pardon me, but are you saying that Canadians, Australians or others who live in parliamentary democracies have no say in their governments? If so then you are displaying a fair degree of ignorance about parliamentary democracies.
Given the structure of parliamentary democracies, voters are more likely to have more of a direct say than the typical American voter. There is a far greater perception that the typical voter has a greater say in which government is elected than in the US system. For instance, unlike the US, Cabinet Ministers or Secretaries are elected officials. Similarly the Prime Minister is also an elected member of parliament. Moreover if the government is in a minority situation, in which the ruling party may have the largest block of seats in the legislature, it does not have an absolute majority. To retain power it becomes very responsive to the public. You also see a lot more cooperation in parliament in these situations between the opposition and the governing party that you do in the American system. Moreover, if you have a complaint, you can take it up with your MP and he can raise it directly with the Prime Minister or his Cabinet during the Question Period in Parliament. This has resulted in some very interesting situations where an obscure backbencher has taken the government to task over something. For instance when my father was rejected for a veteran's pension several years ago, his MP at the time raised the question in Parliament. It was great seeing the Veteran's Affairs Minister squirm in public. This system seem to me to be far more responsive than the US system to the constituents needs. larry -- Larry C. Lyons ColdFusion/Web Developer Certified Advanced ColdFusion 5 Developer EBStor.com 8870 Rixlew Lane, Suite 204 Manassas, Virginia 20109-3795 tel: (703) 393-7930 fax: (703) 393-2659 Web: http://www.ebstor.com http://www.pacel.com email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Chaos, panic, and disorder - my work here is done. -- > -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] > Sent: Wednesday, February 20, 2002 9:11 AM > To: CF-Community > Subject: RE: How to lie your way into the White House - Bush-style > > > Take a long hard look at someone cooking french fries the > next time you're > in a McDonald's and tell me you would want to say, "Yes Mr. > President" to > them. > > Sorry, but there is a distinct line between fantasy and > reality. Arthur C. > Clarke is a brilliant mind and a phenomenal writer, but he's > no political > science expert. > > If you want something like what the Canadians and Australians > have then > you're in the wrong place. (uh oh, soap box time) Our > country was founded > on the principles that a citizen has a say in how his country > is run. With > the Suffrage movement and various amendments the original > verbiage (where > only white make landholders had a vote) has been changed to > reflect the > cultural, ethnic and racial diversity that is *still* the > "great melting > pot" that is America. We have a political system that is > based on checks > and balances. That's why I'm praying for the Supreme Court > to do it's job > if this Campaign Reform Bill is passed. > > I'm guessing your last post was in jest, but do you really > want the head of > our nation, figurehead or not, to be "randomly selected"? Do > you realize > what kind of precarious blade you would rest our entire > country on? As it > is, our President is a very strong representative of what the > US is to the > rest of the world. Throw someone who isn't fluent in the ebb > and flow of > the very dangerous sea that is global politics out there and > you have an > absolute catastrophe! > > The thought that I always keep in mind is that there are far > worse places > that I could live, and I can think of scant better. > > Hatton > > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: Larry Lyons [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] > > Sent: Wednesday, February 20, 2002 8:55 AM > > To: CF-Community > > Subject: RE: How to lie your way into the White House - Bush-style > > > > > > In one of Arthur C. Clarke's books he proposed an interesting > > system. First > > off the presidency is more like the Australian or Canadian Governors > > General, a more ceremonial post, but with some real power. > Second, any > > stated desire for the office, or attempt to campaign for office > > automatically invalidates the person from office. Finally > the president is > > chosen at random from the population. > > > > Given the last fiasco it may be a more viable method of electing > > presidents. > > > > larry > > > > -- > > Larry C. Lyons > > ColdFusion/Web Developer > > Certified Advanced ColdFusion 5 Developer > > EBStor.com > > 8870 Rixlew Lane, Suite 204 > > Manassas, Virginia 20109-3795 > > tel: (703) 393-7930 > > fax: (703) 393-2659 > > Web: http://www.ebstor.com > > http://www.pacel.com > > email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Chaos, panic, and disorder - my work here is done. > > -- > > > > > -----Original Message----- > > > From: Maureen [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] > > > Sent: Tuesday, February 19, 2002 6:34 PM > > > To: CF-Community > > > Subject: RE: How to lie your way into the White House - Bush-style > > > > > > > > > We've had this type of discussion on the list before, but I'm > > > going to > > > repeat it. > > > > > > Bad behavior by Clinton does not give Bush a free ticket to > > > indulge in bad > > > behavior of his own. > > > > > > I think that any candidate that lies to get elected should be > > > removed from > > > office, period. They should not make campaign promises they > > > don't intend to > > > keep. > > > > > > At 03:12 PM 2/18/02, Lon wrote: > > > > "Listen to me, cause I'm only going to say this one more > > > time and then > > > >I am going to get back to work for the American people. I > > > did not have > > > >sexual relations with that woman. Miss Lewinsy..." > > > > > > > > To suggest that what Bush said was a lie, presupposes > > > that you knew > > > >Bush's intent when he said it. > > > > > > > > > > > > > At 02:24 PM 2/18/2002 -0500, you wrote: > > > > > >First there was "Read my lips" and now, like father, > like son... > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > >http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,651987,00.html > > > > > > > > > > > >Of course, there are many more examples of lies that > > > were perpetuated > > > > > > > > > >during the last Presidentail election... > > > > > > ______________________________________________________________________ This list and all House of Fusion resources hosted by CFHosting.com. The place for dependable ColdFusion Hosting. Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/index.cfm?sidebar=lists
