Disney and Universal score waivers to offer limited health plans for part-timers

Somepeople are born into horrendous, effectively-inescapable situationswhere they have no choice but to "suck the teet" or whatever lameeuphemism you want to use.

And some people are born stupid...yet you seem "ok" with requiring a test.

Only people who actually pay taxes should have the right to vote.

I say go one step further, only allow blond haired, blue eyed men who pay taxes the right to vote. Who needs democracy?

djDaemon said:
But in all seriousness, I am a firm believer in a voting test. The higher your score on that test, the more weight your vote is given. Every vote will count, but the more informed votes will count more. This will never come to pass, of course, because dumb and/or ignorant people would complain that they're being discriminated against (which is the entire point).

Who gets to judge the test? Give a Republican and a Democrat the exact same question concerning the exact same issue and you will get very different answers. Whose answer is correct?

I think he meant a test that had actual factual answers to test their intelligence, not a poll.

And I think it's also a stupid idea. Everyone should have the same rights.

Aamilj said:
And some people are born stupid...yet you seem "ok" with requiring a test.

It doesn't take an IQ of 150 to be able to keep up with some basic current events. As Tek pointed out, damn near every Tea Bagger would fail that test, and given the stats he cited, we should all be able to agree that's a good thing.

Tek...I agree withn you. I was making a point. Demonstrating how slippery the slope he suggested was...

He proves Gonch's suggestion that those that think they no better than the majority should win the day. Who is he or anybody to decide who is "smart" enough?

I just knew if I thre a little conservative bait out there, we would get a big bite.

I'm not suggesting people need to know who won The Battle of Whatever, or that they be able to recite every US president in order or anything like that. Just basic, relevant stuff that anyone could easily find the answer to.

dj:

You admit you are a liberal...which is great. You seem to be indicating that you do not think Obama is liberal enough for your liking. Again...perfectly ok. Where you seem to be missing the point, is that on most important issues of the day...the majority of American's are not liberal or hold liberal views. They are to the right of Obama. You are even further left than than Obama.

I disagree with you while respecting your right to hold those views. I do not however believe that those who think they know better than the majority (Gonch), like you seem to indicate since you are all for a "vote test" should rule the day. You may even be correct. Maybe you are always the smartest person in the room. History is full of dictators that thought the same.

But if the test is really that easy then won't everyone pass which means everyone's vote gets weighted the same?

Aamilj said:
I do not however believe that those who think they know better than the majority (Gonch), like you seem to indicate since you are all for a "vote test" should rule the day. You may even be correct. Maybe you are always the smartest person in the room. History is full of dictators that thought the same.

But you do believe that people born in more favorable economic situations know better than the majority and should rule the day. Personally, I'd rather have intelligent people deciding my fate as opposed to rich people.

And "dictator"? Really? It's hard(er) to take you seriously when you spout nonsense like that.

Shades said:
But if the test is really that easy then won't everyone pass which means everyone's vote gets weighted the same?

Go ask 1,000 people if Obama was born in the US, and I'll give you $5 if every single one of them answers "yes".

Not sure I would require a voting test. But my plan is probably more unlikely. Take every Republican and every Democrat and all of their supporters and ban them to a distant planet forever. Then the rest of us can pick up the pieces. Democrats are not our problem. Republicans are not our problem. Democrats AND Republicans are our problem. Democrats don't lose when Republicans win elections, and Republicans don't lose when Democrats win elections. They each only lose when they both lose elections. As long as one or the other wins elections, the game continues. And nothing of substance actually changes. At one point in my life I had hope that we would wake up to the garbage at some point. But I lose some hope every day at this point.

Shades said:
But if the test is really that easy then won't everyone pass which means everyone's vote gets weighted the same?

Sigh.

You took the sigh right outta my lungs. :)

I've since changed my mind. Perhaps a test to determine if you're intelligent enough to post would also work wonders.

Tekwardo said:
If they don't know what they don't like about him, do they know what he even stands for politically?

Now, I'm no Obama supporter. But at least I know what I believe and can back up why I feel the way I do with facts, figures and stated opinions other than "I just don't like him".

Oddly enough, I think that's an entirely valid opinion and reasoning. I know a few people that "I just don't like" and I wouldn't want them making decisions for me either.

You don't have to like people and not liking someone is more than a good enough reason for not giving them power.

---

It's insane that now there are qualifiers for voting for some of you. You have to be smart enough or informed enough or reasonable enough or whatever.

That's just not how it works and I can't say I wish it did work that way. You simply have to be an American who cares enough to register and go out and put your two cents in.

As much as it pains me - and you guys are making me get all huggy, kissy, puppies and rainbows here - but no one's opinion is more important than another's. We all get a say and we can choose to say whatever we'd like with that voice. Seems so crazy to say that your opinion is more informed or someone else's is wrong because of this or that.

(cue the flag drop background and the patriotic strains of "God Bless America")

You can't take something that has no right answer and try to give it one. Some things aren't absolute and you just have to roll with it floating along on the inbetween.

No one is too stupid to vote and no one is voting for the wrong reason as long as it's what they truly believe. It entirely frightening to me when we're honestly trying to say someone's opinion doesn't count.

Oddly enough, I think that's an entirely valid opinion and reasoning. I know a few people that "I just don't like" and I wouldn't want them making decisions for me either.

But I bet if pressed you right now, after they've made decisions for you, I bet you could give me reasons. If you just don't like them, then you don't vote for them. But now that he's in office, and someone is in opposition to him and wants him out of office, but can't really say why? I can't say that's a valid anything. Sure, they have the right to their opinion, but when you're part of a movement, its nice to at least have ideals.

Lord Gonchar said:
I know a few people that "I just don't like" and I wouldn't want them making decisions for me either.

But do you not want them making decisions for you simply because you don't like them? Or do you not like them because of the types of decisions they'd make for you?

You can't take something that has no right answer and try to give it one. Some things aren't absolute...

I would never suggest asking questions that don't have definitive answers. And there are most certainly questions that do have a yes/no or right/wrong or otherwise definitive answer.

Buck:

I agree. Republicans spend way too much. Democrats spend more than that. Ultimatley it is our inability to censor our spending that will do us in. All other issues pale in comparison.

At least the Tea Party seems to get that. While they are admittantly full of folks that seem a bit "out there." Moment to note a lot of people view rollercoaster club guy in the same light. Is there any chance the stereotypes are wrong?

I do not have an answer. But the politics as usual certainly have not worked. At least the Tea Party (at least intially) was grassroots. They have not even taken office yet and they were able to get Obama and the democrats in Congress to do a 180 on tax policy. That tells me the will of the majority is not yet dead. This is but one kernal in a silo of deficit spending, but it proves that they sometimes have to listen to us...no?

Now the question is ...what is next. Everybody likes to say they are against uncontrolled spending. But what happens when reality rears its head? What happens when you tell Grandma that Social Security and Medicare are not solvent?

I've no answers for that. Is our political system infected with a poison pill? Europe is showing us right now what happens when uncontrolled spending/social programs etc go unchecked. People take to the streets. There are a lot of scary scenerios out there.

Moment to note a lot of people view rollercoaster club guy in the same light. Is there any chance the stereotypes are wrong?

Rollercoaster Club Guy isn't trying to lead a political movement. Heck, if you look hard enough on here (it wouldn't even take you that long), you'll see plenty of debates about why many of us don't self identify as enthusiasts in general, every day life.

PS, the subtle jabs at coaster geeks on a coaster board where you come to talk about politics has really gotten old. You've been here long enough that you should have realized a long time ago that the majority here do not take coasters as seriously as you've subtly insinuated.

Its one thing to be annoying, but quite another to be insulting.

Well aren't we high and mighty.

djDaemon said:
I'm not suggesting people need to know who won The Battle of Whatever, or that they be able to recite every US president in order or anything like that. Just basic, relevant stuff that anyone could easily find the answer to.

Not sure what the double sigh is for. You said it yourself - basic relevant stuff that anyone could easily find the answer to. If it is that easy - who will get it wrong?