Pull up your pants!

[Torm]

As long as I get the Outback to set up my crazy kitten ranch .

Is that some sort of euphemism? Because, if so, then yes, by all means.

 

[Torm]

Meh. Singling out one interest group is just as worse as letting one interest group run the government.

As for "Random" selection, that's not a good idea. Some would akin to being picked for a jury pool, but not whether to convict a criminal but to run the government on taxpayer's money. And besides, that also means the village idiots are qualified to run.

Government of, by, and for the People should mean ALL People. Even Pauly Shore. And I did say "eligible" - they have to be 25, not a convicted criminal, etc.

And I don't know that I would keep lawyers from running, so much as they should be permanently de-barred if they do. Think of it this way: I'm a lawyer. I run for and am elected to a legislature. I make all sorts of goofy laws no one can follow properly. Then I leave office and return to my practice, and make tons of money walking people through the intracies of the same stupid, counterproductive law I helped make. Conflict of interest.

The reason I usually say, "lawyers", period, though, is that there are still ways they could make money from this even if they ARE de-barred - like they still share profits from or own interest in their old firm, or some such.

Special interest groups are a problem, but none of them have the direct conflict of interests that lawyers have. Barring lawyers from holding office was actually suggested as the 13th Amendment, shortly before the Civil War broke out, for this very reason. There are some conspiracy theorists who suggest that it was actually ratified, but then swept under the rug during the war, but I don't think anything so complicated or tin-foil-hatty needs to be the case - I just think there were enough lawyers in Congress to vote against it!

 

[Desdichado]

I, for one, welcome our benevolent machine dictators, 3 Laws Safe. Or Barsoomcore - he'd do a good job, and I'm working on talking him into giving me Australia.

Don't forget; we're working on getting barsoomcore to be Dicator, which is completely different from dictator. I think it's a bit like a glorified DungeonMaster wherein the actual world is his personal homebrew. Then again, the term isn't very well defined yet...

 

[WayneLigon]

--From Richmond Times-Dispatch

The Virginia Senate Courts of Justice Committee voted unanimously today to kill the low-slung pants bill that drew worldwide attention.

If the bill had become law, people could have been fined $50 for intentionally wearing their pants low enough to show underwear.

The style has been popularized by hip-hop entertainers and favored by teenage boys. One delegate said the measure could lead to profiling of African-American males.

The House of Delegates had voted in favor of the proposal 60-34 and had sent it to the Senate, where the committee dealt with it today.

An assistant attorney general told committee members that the legislation might be unconstitutional, and committee member Sen. Thomas K. Norment Jr., R-James City, said it was an embarrassment to the commonwealth of Virginia.

The bill's sponsor, Del. Algie T. Howell, D-Norfolk, was invited as a courtesy to attend the committee hearing but he did not show up today.

The bill would have had to pass both houses of the General Assembly and then be signed by the governor to become law.

--

I guess ol' Algie would have had to take time off from checking out teenage boy's backsides for possible offenses to attend the session.

 

[Desdichado]

I'm a lawyer.

Perhaps, then, you can help answer a long-standing domestic dispute in the Dyal household. My wife insists that the pronunciation of lawyer is loiyer, which I say is insane, because they practice law, not loy. Her uncle and also her sister's husband, who are both lawyers, dodge the issue by saying the prefer the pronunciation "attorney." My younger brother's still in his first year of law school, so we figure he doesn't know enough to ask. Besides, he grew up with me, so he has a potential conflict of interest in my wife's view.

 

[Felix]

Very likely the bill was proposed knowing that it would die in subcommittee. Proposing something is similar to saying what you believe in, even if you don't think it stands a chance of passing.

All those folks who voted for or against the bill will now be able to say that they did so, and thereby better inform voters about the candidate's beliefs. So by introducing the bill, we voters are better equipped to choose.

Surely that's a good thing. Better than them telling us straight out, and possibly lying about it.

 

[Torm]

Perhaps, then, you can help answer a long-standing domestic dispute in the Dyal household.

I'm not a lawyer, but I went to school to be one for a while.

Surprisingly, "lawyer" is one of those strange words that isn't spelled at all like it is said - like Sade, or pterodactyl. The correct pronunciation is "li-ar".

(Seriously - law-yur)

 

[reveal]

Looks like the bill didn't pass. What a shock...

http://www.cnn.com/2005/ALLPOLITICS/02/10/droopy.pants.ap/index.html

 

[Darth K'Trava]

Torm: I didn't know you felt so strongly abt people with their pants falling off.......

Personally, I find it stupid and sloppy. Even more sloppy than the 80s thing of ripping your Levis into shreds. At least you didn't see undies poking thru that much. We had this one guy at work who came back from break, and all I could do is poke fun at his flannel polar bear boxers..... Even worse, was when they reappeared later when our Regional VP and another "head honcho" showed up for a visit. They weren't too thrilled with the polar bears..... and I still laugh over that, days later...... I'm just waiting for someone's pants to totally fall down to their ankles so I can laugh my ass off at them!!!!

 

[Darth K'Trava]

--From Richmond Times-Dispatch

The Virginia Senate Courts of Justice Committee voted unanimously today to kill the low-slung pants bill that drew worldwide attention.

If the bill had become law, people could have been fined $50 for intentionally wearing their pants low enough to show underwear.

The style has been popularized by hip-hop entertainers and favored by teenage boys. One delegate said the measure could lead to profiling of African-American males.

There'd have been lots of protest anyways...

And it's not only african-american males doing this but young white, copycat, males as well.