US MAN convicted of Orchid smuggling

[Gcroz]

The ridiculousness of the legal system in the US doesn't stop at the criminal courts!

This is from the NY Times today: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/29/nyregion/29young.html?no_interstitial

 

[gonewild]

Good question Eric, after the polls close isn't it too late? then what?

Peru has a huge fine for anyone that fails to vote. No pay the fine? Go to jail.
When you vote you dip your finger in a dye so the police can easily see who has not voted once the polls close and also then you can only vote once. They also stamp your National ID card when you vote and if at anytime in the future a police looks at your ID and you don't have the stamp...off to jail.

 

[gonewild]

We should make it compulsory by making anyone who doesn't vote have to show up for jury duty! ;>

Or just have a Supreme Ruler and then we don't have to vote or serve on jury duty.

 

[emydura]

How does Aus. enforce compulsory voting?

You are fined. Nothing as severe as Peru though. But effective enough.

David

 

[SlipperFan]

We can actually do something, and we can do it next week. No matter how futile it may feel, we need to get out and vote. ...

I voted absentee ballot last week -- I think I've only missed one election in my life. You have a good suggestion about encouraging others to go vote.

You nailed it there Leo. The voluntary voting system doesn't help the US. It just favours the extreme elements which doesn't really represent middle America. But then if middle America is not going to vote who can blame political parties for pursuing the extreme vote. They are just trying to get elected.

In Australia voting is compulsory, so at least 95% of the eligible population votes. So extreme groups have little influence. The main problem is the two major parties are so desperate to win the middle ground they have become indistinguishable. It is hard to tell them apart.

David

Voting in any country assumes an informed electorate. If you've ever watched Jay Leno's "Jay-walking" segments, you'd be very concerned about "middle America."

Do the voters in Australia tend to be informed better because they must vote? That would certainly be interesting to know.

This is from the NY Times today: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/29/nyregion/29young.html?no_interstitial

!!! When you were nearly five, were you aware of what was going on around you? I doubt if I was -- I barely have memory of when I was 5.

 

[nikv]

So is this five-year-old girl now faced with hiring her own attorney to represent her independent of her parents? And did some process server hang around outside her kindergarten waiting to approach her and serve her (and not get arrested for being a *********/stalker, I might add)? And could a five-year-old girl even understand the complexities of the case? I think not. While I feel bad for the family of the elderly woman, I don't see why the little girl was named as a party to the case. It boggles my mind. Her parents, sure. No problem there. But not her.

 

[Bolero]

There isn't enough in that story to either say he's guilty or not guilty so I can't see how anyone can rush to judgement. For all we know he might have done the wrong thing (or the right thing).

 

[Eric Muehlbauer]

Its funny......when I first got to know George, I made it clear to him that politics was off-limits in our discussions, since we would never agree with each other anyway. When his legal troubles began we actually found ourselves agreeing on some things. I even suggested that he contact the ACLU. Ultimately, the ACLU did get involved, but to no avail. However, years later, George is still the same politically.

 

[emydura]

Voting in any country assumes an informed electorate. If you've ever watched Jay Leno's "Jay-walking" segments, you'd be very concerned about "middle America."

Do the voters in Australia tend to be informed better because they must vote? That would certainly be interesting to know.

Definately not. Mosy Australians have no interest at all in politics and only vote because they have too. They certainly don't make an informed vote. It is one of the arguments used to suggest voting should be voluntary. It is a fair argument but the flipside is that our parliament is not controlled by conservative religous fundamentalists or national rifle associations.

The problem we have is that in order to appeal to this large disinterested group, the elction campaigns of the two major parties are so dumbed down. There is never any intelligent discussion or detailed policy debate. There campaigns are nothing but simplistic, meaningless slogans that get repeated ad nauseum. They are also incredibly negative. The recent federal election was the worst I have ever seen. The end result was we now have a hung parliament (the first in my lifetime) with power determined by a whole bunch of independents. A fantastic result for the country and one leading to badly needed parliamentary reform.

David

 

[NYEric]

I don't want to get into US politics here. I don't know about other countries but US politics have repeatedly shown that people are really sheep!

 

[ehanes7612]

and here i thought growing orchids made people immune to politics...silly me

 

[SlipperFan]

...The problem we have is that in order to appeal to this large disinterested group, the elction campaigns of the two major parties are so dumbed down. There is never any intelligent discussion or detailed policy debate. There campaigns are nothing but simplistic, meaningless slogans that get repeated ad nauseum. They are also incredibly negative. The recent federal election was the worst I have ever seen. The end result was we now have a hung parliament (the first in my lifetime) with power determined by a whole bunch of independents. A fantastic result for the country and one leading to badly needed parliamentary reform.

David

Oh. For a minute there, I thought you were talking about the US. It's the same here, with voluntary voting.

and here i thought growing orchids made people immune to politics...silly me

It's a human thing -- do you know of any orchid societies that don't have a lot of politics at their core???

 

[Shiva]

Our political system, and I include that of Canada, is beyond redemption. Political parties should be abolished and people should vote for any local representative of their choice no matter what his or her views on politics are. Once the election is over, the president elect would chose his cabinet among the best people elected with an obligation to represent all political tendancies reasonnably equally. There would be no opposition as such but every elected member would be free to vote for or against any policy proposed by any elected representative. That would be totally democratic and it would end the endless posturing for power. Of course, I'm dreaming big time but to me, that's better than the nightmare scenario we have now. It's worst in the US because there's far more money flowing and politicians are more interested in holding power than doing good for the people.The political machine has gone rogue. Billions of dollars are spent on election and the US has the gall to criticize the corruption in Afghanistan. For the time being, I hope the voters come to their senses quickly. :sob:

 

[ehanes7612]

Oh. For a minute there, I thought you were talking about the US. It's the same here, with voluntary voting.


It's a human thing -- do you know of any orchid societies that don't have a lot of politics at their core???

apparently sarcasm isnt

 

[SlipperFan]

apparently sarcasm isnt

Oh, I got the sarcasm. But you know, I have actually met people who were surprised to find politics in orchid societies. I wanted to make that point, in case others didn't get it.

 

[ehanes7612]

Oh, I got the sarcasm. But you know, I have actually met people who were surprised to find politics in orchid societies. I wanted to make that point, in case others didn't get it.

true...mostly around judging and awards i have found