SA/A/D/SD

[Emsworth]

Mother to child: "Honey, if you vote for George Bush, I'll give you a piece of candy."
Father to child: "And if you vote for John Kerry, I'll take away your computer for a week."

[Hatman 🍁]

Mother to child: "Honey, if you vote for George Bush, I'll give you a piece of candy."
Father to child: "And if you vote for John Kerry, I'll take away your computer for a week."

This activity would be fined.

[Gabu]

Mother to child: "Honey, if you vote for George Bush, I'll give you a piece of candy."
Father to child: "And if you vote for John Kerry, I'll take away your computer for a week."

This activity would be fined.

How exactly would you find out about it?  Putting security cameras in every home?

[7,052,770]

Strongly Agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly Disagree

1.) Felons and those in jail should have the same voting rights as all other citizens.
disagree...not in jail but:

2.) Ex-felons should have the same voting rights as all other citizens.
agree

3.) In general, people are just too obsessed with sex.
no opinion

4.) We would all be a lot better off if people followed the Golden Rule.
agree (?)

5.) The government's main responsibility should be to keep order.
disagree?

6.) Music and the arts are essential for a community to flourish and should be funded by the government.
strongly agree

7.) The right to revolution in the New Hampshire state constitution is a good thing that all states should have.
disagree

8.) Improvement of the human race through eugenics should be a goal of the government.
strongly disagree

9.) A Department of Peace should be added to the presidential administration.
strongly agree

10.) The voting age should be lowered to 16.
agree

11.) Immigration is one of the worst problems the United States faces.
strongly disagree

12.) The government should not have any business with people's library records, gun purchases, or credit card use.
agree

13.) Restrictions on cellphone wiretapping should be loosened.
strongly disagree

14.) Criticism of religions such as Christianity and Islam are not protected by free speech.
strongly disagree

15.) The drinking age should be lowered or abolished.
disagree (a recent flip-flop of mine)

[Hatman 🍁]

Mother to child: "Honey, if you vote for George Bush, I'll give you a piece of candy."
Father to child: "And if you vote for John Kerry, I'll take away your computer for a week."

This activity would be fined.

How exactly would you find out about it?  Putting security cameras in every home?

Well, this kind of activity would most likely happen at the polling station.

[Gabu]

Mother to child: "Honey, if you vote for George Bush, I'll give you a piece of candy."
Father to child: "And if you vote for John Kerry, I'll take away your computer for a week."

This activity would be fined.

How exactly would you find out about it?  Putting security cameras in every home?

Well, this kind of activity would most likely happen at the polling station.

Why?  If they knew that it would be monitored at the polling station, couldn't the parents just do it at home before leaving for the polling station?

[Richard]

Strongly Disagree
1.) Felons and those in jail should have the same voting rights as all other citizens.

2.) Ex-felons should have the same voting rights as all other citizens.

6.) Music and the arts are essential for a community to flourish and should be funded by the government.

8.) Improvement of the human race through eugenics should be a goal of the government.

9.) A Department of Peace should be added to the presidential administration.

10.) The voting age should be lowered to 16.

13.) Restrictions on cellphone wiretapping should be loosened.

14.) Criticism of religions such as Christianity and Islam are not protected by free speech.




Agree
3.) In general, people are just too obsessed with sex.

11.) Immigration is one of the worst problems the United States faces.


Strongly Agree
4.) We would all be a lot better off if people followed the Golden Rule.

5.) The government's main responsibility should be to keep order.

7.) The right to revolution in the New Hampshire state constitution is a good thing that all states should have.

12.) The government should not have any business with people's library records, gun purchases, or credit card use.

15.) The drinking age should be lowered or abolished.

[Hatman 🍁]

Mother to child: "Honey, if you vote for George Bush, I'll give you a piece of candy."
Father to child: "And if you vote for John Kerry, I'll take away your computer for a week."

This activity would be fined.

How exactly would you find out about it?  Putting security cameras in every home?

Well, this kind of activity would most likely happen at the polling station.

Why?  If they knew that it would be monitored at the polling station, couldn't the parents just do it at home before leaving for the polling station?

Of couse, but we are talking about 5 year olds here, they need to be reminded. But I degress, these are the kinds of arguments people brought up during the woman's suffrage movement.

[Gabu]

1.) Felons and those in jail should have the same voting rights as all other citizens.
Disagree

2.) Ex-felons should have the same voting rights as all other citizens.
Undecided

3.) In general, people are just too obsessed with sex.
Agree

4.) We would all be a lot better off if people followed the Golden Rule.
Strongly agree

5.) The government's main responsibility should be to keep order.
Agree

6a.) Music and the arts are essential for a community to flourish...
Strongly agree

6b.) ...and should be funded by the government.
Disagree

7.) The right to revolution in the New Hampshire state constitution is a good thing that all states should have.
Neutral

8.) Improvement of the human race through eugenics should be a goal of the government.
Strongly disagree

9.) A Department of Peace should be added to the presidential administration.
Strongly disagree; what the heck would it do?

10.) The voting age should be lowered to 16.
Disagree

11.) Immigration is one of the worst problems the United States faces.
Disagree

12.) The government should not have any business with people's library records, gun purchases, or credit card use.
Agree

13.) Restrictions on cellphone wiretapping should be loosened.
Disagree

14.) Criticism of religions such as Christianity and Islam are not protected by free speech.
Strongly disagree

15.) The drinking age should be lowered or abolished.
Agree - lowered.

(PS: "undecided" means that I don't know; "neutral" means that I don't care.)

[Hatman 🍁]

1.) Felons and those in jail should have the same voting rights as all other citizens.
Disagree

Gabu! You've become a Conservative! This is, you know unconstitutional?

[Gabu]

Mother to child: "Honey, if you vote for George Bush, I'll give you a piece of candy."
Father to child: "And if you vote for John Kerry, I'll take away your computer for a week."

This activity would be fined.

How exactly would you find out about it?  Putting security cameras in every home?

Well, this kind of activity would most likely happen at the polling station.

Why?  If they knew that it would be monitored at the polling station, couldn't the parents just do it at home before leaving for the polling station?

Of couse, but we are talking about 5 year olds here, they need to be reminded. But I degress, these are the kinds of arguments people brought up during the woman's suffrage movement.

That's a bad comparison.  There's nothing inherent in women that would make them less able than men to make up their own minds.  There is, however, something inherent in little kids that would make them less able than adults to make up their own minds.  At five years old, there are very, very few people that would even understand what politics is, let alone understand it enough to make an informed decision.  It's much more likely that they'd just think it's a silly, fun game that Daddy gave you where you have to put the X beside the right name on a sheet of paper.

If you're honestly declaring an equivalence between the intelligence level of adult women and that of little kids by making your argument that this is what was said about women's suffrage, don't you think that's a little insulting to women?

1.) Felons and those in jail should have the same voting rights as all other citizens.
Disagree

Gabu! You've become a Conservative! This is, you know unconstitutional?

I don't think people in jail should be able to vote.  Once they're out, I'm leaning towards fully restoring their full voting rights, but I think that if you do a crime, and hurt society as a byproduct, you should be given punishment, and one of the punishments should be forfeiting your ability to vote (and thereby have a further impact on society) while in prison.

Whether or not it's constitutional is entirely irrelevant, given that this is simply asking what you feel should be the case.

[Hatman 🍁]

Mother to child: "Honey, if you vote for George Bush, I'll give you a piece of candy."
Father to child: "And if you vote for John Kerry, I'll take away your computer for a week."

This activity would be fined.

How exactly would you find out about it?  Putting security cameras in every home?

Well, this kind of activity would most likely happen at the polling station.

Why?  If they knew that it would be monitored at the polling station, couldn't the parents just do it at home before leaving for the polling station?

Of couse, but we are talking about 5 year olds here, they need to be reminded. But I degress, these are the kinds of arguments people brought up during the woman's suffrage movement.

That's a bad comparison.  There's nothing inherent in women that would make them less able than men to make up their own minds.  There is, however, something inherent in little kids that would make them less able than adults to make up their own minds.  At five years old, there are very, very few people that would even understand what politics is, let alone understand it enough to make an informed decision.  It's much more likely that they'd just think it's a silly, fun game that Daddy gave you where you have to put the X beside the right name on a sheet of paper.

If you're honestly declaring an equivalence between the intelligence level of adult women and that of little kids by making your argument that this is what was said about women's suffrage, don't you think that's a little insulting to women?

1.) Felons and those in jail should have the same voting rights as all other citizens.
Disagree

Gabu! You've become a Conservative! This is, you know unconstitutional?

I don't think people in jail should be able to vote.  Once they're out, I'm leaning towards fully restoring their full voting rights, but I think that if you do a crime, and hurt society as a byproduct, you should be given punishment, and one of the punishments should be forfeiting your ability to vote (and thereby have a further impact on society) while in prison.

Whether or not it's constitutional is entirely irrelevant, given that this is simply asking what you feel should be the case.

Voting is a right, not a privelege. It is a fundemental right. This is my belief, and is why I believe everyone should be able to vote.

When women were given the right to vote, many people used the very same arguments you are using. I am not saying they were right, of course. I find it very offensive that you would accuse me of such things as comparing the intelligence of a woman to a five year old. Voting is not about intelligence. We already let any old idiot vote, there is nothing wrong with letting five year olds vote. Just like your average idiot, a five year old wouldn't vote.

[Emsworth]

1.) Felons and those in jail should have the same voting rights as all other citizens.
Disagree

Gabu! You've become a Conservative! This is, you know unconstitutional?

Not exactly.

"Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed. But when the right to vote at any election for the choice of electors for President and Vice-President of the United States, Representatives in Congress, the Executive and Judicial officers of a State, or the members of the Legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such State, being twenty-one years of age, and citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion, or other crime, the basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such State."

(Fourteenth Amendment)

[Hatman 🍁]

1.) Felons and those in jail should have the same voting rights as all other citizens.
Disagree

Gabu! You've become a Conservative! This is, you know unconstitutional?

Not exactly.

"Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed. But when the right to vote at any election for the choice of electors for President and Vice-President of the United States, Representatives in Congress, the Executive and Judicial officers of a State, or the members of the Legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such State, being twenty-one years of age, and citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion, or other crime, the basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such State."

(Fourteenth Amendment)

You do know we're both Canadian right? We have a different constitution here, and this has been through the courts, and prisoners are allowed to vote.

[MHS2002]

Strongly Agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly Disagree

1.) Felons and those in jail should have the same voting rights as all other citizens.
Strongly Disagree

2.) Ex-felons should have the same voting rights as all other citizens.
Disagree

3.) In general, people are just too obsessed with sex.
Agree

4.) We would all be a lot better off if people followed the Golden Rule.
Strongly Agree

5.) The government's main responsibility should be to keep order.
Agree

6.) Music and the arts are essential for a community to flourish and should be funded by the government.
Disagree (due to gov't funding part)

7.) The right to revolution in the New Hampshire state constitution is a good thing that all states should have.
Agree

8.) Improvement of the human race through eugenics should be a goal of the government.
Strongly Disagree

9.) A Department of Peace should be added to the presidential administration.
Disagree

10.) The voting age should be lowered to 16.
Disagree

11.) Immigration is one of the worst problems the United States faces.
Agree (especially when it comes to illegal immigration)

12.) The government should not have any business with people's library records, gun purchases, or credit card use.
Agree

13.) Restrictions on cellphone wiretapping should be loosened.
Disagree

14.) Criticism of religions such as Christianity and Islam are not protected by free speech.
Strongly Disagree

15.) The drinking age should be lowered or abolished.
Agree (19)

[A18]

1.) Felons and those in jail should have the same voting rights as all other citizens.
Disagree

Gabu! You've become a Conservative! This is, you know unconstitutional?

Not exactly.

"Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed. But when the right to vote at any election for the choice of electors for President and Vice-President of the United States, Representatives in Congress, the Executive and Judicial officers of a State, or the members of the Legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such State, being twenty-one years of age, and citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion, or other crime, the basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such State."

(Fourteenth Amendment)

You do know we're both Canadian right? We have a different constitution here, and this has been through the courts, and prisoners are allowed to vote.

Wow, you live in a backwards hellhole.

It's a secret ballot. Women can make up their own minds. Kids almost always agree with their parents.

The power to vote is the power to destroy. It is the power to apply force. If that is a right, then there are no other rights.

[Gabu]

Voting is a right, not a privelege. It is a fundemental right. This is my belief, and is why I believe everyone should be able to vote.

When women were given the right to vote, many people used the very same arguments you are using. I am not saying they were right, of course. I find it very offensive that you would accuse me of such things as comparing the intelligence of a woman to a five year old. Voting is not about intelligence. We already let any old idiot vote, there is nothing wrong with letting five year olds vote. Just like your average idiot, a five year old wouldn't vote.

Well, evidently, we simply see voting in two different lights, and as such, are likely going to have to simply agree to disagree.

Personally, I see voting as a means through which the citizens of a country can decide the direction in which they want their country to go.  As such, I feel that only those who actually know what they're doing should be allowed to vote - I feel that voting is not a game; it's serious business, and those who don't take it seriously and just vote for someone for the heck of it (or whatever) only serve to hinder the ability of the government to truly represent the will of the people.

Take this example as an analogy: suppose that there are five people in a car, including the driver.  The car comes to a fork in the road.  The driver and the front passenger have been through this area numerous times, and they have a pretty good idea regarding  which direction they should go.  They put it up to a vote regarding where they should go.  The two in the front both vote for the left fork, because they've been here before and are pretty sure that that's where they should go.

However, the three in the back all vote for the right fork.  They've never been here before and are totally unfamiliar with the area, but they voted purely because they wanted to have a say in the matter.  Thus, the five go down the right fork and find out that, indeed, the two in the front, who actually knew what they were talking about, were right, and that the left fork was the correct option.

Now, the three might have been correct by sheer dumb luck, but the odds are not very high.  I view this as analogous to voting on a grand scale: the people who have no idea what they're doing might steer their country onto the right track by dumb luck, but it's much more likely that their ignorance will simply lead the country astray and counteract the efforts of those who actually know what they're doing.

Now, of course, one's job is significantly more difficult when you feel this way about voting, to be sure.  It would be very nice if you could neatly separate voters into two groups - "capable of making an informed decision" and "incapable of making an informed decision" - but you can't, and as such, simple statistics must be brought into play.  Your best bet is to simply draw a line in the sand, one that minimizes both the number of knowledgable people being barred from voting and the number of unknowledgable people allowed to vote.  Personally, I think that 18 is an acceptable line, albeit slightly arbitrary, as no extensive research has yet been done into when exactly people tend to become knowledgable.  I think that such research would be very beneficial, actually.

[Emsworth]

You do know we're both Canadian right?

Gabu's in the U.S., though, so the context there was not clear.

You must be logged in to read this quote.

Sauvé v. Canada was not, in my opinion, correctly decided. Section 3 of the Charter of Rights cannot be interpreted in a vacuum; the right to vote granted there is not absolute, as Section 1 explicitly provides.

[ilikeverin]

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Sauvé v. Canada was not, in my opinion, correctly decided. Section 3 of the Charter of Rights cannot be interpreted in a vacuum; the right to vote granted there is not absolute, as Section 1 explicitly provides.

I think you live in a vacuum, Emsworth

This is not to be offensive.  Please do not take offense :-(

[Gabu]

You must be logged in to read this quote.

Sauvé v. Canada was not, in my opinion, correctly decided. Section 3 of the Charter of Rights cannot be interpreted in a vacuum; the right to vote granted there is not absolute, as Section 1 explicitly provides.

I think you live in a vacuum, Emsworth

This is not to be offensive.  Please do not take offense :-(

That insult sucks, ILV.

[ilikeverin]

You must be logged in to read this quote.

Sauvé v. Canada was not, in my opinion, correctly decided. Section 3 of the Charter of Rights cannot be interpreted in a vacuum; the right to vote granted there is not absolute, as Section 1 explicitly provides.

I think you live in a vacuum, Emsworth

This is not to be offensive. Please do not take offense :-(

That insult sucks, ILV.

It does, until you realize IT'S TRUE!

I shall even make a diagram.

[Gabu]

You must be logged in to read this quote.

Sauvé v. Canada was not, in my opinion, correctly decided. Section 3 of the Charter of Rights cannot be interpreted in a vacuum; the right to vote granted there is not absolute, as Section 1 explicitly provides.

I think you live in a vacuum, Emsworth

This is not to be offensive. Please do not take offense :-(

That insult sucks, ILV.

It does, until you realize IT'S TRUE!

I shall even make a diagram.

I was more making a lame reference to the word "vacuum".

[Emsworth]

I think you live in a vacuum, Emsworth

If I can be propagated in a vacuum, then I must be... light! Which means that I can move faster than you.

[Colin]

1.) Felons and those in jail should have the same voting rights as all other citizens. D

2.) Ex-felons should have the same voting rights as all other citizens. D

3.) In general, people are just too obsessed with sex. A

4.) We would all be a lot better off if people followed the Golden Rule. A

5.) The government's main responsibility should be to keep order. SA

6.) Music and the arts are essential for a community to flourish and should be funded by the government. SD

7.) The right to revolution in the New Hampshire state constitution is a good thing that all states should have. SA

8.) Improvement of the human race through eugenics should be a goal of the government. SD

9.) A Department of Peace should be added to the presidential administration. SD

10.) The voting age should be lowered to 16. A

11.) Immigration is one of the worst problems the United States faces. SD

12.) The government should not have any business with people's library records, gun purchases, or credit card use. SA

13.) Restrictions on cellphone wiretapping should be loosened. D

14.) Criticism of religions such as Christianity and Islam are not protected by free speech. SD

15.) The drinking age should be lowered or abolished. SA

[ilikeverin]

IT ALL MAKES SENSE NOW