# I pit Rick Scott, the FL GOP, and their blatant attempt to suppress voting rights **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 20, 2011, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-rick-scott-the-fl-gop-and-their-blatant-attempt-to-suppress-voting-rights/582526 "2011-05-20T01:32:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-rick-scott-the-fl-gop-and-their-blatant-attempt-to-suppress-voting-rights/582526/101 "2011-05-26T19:15:04Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > Do you point out logical fallacies whenever a conservative (poster pundit politician) utters one? I try to, yes. But often I don’t waste my time if someone else has already pointed it out, because that would simply be cumulative. BUt I can point to plenty of times I’ve castigated those on “my side” for foolish or fallacious argument. > [@](#): > > Is your ratio of fallacy-pointing-outing roughly 1:1 at least? If not then you are just a biased partisan right-winger trying to score points for “your” side. Not true. Here’s a puzzle. See how you do: A man lives near a train track and loves to watch trains. Every day, he finds the time to wander out to the train track and stay there until he’s seen a train go by, at which point he returns home. He goes out at random times, day, night, afternoon, morning. He keeps careful track of the trains he sees and over the years notes that he’s seen five times as many westbound trains as he has eastbound trains. One day he meets a local railroad official and learns to his surprise that the number of westbound trains are exactly equal to the number of eastbound trains on his track. How is this possible? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-rick-scott-the-fl-gop-and-their-blatant-attempt-to-suppress-voting-rights/582526/102 "2011-05-26T19:23:02Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > I didn’t say you weren’t. > > In fact, I didn’t draw any conclusions at all. > > Did I? Are you quite finished? ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-rick-scott-the-fl-gop-and-their-blatant-attempt-to-suppress-voting-rights/582526/103 "2011-05-26T19:26:43Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Are you quite finished? With not drawing any conclusions? Depends. Are you still saying you just posted that note about the approval ratings without intending to suggest anything at all relevant to the argument in this thread? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-rick-scott-the-fl-gop-and-their-blatant-attempt-to-suppress-voting-rights/582526/104 "2011-05-26T19:31:28Z")
Of course I intended to suggest something: that Rick Scott is unpopular. I did not intend to suggest that he is unpopular because of a voting retrenchment bill he hasn’t actually signed yet. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-rick-scott-the-fl-gop-and-their-blatant-attempt-to-suppress-voting-rights/582526/105 "2011-05-26T20:09:45Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Of course I intended to suggest something: that Rick Scott is unpopular. I did not intend to suggest that he is unpopular because of a voting retrenchment bill he hasn’t actually signed yet. “Meanwhile,” is, then, a curious word to use. “In other news,” or “In a bit of a hijack…” might be words that would better signal your lack of intent to connect your news to the topic under discussion. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-rick-scott-the-fl-gop-and-their-blatant-attempt-to-suppress-voting-rights/582526/106 "2011-05-26T20:19:59Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > One day he meets a local railroad official and learns to his surprise that the number of westbound trains are exactly equal to the number of eastbound trains on his track. How is this possible? The railroad official is full of shit? ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-rick-scott-the-fl-gop-and-their-blatant-attempt-to-suppress-voting-rights/582526/107 "2011-05-26T20:21:03Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > The railroad official is full of shit? No. That would be a sucky puzzle, wouldn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![Zeriel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/58956e/32.png) [@Zeriel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeriel)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-rick-scott-the-fl-gop-and-their-blatant-attempt-to-suppress-voting-rights/582526/108 "2011-05-26T20:30:19Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > “Meanwhile,” is, then, a curious word to use. > > “In other news,” or “In a bit of a hijack…” might be words that would better signal your lack of intent to connect your news to the topic under discussion. I think you’re reaching a bit, admittedly–“Meanwhile” can be read as “In other news” without the slightest strain. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-rick-scott-the-fl-gop-and-their-blatant-attempt-to-suppress-voting-rights/582526/109 "2011-05-26T20:37:25Z")
> [@Zeriel](#): > > I think you’re reaching a bit, admittedly–“Meanwhile” can be read as “In other news” without the slightest strain. OK. I grant that’s a possibility. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-rick-scott-the-fl-gop-and-their-blatant-attempt-to-suppress-voting-rights/582526/110 "2011-05-26T21:52:39Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > …I’ve quoted _Tom Sawyer_ to you before – the passage where Tom is punished by Aunt Sally for breaking the sugar bowl when Sid was the culprit. … Aunt Polly. Not Aunt Sally. I was re-reading _Tom Sawyer_ when you were filling your Huggies with Republican talking points. Be quiet, puppy, and maybe you’ll learn something. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-rick-scott-the-fl-gop-and-their-blatant-attempt-to-suppress-voting-rights/582526/111 "2011-05-26T22:55:28Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Aunt Polly. Not Aunt Sally. I was re-reading _Tom Sawyer_ when you were filling your Huggies with Republican talking points. Be quiet, puppy, and maybe you’ll learn something. Yes, I knew that: > [@Bricker](#): > > The reader is not invited to side with Aunt Polly in that passage; we feel sympathy for Tom. Interestingly enough, I make that mistake frequently because the previous chapter contains the phrase “sally forth” and when I first read TS, at a young age, I didn’t know the phrase and thought it was a person. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-rick-scott-the-fl-gop-and-their-blatant-attempt-to-suppress-voting-rights/582526/112 "2011-05-26T23:43:21Z")
Well, what’s it to be, Counselor? First you accuse a perfectly harmless old woman of injustice and child abuse, then you change the indictment to her sister! And both fictional characters, who are in no position to defend themselves from your slander and calumny! Is there no depth to which you will not sink, no infamy to which you would scruple? ---
**Author:** ![Laughing\_Lady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f6c823/32.png) [@Laughing\_Lady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laughing_Lady)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-rick-scott-the-fl-gop-and-their-blatant-attempt-to-suppress-voting-rights/582526/113 "2011-05-27T04:55:21Z")
We Floridians are fucked, and we don’t even get rapecakes. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-rick-scott-the-fl-gop-and-their-blatant-attempt-to-suppress-voting-rights/582526/114 "2011-05-27T13:14:20Z")
How about a handshake? ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-rick-scott-the-fl-gop-and-their-blatant-attempt-to-suppress-voting-rights/582526/115 "2011-05-27T17:02:03Z")
[http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/05/25/v-fullstory/2236764/rick-scott-vetoes-record-615m.html](http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/05/25/v-fullstory/2236764/rick-scott-vetoes-record-615m.html) > [@](#): > > …Members of The Villages Democratic Club were barred from the budget signing by Scott staffers who said the outdoor event in The Villages town square was “private.” Other staffers and Republican operatives scoured the crowd and had Sumter County sheriff’s deputies remove those with anti-Scott signs or liberal-looking pins and buttons. They escorted more than a dozen people off the property… You have the right to remain silent. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-rick-scott-the-fl-gop-and-their-blatant-attempt-to-suppress-voting-rights/582526/116 "2011-05-27T17:09:56Z")
I can’t get too worked up about that. The event was paid for by the state Republican Party. At least he dumped funding for the almost comically pointless idea of splitting the state Supreme Court in half. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-rick-scott-the-fl-gop-and-their-blatant-attempt-to-suppress-voting-rights/582526/117 "2011-05-27T18:01:00Z")
Oh, I’m not suggesting anyone get worked up over this, its small enough, but it does speak to who they are and what they are about. Their actual actions are far more important than this bit of public masturbation. ---
**Author:** ![rogerbox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/76d3ee/32.png) [@rogerbox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rogerbox)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-rick-scott-the-fl-gop-and-their-blatant-attempt-to-suppress-voting-rights/582526/118 "2011-05-27T18:07:38Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > No. That would be a sucky puzzle, wouldn’t it? My answer would be a less crude version of that one, so I’m interested in the answer. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-rick-scott-the-fl-gop-and-their-blatant-attempt-to-suppress-voting-rights/582526/119 "2011-05-27T18:15:19Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > I disagree. I read the article and thought it was a completely biased piece of horseshit. None of the changes impede anyone from voting in an election. It was a hatchet job, strawman article from start to finish. In my mind, it comes down to how much of a priority voting is to someone; the laws just make it somewhat less convenient, instead of introducing a massive impediment to voting. If voting was a priority, people would make it happen, regardless of inconvenience. Personally, I don’t have a problem with making voting slightly inconvenient- if they can’t be bothered to at least show up on time or get an absentee ballot or whatever, I’m pretty convinced that they wouldn’t cast a very informed ballot either. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-rick-scott-the-fl-gop-and-their-blatant-attempt-to-suppress-voting-rights/582526/120 "2011-05-27T18:19:27Z")
The actual answer to the puzzle: Trains go west on the hour, and east at 10 after the hour. Therefore, someone arriving at the tracks at a random time is five times as likely to be there during a period when the next train will go west than when the next train is going east. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-rick-scott-the-fl-gop-and-their-blatant-attempt-to-suppress-voting-rights/582526.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-rick-scott-the-fl-gop-and-their-blatant-attempt-to-suppress-voting-rights/582526.md?page=7)