Wow. I keep trying to give Bricker the benefit of the doubt. I know he’s intelligent and try to grasp the depth of his ignorance, and wonder whether he’s really sincere or not. But this latest exchange baffles me.
First of all, since the comparison you made was between Bush and Clinton, by the rigorous standards you try to impose on rhetors, your latest is out of context unless you contend that Clinton and FDR are synonyms. But let’s move on.
FDR got Republican votes for his declarations of war. Did he use documents known to be forgeries to obtain them? Did he launch a purposeless attack against Hitler despite that the Allies already had him in a box, with him complying with inspections, no-fly zones, and embargoes? And after defeating Hitler, did Truman install governments so incompetent and intent on treating the conquered land as a Friedmanist experiment, that suffering and insurgencies were the result?
Bricker, have you read any good books about American mismanagement in Iraq? Given the confidence you show in your own opinions, the scale of your ignorance is mind-boggling.
Did the Incident of the Semen-Stained Dress disrupt millions of lives and cost trillions of dollars? We’re used to
[QUOTE=typical stupid right-winger]
Clinton lied about a blow job. Bush started a stupid and horrible war. It’s a wash.
[/QUOTE]
… but I hoped you were better than that. I guess I was wrong.
To save you the bother of responding I’ll paraphrase your predictable response:
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[QUOTE=septimus]
… , …
[/QUOTE]
This comma was replaced so there’s no need for me to respond to the rest of your post. Anyway, sham elections were held in the new Republic of Iraq; any problems there are probably due to voter ID fraud.
Hi Sam. The fact that you’re a foreigner helps explain your ignorance about U.S. politics. Where do you get your info from? Forbes.com and FoxNews? :rolleyes:
And did you ever work out the details of how to solve my trivial instance of Braess’ Paradox with private rent collectors? :smack: I’ve been waiting now for quite a while.
You know, lets do the boy a solid. Lets pretend he never said it. If he has the good sense God gave a goose, he already wishes he hadn’t, which is probably as good an outcome as could be hoped for, And if he doesn’t, well, no harm done anyway, there’s only so low you can go, right?
If you’re talking about Sam, I’m sure his gibberish about American elections was interjected only to amuse.
But I am still waiting to hear his solution to Braess’ Paradox which he is so proud of, yet reluctant to disclose. Waiting to file a patent application perhaps? :rolleyes:
I actually did tell you. It assumes a Nash Equilibrium, in which everyone’s needs are equally met. That does not exist in the real world case in the presence of markets. For example, if the roads are toll roads there will never be a Nash equilibrium because the road owner will be modifying prices continuously to influence behavior if the road system is not being utilized optimally.
As for the lesson in American Civics… sorry if I misunderstood. Good to hear that a voter ID requirement is totally cool with you guys. You’d vote for one tomorrow, right?
Just work through the details in the extremely trivial example I gave, please, if you can. Assume all legs are privately owned toll roads(*) with owners trying to maximize profits.
(* - Nevermind that the legs might be unowned commons. One of your responses suggested that efficiency results if commons – sky, ocean, etc. – had private rent collectors. Or did I misunderstand? :dubious: )
Voter ID was never the issue – Bricker has hijacked the thread.
The issue is deliberate voter suppression by the GOP. As a matter of curiosity: Since you’re a foreigner, Sam, tell us what you’ve read about that and what your views on it are.
I’ve suggested that to the Americans several times, that they form something equivalent to Elections Canada. It doesn’t get much traction.
Besides, voter ID isn’t a hassle for us - we get our provincial health cards free of charge. Various proposals some Americans are pursuing are to make ID mandatory without simultaneously making the ID easy to get. Sure, 99.9% of Americans who want a voter ID can get one with minimal hassle. If even 0.1% can’t for whatever reason, that’s already a far bigger problem then the illegal voter issue, even by Bricker’s own generous estimates or indeed anyone’s estimates that I’m aware of.
And yes, by and large people do not object to voter ID. Largely because WE ALREADY FUCKING DO have to show who we are we we register to vote, imbecile.
What is objectionable and what has been ruled unconstitutional are Republican efforts to add in additional measures requiring ID that not all people have.
I’d be great with a thumbprint scanner.
But I’m glad to see the * Sam is Constantly Wrong Show* back on the air. You give adaher a run for his money, I tell you. At least you now promise to stand corrected, because typically you run away corrected.
Perhaps I am my own worst enemy. Perhaps I should adopt the SDMB trick of not criticizing allies.
But, like an OCD sufferer staring at a mound of shredded paper, I find I cannot.
Sam, that’s a great post, but it contains a strawman. Your friend’s characterization is true if he were only talking about I want. He’s exactly right: I only want people to show photo IDs, or some other system put in place that would give a prosecutor sufficient evidence to easily get a conviction if someone votes illegally.
But it’s also fair to say that unless your friend has heard of me, he might have been commenting on the wider range of proposals, such as decreasing voting hours, reducing or eliminating early voting, and redrawing voting districts. All of these are in play in various places, and all of these are arguably consistent with what he said.
Fascinatingly, no one on the opposite side has simply said, “You’re right – Voter ID is a good idea and I have no objections. Now let’s talk about reducing early voting.”
To which I would reply, “I don’t approve of reducing early voting.”
Thread over, it would seem.
But you’re wrong, because I have been defending Voter ID against attack in this extremely long thread, and those defenses have been against attacks from many different posters.
If Voter ID is not an issue, what the hell have you been reading?
Perhaps because, despite your lying about your history here, your argumentation to this point has actually been in defense of the disproportionately harmful IMPLEMENTATION practices, not about voter ID in the abstract.
Again, I remind you that when presented with a case in which one state severely restricted accessibility to ID for residents in a particular community, YOU specifically argued that those residents could simply drive to another facility 18 miles away.
Do you not remember arguing that? Are you experiencing some cognitive difficulties, or are you just being a lying little bitch? My experience with you is more consistent with the latter.
Great. Know of any like minded politicians? It’d be interesting to read about people advocating for voter ID and improved voter access, or at least holding the line.
I believe septimus is a little closer in his summary of your opposition than you are. The issue is not strictly “Voter ID bad!” The issue is that the requirements put forth for the ID are such that it makes it more difficult for one segment of the population to fulfill than it does for another. Even this in and of itself is not necessarily bad. When coupled with the intentions of some to pass these laws in order to reduce the ability of the opposition to vote and the fact that there are methods to achieve the goal of “voter confidence” which do not inherently disadvantage a particular population (expanding the limits of what is acceptable ID so that it includes ID already in use by the otherwise disadvantaged population such as is done in Canada, the fingerprint method, video of the person declaring their identity) is where I believe the majority of your interlocutors objections lie.
Um… I think I was the first person in this thread to suggest fingerprints as an alternative, and I have consistently indicated I approve of video as well.
I’ll concede that you’ve hijacked the thread so that it is no longer about malicious election practices by the GOP. But it’s not about voter ID either. It’s about you, and your peculiar cognition.
For example, you imply that GWB was no worse than Clinton (and offer in support only the non sequitur fact that many lives were lost in WW II :smack: ).
I nominate as GWB’s most egregious blunder the War against Gog and Magog in the Middle East and, especially the way its aftermath was bungled by young right-wing ideologues. Do you have something to offer up for “your side” beside the Semen-Stained Dress?
And have you actually read books on the Bungling in Iraq? It’s hard to believe you have, given the inanity of your position, but very easy to believe you’d argue as you have despite utter ignorance.