. Because when you go down that road, you invariably end up disenfranchising voters.
I agree.
Do you vote? Yes
Will you vote? Yes
If not, why not? N/A
Do you think voting is a civic responsibility? Yes
Do you think your vote matters? Yes
Should Independent voters be allowed to vote in primaries? No. Each party, IMO, should have the exclusive right to have the members of that part cast a vote on who will represent them. Opening primaries to independents allows a voter to cast a vote for the less qualified candidate, increasing the odds, however slightly, of the less qualified candidate to represent a party they have no interest in in order to advance their own agenda of having a lesser candidate run against the independent.
Quote from: Doktor Charley Brown on August 02, 2010, 04:09:11 AM
Do you vote?
Will you vote?
If not, why not?
Do you think voting is a civic responsibility?
Do you think your vote matters?
Should Independent voters be allowed to vote in primaries?
YeS
yeS
??
yEs
hrMM...
SuRe
VoTing iS oNE pArt oF CiVic reSponSibiLity. But OnE VoTe Is NoT alL YoU hAvE. IssueS ShOuld bE discuSSed regUlarly WiTh YoUr pEIrs. ReaCH ConcenSuS wIth OthERs WhO aRe ActiVE iN ThEiR oWN lIVEs, as OppOseD tO SpeCTATorS = GET MOAR VOTES!
Quote from: Cuddlefish on August 03, 2010, 01:09:14 AM
Quote from: Doktor Charley Brown on August 02, 2010, 04:09:11 AM
Do you vote?
Will you vote?
If not, why not?
Do you think voting is a civic responsibility?
Do you think your vote matters?
Should Independent voters be allowed to vote in primaries?
YeS
yeS
??
yEs
hrMM...
SuRe
VoTing iS oNE pArt oF CiVic reSponSibiLity. But OnE VoTe Is NoT alL YoU hAvE. IssueS ShOuld bE discuSSed regUlarly WiTh YoUr pEIrs. ReaCH ConcenSuS wIth OthERs WhO aRe ActiVE iN ThEiR oWN lIVEs, as OppOseD tO SpeCTATorS = GET MOAR VOTES!
Fix your damn caps key.
YeAh! AllRIGht! i wILl Fix my damn caps key.
Quote from: vexati0n on August 02, 2010, 04:46:06 PM
Most people are saying that voting is a civic responsibility if you're educated about the issue. Maybe there should be a short quiz at the beginning of every ballot just to make sure the person is qualified to have an opinion.
"If demand for a product goes up, the price of that product (a) increases (b) decreases."
"A 'Flat Tax' on income of 10% results in wealthy people paying a (a) higher (b) lower percentage of their income in taxes than poor people."
etc.
If you fail the quiz, your vote isn't counted.
Your flat tax question doesn't have the correct answer available (the same percentage, it's a flat tax) and the econ supply and demand one is tricky since an increased demand will often lead to an increase in production and less need for profit margin on each unit sold.
Quote from: Rev. What's-His-Name? on August 02, 2010, 04:54:43 PM
I think it is a civic responsibility but I wouldnt' walk down the road of talking about being educated, etc. I think it would be nice if more people would research candidates and ballot initiatives, but I'm not comfortable using election law to encourage, institutionalize, or mandate that. Because when you go down that road, you invariably end up disenfranchising voters.
I know that in WA absentee voters receive a pamphlet in which each candidate is allowed to put forth their platform in a page and each initiative or referendum is given a page by the sponsors to explain it. These pamphlets are also at the polling places so you can read them while you wait to vote. I was kinda shocked when I came to Ohio that they don't have these.
lol yeah we have like a back and front check list
Quote from: FredleySneijder on August 03, 2010, 04:53:33 AM
lol yeah we have like a back and front check list
Yep, and I still haven't figured out how to write someone in on an Ohio Ballot.
hrmmm i havent tried...
i remember seeing a write in when you go to an actual polling station but not on absentee
Quote from: BabylonHoruv on August 03, 2010, 04:39:55 AM
Quote from: vexati0n on August 02, 2010, 04:46:06 PM
Most people are saying that voting is a civic responsibility if you're educated about the issue. Maybe there should be a short quiz at the beginning of every ballot just to make sure the person is qualified to have an opinion.
"If demand for a product goes up, the price of that product (a) increases (b) decreases."
"A 'Flat Tax' on income of 10% results in wealthy people paying a (a) higher (b) lower percentage of their income in taxes than poor people."
etc.
If you fail the quiz, your vote isn't counted.
Your flat tax question doesn't have the correct answer available (the same percentage, it's a flat tax) and the econ supply and demand one is tricky since an increased demand will often lead to an increase in production and less need for profit margin on each unit sold.
Obviously I can't vote then :(
Quote from: vexati0n on August 02, 2010, 04:46:06 PM
Most people are saying that voting is a civic responsibility if you're educated about the issue. Maybe there should be a short quiz at the beginning of every ballot just to make sure the person is qualified to have an opinion.
"If demand for a product goes up, the price of that product (a) increases (b) decreases."
"A 'Flat Tax' on income of 10% results in wealthy people paying a (a) higher (b) lower percentage of their income in taxes than poor people."
etc.
If you fail the quiz, your vote isn't counted.
Limiting voting to the educated (or the self-percived educated) seems like a way for A LOT to go wrong.
The concept of civic responsibility, surprisingly, came up in a convorsation last night. Many people think that "responsibility" equals hard work and massive amounts of effort, so they ignore their duty and "let someone else deal with it." (which is how thisn place got all F'd in the first place) I was telling them that we all have a responsibility to make sure that our government is providing us the services that we require. My capitalist friend asked me what the fuck I do to fulfill my civic responsibility. I told him that the convorsation we were having is the best way to exercise your power as a lowly peasant American citizen. One convorsation a day can be enough to spread ideas, and motivate people to exercise their brains a bit. Like I said, come to a concensus with active individuals, you can "multiply" your vote.
also, I blow bubbles.
brblbrblbrblbrblbrblbrblbrbl
Right on CuddleFish! As John Lennon said, "And you think you're so clever and classless and free, But you're still fucking peasants as far as I can see". It was Ringo who said "brblbrblbrblbrblbrblbrblbrbl" iirc.
yeah forced to vote also, however Liberal scum will die
.. sorry I hate Tony Abbott
I am amused by the fact the Australian conservative party is called the Liberal party. I think it is because they are on the other side of the world and everything is upside down there.
Australia is just a long-running joke that never gets old :x
Quote from: Doktor Alphapance on August 02, 2010, 02:16:29 PM
Quote from: Doktor Charley Brown on August 02, 2010, 04:09:11 AM
Do you vote?
Will you vote?
If not, why not?
Do you think voting is a civic responsibility?
Do you think your vote matters?
Should Independent voters be allowed to vote in primaries?
Yes, Yes, N/A, Yes...
If it's a local election, then yes. If it's federal, only partially. I live in MA, which is solid blue when it comes to the electoral college (Scott Brown was more of a fucked up laziness on the part of the Dems, rather than a solid Republican win). I do feel I can have an effect with third parties by at least giving them a high enough percentage to be recognized as viable the following year (if they get 5% of the national vote, they qualify for federal funding). So while the candidate I usually like won't win, they will at least get my support, which can help.
Primaries are good because if we just went straight to the general elections, we'd have 5 Dems, 5 Reps, and then at least 5 Third Parties. The third party candidates would get drowned in the noise.
I think it might be nice if independents could vote in every primary. So the primary candidates wouldn't be forced to go extremist in towing the party line to win the primary, and then go running back to the center for the general elections. I'm probably missing some vital element here, but I would hope it would make them at least more consistent.
My sentiments to a T.
As a side note, I'm registered as Green-Rainbow Party of Massachusetts. Which means some elections, I'm considered an Independent, since we keep losing and regaining party status. It is kinda funny though, a couple of times when they've looked me up, people have asked me what the hell J stands for (J indicates GRP MA)
Quote from: BabylonHoruv on August 04, 2010, 02:15:37 AM
I am amused by the fact the Australian conservative party is called the Liberal party. I think it is because they are on the other side of the world and everything is upside down there.
Our Liberal party is also a right wing conservative one.
Except that right now, Geert Wilders is making them look relatively quite sensible.
Quote from: NotPublished on August 04, 2010, 02:12:49 AM
yeah forced to vote also, however Liberal scum will die
.. sorry I hate Tony Abbott
I'd be expecting an apology if you didn't loath those swine.
Also the Libs are economically liberal, hence the name.
And Labour are pretty much conservative too.
I can't believe how depressing this election gets, and it only gets more pathetic daily.
yeah its painful ... least there are some great parodies coming out!
Yes we canberra!
... but albiet, its rather painful. Though, I still would rather Labor than Greens :argh!:
Sex party guys. They are the only sane and rational party around at the moment. Seriously.
Quote from: NotPublished on August 04, 2010, 11:13:35 AM
yeah its painful ... least there are some great parodies coming out!
Yes we canberra!
... but albiet, its rather painful. Though, I still would rather Labor than Greens :argh!:
Out of curiosity, why?
While the greens do seem like they have a fair few good policies; their stance on free university alone nearly won me over, I don't think it would work out in the long run; where is the money going to come from? They talk about making things for free, but I don't see mention of where they are going to get the funds for this. More tax? They'd probably have to cut teachers wages, and we don't want that happening again do we?
It sounds ideal for the quality of life for working class, I don't think we're ready for such a shift; the implementation alone would take along time; I can imagine alot of people reacting bad to it (If teachers start striking again we're doomed XD), also I can imagine it would impact on our economy, they'd have to try for more sources of revenue, and where is that going to come from? I assume in the end Tourism and Working Migrates ~ we'd pretty much resort to outsourcing again (well more so).
But this is all long-term, so it is important I suppose.
So basically, Liberal want to cut everything and I assume reinstate WorkChoice (Or ChoiceWork since workchoices is supposed to be dead), Greens want everything to be free (and pro-drugs), and Labor .... they seem to have the right idea... or I'm just horribly biased
Besides they don't have the power to win fed.. last I checked. But I haven't been through the Greens policies thoroughly.
I haven't read up on any of aus sex party, but I think I'll do that soon .. the spokes woman beat the shit out of that other party whose name I forgot about.
I panicked, Tony Abbott for the first time beat Julia on a televised pole .......
I don't want Abbott to win, he'll cut the National Broadband to WA, and remove the mining tax! Then all the cuts will begin ... doooooooooooooooooom ... But, I can't help wonder what effect it will have on our economy?
Is the Aus Sex Party that good? :lol:
eta: Maybe if we were communist, the Green party would rule.
Quote from: NotPublished on August 04, 2010, 02:41:16 PM
Besides they don't have the power to win fed.. last I checked. But I haven't been through the Greens policies thoroughly.
The Greens will be lucky to pick up one or two seats in the house of reps, but they look alright in the senate, especially with the Labor preferences.
That's why I like the Greens atm, even if their policies aren't that good long term, they don't have the power to institute them anyway. But, they can take of the job of the Democrats, now that they are essentially dead.
Reading up on the Sex Party, they do have some nice policies, but they do seem to miss a few issues that are important, at least from what I've read. (Maybe they are thinking to much with their collective genitalia).
Well, personally, the sex party give a fuck about everything I give a fuck about without harming anything that I do give a fuck about.
Censorship
* Bring about the establishment of a truly national classification scheme which includes a uniform non-violent erotica rating for explicit adult material for all jurisdictions and through all media including the Internet and computer games.
* Introduce an R and X rating for computer games
* To overturn mandatory ISP filtering of the Internet and return Internet censorship to parents and individuals.
* We oppose the mandatory retention of all Australian users' internet browsing history and emails by ISPs for at-will inspection by law enforcement agencies, and support strong judicial oversight over the ability of law enforcement to access individuals' internet and email data.
Education
* To bring about the development of a national sex education curriculum as a first step in preventing the sexualisation of children.
* Development of a national internet education scheme for parents.
Equality
* To enact national anti discrimination laws which make it illegal to unfairly discriminate against people or companies on the basis of job, occupation, profession or calling.
* To bring about equal numbers of women in the Parliament through enabling the Federal Discrimination Act to have jurisdiction extending to political parties.
* To create total equal rights in all areas of the law including same sex marriage.
* Overturn racist laws that ban adults living in and visiting aboriginal communities in the NT from possessing erotic and sexual media.
* Ensure the sexual rights and freedoms of people with a disability and the elderly.
Health
* To enact national pregnancy termination laws along the same lines as divorce law — which allow for legal, no-fault and guilt-free processes for women seeking termination.
* The listing of Viagra, Cialis and other drugs used to treat sexual dysfunction, on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.
* Overturn restrictions on aid to overseas family planning organisations that reference abortion.
Protection of Children
* Convene a Royal Commission into child sex abuse in the nation's religious institutions.
* Develop global approaches to tackling child pornography which focus on detection and apprehension of the producers of the material.
Workplace Relations
* Ensure that the introduction of paid parental leave is fair and equitable for small businesses.
* Abolish sex slavery and sexual servitude by introducing non morality-based immigration policies that allow bona-fide sex workers to work legally in Australia.
Other
* Ending the tax exempt status for religions.
Bolded are particular things they sold me on...
Not to mention, they throw *parties* for all their volunteers.
So you can probably imagine why I'm so excited about being on their side :lol:
Tony Abbott would of been awesome in the 1800s
(http://resources2.news.com.au/images/2009/12/03/1225806/772686-tony-abbott.jpg)
HEY GAIZ IM TONY ABBOTT AND I WANT YOUR DAUGHTERS HYMEN
This message is brought to you by the Liberal Government
Mixing religion and politics together
Ughh he quoted the bible on homeless people, feels threatened by gays, oh constantly reiterates something about not having sex before marriage (right cause this is what politics needs yea?), and I lose my erection when I see him!
Ok no more abbott bashing ... Got into a heavy arguement with a Liberal supporter earlier :lol:
Quote from: Rumckle on August 04, 2010, 02:52:25 PM
Quote from: NotPublished on August 04, 2010, 02:41:16 PM
Besides they don't have the power to win fed.. last I checked. But I haven't been through the Greens policies thoroughly.
The Greens will be lucky to pick up one or two seats in the house of reps, but they look alright in the senate, especially with the Labor preferences.
That's why I like the Greens atm, even if their policies aren't that good long term, they don't have the power to institute them anyway. But, they can take of the job of the Democrats, now that they are essentially dead.
Reading up on the Sex Party, they do have some nice policies, but they do seem to miss a few issues that are important, at least from what I've read. (Maybe they are thinking to much with their collective genitalia).
Greens are just hiding under the protective name of Labor, cause they understand Labor aren't as insane as Liberal ... though, I do find many of the greens shit agreeable, but would they make a mess of things regardless? I suppose by the time they gain enough power, it wouldn't matter to us :lol:
I'll def give sex party a read up soon though .... Lys's points are good, but yeah they seem to be lacking in a few things (I'll go through their policies theres obviously more)
The only thing I wish I could witness was Mark Latham, he sounded hilarious.
Quote from: NotPublished on August 04, 2010, 03:07:42 PM
Tony Abbott would of been awesome in the 1800s
(http://resources2.news.com.au/images/2009/12/03/1225806/772686-tony-abbott.jpg)
HEY GAIZ IM TONY ABBOTT AND I WANT YOUR DAUGHTERS HYMEN
This message is brought to you by the Liberal Government
Mixing religion and politics together
Ughh he quoted the bible on homeless people, feels threatened by gays, oh constantly reiterates something about not having sex before marriage (right cause this is what politics needs yea?), and I lose my erection when I see him!
Ok no more abbott bashing ... Got into a heavy arguement with a Liberal supporter earlier :lol:
Quote from: Rumckle on August 04, 2010, 02:52:25 PM
Quote from: NotPublished on August 04, 2010, 02:41:16 PM
Besides they don't have the power to win fed.. last I checked. But I haven't been through the Greens policies thoroughly.
The Greens will be lucky to pick up one or two seats in the house of reps, but they look alright in the senate, especially with the Labor preferences.
That's why I like the Greens atm, even if their policies aren't that good long term, they don't have the power to institute them anyway. But, they can take of the job of the Democrats, now that they are essentially dead.
Reading up on the Sex Party, they do have some nice policies, but they do seem to miss a few issues that are important, at least from what I've read. (Maybe they are thinking to much with their collective genitalia).
Greens are just hiding under the protective name of Labor, cause they understand Labor aren't as insane as Liberal ... though, I do find many of the greens shit agreeable, but would they make a mess of things regardless? I suppose by the time they gain enough power, it wouldn't matter to us :lol:
I'll def give sex party a read up soon though .... Lys's points are good, but yeah they seem to be lacking in a few things (I'll go through their policies theres obviously more)
The only thing I wish I could witness was Mark Latham, he sounded hilarious.
What they lack in are things that other parties who will definitely take the majority vote will still handle anyway.
Healthcare, welfare, and such aren't big on their list of things "to-do". :lol:
and here's a link for you lazy fuckers, even though I essentially c+p'ed their whole list of policies.
http://www.sexparty.org.au/index.php/policies
oh I'm not sure where I heard this, but wasn't there mention of doing extensive check on any possible pornographic material when traveling into aus/sydney ? You could fined for not claiming you have an erotic photo of your SO or some pictures on your usb/laptop etc I'm not sure it was limited to the NT only
I'm not sure what the exact specs were, I assume the sex party would abolish that atleast :x .. I don't even know why that came up :lol:
QuoteWhat they lack in are things that other parties who will definitely take the majority vote will still handle anyway.
Healthcare, welfare, and such aren't big on their list of things "to-do". lol
and here's a link for you lazy fuckers, even though I essentially c+p'ed their whole list of policies.
http://www.sexparty.org.au/index.php/policies
:lulz: alright cheers there mate ... yeah I'll put sex party as a priority
Fuck everything!!!
Was this it:
QuoteA couple of months ago the federal Labor government changed the Customs regulations to force people to declare whether they had any 'pornography' when returning to Australia. It didn't matter if the material was legal. If you had anything that could possibly fit the definition of 'pornography' such as a Playboy magazine, a lesbian journal, a photo of your partner naked or, worse still, an image of the two of you making love on a mobile or a laptop, you had to declare it or risk prosecution. Customs officers now have the right to search your browsing history and iPhoto for the catch-all reason of investigating 'pornography'.
From Gizmodo:
http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2010/08/classification-and-internet-censorship-as-an-election-issue/
Also, written by the leader of the sex party.
BTW: Are we spagging up your thread C. Brown?
Holy crap! Yes thats the one.
That shit is scary XD
ah dear sweet labor, wtf are you doing :cry:
If Abbott wins, lets flee aus!
Quote from: Rumckle on August 04, 2010, 03:24:32 PM
Was this it:
QuoteA couple of months ago the federal Labor government changed the Customs regulations to force people to declare whether they had any 'pornography' when returning to Australia. It didn't matter if the material was legal. If you had anything that could possibly fit the definition of 'pornography' such as a Playboy magazine, a lesbian journal, a photo of your partner naked or, worse still, an image of the two of you making love on a mobile or a laptop, you had to declare it or risk prosecution. Customs officers now have the right to search your browsing history and iPhoto for the catch-all reason of investigating 'pornography'.
From Gizmodo:
http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2010/08/classification-and-internet-censorship-as-an-election-issue/
Also, written by the leader of the sex party.
Hell No! This is interesting.
Ah ... politics just gets more insane by the day .........
I hope Julia and Abbott atleast make one more duel, if they do it on channel 7 I can imagine it would be hilarious they'd just be insulting each other
But if Labor keeps messing up my poor heart can't take it much longer ...
If this rate keeps up; Sex Party will be my #1
btw did anybody watch Yes we Canberra, anything good on it?
Quote from: BabylonHoruv on August 04, 2010, 02:15:37 AM
I am amused by the fact the Australian conservative party is called the Liberal party. I think it is because they are on the other side of the world and everything is upside down there.
Laissez-faire economics are Liberal however....by the 19th century, original meaning of the word, and most Liberal parties in Europe and, as mentioned, Australia, are centre-right, not centre-left in their beliefs, at least on economic issues (some are quite libertarian on social issues, whereas others, like the Australian Liberal Party, are less so).
It's not
our fault the American ideological labelling system makes no sense when compared to the rest of the world.
Quote from: Cain on August 04, 2010, 04:12:00 PM
Quote from: BabylonHoruv on August 04, 2010, 02:15:37 AM
I am amused by the fact the Australian conservative party is called the Liberal party. I think it is because they are on the other side of the world and everything is upside down there.
Laissez-faire economics are Liberal however....by the 19th century, original meaning of the word, and most Liberal parties in Europe and, as mentioned, Australia, are centre-right, not centre-left in their beliefs, at least on economic issues (some are quite libertarian on social issues, whereas others, like the Australian Liberal Party, are less so).
It's not our fault the American ideological labelling system makes no sense when compared to the rest of the world.
Seeing those differences is what makes it so interesting to me.
Cool. I asked for an opinion so I don't want to turn around and be a jackass about it but I would like to just make a handful of points.
1. Most Greens voters focus on the importance of having Greens as an influence, and don't really worry to much about the policies that they'd need to be in government to bring in. The good of these guys in a ballence of power is that they're pretty smooth negotiators and can win favours from the people upstairs.
2. The money. I've had some dealing with these people, and generally they move towards cutting 'unneeded' projects. It wouldn't be characteristic of the Greens to cut teacher salary.
3. Pro-drugs is more a PR disaster that the major parties have really managed to paint the Greens with. The actual policy is decriminalisation of marijuana, which most people who ARE pro drugs would say doesn't go far enough. I'm not sure of the top of my head where they stand on medical use.
That said, they're no more perfect than anyone else, so take it all as you will.
Quote from: Cain on August 04, 2010, 04:12:00 PM
Quote from: BabylonHoruv on August 04, 2010, 02:15:37 AM
I am amused by the fact the Australian conservative party is called the Liberal party. I think it is because they are on the other side of the world and everything is upside down there.
Laissez-faire economics are Liberal however....by the 19th century, original meaning of the word, and most Liberal parties in Europe and, as mentioned, Australia, are centre-right, not centre-left in their beliefs, at least on economic issues (some are quite libertarian on social issues, whereas others, like the Australian Liberal Party, are less so).
It's not our fault the American ideological labelling system makes no sense when compared to the rest of the world.
I know. I bet it makes our demagogues stumble over their words sometimes when having conversations with their ideological allies from other countries though. Considering they use Liberal as the worst possible of words. (although they have been switching over to progressive as the worst possible word lately)
Quote from: Placid Dingo on August 05, 2010, 10:48:11 AM
Cool. I asked for an opinion so I don't want to turn around and be a jackass about it but I would like to just make a handful of points.
1. Most Greens voters focus on the importance of having Greens as an influence, and don't really worry to much about the policies that they'd need to be in government to bring in. The good of these guys in a ballence of power is that they're pretty smooth negotiators and can win favours from the people upstairs.
2. The money. I've had some dealing with these people, and generally they move towards cutting 'unneeded' projects. It wouldn't be characteristic of the Greens to cut teacher salary.
3. Pro-drugs is more a PR disaster that the major parties have really managed to paint the Greens with. The actual policy is decriminalisation of marijuana, which most people who ARE pro drugs would say doesn't go far enough. I'm not sure of the top of my head where they stand on medical use.
That said, they're no more perfect than anyone else, so take it all as you will.
I can dig that, haha I guess the deadline is coming up soon ... But what are the undeeded projects? Do we currently take on that many undeeded projects that put a constant strain on the funding? .. Well I guess we do, but what deserves to be cut and what doesn't?
I forgot my other questions ... am totally braindead