Democrats vote on November 5!

[RandFan]

We agree about that.
Late response to Randfan.

Cool.

 

[Jeff Corey]

Your failure to get the joke is not evidence.

Your failure to have the utmost minimal ability to detect that this might have acually been a joke is risible. Actually, more than risible. And now for the silly party:
http://www.michaelpalinforpresident.com/

 

[WildCat]

Your failure to have the utmost minimal ability to detect that this might have acually been a joke is risible. Actually, more than risible. And now for the silly party:
http://www.michaelpalinforpresident.com/

It's not just a joke, it's an old joke.

And speaking of silly, get a load of the logo on the right on the flyer.

 

[Boo]

I agree that it's morally and ethically wrong, (and it certainly sounds like it could be illegal, although I'm not a lawyer so who am I to judge?) but you're making a false dichotomy between funny actions and unethical/immoral/illegal actions. Something can be both. This can be seen by looking at the world of fiction, where people regularly do horrible things that are funny (the Dark Knight version of the Joker is a nicely extreme recent example). When the things actually happen that doesn't prevent them from being funny, (a person getting stabbed in the eye with a pencil is a person being stabbed in the eye with a pencil) it just prevents us from being able to appreciate the humor because other emotions get in the way.

I wouldn't call this particularly funny, though. Yes, making fun of stupid people is a valuable source of humor, but you need to have some style to it. For instance, saying that "did you know that gullible isn't in the dictionary" is not funny unless you have some sort of setup to it, since too easy. Simply saying something that isn't true does not constitute a joke.

Depriving someone of their right to vote or any other right is not funny. There is no false dichotomy.

I admit to having a very black and macabre sense of humor. I have at some point, somewhere, laughed at something that was most likely morally and/or ethically wrong and possibly illegal. I have witnessed 'stupid human tricks' that made me cry while laughing.


BUT....

There is no joke here. This is not satire. This is a continuation of something that has historical precedence as a means of keeping people from voting. The intent is in the past use of the same tactic. If the people responsible for these flyers did this as a joke, it ranks with those who call in bomb threats to schools to get a day off. It's wrong and in absence of any other evidence it's a crime.



Boo

 

[gdnp]

Name the pranks that you can get away with as long as you say "It's just a joke!"

We have forging money and passing out fake fliers bearing official logos above.

What else can we get away with?! Have fun!

Let's discuss forging money. If Someone copys a US dollar and modifys it to make it a $3 bill, then puts Dubya's picture on it, are they guilty of counterfeiting? Should possession of such a bill be a crime, or would you reserve criminal charges for someone who tries to spend it?

All I have seen about these Virgina fliers is that they were "posted arond hampton roads". One filer? 1000? All around town or on a bulliten board with other jokes at an office?

Do any of you really believe that this is some “joke” that a few people thought up for this election?

I certainly haven't dismissed the possibility.

Now, can anyone explain to me how someone is supposed to tell the difference between a "joke" flyer and one that has been distributed with the intent to keep people from voting?

I can't. unless and until the people who created and distributed the flier are known, we cannot be sure of their motivation.

 

[Meadmaker]

Here is the copy of the PDF.

How can anyone view this document and think "satire"? Seriously? Everything about it is 100% official. It's got numbers printed on it. Logos. No hint of satire anywhere within it.

Take a look at one of those logos. Is that one on the right really "100% official"?

Just in case I'm wrong about this, I'll even google looking for the real logo for the Virginia elections board, but I'm pretty darn certain that isn't it, which might bring it's official rating down somewhere in the low 80% range, at best.

ETA: I saw several news articles saying that a logo of the state elections board was featured, and that it had been copied from the board's web site, but I could not find the logo anywhere except on pictures of this flier. So, the jury is out on this one. I can't imagine that logo being the official logo of a state agency, but you never know. I did find a picture of the door to their office, and it has the state seal, and no other logo.

 

[Wildy]

Sorry if the foreigners got confused.

My God. Foreigners. Posting in a thread about the US elections? That certainly can't be allowed on an open forum.

Quick mods. Ban me before I post again in a thread that is only for Americans.

 

[RandFan]

If the people responsible for these flyers did this as a joke, it ranks with those who call in bomb threats to schools to get a day off.

Meh~ I don't buy that. I guess it's all perspective. A bomb threat is terrorism. I've been through one and I know that some people had serious fear from that. Some were really scared to go back to work. The flyer isn't in good taste but I can't equate the two.

 

[KoihimeNakamura]

Mead,

The attempt to deprive someone of a basic right is never funny. It doesn't matter if the person is ignorant through their own fault, a lack of education or because they are gullible. This is not a "joke" being perpetrated on a presumably educated populace in a "gotcha" fashion. This is a deliberate attempt, targeted specifically at people who are unfamiliar with the election and voting process, to deny them their right to vote.


It is morally and ethically wrong and it is illegal.


It needs to be prosecuted to the full extent of the law and has no place in any society that believes in the fundamental right of an individuals ability to participate in the process of democracy. Many Republicans in the US scream loud and long about the rights of people all over the world to be able to participate in freely held open elections. Yet they will tolerate this type of activity in the US and label it has humor.

If you want to laugh at the overwhelming stupidity of human beings go watch "Jack***".




Boo

QFE.

 

[dirtywick]

I think the real joke is watching the over dramatic grandstanding to a flier made by one party calling another one stupid.

 

[gtc]

Both parties have engaged in activities in the past to keep voters from the polls; however, historically the attempts at disenfranchising or intimidating voters has predominantly been done by Republicans targeting groups that are perceived as being Democratic voters.

Evidence? Weren't the Democrats the leading party in the South during the pre-civil rights era when Blacks were more or less disenfranchised?

 

[gtc]

Just a side note: Has Wildcat's bigotry grown so accepted that he can slip in "sorry for you foreigners", ignoring all of the Americans that disagree with this act, and I'm the only one to call him out on it?

Sigh.

Remember, you had to be called upon to condemn leftysargent's call to burn down their house and that was much worse than saying 'sorry for you foreigners'. Your lack of response didn't mean that you agreed with what he said.

 

[Lonewulf]

Remember, you had to be called upon to condemn leftysargent's call to burn down their house and that was much worse than saying 'sorry for you foreigners'. Your lack of response didn't mean that you agreed with what he said.

No, I know. But I WAS called upon to do so. So as far as I'm concerned, if people are going to call upon me for one other person, I can call upon the whole frikkin' thread for someone else, right?

And I don't think that people agreed with what he said, but I'm getting really tired of Wildcat's asininity.

And Wildcat has made similar posts over and over. Cicero and him have gone out of their way to demonstrate how bad all those foreigners are. If you disagree with me... you must be a foreigner, hey!

And I'm tired of people questioning my citizenship and going out of their way to claim that I'm not a U.S. citizen.

As far as I'm concerned, I'm sick of it.

 

[WildCat]

My God. Foreigners. Posting in a thread about the US elections? That certainly can't be allowed on an open forum.

Quick mods. Ban me before I post again in a thread that is only for Americans.

The point was foreigners would be unlikely to recognize an old joke that had been circulating for years here.

But don't let that stop you from from freaking out and claiming I think foreigners shouldn't be allowed to post in this section...

 

[Lonewulf]

The point was foreigners would be unlikely to recognize an old joke that had been circulating for years here.

Uh huh. Sure it was.

But don't let that stop you from from freaking out and claiming I think foreigners shouldn't be allowed to post in this section...

Yet another lie about something I said.

You're quite the liar, Wildcat. Compulsive much?

First you lied about me actually defending the murder of a raped woman in another thread, where I did no such thing (and even specifically spoke out against it).

Now you lie about me claiming that you said "foreigners shouldn't be allowed to post in this section", where I did no such thing.

I bet that you won't apologize or take back this lie, either.

Oh well.

 

[Jeff Corey]

The point was foreigners would be unlikely to recognize an old joke that had been circulating for years here....

Well, I never saw that "joke" before, but I'm not from Chicago where I assume such "jokes" must occur frequently.
Wasn't a huge "prank" pulled in 1960?

 

[WildCat]

Uh huh. Sure it was.

Odd you can quote someone you claimed to have put on ignore...

Yet another lie about something I said.

You're quite the liar, Wildcat. Compulsive much?

Is Wildy your sock puppet? If not, what the hell makes you think this was directed at you?

First you lied about me actually defending the murder of a raped woman in another thread, where I did no such thing (and even specifically spoke out against it).

No, equivocating. You couldn't simply condemn the stoning of a 13 year old girl without also bringing up other atrocities from other religions in the distant past.

Now you lie about me claiming that you said "foreigners shouldn't be allowed to post in this section", where I did no such thing.

It's funny, because that was clearly a reply to Wildy who definitely insinuated that I didn't think foreigners should comment on US elections - a position I've never had. But I can assure you that I will not throw a hissy fit about it, nor pretend I put him/her on ignore when I haven't.

I bet that you won't apologize or take back this lie, either.

Oh well.

Maybe you should put me on double-pretend ignore.

 

[Lonewulf]

Odd you can quote someone you claimed to have put on ignore...

Whoa! Wildcat finally graces me with his reply!

You're right, I took you off it. I figured if I was going to be calling someone out, it didn't make much sense to keep them on ignore, right?

Besides, people are quoting you, which just makes your statements visible anyways, so what's the point?

Is Wildy your sock puppet? If not, what the hell makes you think this was directed at you?

My mistake.

I actually thought you were quoting me for some reason.

For what it's worth, I apologize on this point.

You couldn't simply condemn the stoning of a 13 year old girl without also bringing up other atrocities from other religions in the distant past.

Wherein you missed the point of why I brought up those atrocities, which had nothing to do with the 13 year old girl, but instead OTHER claims by you. I know you're incapable of introspection, but you weren't exactly only focusing on the 13 year old girl in that thread, but instead had to disgustingly point me to a position I didn't hold thanks to my comment on ANOTHER argument you were making on something else (notably Islam in general, not a particular focused case).

So you still fail completely on that issue. Let's see you finally take it back now.

Or will you keep on lying?

Maybe you should put me on double-pretend ignore.

Oooo, catchy.

How about double-dog-pretend ignore?

 

[WildCat]

Well, I never saw that "joke" before, but I'm not from Chicago where I assume such "jokes" must occur frequently.

Around here, the joke is usually reversed where it's the Republicans who are supposed to vote the day after the election. But this joke has been circulating via emails and message boards for years all over the country.

IMHO, all that happened here is someone got an email or fax of the joke, said haha I'll Xerox up a few copies (and if you look at the flyer it's obviously a few generations removed from the original) and pass them around the office. Maybe someone left theirs on the bus seat on the way home or some other scenario where the original context was lost along the way. Someone finds the flyer and all of a sudden it's some organized effort to prevent people from voting.

Wasn't a huge "prank" pulled in 1960?

No, that wasn't a prank.

This reminds me of the "Aqua Teen Hunger Force" lite-brite ad in Boston that somehow became a terrorist bomb that shut down the city when misinterpreted by people unfamiliar with the show.

 

[WildCat]

Wherein you missed the point of why I brought up those atrocities, which had nothing to do with the 13 year old girl, but instead OTHER claims by you. I know you're incapable of introspection, but you weren't exactly only focusing on the 13 year old girl in that thread, but instead had to disgustingly point me to a position I didn't hold thanks to my comment on ANOTHER argument you were making on something else (notably Islam in general, not a particular focused case).

So you still fail completely on that issue. Let's see you finally take it back now.

Fine Lonewulf, I take it back and apologize for misinterpreting what you said. My bad.

OK?