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Discuss the US Presidential Election
We made it. It's election day. Tomorrow we'll know. So for today's election discussion story, I'm throwing it wide open: let's discuss the election itself. Who are your picks and why. And also what about your actual experience voting today? Did Diebold eat your vote or did everything go off without flaw?
FiveThirtyEight.com jacked up Obama's odds of winning to 98.1%
I like those odds.
MABASPLOOM!
Psh. You know as well as I do that Palin's gonna start her 2012 bid tomorrow.
MABASPLOOM!
Obama- He's my pick. He might seem socialist- but I don't think anybody can top ol' G.W. these days. I personally want what's good for society. After the past 8 years of crapping on society, killing the economy, and ruining our constitution- it's time for a change. I don't see that change in McCain.
Belief? Hope? Preference?The Existential Vortex
I'm voting for Obama and proud of it. How often do you get a chance to support a candidate that not only uses technology to its fullest potential, but also runs a positive campaign based not on mudslinging and personal attacks, but on a REAL platform?
Moderation: Put your hand inside the puppet head!
Yeah. no matter who wins I'm afraid we are on the verge of: "Did you really think that we want those laws to be observed?" said Dr. Ferris. "We WANT them to be broken. You had better get it straight that it is not a bunch of boy scouts that you are up against - then you'll know that this is not the age for beautiful gestures. We are after power and we mean it. You fellows are pikers, but we know the real trick, and you had better get wise to it. There is no way to rule innocent men. The only power that any government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren't enough criminals one MAKES them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws. ...just pass the kind of laws that can neither be observed nor enforced nor objectively interpreted - and you create a nation of lawbreakers - and then you cash in on guilt. Now that is the system Mr. Reardon, that is the game, and once you understand it, you will be much easier to deal with."
Why pick the lesser evil?
I personally hope he is a socialist. It would be nice to see my friends and family back in the US brought up to the quality of life I've found after moving to the Nordic countries.
McCain FTW
"Fails To Win"?
The fact that you voted is not secret. Only who you picked is.
Obama only seems socialist if you ignore the 700 billion dollar bailout we handed to businesses - easily the largest act of socialism ever in US history. Oh, it was penned by republicans, too.
Election? What election?
I pride myself on keeping apprised of current events, but I wasn't aware of an election today.
Who is running and for what position?
Srsly, whoever this CmdrTaco is who posted the story should at least give us this basic information in the summary.
"I am actually surprised McCain didn't try to switfboat this election."
Are you kidding? They've been running Jeremiah Wright saying "Goddamn America" steadily on DirectTV the last couple days.
Did you get the Republican party robocall about Ayers, that basically said Obama was a bomb throwing terrorist who would bomb the Pentagon.
Did you see Sarah Palin saying Obama "pal'ed around with terrorists".
As soon as McCain fired his old advisors and replaced them with people who ran Bush's campaign they adopted all the same Swift Boat tactics and it completely turned Independents, like me, against McCain, that and picking a right wing nut like Palin.
So they did try to Swift boat Obama it just didn't gain any traction because people are sick of the tactics and recognize them for what they are, fear mongering for power. The country and the media are also sick of Republicans. Bush has one great accomplishment in eight years, something I predicted when he won in 2004, that by the end of this second term we would completely turn the country against the New Republican party, an intolerant, far right party, dominated by evangelicals. A party pandering to the rich and manipulating a bunch of not so bright middle class supporters in to voting for them using abortion, homophobia and fear, manipulating not to bright middle class people in to voting for a party that is completely screwing them economically. Let's hope its finally over. Now we just have to worry about all the stupidity the Democrats will perpetrate when they are in control.
@de_machina
most of us know it as the tiny hamlet clser to montreal than anything else in far northern new hampshire that releases its election results shortly after midnight on election day (since there is only 21 people voting there)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dixville_Notch,_New_Hampshire#Midnight_voting_tradition
quaint and pointless mostly. this year, they landslided for obama (15 for obama to 6 for mccain)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7707667.stm
why is that notable?
in all previous elections, back to 1968, they landslided republican
so that's an interesting changeup, north country new hampshire, solidly republican, giving us a glimpse of a new trend?
portent of things to come later this evening for the rest of us perhaps?
intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
She kicked it off last Saturday.
Knowledge is how to play a game, intelligence is how to win, wisdom is knowing what game to play.
Snopes has some good articles about myths and urban legends about each candidate.
McCain
Obama
Joe Biden
Sarah Palin
One of our competitors trademarked the term "hypothesis". From now on, we will call them "boneheaded ideas".
Whether or not Palin decides to pursue a post-election career as a national-level politician, the real damage has already been dealt to the Republican party. Her meteoric rise is only a slight clue into the inner turmoil of the GOP.
The 20+ years of neoconservative leadership has bankrupted the Republican party of its core conservative platform, and the pandering to the religious fundamentalists has turned off the moderates of the party. Those left are the ones who see Palin as more than she ever could be. She represents precisely the reasons why the Republican party is unable to attract new members and votes.
Which is not to say that the Republican party and its conservative ideals are without merit. The country at this time is severely divided, and it has been the steady hand promised by Obama that has been able to attract voters this year. However, most people believe in smaller government, in a government that is less intrusive, and in free markets. Where we may disagree is in degree, but at its core, the Republican stance has always been these three pillars.
That these pillars have been completely ignored in the actual implementation of policy is the primary reason so many are seeking answers elsewhere.
Is that what the Mayans forsaw, the event which caused the end of this round of civilization?
My first Journal Entry ever, in 8 years! http://slashdot.org/journal/365947/aphelion-scifi-fantasy-horror-poetry-webzine
No, he called him one for wanting to increase income taxes on people who do pay income taxes and then write checks to people who don't.
Fixed that for you. If you claim that he's giving money to people who don't pay taxes at all, you are spreading a common misconception. Sorry.
Actually, Adam Smith (the guy who basically invented Capitalism) was also in favor of the rich being taxed at a higher rate than the poor, so that's not a good argument.
True Socialism is more about community property and state ownership of businesses than it is about progressive taxation.
ad logicam Claiming a proposition is false because it was presented as the conclusion of a fallacious argument.
I agree but I still think we should get to slap the Slashdot admins every time they stick a Politics story under News.
They have a Politics category for a reason and I have it turned off for a reason!
See my blog http://ilovecookes.blogspot.com/ for light hearted technical information.
Denmark, Norway and Sweden are stunning examples of what socialism really means. Some of the highest tax rates in the world, yet everybody is looked after so well. Education is of an exceptional standard, and every person from every background is given equal opportunity to do and become whatever they choose. It's basically social capitalism, by which I am implying that raw capitalism *in practice* is one of the most anti-social and dehumanising concepts on earth.
Today's weirdness is tomorrow's reason why. -- Hunter S. Thompson
Look up "aencephaly." And tell me if it's fair/moral to knowingly bring this child into the world. Let me help, so you don't have to RTFA! Most of the baby's brain is missing with a gaping hole in the back of its head and it's spinal cord is mostly exposed. It will die shortly after birth, and spend its brief moment of life on meds or in agonizing pain and mother knows this for most of the pregnancy. There is NO medical treatment for this, it is 100% lethal! Then she gets to watch her child die. Does this make God happy? Who is this fair to, the mother, father, grandparents, or the child? Don't give me any of this it's God's plan crap. Who does it benefit to not allow this mother an elective abortion? This is only one example of many. For a human to choose death is not always wrong. Thank God for freedom of religion or freedom from it!
An idiot or a lawyer? Not a very easy choice...
I am TheRaven on Soylent News
You bitch slapped him with an invisible hand!
At the end of the 6th paragraph
This is otherwise referred to as a progressive tax. It's not actually that bad of an idea. Compare to regressive tax.
It is such a good idea that, in fact, John McCain himself advocated for a progressive tax system, back in 2000.
:(){
Seems like the Mayans were a bit off...
You mean like a parity error?
Wrong! McCain/Palin had to bring up Ayers, and Wright, and Rezco, because the press wouldn't.
Yeah, it's not like the press spent about three months talking almost exclusively about them during the primary or anything. It's not like an entire primary debate was almost an exclusive Ayers/Wright/Rezco "Gotcha-fest" toward Obama or anything. That must have been in some parallel universe, right?
Could you imagine the outcry if McCain had received favorable (extremely favorable) business deals from a convicted slum lord?
You mean like this?
They didn't get any traction because the press ignored the argument that was presented and slammed McCain for "negative campaigning", although nothing that was said was false.
As for accuracy...
"99 dead duelists of Dios on the wall. 99 dead duelists of Dios! Take one's ring, pass it around..."
Congress has been a disaster, so you vote to strengthen the majority party in Congress?
I don't think you thought your cunning plan all the way through.
Information wants to be anthropomorphized.
If she's smart she'll stay out of it in 2012 and focus on 2016 (unless Obama's presidency is truely disasterous).
Soo.....2012 it is.
And let's not forget the millions that have died at the hands of communism.
Please let's be clear here: I haven't ever heard of anyone who was killed by communism. (That would be like saying that everyone killed by US troops in World War II were killed by "capitalism"...) The millions you're talking about were killed by repressive totalitarian dictators using the name of "communism" to make themselves sound more palatable to the ordinary people. Their economic systems may have been partially communist-based, but their political systems certainly were basically your garden-variety dictatorship.
Anyone who holds up Stalin as an iron-clad reason why Communism is Evil doesn't actually understand what communism is.
Dan Aris
Fun. Free. Online. RPG. BattleMaster.
Having lived in both a country with mandatory health insurance (Germany) and the US - there is a difference. If you're in the US, and have good insurance, you generally seem to end up in nicer facilities. Not necessary better care, but hospitals, at least in my area, seem to be in better shape.
Having said that, I would trade back to the German insurance in a heart beat. Every time something is not covered by my US insurance, the out-of-pocket expenses balloon, and there is no way for me to get my insurance to expand their coverage. Add the lifetime benefit cap that prevents me from getting the help when I really need it, and it becomes a lot of eye wash.
The German model is assessed as a tax, with a cap based on what you'd pay when you reach the "opt-out level" (You don't have to use public insurance in Germany if you can afford to buy your own, the cap used to be around 100k yearly income). The rumors of "don't get a bed for 5 years" are just bullocks, it's not any more difficult to get your doctor to see you in Germany than it's in the US. And at least insurance acceptance is universal, so if your employer switches insurance carriers you don't have to switch doctors.
I'd love to see a universal HMO be established here, one that can't drop you like a hot potato if your get sick, or flat out refuse to let you in for "pre-existing conditions" if you change jobs.
I'm aging rapidly, I bought a new game and had no idea if my machine was good for it.
It's not much of a cunning plan. I voted to change whoever is currently there regardless of party.
And when it comes to strengthen the majority party, I'm fine with it for now. The republicans need to be shown that the neocons and fundies are ruining the conservative party. The only way to show them is to have them lose big. I know it's a risky strategy since it could be hard to rollback policies that get through, but Bush and crew have led us to this.
The Democratic "majority" in the Senate is possibly the weakest "majority" that there has ever been.
It's really a tie 49-49 with 2 independents that usually side with the Dems.
Add to that extreme fillabusters from the Republicans, and a Republican president that has threatened to veto pretty much every Democratic initiative and you have have a Democratic "majority" in congress that can't get a damn thing done.
The current state of the union is not the fault of a 2 year weak Dem majority in congress, it is largely the fault of the Republican's near complete control from 2000-2006, and the gridlock they've created since.
For some reason the U.S. has the most expensive and the least efficient health care system of all developed nations.
Citation required.
Here's one, a quick Google will show you a few hundred others all from the same dozen or so primary sources (US budgets, WHO figures, and so on from a few years). Last year, you spent $1, 975 per-capita on medicare and medicaid. A number of countries provide universal healthcare for less than this.
I am TheRaven on Soylent News
For some reason the U.S. has the most expensive and the least efficient health care system of all developed nations.
Citation required.
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_care_in_the_United_States
Current estimates put U.S. health care spending at approximately 15.2% of GDP, second only to the tiny Marshall Islands among all United Nations member nations. The health share of GDP is expected to continue its historical upward trend, reaching 19.5 percent of GDP by 2017. In 2007 the U.S. spent $2.26 trillion on health care, or $7,439 per person.
There are numerous cites in the Wikipedia article that you can read.
I would argue that spending over $7000 per person per year in health care, yet having vast numbers of your citizenry uninsured is a powerful example of a health care system that is both expensive and inefficient.
Would it be so bad if the government were able to do nothing?
No, it would be totally awesome if the government wasn't able to do anything. I mean, look at Hurricane Katrina. That was so awesome when the government failed to prevent/prepare for/respond to that disaster. I just get warm fuzzies inside every time I think about it.
Abaddon: An Xbox 360 Indie game
Term limits are nearly impossible to implement in practice. Instead, of aiming at the head, aim at the heart of the problem. Push for all candidates to sign a pledge that congressional committee appointments will be by random selection.
Ted Stevens stayed in the Congress so long, because he was able to "bring home the pork." Alaskans would be insane to drop a political figure that was able to bring in money from Florida to pay for things in Alaska. He was popular with Alaskans because he was able to get money to pay for things they wanted without raising their taxes.
Ted Stevens was able to "bring home the pork" because he sat on powerful committees. But I ask you, why should Ted Stevens be any more powerful than Elizabeth Dole? Why should Alaska have more representation in Congress than North Carolina? Why should someone who's been hanging around for 30yrs have more control than the 'new blood' we periodically send in to fix things.
Spread the power around. Randomize committee selection. Get to the real power and disburse it.
Aah, change is good. -- Rafiki
Yeah, but it ain't easy. -- Simba
The Fed was created in response to numerous crashes and bank failures that had preceded it. Here's a thought - look at the economic history of the US post Fed and then look at it pre-Fed. Which economy was the more stable?
Since 2002? Obviously you didn't read the numerous Ron Paul Newsletters when it was revealed what vile garbage the man spouted during the early nineties. 'cos he was predicting economic collapses then too.
If you sit there predicting economic collapses due to government intervention every day, then when there's a crash and it's in a country with a government, you are pretty much guaranteed to be able to claim you predicted the crash and that it was due to government intervention. Here's reality though: various unregulated banks sold crappy ARMs to people without checking (or rather, without caring) if they were able to pay back the loans.
Is the solution to allow all banks, including the biggest, to sell awful mortgages to everyone and never verify they can pay the loans back, or is it to outlaw (regulate) those kinds of practices?
(Or is it to blame ethnic minorities by claiming a law against discrimination which only affected regulated banks, and which mandated credit checks anyway, had some kind of role in this? 'cos despite the complete dishonesty of such an argument, that seems to be where the right wing are heading at the moment. It's the 1930s all over again, and I'm not talking about the American 1930s either...)
You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
And in a few years you will have the exact same situation. The problem isn't the actors, it is the stage.
Over here in Britain we have a saying:
"It doesn't matter who you vote for, the government always get in."
I dont read
Amen to that! At this point I almost don't care who wins as long as people stop talking about flag pins and all of this nonsense. I move to ban people from campaining prior to 3 months before the primaries and that the primaries be moved back so there is only 3 months between them and the general elections. I think if you can't convince me to vote for you in 6 mo then you shouldn't be running anyway.
You're thinking small. Why miniaturize the laser, when we could instead enlarge the sharks? -John Searle
I agree!
Let's get some News back in the news!
Who cares about the economy, or the wars, or human rights abuses?
Let's get back to discussing who Brittney Spears is going to be marrying next!
If the masses can keep you down, you're not the Ubermensch.