monkey

Whatever. Seems to me that, whatever the disagreement, if you are going to post opinions on a public forum you should be prepared to defend those opinions.

I heard this too. I also read that the electronic results for a county of California "went missing" at the last election for around seven hours... If every State adopts the electronic system there may never be another Democrat in the White House... 2008 will be Hillary vs. Arny... A Woman vs. The Terminator. He can't be president yet, but there is already discussion about changing the law that would prevent him running... I have so little faith in American voters - after all a large number voted for Bush - they are bound to want a Terminator in the White House...

So you have given up on trying to defend your apparent bigotry?

As usual not prepared to engage in actual debate; you just post opinion and prove unwilling or incapable of actually backing that opinion up when challanged.

All you have to say is to quote someone else's comments about activism that don't even make sense. Well done.

Who was it meant for then?

Doc: If Im contemptuous of anyone it is of people who cant understand that if they are unhappy with the way things are then more than simply voting is required. Soundian: If your quite happy to vote for a political party without actually having a grasp of that partys policies then you are just an idiot. Flossie T Sheep: Your cynical view of political activism is understandable, but its also quite an inaccurate reflection of all political activists that I have ever encountered or studied. If you found yourself victimized for your views would you not seek out more like-minded individuals? If you found the environment authoritarian would you not seek to create a more open minded one with like-minded individuals? Your suggestion seems to be that all organised political activity amounts to mob/gang mentality that strives for mass uniformity in numbers which though I might accept is occasionally the case, it is just laughable to suggest it is like that all the time. As for you point about voting: You seem to assume that if more people voted they would for someone other than the Labour party which as a questionable assumption. It suggests that there is I group of people that dont vote and if they did vote they would vote for someone else. Im not sure this theory is backed up by any research... What do you guys think political activism is? How in a political process do you think your voice can be heard? If a community wants improved public services, speedbumps, improved lesure facilities they are not going to get these by voting once every four years! If your have a particular issue about say for example the destruction of a nature reserve youre not going to put this issue on the political agenda by voting once every four years! If you are unhappy about some aspect of UK foreign policy youre not going to highlight this issue by voting once every four years! I would hope youre starting to see what Im getting at... Political activism can refer to a whole range of issues parents writing to councillors to prevent the closure of a local school; people writing to their local MP to protest about the lack of debt relief for Less Developed Countries; even campaigning within a political party to get it to adopt a policy It is about having some effect on the environment in which you live and has far more impact than simply voting every four years. As I have already said if you only vote you cannot influence the policies of the parties you elect to power. Now lets have debate about that rather than some of the silliness which seems to pervade some opinions!

Is anyone else watching this programme? If so, what do you think?

You clearly don't have a clue what i'm actually saying. I didn't say their views dont count - as you would see if you had actually read my post - But if you honestly think that if you cross a peice of paper once every four years then you are politically active I do wonder about your grasp of reality. You cannot possibly be 'involved' in the political process if you simply vote every four years. you effectively give up your voice. Your vote is interpreted as support for any number of policies you may or may not have ever heard of. The point is you were not involved in creating those policies and you more than likely simply looked at the paper, looked at the choice of parties and picked the best of a bad bunch.

Lets follow them and see...