marionm
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Post by marionm on Jun 6, 2020 15:07:42 GMT -5
happy after the second world war our system was adjusted as well. We still have proportional representation, but a party has to have 5% of votes to sit in the parliament. This is precisely to avoid every little group to have oversized voices.
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happy
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Post by happy on Jun 6, 2020 15:34:33 GMT -5
Hey, that's funny that you got in touch! I was going to pm you to say congratulations on your new job. I'm really glad that things are working out for you. Did I ever mention that my son was born with a heart defect that required surgery when he was a new-born and again when he was 16. He will need another new valve in the future, but with all the new methods, probably not open heart surgery again.
So does Germany have a lot of parties -- does it ever have trouble putting together a working government? I think the worry here in Canada is that a party with some kind of very conservative agenda might get a seat and a bigger voice as a result. We already have the Parti Quebecois which is a federal party dedicated to breaking up Canada!
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Post by Jablea on Jun 6, 2020 17:37:20 GMT -5
I find it interesting that almost every country we've helped write a constitution and or develop a democratic form of government has always created a parliamentary form instead of presidential. This is an interesting article, just look at the other countries, the US is kind of a sore thumb. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidential_systemand some great quotes from the 1870's Waving at you from Canada! Not a perfect system but allows for majority and minority governments which can both be very productive in their own ways. Our head of state is the Queen, represented by the Governor General who is appointed by the current Prime Minister for a five to seven year term and is largely symbolic. But, should Canada have a constitutional crisis, that person who is largely independent can make important decisions, with the aid of our top constitutional lawyers. People are always agitating against our system. Some don't like the idea of a monarch -- but then who do you replace as an independent head of state? Some want proportional representation -- pluses and minuses there -- but it can lead to many small parties having an oversized voice. We've had a couple of referendums on this in BC and the people have voted for the status quo. I've enjoyed your well thought out posts over the last few days. Waves back at ya! I didn't realize that your government went above the Prime Minister. Always something new to learn. I try to learn why people think different things. Like the slogan in these protests to Defund the Police. I can understand why that is not at all palatable to many folks and I had no idea either. But I'm learning more about it every day but of course the main point can be narrowed down to less policing would be needed if there was more investing. Of course then we get into chicken or the egg starting points and who knows it may be back to bare knuckles. I tend to think using metaphors like Star Trek's "Shaka, when the walls fell" but that doesn't make sense to enough people so I have to explain further. Takes a lot of time, lol.
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happy
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Post by happy on Jun 6, 2020 23:36:02 GMT -5
Waves back at ya! I didn't realize that your government went above the Prime Minister. Always something new to learn. I try to learn why people think different things. Like the slogan in these protests to Defund the Police. I can understand why that is not at all palatable to many folks and I had no idea either. But I'm learning more about it every day but of course the main point can be narrowed down to less policing would be needed if there was more investing. Of course then we get into chicken or the egg starting points and who knows it may be back to bare knuckles. I tend to think using metaphors like Star Trek's "Shaka, when the walls fell" but that doesn't make sense to enough people so I have to explain further. Takes a lot of time, lol. Gotta love a Star Trek reference! Also, each province has a Lieutenant Governor who has a similar role to the GG which is largely ceremonial -- until it is not. Our last election here in BC was so close -- one party won a couple of more seats, the other party won more of the popular vote -- that it wasn't totally cut and dried and the LG was called on to make a decision.
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marionm
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Post by marionm on Jun 7, 2020 1:16:11 GMT -5
Haha thanks guys for the kind words!!! happy It depends on the kind of election it is. If it's lokal, regional, or national. Not every party is representet in every election and everywhere, but you can find up to 40 parties on your ballot. That sounds like alot of choice but most of them don't actually have a chance (Unfortunately) and IMO there's not much difference between the handful of big parties. They all take money from Industrie, it's the same broken promises you guys know as well. It's always super frustrating to see how people can be unbelievably stupid and vote for the same shit again and again. To add: No, i don't think you've ever mentioned that about your son. I was born with a heart defect as well (a stenosis in the upper aortha), which was operated at 3 month.
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happy
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Post by happy on Jun 7, 2020 14:20:01 GMT -5
Haha thanks guys for the kind words!!! happy It depends on the kind of election it is. If it's lokal, regional, or national. Not every party is representet in every election and everywhere, but you can find up to 40 parties on your ballot. That sounds like alot of choice but most of them don't actually have a chance (Unfortunately) and IMO there's not much difference between the handful of big parties. They all take money from Industrie, it's the same broken promises you guys know as well. It's always super frustrating to see how people can be unbelievably stupid and vote for the same shit again and again. To add: No, i don't think you've ever mentioned that about your son. I was born with a heart defect as well (a stenosis in the upper aortha), which was operated at 3 month. One thing Canada did is really tighten up campaign financing at all levels to try to make if fairer. At the federal and provincial levels, a lot of the funding is from the public purse (income tax) and individuals are limited in what they can contribute. There is also a lot of record keeping and transparency. Of course, people are always looking at ways to get around this and have more influence, but I think the legislation really has helped to make a more level playing field and get rid of big money. Also, our election campaigns are a lot shorter than those in the States -- it almost seems they are always in election mode! My son had pulmonary stenosis and had his first surgery at a day and a half. Scary times for new parents!!
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happy
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Post by happy on Jun 7, 2020 14:31:42 GMT -5
marionm Just thought I would add to my story above about our last provincial election where the LG had to make a decision. The New Democratic Party has a minority government supported by the three Green Party members. They have been pushing for carbon emission reductions. It is going to be interesting to see what happens to the climate change agenda, now that the pandemic has had drastic effects on the economy and the government budget here. It is disheartening that my city got rid of stores handing out single use plastic bags about a year ago and people were getting used to bringing their own. The pandemic reversed all that and there is more and more plastic everywhere. My tiny contribution is that I pick up plastic from the beach on my daily walk.
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Post by bamafan on Jun 7, 2020 17:13:46 GMT -5
OK....I watched last weeks Rachel Maddow shows on Demand. Just finished Friday's show. It was pretty much like theosgma said....Rachel showed all the peaceful protests everyday along with some police beatings and aggression...like the Buffalo protestor being pushed to ground and hurting his head. They didn't show any destruction to buildings, fires, looting, etc. Didn't discuss it at all. Tucker was more focused on the destruction aspects. Rachel had guests from Dem mayors..showed Al sharpton's eulogy, had on Keith Ellison and Corey Booker, etc. Tucker doesn't have on GOP or HeWhoCannot amed folks as his guests....usually folks you've never heard of. I'd say that Hannity is more like Rachel since he's a HeWhoCannot amedster and she's an arm of the DNC. Tucker is very weary of China and he's big on the Constitution. I consider him to be fair minded and likes to debate issues. Rachel's focus other that the peaceful protests seems to be on police brutality itself. In one episode she was wondering if some of the military/guard forces were legit....were they part of the govt or not. Of course, every episode had HeWhoCannot amed trashing...some overt and some subtle. I doubt Tucker is a huge HeWhoCannot amed supporter...not like Hannity or Laura to a lesser degree. I think Tucker appeals to a wider audience...thus his high TV ratings...because he stands for widely held American values. He tilts a little Libertarian...no overseas wars, wary of China, limited legal immigration and freedom of speech, etc. I did find it interesting Rachel talking about the Covid numbers, esp. in Utah and AZ and several other states that have opened up. she's concerned. Not as much recent Covid coverage on FNC except for the fact that the left doesn't seem to mind the lack of social distancing when it comes to huge protest gatherings or at least they aren't reporting the irony. Guess we'll see if any impact on the Covid numbers in a few weeks. I know the Covid cases in Ala haven't started decreasing yet....never really high....but new cases each day is concerning.
I really didn't learn anything new...much was as I expected. The fact that Rachel focused so much on the peaceful protests was a good thing IMO. That's common ground I think and now let's hope something good and productive comes out of it all. Not much has changed thruout my lifetime as far as improved race relations....all talk and promises and little action. We on the right like results...to fix things....not just talk and platitudes. Hopefully things will change for the black community. HeWhoCannot amed, in spite of all his flaws and they are many, has helped with black employment, prison reform, enterprise zones,etc. Lots more needs to be done. Also, I believe that law enforcement needs to and will be making reforms. They have no choice. Black lives do matter. I see on today's news, that protests are largely peaceful....that's a good sign.
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