Pearls Before Swine by Stephan Pastis for October 11, 2015

We should be able to print out our own licenses from the computer, and not just for driving.

Today’s background music: “Man in the Mirror” by Michael Jackson.

Too many rules, mostly made by incompetent people.

And we demonstrate that we don’t know squat every election cycle.

I’ve mentioned this before — Heinlein posited an election system whereby the potential voter would have to take and pass a test before his/her ballot would be unlocked. When I hear about people voting for candidates based upon how they look, or how witty they are, it begins to sound like a pretty good idea.

Given some of what the government does and some of the people selected for certain government positions who don’t have the experience or even training for that position, not entirely sure it’s wisdom government decides things like rules of the road.

Rat makes the case for Anarchy. What I’d prefer is more severely limited governmental apparatus….

I got my driver’s license from a cracker jack box.

Flaws and all (and there are many) it’s still the best system in the world.

Hmmm…. so when W was elected because he looked like a guy you’d wanta have a beer with, we done wrong?

Do you want to live in a country run by leaders chosen by someone of average intelligence? Because that’s what we’ve got. And as you can tell from looking around, average intelligence isn’t much.

I love cliffhangers!

It works because all our politicians are Philosopher Kings.

@Kind&Kinder — Democracy only works when people make rational decisions for the public good. Every politician believes, though — on good evidence — that people make irrational decisions and consider only their own good, and maybe the good of their families. In fact, politicians encourage such behavior, just like military recruiters encourage enlistment for mercenary reasons (like money for college or skills that can be transferred to the job market).

The candidates should be able to pass tests, too.

Grainpaw: IQ and morality tests, for sure.

can you imagine the uproar?!? They don’t even want us having to show and ID never mind an IQ.

The less here is clear: never sit on the edge of a cliff while having a conversation with Rat.

If Donald Trump were a 5 year old on the playground, he’d be sent to the principle’s office for being racist and a bully.

If he were a teacher, he’d be fired for being immature and racist.

If he were a random guy shouting his beliefs in the middle of a shopping mall, he’d be escorted from the building by security.

However, Trump is not a 5 year old, he is not a teacher, and he is not a random guy in the middle of a shopping mall.

Instead, he is trying to become one of the the most powerful men in the world.

bmw, lexus, and minivan drivers are the worst drivers. no one cares about your stick figure family. your honor roll kid cheated. that dealership you got your vehicle is shady and cheats emission tests. you are an idiot if you put tvs in the headrest, but no one is in the back seat.

“Democracy is based on the assumption that a million men are wiser than one man. How’s that again? I missed something. Autocracy is based on the assumption that one man is wiser than a million men. Let’s play that over again, too. Who decides?” – Heinlein

After I turn 21, I’m taking driving lessons.

I’ll most likely pass on my 50th time. It’s going to be scary but I like challenges.

xxx

The problems with America could be solved with only three steps:

(1) Abolish non-mililtary pensions, to avoid career bureaucrats and politicians;

(2) Allow each state to opt out of any law or regulation, for itself and for its residents (including corporations), to eliminate the failed Federal one-size-fits-all constraints;

(3) Abolish Federal District courts, requiring all adjudication to go through the vibrant state court systems, to eliminate philosopher-kings from overruling the voters.

We should get rid of the titles. That’ll force the candidates to rely on the issues to win instead expecting to win because they are republican/democrat.

The Circle of Strife.It has been a long time since i read any sociology but i think it was Stalin who had a quote that every political system has within it the seeds of its own destruction. Who cares who came up w it, though, because it is so logical. Makes sense w how flawed any beings just are, and how times change, right? Anyway, if i recall right two of the possible dangers here are an undermining of the Fourth Estate (news sources), and an electorate which bases its choices not upon careful thought, consideration, and upon staying educated. Examples are straight party line voting, failing to learn various sides of an issue, paying too much attention to advertisements, voting based upon popularity, etc.

Uniquename, that is the version of Scrooge with Albert Finney if you are seeking it for your collection. It is a true joy. Scrooge isva great favorite of mine. To this day i wish they had recorded the play when Tim Curry was in it. The roles he has played have not always done him justice, but he has always done justice to them. So, i figure that given a plum role like Scrooge he just had to be magnificent.

It’s good to have regulations for dangerous tools like automobiles. Too bad we can’t figure it out when it comes to dangerous tools like guns.

Certain gun regulations differ considerably in different states, so you coukd each be right depending not only on viewpoints but also on location.Personally, i woukd like the background checks tightened, and wiukd like some other changes. For example, the firearms and ammo at the time the Constitution could not pierce things similar in resistance to armor or kevlar, and were single shot weapons with lower ability to injure. The current automatic weapons are more akin to the bombs of that day in terms of how many can be killed and how rapidly.I can understand the attraction of target shooting, though with my limted vision i would not be able to do it. Yet, i do appreciate that actual skill is involved and that it takes hard work to get there. I am proud of my skills so figure others shoukd be proud of theirs.I even can see why some people hunt because i grew up with some nearby relatives who had a farm so helped in the preparation of food. (as in taking the chickens from the chopping block to the cauldron where the feathers were singed off in hot water when i was a preschooler). Some food items have to be killed by someone. Heck, that is even so for some vegetarian foods.I coukd even see spevial private ownership of automatic weapons, as by some inspected gun ranges which woukd keep those guns on the premises and charge for their use. What i do not see is any good reason for almost anyone else to have those, dum-dum bullets, armor piercing rounds, and such.

It is more dangerous to have know knowledge of politicians who lie.Politicians should have to meet some kind of minimum requirement.Honest and pledge not to lie hould be the 1st criteria, with a 2nd of proof of some kind of test of morally good character, 3rd. a sincere promise to put the good of the nation and good of the citizens as top priority, always. No putting politics ahead of these.

So…who writes the test?Who tests them to see if they are intelligent enough to write the test?Who tests those testers?

Proposing a test to let people vote does the same thing to this question that the big bang theory does to creation:It just backs the quandary up by one step.“Nothing was created; it was just a big bang”“OK, what was there before the big bang?”“A primordial singularity.”“How did that get there?”“Membranes collided.”“How did the membranes get there?”(Repeat.)

Some people say we need smarter politicians, others say we need a smarter electorate.

Maybe we need to take a page from the Romulan constitution—they had a third house of the legislature, to repeal laws.