Like I say, I was being glib before - you can't characterize non-voting behaviour in the ways that either you or I have. It doesn't dig deep enough to get to the actual cause. It is a very complicated issue to which whole fields of study in political science are dedicated.

And "Whig" or "Tory" are perfectly acceptable options in Canada (though "Whig" is a little dated - "Grit" is better).

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Quaeso quousque humi defixa tua mens erit? Nonne aspicis, quae in templa veneris?

Here, they'd be called "Thoupees"

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"If this were play'd upon a stage now, I could condemn it as an improbable fiction."
Shakespeare, Twelfth Night
Illuminati's Razor-The most complicatedly evil answer is usually the most correct answer. - Fazor
"Every book is a children's book if the kid can read." - Mitch Hedberg
"Distance doesn’t matter much in space, where if you just start a thing off with the right kind of shove, sooner or later it will get where you want it to go." -Frederik Pohl, Mining the Oort

Ba-dum dum!

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Quaeso quousque humi defixa tua mens erit? Nonne aspicis, quae in templa veneris?

Thank you, I'll be here all night!

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"If this were play'd upon a stage now, I could condemn it as an improbable fiction."
Shakespeare, Twelfth Night
Illuminati's Razor-The most complicatedly evil answer is usually the most correct answer. - Fazor
"Every book is a children's book if the kid can read." - Mitch Hedberg
"Distance doesn’t matter much in space, where if you just start a thing off with the right kind of shove, sooner or later it will get where you want it to go." -Frederik Pohl, Mining the Oort

All these state vying to be the first to have their primary is what gets my cynical juices flowing. At this rate, we'll see the 2012 election primaries in 2010 ... hey, there's an idea, combine the presidential primaries with the mid-term elections.

And then some day we'll see primaries for the the next election the same day as we vote for the current election.

Yep. The sole responsibility of the President and his entire staff will be campaigning.

(Maybe it's already happened?)

The talents, skills and characteristics needed to get elected are often the opposite of the ones that make for a good leader.

__________________
"If this were play'd upon a stage now, I could condemn it as an improbable fiction."
Shakespeare, Twelfth Night
Illuminati's Razor-The most complicatedly evil answer is usually the most correct answer. - Fazor
"Every book is a children's book if the kid can read." - Mitch Hedberg
"Distance doesn’t matter much in space, where if you just start a thing off with the right kind of shove, sooner or later it will get where you want it to go." -Frederik Pohl, Mining the Oort

"Before too long, they'll be holding 50 primaries at 12:01am on January 1st at the rate they're going."

Given the fact that this would result in many drunk people voting, it might actually be an improvement over the current situation.

At the rate the primaries are being pushed forward, we should be able to figure out what day every primary for the rest of time will occur.

There may be some problems when the primaries are more that a human lifetime before the election, but that can probably be solved.

I wish there was a candidate that was qualified enough to woe me.

I'm voting for this guy.

http://www.zod2008.com/

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Fields of Space

LOGIC, n.
The art of thinking and reasoning in strict accordance with the limitations and incapacities of the human misunderstanding.

In the Year 2525.

"One small step for (a) man. One giant leap for mankind".

If an astronaut doesn't need good grammar, niether does you.

Host of Seraphim

I could be off the mark but the whole idea of being non-political was to examine the possibility of do we really need them (the ones with faces and names we shall not speak of).

I am sure there must be hours of footage of those whom we will not mention asleep on our tax paid time at work. As I recall there are few other jobs that offer that sort of incentive, alright mattress tester and sleep research assistant and maybe double-up-driver for long haul.

You know if I went to work and was publicly asleep (although given what they have to listen too I could cut them a break) but if it was me I would be out of a job.

Now as far as non-political is concerned is there any other organisation that has a public face for telling you one thing and actually being covertly involved in so many others ... hmm, nope can't think of any.

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"Nature is obliged to let reality determine its laws, whereas mathematics is under no such constraint."

But at least we benefit from a bloodless field of battle where those who would be king can vie with each other. Which in of its self is a pretty big advantage when you compare it to how leaders used to gain power.

that would be pretty much every publicly traded company on the planet.
and then there's famous people- be they athletes, actors, or whoever. they always put out a "nice" face to the public, while what they really do when no one is looking could be the exact opposite of what they want you to think.
a good recent example of this (at least her in the States, anyways) is former NFL star Michael Vick. his public image was of a sqeaky clean kid who came from nothing and got multi-million dollar a year contracts to play a game while leading a public life that made him look like something only slightly short of Superman for the things he did for the poor and what not, but privately he was raising dogs to be used in fighting rings- and if the dogs weren't "winners, he personally took part in the killing of the animals.
yup, he's a great guy. a real role model..

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"blacker than the blackest black... times infinity."- Nathan Explosion
The.. Best.. Thread..Ever...

And still do in many places.

__________________
"If this were play'd upon a stage now, I could condemn it as an improbable fiction."
Shakespeare, Twelfth Night
Illuminati's Razor-The most complicatedly evil answer is usually the most correct answer. - Fazor
"Every book is a children's book if the kid can read." - Mitch Hedberg
"Distance doesn’t matter much in space, where if you just start a thing off with the right kind of shove, sooner or later it will get where you want it to go." -Frederik Pohl, Mining the Oort

You must not be thinking hard enough. It happens all the time, at every level of society. Just about every society.

__________________
"If this were play'd upon a stage now, I could condemn it as an improbable fiction."
Shakespeare, Twelfth Night
Illuminati's Razor-The most complicatedly evil answer is usually the most correct answer. - Fazor
"Every book is a children's book if the kid can read." - Mitch Hedberg
"Distance doesn’t matter much in space, where if you just start a thing off with the right kind of shove, sooner or later it will get where you want it to go." -Frederik Pohl, Mining the Oort

I was thinking alright but not hard enough.
The concept of non-politics may be just beyond the reach of humanity.

Well currently it is an awful long way beyond the reach of humanity. Such a noble concept it must be ... well it must be ah ... actually it would be inhuman

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"Nature is obliged to let reality determine its laws, whereas mathematics is under no such constraint."

Unfortunately we are all descended from a long line of alpha males. And not much has changed. The pack mentality lives on.

__________________
"If this were play'd upon a stage now, I could condemn it as an improbable fiction."
Shakespeare, Twelfth Night
Illuminati's Razor-The most complicatedly evil answer is usually the most correct answer. - Fazor
"Every book is a children's book if the kid can read." - Mitch Hedberg
"Distance doesn’t matter much in space, where if you just start a thing off with the right kind of shove, sooner or later it will get where you want it to go." -Frederik Pohl, Mining the Oort

Actually I think human politics only makes sense when you remember that we are also decended from a lot of sneaky betas.

Yeah, that's the ones you gotta watch out for. The shifty-eyed backstabbers who sleazed their way into our gene pool.

__________________
"If this were play'd upon a stage now, I could condemn it as an improbable fiction."
Shakespeare, Twelfth Night
Illuminati's Razor-The most complicatedly evil answer is usually the most correct answer. - Fazor
"Every book is a children's book if the kid can read." - Mitch Hedberg
"Distance doesn’t matter much in space, where if you just start a thing off with the right kind of shove, sooner or later it will get where you want it to go." -Frederik Pohl, Mining the Oort