Will there be a break?

President-Elect Obama sees himself, we are told by the fawning media (as detailed by Sister Toldjah and Powerline), as the new Abraham Lincoln, who was a Republican, the Democrats being historically the party of slavery, Jim Crow laws and segregation. Let us hope that does not mean that he intends to plunge the country into a vicious and debilitating civil war.

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This is the result of extending the franchise to any slob who can breathe(and some who can't).

I think presidency starts with PR. It ends with "WHY?".

Indeed. Hence........ proposed revision to the franchise:

1. All adults get a vote except those in prison.
2. You get an extra vote if you are not receiving goverment handouts or, if you are, you are also in at least half-time employment.
3. You get a further 2 votes if you are not employed in the public sector AND your main employer* has no** governments contracts.

That's the gist. The trouble is with the bureaucracy it would entail, especially that needed to prevent cheating, such as firms setting up shells to subcontract their government subcontracting and so on down the line. There are plenty of others too. 'Government handouts' would need to exclude earned state pensions and the like. Members of the armed forces should get the full 4 votes too, I say.

* If you are fully retired, your main employer is deemed to be yourself. If you are getting government handouts, your employer is the government.

** 'no' = accounting for less than 5% of the firm's turnover.
Oh hell, this just gets more and more complicated. Doh! I give up.


P.S. Hello Helen.
I expect PermanentExpat will be along for an 'interaction' later. (It is PE who is keen to engage you in intercourse, isn't it?)

JA, sounds like the future Australia in Neville Shute's 'Beyond the Black Stump' , the main premise of which is the royal family going to Oz to escape socialism. There's a similar multi-vote system in it.


No, not Beyond the Black Stump. another one, In the Wet. The future setting is 1983!

The "Chosen One" gets a messagefrom his Teleprompter.

As Obama is a great admirer of the Lincoln bible let's hope he takes note of Lincoln's words and starts to undo all the damage the anti-lobby groups have caused.

A prohibition law strikes a blow at the very principles upon which our government was founded.

Won't hold my breath though.

Thanks, John, for your appreciation of the situation


Yuck...

I would comment further but, as we all know, 'ex cathedra Helena' doesn't do Comments.

How did it work out? As a success I hope.

No problem. I like to share and [strike]stir up trouble[/strike] bring people together.

I think it was Roberts who screwed up the oath and not Obama. He mixed up the order of the words.

See here andf here

I think the realities of his office will soon knock the “lets power our business from the wind and soil” malarkey out of him – and much of the rest of the nonsense he sprouts too.

I would imagine much of your analysis is correct (or may well be correct); but I think Justice Roberts destroyed his rhythm in the first line by talking over him and saying the next line in a different order. Maybe a sly retort for Obama not voting for him in the appointment to office

He may turn out to be useless or dangerous, but he is not stupid, and maybe he does listen and learn. At least he didn't make a big deal of 'global warming'.

I understand it was the other way round - Obama rushed in too early, thus throwing Roberts off his rhythm. Either way, this will not be one of the great moments in history.

Like most of us I have no idea how Obama will cope - we must hope fervently that he does a better job than GW Bush.
The world certainly needs its largest economy to be strong and also to stop militarist interventions on slim evidence. America's preoccupation with Iraq and Afghanistan has enabled Putin's Russia to rattle its sabre again.

Like so many others I hope he does not go overboard on the global warming myth. that is a middle-class guilt trip, a luxury we cannot afford right now. The recession is taking care of carbon emissions for the moment.