The Political Discussion Thread

[thekillman]

In the meantime, Enjoy the MSM..
IMO, the MSM fell out of grace--mostly ALL of them, when they stopped reporting on the elections accurately and put out *misleading* info/data, and claimed it as Truth. There's been other incidents where many in the MSM have been and still are biased, but that is nothing new. They have their own propaganda agenda to carry out, which they've been doing for years now, and so be it.

As I said before, politics is a *nasty* business.
I expect the *news* seasons along with various commentaries on here to get even more turbulent over the next several years.

Have a pleasant *holiday* season.
I may be elsewhere, than lurking in here.

Most of the BS news i see comes from facebook and twitter, not from "main stream" media. So yes i trust that media more.

[Annoyed]

Here's an idea -- make voting mandatory for every US citizen (legal citizens) from the age of 18.

I disagree. Doing so would limit freedom of how to vote. How many people sat out this year because they couldn't support either candidate? I myself abstained in both 2008 & 2012 because I couldn't support either party's candidate. Would you like to see people forced to vote for a candidate they don't like? There is no choice of "None of the above" on the ballot.

Freedom must include the right to remain silent, too.

[Annoyed]

Most of the BS news i see comes from facebook and twitter, not from "main stream" media. So yes i trust that media more.

Social media is not a news gathering operation. It's more akin to a BS spreading operation, as far as I can tell.

Yeah, I know, many news stories include twitter comments in the stories. I guess the children can't comprehend the content without the feedback from their peers (or in some cases, leaders) to tell them what to think about it.
But I don't even bother to read them.

[Falcon Horus]

I disagree. Doing so would limit freedom of how to vote. How many people sat out this year because they couldn't support either candidate? I myself abstained in both 2008 & 2012 because I couldn't support either party's candidate. Would you like to see people forced to vote for a candidate they don't like? There is no choice of "None of the above" on the ballot.

Freedom must include the right to remain silent, too.

Mandatory voting means you have to show up for the voting. Doesn't mean you have to actually cast any vote.

We have mandatory voting and we can totally decide against voting for anyone by ticking the "leave empty" box. Write-ins are impossible to do for us (electronic voting and lists with candidates are set months before the voting date).

[Annoyed]

What the heck is the point of having to show up, but not having to vote? That belongs over in the bonehead thread.

[Ian-S]

I guess its better than having to sort through ballots that have various parts of the human anatomy written across them, or my personal favourite "none of these crooks".

[Falcon Horus]

I guess its better than having to sort through ballots that have various parts of the human anatomy written across them, or my personal favourite "none of these crooks".

They would be invalid anyway.

What the heck is the point of having to show up, but not having to vote? That belongs over in the bonehead thread.

It's called being part of a democracy.
I know, you Americans don't understand the concept of voting very well, and for a first world country that's a very sad fact to have on your record, so I'll forgive your ignorance.

[Annoyed]

It's called being part of a democracy.
I know, you Americans don't understand the concept of voting very well, and for a first world country that's a very sad fact to have on your record, so I'll forgive your ignorance.

I understand voting very well. And one of the choices is to not vote.
Myself, I've missed going to the polls 1 year since the mid 70's, but there have been times I've abstained in certain races. But choosing not to go at all is also a legitimate choice, and should be allowed.

What is your rationale for forcing someone to go, even if they do not plan on voting ?

[Ian-S]

They would be invalid anyway.

err nope:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/articl...lot-paper-mark

Here also "spoilt" ballots are counted separately, it can be quiet funny if "spoilt" ballots attract more votes than a main candidate (which has happened).

[Gatefan1976]

I understand voting very well. And one of the choices is to not vote.
Myself, I've missed going to the polls 1 year since the mid 70's, but there have been times I've abstained in certain races. But choosing not to go at all is also a legitimate choice, and should be allowed.

What is your rationale for forcing someone to go, even if they do not plan on voting ?

keeps your voting rolls accurate, no concern with dead voters for starters.

[Falcon Horus]

What is your rationale for forcing someone to go, even if they do not plan on voting ?

For one, respect the people who came before you and fought hard to get you the right to vote. A lot of people in the world, and the US don't even have the right to choose.

keeps your voting rolls accurate, no concern with dead voters for starters.

And there's that.

[garhkal]

I disagree. Doing so would limit freedom of how to vote. How many people sat out this year because they couldn't support either candidate? I myself abstained in both 2008 & 2012 because I couldn't support either party's candidate. Would you like to see people forced to vote for a candidate they don't like? There is no choice of "None of the above" on the ballot.

Freedom must include the right to remain silent, too.

And we already discussed somewhat, the pro-cons for making voting mandatory or not..

[Gatefan1976]

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefi...n-saudi-arabia

[thekillman]

For one, respect the people who came before you and fought hard to get you the right to vote. A lot of people in the world, and the US don't even have the right to choose.

Only if each and every election has "None of the above" as an option. The recent presidential campaign was an excellent case for it.

[Gatefan1976]

Only if each and every election has "None of the above" as an option. The recent presidential campaign was an excellent case for it.

You -can- turn in an empty ballot paper if you wish, or just make a 1 in every party position.