Mr Kleb (06-18-2014), Sir Winston (06-17-2014)
Just wanted to pick out a few key themes from the above post:
- Facts aren't allowed in the USA
- The USA, as we knew it, doesn't exist anymore (not sure what time frame the USA actually existed)
- Border Patrol agents are being murdered and arrested
- The UN is taking over the world via the "Charter"
- US state governors are losing their power
- Short wave radio has all the facts
Some interesting conclusions to ponder! Can you provide any more information on these theories?
Sorry, I'm new to these forums, but I can't help wanting to learn more about the impending UN takeover.
Mr Kleb (06-18-2014), Sir Winston (06-17-2014)
Interesting background. I'm always interested to read about what kind of ballots are used. Most American states have electronic voting machines, but not all. It's somewhat hard to believe some jurisdictions still use paper ballots but I suppose that's less costly than purchasing equipment. On the other hand, someone has to be paid to tally all of those votes.
Same-day registration is not allowed in Kentucky, though it is allowed in some states. Wait times vary significantly. People in urban areas usually have to wait much longer to vote than people in suburban or rural areas.
I do wish the United States was more like Canada in general, but specifically because Canada has proportional representation instead of geographically based districts. This would allow third party alternatives to emerge, because it would actually be possible for third parties to win seats in Congress or state legislatures. It would also prohibit gerrymandering, which is a real problem.
In the 2012 U.S. elections, Democrats running for House seats got more than 1 million more votes than the Republicans did cumulatively. Under a proportional system, they would have won a narrow majority in the House. Under the current system, the Republicans have a 34-seat advantage despite getting fewer votes because of the way the districts are divided.
Such distortions to representative institutions are undemocratic, regardless of which party they benefit. Effectively the system is saying the votes of people in some areas count for more than they do in other areas. State governments draw the districts in most states, and of course whatever party is in charge rigs the game in its favor to the maximum degree possible. Switching to proportional representation would eliminate this problem. Unfortunately it will never happen without a constitutional amendment, and that is highly unlikely to pass.
Mr Kleb (06-18-2014)
congrats on being part of your new political system. The only way to change voting districts is to open up the border to allow more democrats in Its a new low in political strategy, but thats how divided the USA is. At least in 20 years when our entire country is democratic, we will all be happy and perfect
Mr Kleb (06-18-2014)
Immigrants have to become citizens in order to vote. The process takes time. Most Latinos voting today were born in the United States.
And not all Latinos vote for Democrats. Bush actually got about half of the Latino vote in 2004. McCain and Romney did poorly with them because the GOP has failed to address immigration issues at all, and that is an important issue for that demographic. If the GOP worked with the Dems to enact comprehensive immigration reform, I think they would probably get back some of those voters.
I'm not trying to be provocative, but I'm skeptical that the only reason a certain segment of the electorate is again immigration is because of democratic-leaning tendencies. There seems to be a narrative that immigrants take advantage of the social safety net, and are a drain on society, rather than productive members of society who strengthen the economy. I haven't seen data to support this.
Perhaps I'm sensitive to these notions as a second generation immigrant myself. Of course, my parents were from one of the "good" countries. Also, I'm a scientist, and am pretty steadfast about evidence-based policy.
Anyway, here is a bit more info about Latino voters and the issues important to them:
Latino Voters in the 2012 Election | Pew Research Centers Hispanic Trends Project
ETA: sorry to derail your very interesting post OP!
Mr Kleb (06-18-2014), Sir Winston (06-17-2014)
since most of these new immigrants are from outside the normal mexican/cuban countries and the increase has been almost 15x(6000/90,000) in just 12 months for kids, something political has to be going on behind the scenes. But since Im not that involved, I just see the surface and not what is really going on. Maybe since Obama didnt get his way on a few things, he decided to just say fack it and prove a point on not working together. OFC if a president really wants to do something, he just does it...Politics...I hate it when our elected leaders cant agree on whats best for the country...any country.
and then all the coverups...just disgusting. 2 years of lost emails...thats just BS.
anyways, its great you are getting involved, if more people got involved, maybe all the incompetence and corruption would be reduced. Its when nobody looks that all the bad stuff happens.
Mr Kleb (06-18-2014)
Back to the OP's topic, I found an article showing that the election turnout in Ontario was 52 percent, which is significantly higher than the 40.1 percent in the U.S. in 2010. Mid-term, provincial or state-level election turnout is generally not very high in most democracies, which is disappointing. But it's even worse in the United States than in Canada.
Thanks everyone for your comments and encouragement. I wasn't chosen to be a polling official. That's OK I'll try again next election.
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I'm skeptical that One World Government, or well as foreign gangs/youth/immigrants, are significant problems facing the States (or Canada for that matter). I'm more concerned about people and organizations which promote and (openly or otherwise) encourage a climate of fear, anger, and anxiety. People and organizations who encourage, whether they acknowledge it or not, an atmosphere of divisiveness and 'us versus them' whether the 'them' are foreigners or simply fellow citizens who look, dress, believe, act differently.
Julia, I used to live in the blue outpost of Austin if that tells you anything. It sounds as though you won't be voting for Greg Abbott.
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My riding (district) was redistributed (redrawn) in 1999 after a census, then again last year. Each province has an independent electoral boundaries commission which reviews current boundaries and sets the new ones. This process essentially eliminates gerrymandering, which I believe is a big problem in the US electoral system. It was good to see California take important steps a year or two ago to change their boundary setting process.
Sir Winston, you are right that the percentage of voters jumped this year. It was a lively campaign. I think some unions, who traditionally encourage their members to vote NDP, were unhappy that Andrea Horwath rejected the Liberal's budget. This led some unions to decline to encourage their rank-and-file to support the NDP, and I suspect more than a few voted strategically to keep the PCs out of power. There was also significant backlash against the PC leaders' budget and economic plans, which is probably why the PCs lost seats to the Liberals.
Andrew, Faye, Fitzi, and Lucy
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julia (06-18-2014)
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