8 ms·

The problem is that half the population is below average in terms of mental ability and education. A bigger problem: the state's attorneys and judges should kn

The problem is that half the population is below average in terms of mental ability and education. A bigger problem: the state's attorneys and judges should know about the Bill of Rights, and they are the ones with the actual power here. With such a high bail it appears this particular judgeship was granted erroneously.

monkeyspaw 13y ago
> The problem is that half the population is below average in terms of mental ability and education. Isn't this a problem everywhere, though? Why do we only hear this issue WRT the U.S.? (I freely admit it could just be because I live in the states)
- deleted 13y ago
  [deleted]
- readme 13y ago
  It's the poverty! People in other countries get healthcare when they need it. They get assistance when they need it. Therefore, they have extra mental cycles to use to consider the reality of politics. In the US, we make sure our poor people have to work two jobs so they can't stop to do a damn thing about how screwed they are by participating in our democracy.
  - rowanseymour 13y ago
    Rwanda has a basic universal healthcare system. Everyone pays an amount according to their economic status, and everyone gets basic healthcare.
    - lostlogin 13y ago
      Achieving a lot when you have little would leave one to believe that having lots lets you achieve a lot. I'm some respects the US hasn't managed to achieve much at all. Is this what you mean?
- rayiner 13y ago
  Because the stupid things backwater parts of France do isn't worth making news?
crgt 13y ago
Half of any population is below average on any (and every!) metric. That's why they call it an average. Right?
- deleted 13y ago
  [deleted]
- danmaz74 13y ago
  Actually, wrong: that's called the median (they are the same for distributions which are symmetric around the average like the normale distribution, but not in the general case) EDIT: not "only" symmetric
  - talaketu 13y ago
    (not necessarily symmetric)
    - danmaz74 13y ago
      You're right... fixed
  - foobarbazqux 13y ago
    Usually the word average means arithmetic mean, but the median is also an average. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Average https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Average
  - crgt 13y ago
    Actually, average can mean median, mode or mean. I was using (I thought obviously..but perhaps not) the median definition. The point stands - it's odd to say that the problem here is that half the people are of below average intelligence. Since that's (roughly) what you'd expect. The problem instead is that our "rights" are treated as privileges that can be revoked when the powers that be deem it convenient. Our rights should be rights regardless of our intelligence. Though perhaps the responsibility for securing those rights falls most heavily upon the cleverest among us..in which case the problem isn't that there are folks of below average intelligence, it's that those particularly blessed with keen minds aren't doing enough to defend the rights of us all.
kps 13y ago
> it appears this particular judgeship was granted erroneously. This particular judge, Jack Robison, was elected. Repeatedly. He was also reprimanded by the State Commission on Judicial Conduct in 2009 after he ordered a man jailed for 30 days for calling him a fool (in a public restroom, not in court) — which is self-evidently true. http://www.statesman.com/news/news/local/judge-reprimanded-for-improperly-jailing-man/nRXPR/ http://www.statesman.com/news/news/local/judge-reprimanded-f...

monkeyspaw 13y ago

> The problem is that half the population is below average in terms of mental ability and education. Isn't this a problem everywhere, though? Why do we only hear this issue WRT the U.S.? (I freely admit it could just be because I live in the states)

deleted 13y ago
[deleted]
readme 13y ago
It's the poverty! People in other countries get healthcare when they need it. They get assistance when they need it. Therefore, they have extra mental cycles to use to consider the reality of politics. In the US, we make sure our poor people have to work two jobs so they can't stop to do a damn thing about how screwed they are by participating in our democracy.
- rowanseymour 13y ago
  Rwanda has a basic universal healthcare system. Everyone pays an amount according to their economic status, and everyone gets basic healthcare.
  - lostlogin 13y ago
    Achieving a lot when you have little would leave one to believe that having lots lets you achieve a lot. I'm some respects the US hasn't managed to achieve much at all. Is this what you mean?
rayiner 13y ago
Because the stupid things backwater parts of France do isn't worth making news?

crgt 13y ago

Half of any population is below average on any (and every!) metric. That's why they call it an average. Right?

deleted 13y ago
[deleted]
danmaz74 13y ago
Actually, wrong: that's called the median (they are the same for distributions which are symmetric around the average like the normale distribution, but not in the general case) EDIT: not "only" symmetric
- talaketu 13y ago
  (not necessarily symmetric)
  - danmaz74 13y ago
    You're right... fixed
- foobarbazqux 13y ago
  Usually the word average means arithmetic mean, but the median is also an average. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Average https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Average
- crgt 13y ago
  Actually, average can mean median, mode or mean. I was using (I thought obviously..but perhaps not) the median definition. The point stands - it's odd to say that the problem here is that half the people are of below average intelligence. Since that's (roughly) what you'd expect. The problem instead is that our "rights" are treated as privileges that can be revoked when the powers that be deem it convenient. Our rights should be rights regardless of our intelligence. Though perhaps the responsibility for securing those rights falls most heavily upon the cleverest among us..in which case the problem isn't that there are folks of below average intelligence, it's that those particularly blessed with keen minds aren't doing enough to defend the rights of us all.

kps 13y ago

> it appears this particular judgeship was granted erroneously. This particular judge, Jack Robison, was elected. Repeatedly. He was also reprimanded by the State Commission on Judicial Conduct in 2009 after he ordered a man jailed for 30 days for calling him a fool (in a public restroom, not in court) — which is self-evidently true. http://www.statesman.com/news/news/local/judge-reprimanded-for-improperly-jailing-man/nRXPR/ http://www.statesman.com/news/news/local/judge-reprimanded-f...