Some Sheriffs are elected, some states (like mine, Alaska) don't have Sheriffs. We don't get to vote on any law enforcement officials up here.
We do elect state Judges here in Alaska, they are appointed then are on the ballots for rejection. I voted a throw the bums out platform this year. We actually rejected one - http://www.elect.alaska.net/data/results.htm
The AG isn't elected either, another political appointee who is approved by the Senate. United States Attorneys (Prosecutors) are appointed, vetted and voted on by the Senate. Assistant United States Attorneys (AUSA) are civil servants, not elected, hired by the district they work in and answer to the USA for that district.
When I lived in Israel I met a lot of Swedish, Norwegian and Danish people, alot of folks from up there did the Kibbutz thing in the 1960s, 70s and 80s and their kids go back to relive what Mom and Dad did.
Outed CIA spies don't go to Israel, they go for debrief in the Quantico Virginia area.
Those people are not the United States Attorney Generals Office, or the Department of Justice so what they want has nothing to do with any charges that might be filed by the United States against Assange.
Its not about the position in the House leadership, its about name recognition and popular support.
Ron Paul has been running for President and gets a good share of supporters when he makes a run. Not enough to be a Tier 1 contender, but a strong Tier 2.
One individual can have alot of power if they want to use it.
Look at Martin Luther King Jr, Charles Lindberg, Father Flanagan, Father Coughlin, George Soros, hell even Glenn Beck had or have wide audiences or projected a ton of power with actions and words.
Yea, I've not been watching much news of it. Some CNN from Cairo, but mostly have been following Al Jazeera English on the web and supplementing that with regional newspapers in English, like Haaretz and JPost.
We were doing good in patching up ties to Iran right after the Revolution, till the Embassy crisis hit and both side stonewalled and got all conflicty. Then the Shah stayed in the US and we wouldn't send him back to an execution, the Soviets went all in to Afghanistan and that really balled things up.
But that's not really a case of not trusting a fundamentalist government, that was strategic global politics in the Cold War.
Turkey was like that in the past, now it's going more and more Islamist like Iran, it's worrying traditional Turkish allies like the United States, Germany and Israel.
I think it's good politics for the United States to keep ties with a revolutionary country like Egypt even if it does trend toward religious openness and more religious people in the government. To be kneejerk will just end up "losing" the country like the US did with Iran.
And if they elect religious figures to parliament and establish a religious democracy?
Tunisia and Egypt have had their revolutions, it's up to them to decide on the government they want, if they want fundamentalists representing them, thats their right.
Same for the United States if the voters of a state elect a fundamentalist or an atheist.
I moved from a vote by mail state (Oregon) to a polling place state (Alaska) and I found the opposite to be true.
I hated going to an out of the way polling place, being checked twice for my ID, signing my name off a list, going into a closet and then writing crap down. Would much prefer a mail in ballot for up here.
Oregon's ballot return was pre-paid by the state, at least through 2008, so no stamp required.
Slashdot Mirror
Some state and territory AGs are elected, others are appointed.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_attorney_general
Some Sheriffs are elected, some states (like mine, Alaska) don't have Sheriffs. We don't get to vote on any law enforcement officials up here.
We do elect state Judges here in Alaska, they are appointed then are on the ballots for rejection. I voted a throw the bums out platform this year. We actually rejected one - http://www.elect.alaska.net/data/results.htm
The AG isn't elected either, another political appointee who is approved by the Senate. United States Attorneys (Prosecutors) are appointed, vetted and voted on by the Senate. Assistant United States Attorneys (AUSA) are civil servants, not elected, hired by the district they work in and answer to the USA for that district.
http://www.justice.gov/usao/eousa/kidspage/prosecutor.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Attorney
Thats similar to how the United States Marshals Service works.
The hell it is. The Federal Judges are not elected, they are appointed for life after a Senate vote on them.
When I lived in Israel I met a lot of Swedish, Norwegian and Danish people, alot of folks from up there did the Kibbutz thing in the 1960s, 70s and 80s and their kids go back to relive what Mom and Dad did.
Outed CIA spies don't go to Israel, they go for debrief in the Quantico Virginia area.
Those people are not the United States Attorney Generals Office, or the Department of Justice so what they want has nothing to do with any charges that might be filed by the United States against Assange.
There is as much of a chance of you being executed for that post as there is for Assange to be executed in the US.
There have been three civilians executed by the Federal Government in the United States since 1963
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_punishment_by_the_United_States_federal_government#Recent_civilian_executions
Mass murder and terrorism, multiple murder and rape and murder of a soldier is what it takes for the Feds to execute someone.
Che Guevara got his hands dirty through massacres and summary executions.
Nothing there to love.
So if you act like an ass and are searched it's not because you acted like an ass, but because you were profiled?
Its not about the position in the House leadership, its about name recognition and popular support.
Ron Paul has been running for President and gets a good share of supporters when he makes a run. Not enough to be a Tier 1 contender, but a strong Tier 2.
Example - Rep. Ron Paul raises $700000 in 24 hours
http://www.thestatecolumn.com/articles/rep-ron-paul-raises-700000-in-24-hours/
http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/summary.php?cid=N00005906&cycle=2010
Cash on hand December 31, 2010 - $1,855,893
So now Ron Paul has closer to 2.5 million
Contrast to the Speaker
http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/summary.php?cid=N00003675
Cash on hand December 31, 2010 - $126,342
One individual can have alot of power if they want to use it.
Look at Martin Luther King Jr, Charles Lindberg, Father Flanagan, Father Coughlin, George Soros, hell even Glenn Beck had or have wide audiences or projected a ton of power with actions and words.
Yea, I've not been watching much news of it. Some CNN from Cairo, but mostly have been following Al Jazeera English on the web and supplementing that with regional newspapers in English, like Haaretz and JPost.
A manned mission to Mars in 1989 was estimated to cost 500 billion dollars. An inflation calculator brings that up to 854.14 billion in 2009.
The cost estimates of ISS range between 35 billion to 160 billion dollars in 2005 dollars.
The total DoD budget for 2011 is 721.3 billion dollars
Name one Representative who has any possibility of being elected President?
If Peter Stark ran for President as a Democrat I'd wager he has a better chance than the top Republican in the House, Ron Paul.
In the long run Turkey will be OK.
If the Islamists get too wild, I believe the Army will step up and toss them out (again).
Peter Stark Democrat from California's 13th District, openly atheist.
We were doing good in patching up ties to Iran right after the Revolution, till the Embassy crisis hit and both side stonewalled and got all conflicty. Then the Shah stayed in the US and we wouldn't send him back to an execution, the Soviets went all in to Afghanistan and that really balled things up.
But that's not really a case of not trusting a fundamentalist government, that was strategic global politics in the Cold War.
Turkey was like that in the past, now it's going more and more Islamist like Iran, it's worrying traditional Turkish allies like the United States, Germany and Israel.
I think it's good politics for the United States to keep ties with a revolutionary country like Egypt even if it does trend toward religious openness and more religious people in the government. To be kneejerk will just end up "losing" the country like the US did with Iran.
And in space you can use a planet or star's gravity to slow down.
As the imaginary ship gets closer then the margins of error on the distance gets smaller so smaller adjustments are needed.
They build in course corrections into long space flights like this for a reason.
If you read up on the history of space probes within our Solar System, you'll see course corrections built into the mission for just this purpose.
http://www.qrg.northwestern.edu/projects/vss/docs/navigation/1-what-is-course-correction.html
And if they elect religious figures to parliament and establish a religious democracy?
Tunisia and Egypt have had their revolutions, it's up to them to decide on the government they want, if they want fundamentalists representing them, thats their right.
Same for the United States if the voters of a state elect a fundamentalist or an atheist.
Since space travel like that is all about the coasting, fuel state wouldn't be a problem.
If you've designed the RTGs to keep the system warm for 20.3ly, the trip being only 20.0 or 20.6 shouldn't really be a mission breaker should it?
When one drives 20.3 miles and the trip actually takes 20.6, does that usually end in running out of fuel?
Galactic and intergalactic distances are often estimates.
Even a "known" distance like Sol to Alpha Centari A has a margin of error - 4.365 ± 0.007 ly
Gliese 581, which has been in the news recently is estimated to be 20.3 ± 0.3 ly distant
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gliese_581
When something is 43,650,000,000,000 kilometers away, does it matter how many hundreds of thousands of kilometers the margin of error is?
Who cares about the secrecy of the vote, in the United States at least there is no right to vote secrecy.
We didn't have secret ballots in the United States for presidential elections until 1888 and it wasn't nationwide until 1892.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secret_ballot#United_States
Someone tried to steal the Senate election up here in Alaska this last fall.
Joe Miller used a small army of lawyers, the poll watchers couldn't stop the assault.
I agree, low turn outs are bad, it just insures the most rabid followers of the main stream candidates and super involved special interests vote.
In the US voting should be mandatory, stack a $100 fine on it if you don't vote at the national level.
I moved from a vote by mail state (Oregon) to a polling place state (Alaska) and I found the opposite to be true.
I hated going to an out of the way polling place, being checked twice for my ID, signing my name off a list, going into a closet and then writing crap down. Would much prefer a mail in ballot for up here.
Oregon's ballot return was pre-paid by the state, at least through 2008, so no stamp required.