Should I have offered sleeping/goofing off/doodling/talking to cute girl as options to choose from, then, First?

Pull that stick out of yer' own ass, since yer' the one freaking out when ever someone suggests that - gasp! - Dubya is His Fraudulency. As for the Popular Vote, see the quote in my signature. This is the guy you voted for. Hope yer' happy when we don't have elections in four years

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Star Trek Gamma Quadrant
Average Rated 6.83 out of 10 Smileys by Fabrux
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"If this were a dictatorship, it'd be a heck of a lot easier ... just as long as I'm the dictator." - George "Dubya" Bush, Dec 18, 2000

What, you were dozing when that discussion came up too?

As for the 'no elections in four years' CRAP, it doesn't really merit any more than a sneer of 'now who's paranoid?' But since you asked... only TWO things that could really make me worry that that might happen:

ONE: if 'the majority' were to elect a Fundie-mental minister (like Pat Robertson)... in which case he could TRY that, but there are safeguards in place against that possibility *wink*.

TWO: if we had actually elected the man who, on a tour of Monticello, while the CNN cameras were rolling, and stanging in front of busts of Washington, Jefferson, Franklin, and Lafayette, said, and I quote, "Who are those guys?" -- Al Gore.

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"Ed Gruberman, you fail to grasp Ty Kwan Leap. Approach me, that you might see." -- The Master

You mean like that private gun ownership that JK wants to make impossible?

quote:

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Probably one of the most-disproved theories in history, scientifically, historically, socially, and in every other way, is "the majority is right."

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Jerry Falwell is a good example.

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All along the watchtower, princes kept the view
While all the women came and went, barefoot servants, too.

Outside in the distance a wildcat did growl,
Two riders were approaching, the wind began to howl.
Bob Dylan

I want to create a society in which no one needs to own a handgun to feel safe walking outside to get their newspaper. Why you're against at least trying to create that kind of society is completely unbelievable to me ...

Personally, Out here I'm more often worried about the occasional rabid raccoon (easier to pop at close range with a handgun than a rifle) than I am about being mugged on the way to get the mail.

Its when I go into those nice, urban, heavily democratic-voting areas that I worry about needing it for short walks...

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"Ed Gruberman, you fail to grasp Ty Kwan Leap. Approach me, that you might see." -- The Master

In fact, most criminal enterprises are extremely innefficient in the open countryside, with the exception of marijuana offenses and petty vandalism.
It's not easy for a man on foot to go on a crime spree with so much distance separating targets.
Everybody knows pretty much everybody, which makes troublemakers easy to identify.
In my experience, country folks (at least, those not on relief) tend to have a mindset that is not conducive to the kind of selfish crime that you find in urban areas: That is, that an honest day's work is preferable.

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"Ed Gruberman, you fail to grasp Ty Kwan Leap. Approach me, that you might see." -- The Master

I attribute crime in urban areas to higher useage of drugs. Most murders in Baltimore and DC are drug related -- I'm surprised you haven't noted the Jamican drug war in D.C. about 12 years ago, was it? Now, if we could just get drug addicts treatment instead of throwing them into jail expecting that to do anything, we'd be somewhere, but ...

I heard someone once say that the only truly effective way to end the drug problem (and I'm NOT endorsing this, by the way) would be for someone to step in to dealing... and tamper, fatally, with the drugs.

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"Ed Gruberman, you fail to grasp Ty Kwan Leap. Approach me, that you might see." -- The Master

"I want to create a society in which no one needs to own a handgun to feel safe walking outside to get their newspaper. Why you're against at least trying to create that kind of society is completely unbelievable to me ..."

Who said I was? My point is that, in the currently existing society, the right to privately own a weapon greatly increases the safety of the people. It also prevents any wackos from taking over the country, be they petty dictators, or misguided religious types. Therefore, people should be allowed to own and carry weapons, and under the constitution, they are.

You want to create some mythical Utopian society. Well, you have good intentions. Unfortunately, until you can present a way to create this wonderful society of yours, then that's ALL you have. There's a road involving good intentions, you know.

Please, by all means, if you can come up with a viable plan to completely eliminate crime, do it. Heck, I'll help you implement it. Until then, though, I prefer to deal with the real world.