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  #11  
Old 05-17-2009, 10:43 AM
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merrylander merrylander is offline
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Canada has, or had, four parties and according to the paper they seem to be doing quite well.
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  #12  
Old 05-17-2009, 04:02 PM
Charles Charles is offline
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Perhaps I'm living in the past, but I'd go back to following the Constitution as the law of the land.

If you don't like it, there are means of changing it. And I'm not referring to jackoff judges who believe it's a living document.

Chas
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  #13  
Old 05-17-2009, 08:45 PM
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OvenMaster OvenMaster is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by merrylander View Post
Canada has, or had, four parties and according to the paper they seem to be doing quite well.
Canada was precisely who I had in mind when I thought of multiple parties. Having two or more parties allied to constitute a majority in a lower house forces them to work together for the common good.

Of course, another alternative? A complete BAN on political parties. All members of Congress would be independent, and would simply represent the wishes of the majority of their district's constituents. Instead of a Representative of the House representing Big Government to the people, the tables would be turned, and the Representative would be the voice of the voters in Congress.

Well, I can dream.
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Last edited by OvenMaster; 05-17-2009 at 08:49 PM.
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  #14  
Old 05-18-2009, 07:46 AM
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merrylander merrylander is offline
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There have been studies done (I believe by the Brookings Institute) concerning one of my pet peeves. This is the strange practice here of having the incoming president appoint something like 2500 or more people. Then the Senate has to 'advise and consent'. In Canada's parlaimentary system all the people below cabinet level are career civil servants, possibly why their system works.

Here we get people who quite possibly get appointed with absolutely no qualifications for the position. For the regular civil servants they see their managers chage direction every four or eight years. Under such circumstances what is surprising is not that government can be inefficient, but that it even works at all.
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  #15  
Old 05-18-2009, 04:03 PM
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JJIII JJIII is offline
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I think Charles and Merrylander are on to something. The founders saw serving as a necessary duty. Now politicians see service as a way to gain power and therefore money. I would be against enforced term limits, but I wish more people would think more about how they vote.
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  #16  
Old 05-19-2009, 12:46 PM
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merrylander merrylander is offline
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An American was visiting SCotland and dropped into one of the locals for an ale. Discussion got around to politics and the young American says;

"My Grandad was a (insert party here), and my Daddy was a (....) and I will always be a (....)."

Voice from the back of the pub.

"Whist laddie, hae ye nae ambeetion."

And that is likely why some people vote the way they do.
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  #17  
Old 05-19-2009, 02:33 PM
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merrylander merrylander is offline
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Fresh in from my cousin in the UK, names changed to suit our situation.

Man dies and goes to heaven. He notices a wall full of clocks behind S.t Peter.

Man; What are all those clocks?

St. P: Those are the lie clocks.

Man: Lie clocks?

St. P: Yes, everyone has one and they move everytime the person lies.

Man: That one does not seem to have ever moved.

St.P: That is Mother Theresa's clock, she never told a lie.

Man: That one seems to have moved twice.

St.P: That is Abraham Lincoln's he only ever told two lies.

Man: Where is (John Boehner's, Nancy Pelosi's, Mitch McConnell's, Harry Ried's) Clock? (Pick one)




St.P: Jesus has it in his office, he is using it as a ceiling fan.
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  #18  
Old 05-19-2009, 04:21 PM
Sandy G Sandy G is offline
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Aww, chit, Rob ! (grin)
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  #19  
Old 05-20-2009, 06:59 AM
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merrylander merrylander is offline
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The way cousin MaryRose had it, she wrote Gordon Brown's clock, seems pretty universal these days.

However I think a little levity is in order now and then.
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  #20  
Old 05-20-2009, 07:41 AM
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Ozmoid Ozmoid is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JJIII View Post
The founders saw serving as a necessary duty. Now politicians see service as a way to gain power and therefore money.
+1. Politicians (yes, I'm painting with a broad brush here) no longer serve their constituents, only themselves.
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