[Excelsior]

Jimmy Kimmel: Who won "last night's" debate?

Summary: Kimmel sends a team out on the afternoon before the debate to ask who won the debate "last night" (it hasn't taken place yet).
Folks comment on a nonexistent event as if they'd actually seen it on TV.

I think we all have a good idea of how simple some of our fellow citizens are, but to see the gullibility and sheep-like behavior displayed like this is still somewhat shocking.
And then you realize that most of these people can vote...

[Timoteo]

Yes...some of the commentary on Facebook during the debates was amusing. "OH MY GOD...so-and-so candidate is such a LIAR!" when the candidate in fact spoke verified truth. "OH MY GOD, the moderator is screwing my candidate!" blah, blah, blah. It is kind of disheartening if you pay too much attention, but many voters are basically single-issue types that will vote for a particular candidate based on something that really isn't a real issue. I have one FB friend that's a religious fanatic, so she votes based on that. I don't have political discussions with most people, and I definitely don't get into it on FB or anywhere else. You'll just end up annoyed.

[Veloce]

Back when I was in high school I had a "Jackass" phase before Jackass existed. My friends and I would go all over town and do what we called "Rampaging". Usually involved smashing shit, picking up used appliances and dropping them from tall buildings, taking a shit in a 64 oz 7-11 cup and leaving it front the exit door of a Marilyn Manson concert, that kind of stuff. Part of this was live interviews. We'd go to our local mall, pretend we were doing a survey for our political science class and ask random people the most ludicrous questions:

"What do you think about the Slovenian hostage situation in Madagascar?"

"What do you think of Prop 69-420?"

"Are you in favor of pre-natal hydroscopic asphyxiation?"

About half of the people interviewed would look at us and say they had no clue what we were talking about. The other half, the goldmine of the interviews, rather than "sound ignorant", would start going off on a bunch of fabricated bullshit. "Oh I think the hostages should be freed, this is bullshit! We give so much money to the rest of the world and this is how they repay the U.S.!"

[scorpion]

Proof of Churchill's famous quote: "The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter."

[Caligula]

It's surprising how many people have this tendency - pretending they know something rather than look 'ignorant'. They choose looking intelligent over being intelligent, usually ending up with neither.

Successful people can usually admit they don't know something, which is the first step towards learning. Everyone else lets ego get in the way of self-improvement.

Look at all the lame guys who talk a big game about knowing how to pick up girls - like they were just born with it, and then bring some lame game. All because they're too proud to admit they may have something to learn.

Having questions is worth much more than having answers.

[TheBulldozer]

It almost reminds me to think where I should live this summer?

[Sleek]

The fact that people are uninformed by politics is a negative, but in actuality, it isn't as bad as some want to construe it. It means two things: 1) citizens aren't very educated on the politics that govern their lives, but also 2) people don't need to know because the policies do not affect them so greatly.

If we had, for instance, 100% of eligible voters voting, that would likely mean that the people would be upset with how the government was running. Instead, not a lot of people vote, and not a lot seem to care. That's bad, but in a way, it's also good.

[Capitán Peligroso]

Quote:

The fact that people are uninformed by politics is a negative, but in actuality, it isn't as bad as some want to construe it. It means two things: 1) citizens aren't very educated on the politics that govern their lives, but also 2) people don't need to know because the policies do not affect them so greatly.

2) People don't know how greatly politics affects them. It's not that the politics don't affect them that much. Uninformed voters can't put two and two together to understand how shitty policies screw them in the ass. My old girlfriend's parents voted republican for years. They finally figured out they were buying bullshit, but it took them decades, and they're intelligent, informed people. You can imagine why Reagan is so popular with the typical voter in the above Churchill quote. They just don't have a clue. This is also known as 2) People don't understand how these policies affect them so greatly because 1) they aren't very educated on the politics that govern their lives.

[AFspecOps]

Quick! Name your congressman.

(curious how many people know.....)

[Capitán Peligroso]

(10-18-2012 06:45 PM)AFspecOps Wrote:  

Quick! Name your congressman.

(curious how many people know.....)

I know it, but not going to say it here.

[Excelsior]

(10-18-2012 06:45 PM)AFspecOps Wrote:  

Quick! Name your congressman.

(curious how many people know.....)

I can name both of my state's Senators in Washington. I met my Congressman a few years ago and worked for his campaign but can't recall his name off the top of my head. I'd recognize it if I saw it, though.
I can name also my area's state senator, for whatever that's worth.

[Aliblahba]

(10-18-2012 06:45 PM)AFspecOps Wrote:  

Quick! Name your congressman.

(curious how many people know.....)

I lost faith in the system when Senator Dole lost out to Edwards.

[NYJ]

(10-18-2012 06:45 PM)AFspecOps Wrote:  

Quick! Name your congressman.

(curious how many people know.....)

Im from NJ

Senators
Frank Lautenberg
Bob Menendez

Chris Smith represents my district in the House.

[tenderman100]

We forget that following politics is done by a narrow segment of the electorate. That's why Obama's victory was so astonishing -- he moved a much larger segment of people to become interested, though the interest was generated by a perfect storm of events -- the war, the huge economic collapse that occurred right around the election, and the fact that a nation that fought a huge war over slavery now had a chance to elect an African American.

But now? It's back to the dismal. Obama's just another politician, Romney is just another Republican, and most Americans simply don't give a fuck.

And you know what -- that WOULD be the right attitude to have if government truly had is proper place -- a place of limited powers, limited influence, and limited capacity to affect people's lives. People's ignorance of government and politics is actually an appropriate instinct. Because politics and government SHOULD be marginal in the lives of people.

The reality? It's become more intrusive, and more significant, because of taxes, spending, and debt. If we go the way of Greece or Spain -- and hey, don't think it can't happen, because it can -- people will start paying a lot more attention. By then, it will be too late.

[Belize King]

As International Players, the downfall of the US Govt shouldn't affect us(if it happens in our lifetime). Stay mobile, try not to have any kids, learn a language or two, don't collect too much shit, keep your money liquid, learn invaluable skills and trade, network, pray, and the world is your oyster.

[ManAbout]

(10-24-2012 09:22 AM)tenderman100 Wrote:  

The reality? It's become more intrusive, and more significant, because of taxes, spending, and debt.

That's what happens when you fake intelligence, invent WMDs and conduct trillion dollar wars on credit, instead of focusing on nation building at home.

[Scarlet_Terror]

Quote:

That's what happens when you fake intelligence, invent WMDs and conduct trillion dollar wars on credit, instead of focusing on nation building at home.

Nation building at home? Do you realize over HALF of our spending are entitlement programs that leftists like you adore? (Social security/medicare).

Do you forget how many Democrats supported the useless invasion of Iraq? The fact you and Obama think that hiring teachers and building roads is going to fix the economy shows how economically illiterate the left really is. The reality is we spend too much money, and even if you let the Bush tax cuts that affected the wealthy expire, it would not generate nearly enough money to cover all the ridiculous shit you want to pay for, on top of stuff we actually HAVE to pay for.