when I was 17 years old my father left the state. I had to work to pay the bills had no car and my school was 15 miles away.

I did not graduate. But later got my GED.

Sorry Everyone gets a vote even the stupid people like me. as much as even I agree it sucks.

But the moment you give power to government to limit voting, they will find a way to twist it.

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Adaption is compromise. When the world met me it shuddered, groaned, it knelt at my feet. Illyria was all they needed to know.

I sell game curency here

Raul was appointed by the National Assembly. There was no election.

Quote:

"Fidel Castro's nearly five decades of rule ended Sunday when Cuba's National Assembly chose his younger brother Raul to be the country's new president."

Fidel Castro's daughter, who lives in Florida, sums it up quite easily:

Quote:

"I think that the government will remain mostly the same, but I think they are going to bring on different faces that they need,"

Raul was not "grandfathered" in to replace Fidel...he was "younger brothered" in.

Raul Castro chosen as Cuba's new president - CNN.com

He was elected by the National Assembly which is made up of party members. There is no contradiction in that and what i said.

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Viva Fidel

"If there ever was in the history of humanity an enemy who was truly universal, an enemy whose acts and moves trouble the entire world, threaten the entire world, attack the entire world in any way or another, that real and really universal enemy is precisely Yankee imperialism"

"North Americans don't understand... that our country is not just Cuba; our country is also humanity"

Elected?? Not much of an election since the National Assembly selected Raul to be Fidel's successor. Do you really believe that the National Assembly are representative of the Cuban people?

Quote:

"The 76-year-old year old was the only candidate proposed to the country's national assembly, which met to decide the new leadership of the communist state." Fidel Castro's brother elected Cuban president - Telegraph

There is a big difference between being "elected" and being "selected". Raul was "selected".

Quote:

"After being selected by the Cuban National Assembly, Raul Castro said he would continue to consult his brother on important matters." Democracy Now! | Headlines for February 25, 2008

Well, a GED would probably fall under an equivalent standard. It doesn't necessarily matter if you graduate the standard way if you can find a suitable alternative equivalent.

I doubt you're stupid. Either way, your intelligent enough to meet the minimum threshold. Now, someone who doesn't bother to do that wouldn't. This would only really get rid of the worst of the worst. Hardly ideal.

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Jester? I feel bad being responsible for another rumbling, but that has got to be AD, right?

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Viva Fidel

"If there ever was in the history of humanity an enemy who was truly universal, an enemy whose acts and moves trouble the entire world, threaten the entire world, attack the entire world in any way or another, that real and really universal enemy is precisely Yankee imperialism"

"North Americans don't understand... that our country is not just Cuba; our country is also humanity"

Interesting theory. I would like to see it looked into. ;)

That aside, I have to agree. A one party system that "elects" a President via the legislature does not have a particularly profound democracy.


(You might counter that our own presidential selection system leaves something to be desired in the realm of democracy, and I would say you're damn right it does!)

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"Have you no decency, sir? At long last, have you left no sense of decency?"
-Joseph Welch

You know i wouldn't claim it was democratic. However it is unfair to say that the party leader is not chosen by party members.

As for the AD theory, i could be wrong, but i had a hunch when he was on Dustin's other place.

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Viva Fidel

"If there ever was in the history of humanity an enemy who was truly universal, an enemy whose acts and moves trouble the entire world, threaten the entire world, attack the entire world in any way or another, that real and really universal enemy is precisely Yankee imperialism"

"North Americans don't understand... that our country is not just Cuba; our country is also humanity"

What's AD?

As unfair as it may seem, it is not an election that represents the peoples wishes. Raul was selected by party members in order to keep the communist structure alive. Unfortunately, it is the people of Cuba that are being duped into believing that the selection process is fair.

I don't follow your AD theory. Did I miss something?

I agree with you. It is NOT a democratic process. It is communist and the people have no real voice.

And our own system is not as democratic as one may think it is.