Submit and Moderate Questions for Bush and Kerry

We're teaming up with the New Voters Project Presidential Youth Debate to ask the two major party candidates "the 12 previously unasked questions that most concern young Americans." This is different from the usual Slashdot interview because we're asking you to submit questions through the New Voters Project site instead of as comments attached to this post. Next week you'll have a chance to help select questions for the candidates from among the top 50 asked by everyone -- not just Slashdot readers -- by first winnowing those down to 20 through the Slashdot moderation system, then by voting on the "final 12" displayed on the New Voters Project site. On October 12 we'll post the answers, and on October 19 we'll post candidate-supplied rebuttals. Note that the idea here is to solicit questions specifically from voters 18 - 35, because this age group tends to vote less than older Americans, plus questions from people 13 - 17 who will be voters before long. But the question selection process is not age-restricted, and it's where your comments and moderation become most important, because one great hope here is to avoid asking questions the candidates have heard (and answered) over and over.

The other question-selecting moderators are groups like Youth Vote Coalition, Earth Day Network, Rock The Vote, Declare Yourself, and 18to35.org, plus lead moderator Farai Chideya.

Anthony Tedesco, founder of the Presidential Youth Debates, has been doing this since 1996. 2004 is the first time an entire online community has participated in the moderation process. It's a logical evolution of the group-questions idea, and Slashdot is the obvious community to choose not only because of the wide range of political views held by Slashdot readers but also because the primary Presidential Youth Debates tech guy, Dan Collis Puro (AKA Hero Zzyzzx), is a Slashdot member himself (and would be happy if you volunteer to help work on their all-FOSS Web site).

Anyway, this is an interesting experiment. Ask your questions, prepare to moderate and comment next week, and to read the candidates' answers and rebuttals when we post them next month.

Comments

Patriot Act

[Penguinoflight]

When do you think is the appropriate time for the patriot act to expire? What action would be required to remove this "temporary" anti-terrorist legislation?

Re:Patriot Act

[johnnyb]

Actually, what would be more interesting is to see when/if we are ever going to have a time that is not a national emergency. We have a lot of laws that have special exceptions for times of emergencies. The interesting detail that most people leave out is that the United States has been in a constant state of emergency since 1933. For different reasons, of course, it just so happens that EVERY YEAR there is something that warrants a national emergency. We don't think about it, so we allow all sorts of legislation to pass with exceptions for national emergencies, not even thinking about the fact that we are always in one.

My Question:

[Hatta]

The USA incarcerates a greater proportion of its population than any other nation, due to an out of control War on Drug Users. What will you do to keep me, successful student, productive citizen, and pot smoker, out of jail?

From a conservative

[jaymzter]

Mr. Bush, I supported your decision to replace Saddam Hussein, and I'm not embarrassed to say that I don't care whether WMDs were found or not.
That being said, why does it seem that no one had a clue about what to do with Iraq once the war was over? With our proven experience in successfully occupying other countries (Germany, Japan), why did we stumble so badly in Iraq?

Follow up: Is it too late to get rid of John Ashcroft? He makes me ashamed to be "conservative"

Re:From a conservative

[bckrispi]

And finally, in post-war Germany and Japan, there weren't terrorist groups sneaking in to cause trouble, try to tear the country apart, and attempt to install a new fascist regime.

Actually, there was a significant resistance in Germany from the Werewolfs, resistance still loyal to the Nazi party. They engaged in similar acts as the Iraqi resistance: intimidation and assasination of leaders who supported the Allied occupation, bombings, etc. Several factors led to the breaking of this resistance. Your point #2 is a good example. Another thing that must be remembered is that we weren't the only ones in Germany during its reconstruction. The American approach to the resistance was a faaar cry from how the Soviets dealt with it. The Russians were absolutely ruthless when it came to wiping out Nazi sympathizers (or those suspected of being Nazi sympathizers). I'm sure this had quite an effect as well.

I do honor America's intentions in Iraq. For all the sobbing people make about the "thousands of poor iraqis" killed in the conflict, there is a certain truth that is eluding them: It's a fucking war. And in war, innocent people will die. In the end of WWII, it was not uncommon for 100,000 innocent Japanese civilians to die in a single bombing campaign. I believe the US is acting nobly in trying to minimize the civilian casualties during this conflict through the use of precision munitions. But when your enemy is purposly embedding their positions within major population centers, what are ya gonna do?? The terrorists fire a mortar into a busy marketplace, intentionally killing civilians. The US responds by firing back on the attackers, who conveniently happen to be surrounded by civilians themselves. It's all a propaganda ploy. It's the insurgents who are the true monsters, intentionally using the Iraqi people as shields and political collateral.

I've heard some rather hawkish folks say that we should employ the same tactics as the terrorists - kidnap their families and loved ones and decapitate them on national TV, following in a similar vein to how Russia dealt with suspected Nazi insurgants - mass and indescriminate executions. Part of me feels that this might be effective: find the one thing the bastards care about and destroy it in the most violent and humiliating way possible, break their spirit and their will to fight. Make their followers think twice before they kidnap some innocent charity worker. But then I have to remember that we are obligated to take the "moral high ground" in this war, as difficult as that will be. As Americans, we have our honor in how we fight our battles, and we simply do not do business like that.

Taxes and Spending

[ackthpt]

The ultimate tax cut will be when there is no further servicing, paying interest on, the national debt. US tax payers would need only pay about 50% of what they currently do for approximately the same level of service from the federal government. Further, the extra money left to taxpayers would amount to considerable investment and consumer spending. The federal government has cut tax revenue and returned to deficit spending rather than hold spending below revenue and retire the debt. How would you address balancing the federal budget and paying down the debt, so americans will pay far less in taxes?

The deficit

[PIPBoy3000]

Do you feel it is important to reduce the deficit? If so, what are your plans to do so? If not, why?

Will I be drafted to fight the war on terror?

[rwbaskette]

How likely is it that a draft will be required to keep up our efforts around the globe?

For Both Parties

[geomon]

Why are you so much alike, yet you campaign in a way that makes the American public think that there is a significant difference. I can think of several important areas where you are virtually indistiguishable:

1) Use of Military Power: Both approve of foreign intervention, but one party prefers to get the tacit approval of the international community before invading.

2) Tax Policy: Moving the marginal rates around only makes a difference of a few bucks to the average tax payer. The user fees are almost exclusively a middle-class burden, and neither party looks to decrease any of them.

3) Intellectual Property: Both parties are rushing to become the poster child for media conglomerates. They constantly chastize the 'media', but can't wait to lick their boots when it comes time to pass legislation regarding extending copyright protection (as one sleazy congressperson said: "Forever minus one year").

4) Drug policy: Neither party can put a stop to the madness that the drug war has brought us. Nothing useful has been accomplished in 30 years of police-state enforcement of drug laws. That is, unless you consider the fact that the US leads in per-capita encarceration as a 'positive' social gain.

These are just a few. Why shouldn't we view the Demopublican or Republicratic Parties as two sides of the same bad penny?

My Question

[hrieke]

Let's look ten years out. Since we have a wave of baby boomers planning on retirement, what effect will their retirement have on me, my family, and the nation as a whole.
How will we pay for the trillions that Social Security, Medicaid, and all of the other entitlement programs be handled?
How does having countries like Japan, China, and India who are buying our debt (thus allowing us to spend more money than we have), change the equation? How does the fact that Japan is heading for their baby boom retirement in 4 years change our equation?

Please answer in a fashion which is not compatiable to a 10 sound bite.

Thanks

To both candidates...

[gosand]

Have you seen Fahrenheit 9/11? What did you think of it?

What is the role of war?

[RyanFenton]

Simple question: What is the role of war?

Ryan Fenton

Re:Question for Mr. Bush

[Kenja]

"Mr. President, why do you think the Democrats think you're such a bad leader? I think you've done an admirable job, and I can't for the life of me understand why so many people hate you."

For me it was when he said that non Christians shouldn't be considered citizens, much less patriots. So if in his eyes I'm not a citizen, I guess there's no way for me to vote for him.

Sherman: What will you do to win the votes of the Americans who are atheists?
Bush: I guess I'm pretty weak in the atheist community. Faith in God is important to me.
Sherman: Surely you recognize the equal citizenship and patriotism of Americans who are atheists?
Bush: No, I don't know that atheists should be considered as citizens, nor should they be considered patriots. This is one nation under God.
Sherman (somewhat taken aback): Do you support as a sound constitutional principle the separation of state and church?
Bush: Yes, I support the separation of church and state. I'm just not very high on atheists.

Double std in drug enforcemt for african americans

[kenjib]

African americans are convicted for drug related crimes in great disproportion to the frequency with which they commit these crimes relative to other ethnic groups. Further, they are sentenced more harshly relative to other ethnic groups. What do you think is the cause of this severe imbalance in law enforcement and the judicial process, and what can be done to correct the problem?

As a followup question, what effect does this have on the health of democracy in states where a criminal record can render one ineligible to vote?

Human Space Exploration

[kippy]

To Bush: As part of your Vision for Space Exploration that you laid out earlier this year, do you intend to direct NASA in the direction of human settlement of space, or just scientific research.

To Kerry: As president, would you direct NASA to continue with human space exploration of planetary bodies or would you contract it's focus to Earth and near-Earth subjects? (Please provide specifics as previous answers to this have been very vague.)

The Best Question (Hands Down)

[scubacuda]

Just One Question...

"How many times have you been arrested, Mr. President?"*

*$2315.36 Bounty to the first person to ask George W. Bush this question in a public forum.

Contact john_goldstone@nospamyahoo.com with documentation to claim your reward!

Question for Kerry

[MHerzog]

I would like your comments on the following http://www.uexpress.com/tedrall/?uc_full_date=2004 0525

Is it true that: At a recent appearance at the City College of New York, Kerry talked to an audience of students about, of all things, "tax-code reform, outsourcing, Social Security and Medicare."

Question for both candidates

[bort27]

Dear President Bush and Senator Kerry,

For the first time in history, this presidential election will make use of electronic voting machines to track more than half of all votes cast nationwide. Diebold is the largest manufacturer of these machines.

The Diebold machines have been proven insecure by numerous security analysts, and contain numerous security flaws. For example, it has been shown that anyone can change the electronic vote tallies by simply writing and executing a five-line computer script.

William W. O'Dell, CEO of Diebold and one of the largest Republican campaign contributors in the state of Ohio, has stated publicly that he will do "everything he can" to get George W. Bush re-elected.

My question is this: While there are clearly several advantages to electronic voting, do you believe that these problems could compromise the integrity of the 2004 election?

Death Penalty and Religion

[at-b]

Mr Bush,

when interviewed during the last presidential campaign, you were asked by an interviewer if you had a role model. To this you replied that Jesus was the closest that you had to one.

During your tenure as Governor of Texas, more people were killed in Texas prisons, enacting the death penalty, than during the tenure of any previous Governor in modern times. You presided over an execution nearly every two weeks from the moment you took office.

Considering the commandment of 'Thou shalt not kill' directly from God, and considering Jesus' stance on killing, how do you explain this glaring discrepancy between 'do as I say, not as I do'?

Thank you for your answer.

Kyoto

[caseydk]

Senator Kerry, How do you reconcile the strict environmental guidelines established by the Kyoto Protocols - which you have spoken in favor of - with the creation and continuation of high tech - and therefore high energy consumption - industries?

They already can for the most part.

[Brian_Ellenberger]

Do you believe that Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, and Mormons should be allowed to practice polygamy?

They already can, for the most part. There are no laws stopping a man from living with multiple women, sleeping with them, having those women carry his children, etc. And there is no laws against those churches performing marriage ceremonies for polygamy.

To religious people, the government has no power to marry. If it turned up that due to some legal mixup my wife and I were not legally married I would not consider us "living in sin" for 4 years.

Brian Ellenberger

Rescheduling of Medical Marijuana

[myke113]

Given the fact that cocaine and meth amphetamine are Schedule II narcotics (able to be prescibed by a physician), and marijuana, a Schedule I narcotic ("no medicinal value and high potential for abuse"), which has been proven scientifically to be beneficial in many health cases where conventional medicines have failed, (See the Institute of Medicine study from 1999 for starters, it helps with wide angle glaucoma, anorexia, AIDS wasting syndrome, nausea from chemotherapy, migraines, chronic pain, etc.), what are your plans for the rescheduling of medical marijuana, also known as cannabis, from Schedule I to Schedule II so that severly ill patients may use the medicine which benefits them most, without fear of having their door kicked down by DEA agents, and their property seized by the federal government in a civil forfeiture?

The Draft ?

[Dave21212]

In addition to wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, we are engaged in a "War on Terror." It would seem that the wars are being extended, and in the case of the War on Terror, there is no end is sight. How do you plan to keep the military strong enough to wage these wars, and any future wars ? Will you bring back the draft ?

A Real Space Policy?

[Mean_Nishka]

I fear that the United States risks losing its potential economic dominance in space if we don't act soon. President Bush's space proposal is a good start, but I don't see it being a priority for him or the Congress, which means it's just another 'wishlist' as opposed to real policy.

Given that the development of space could significantly grow the economy (and humanity for that matter), will you make space development a real priority in your administration?

Answers

[daveschroeder]

I don't recall having run into one blinking person who's said that she thinks Bush and his cronies are secretly plotting to reinstate the draft. Heck, Rumsfeld went out of his way to dismiss the military significance of draftees in previous wars, in a move I remember particularly well because it so upset my Uncles down in Oklahoma who served. Your entire premise is a misstatement of the objections to Bush's policy.

There are TONS of websites, blogs, and emails circulating which either imply or directly state that "the administration" is trying to "quietly" bring back the draft. Some even reference the actual bills, but of course don't link to them. Most people just assume what's said is true on its face.

What is said is that Bush's policies have made the reinstatement of a draft more likely, and that the specific changes made to terms of military service -- not allowing scheduled retirements, dramatic changes to the terms of service of the national guard -- amount to a "back-door" draft right now.

That I will agree with. The Guard is being used for tasks for which it was never intended, quite inappropriately in my personal opinion. However, consider that the forces are there, and the current administration, frankly, doesn't want a draft. It was either that, or cripple active forces - or find more soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines elsewhere. I don't agree with it, but since I agree that the radical elements in the mideast as a whole MUST be dealt with, up to and including with force, I agree with the general strategy.

It's funny how your "who's who" of the left in congress didn't include Teddy Kennedy or Mark Dayton. Those were the first names on my lips.

It's not really "funny", and "who's who" was a little tongue-in-cheek, but some of those representatives are pretty darned liberal.

Also funny how the support for H.R. 487 is bipartisan with a slight slant to the Democratic side.

How is that funny? I even noted that. I'm glad that sensible people on both sides of the aisle might be able to collaborate on a bill. What's "funny" is that there's not a SINGLE Republican on the former set of bills.

There are also people in congress from both sides who support the broader "national service" idea this bill was about.

Sure, but I think that's a different discussion. Heck, I think if framed properly, a lot of people would support some kind of "service" (not necessarily military). But I don't think that's what people are talking about when they speak of the "draft".

You're looking at a complicated issue and stomping it flat to score political points.

On the contrary: I simply don't have time to write a novel on the subject on slashdot. I realize it is insanely more complex than what will be discussed here.

This whole issue is ridiculously more complex than what people want to make it out to be. Sometimes I wonder how the United States ever had the will to fight and win the great battles of this century. Oh, yeah... I think I know which candidate you support...

Oh? Please, do tell. Because I really don't particularly like Bush. Or Kerry.

Kerry's detailed policy speech today was fantastic, in my opinion. (I'm glad he's stopped talking about something that happened over three decades ago.) He talks about Al Qaeda being the real enemy. He talks about holding Saudi Arabia accountable and responsible. He talks about becoming independent of mideast oil. He talked about radical Panislamism wanting to use hatred of the West to topple governments in the mideast to develop a new unified empire in the region, to fight the US and the West. He made some really firm statements about the things we should be doing. It all is really, really great rhetoric - and I don't mean that in a derogatory sense.

But how do we do these things?

Al Qaeda *is* the real enemy. And "Al Qaeda" is rooted in the mideast. NOT in Iraq, but in the region. And much of the Arab/Muslim world s

Follow up to above question

[commodoresloat]

Can you please explain the difference between the war in Iraq and the war on terror?

Iran: Nuclear Weapons

[Sangloth]

Mr. Bush and Mr. Kerry, I'm sure you both have plans to influence Iran not to pursue nuclear weapons... but that is not what I'm asking. I want to know what the US's reaction will be under your administration if Iran ignores outside pressure and continues to pursue nuclear weapons anyway.

(If this is actually submitted, please knock off the sig...)
Sangloth
I'd appreciate any comment with a logical basis... it doesn't even have to agree with me.

How Will You Put Americans Back to Work?

[VB]

Simple question and I believe the most important. If Americans aren't working, they aren't paying taxes. If they're not paying taxes, there are less funds to support the military budget, education, and health care.

Why is outsourcing not being discussed in the current election rhetoric? Is it because neither candidate has any specialized education on economics? Remember that IT workers require many years of specialized education, which they paid for and are no longer able to find compensation in these fields. They give up and go after jobs others with less skills historically have occupied. You've given educated people a lower-skilled job and put less educated people in a position where there's nowhere else to turn, but perhaps crime?

I'm confused this issue hasn't received more attention during "Decision 2004." Paying bills is the most basic human task; having a job is the most obvious means of doing so. Middle-class America pays the bills. The upper-class in America needs the middle-class if they wish to continue evading contributions to social programs and financing America's wars.

Why aren't the candidates working harder to stop the outsourcing of our jobs and get Americans back to work? Where will they work once America has no one left to "represent?"