Politics

I just loved the writing in this story, so I thought it might make a nice opening to a broader discussion about the looming economic downturn/recession. (And wouldn't that subject line make a great name for a punk rock band? The PINK SLIP BLIZZARDS, everone!) http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080202/ap_on_bi_go_ec_fi/economy_162 A shower of pink slips! My my! The analysis is accurate, though -- it seems clear that the economy is heading for low ebb of some kind. I suggest our focus should be -- is this the fault of politicians? I don't think you can really escape blame -- the president has forced us to spend a veritable fortune on Iraq, for examp…

There's an interesting story going around about voters, especially in California where they've been voting since January, suddenly finding that the candidates they voted for are no longer even on the ballot. Some of the news stories spin things even further by declaring that the voters HAD to vote early because they were confused and uncertain about electronic voting machines. Here are a couple of amusing articles on the subject: http://www.sanluisobispo.com/breakingnews/story/267654.html http://www.kansascity.com/445/story/475084.html All I can say is, welcome to voting irrelevency! The oranges over in the corner were donated by the state of Florida --…

This is an odd story at first blush, but it may be that both sides have a valid point here. The problem apparently arises not so much from the fact that they don't want people with HIV giving blood (which is obviously something nobody wants), but rather from the fact that people who have a higher risk of having HIV are not allowed to donate. Specifically, gay men are denied. And therein, of course, lies the rub, because that's discrimination, or at least it appears to be. The article below talks about one university in California that has banned blood donation from campus because of its anti-discrimination policy. But I'm somewhat confused by this, because I've b…

Some of you may recall a story I've mentioned here a couple of times about convicted sex offenders forced by the state to live under a bridge here in South Florida. I thought you might appreciate an update. To summarize, because of the new restrictions on where sex offenders are allowed to live, 2500 (?) feet from the nearest park or school, and the fact that they've been under terms of probation that denied them the right to leave the area, they were effectively trapped by a bizarre catch-22. A judge "resolved" the situation by having police transport the offenders to a site undernearth the Julia Tuttle causeway, and a government official actually comes by each day to…

This is a minor and vague rant, apropos of nothing in particular. Is anyone else tired of talk of political "spectrums" and/or the use of that ubiquitous 2-axis political chart with "economic" and "social" variables ranging from "libertarian" to "authoritarian?" Does anyone else really not fit anywhere? Problems: Positions on different issues are not always "consistent" on a right-left scale, nor need they be in order to be logically consistent. If regarding one social issue I have radical ideas identified (by who?) as "liberal," and on another I have radical ideas identified as "conservative," I'd end up squarely in the middle of the graph, despite having no even…

The Iraqi national congress has finally passed the law related to debaathification which allows former members of the Baath party to reapply for government jobs. This is important because they're mostly Sunnis, and the fact that they weren't allowed in government was seen as giving Shiites an advantage. This step was viewed with skepticism in some quarters because it doesn't guarantee those positions will go to Sunnis, but it is the first major benchmark that everyone's been looking for in the "political progress" front. The head of the largest Sunni contingent said today that it might be enough for them to come on board with the unity government. I expect that m…

A place to get away from reality and take out your aggression on presidential front-runners ... if only it would let you get past the first stage. http://www.miniclip.com/games/presidential-paintball/en/

What do you think about this conflict that has been going on since the re-establishment of the State of Israel? Who is responsible for this conflict to start in the first place? Why did all the Arab countries sign an undercover peace treaty with Israel, while Syria and Lebanon hasn't? Noting that Syria is already in failing peace talks with Israel and in Lebanon, Hizballah is the main opposer for a peace treaty between the two neighboring countries as it is under Syrian control and Iranian direct support. Palestine; legitimate to be a state or not? What is your reasoning? I have a small story that I'd like to tell you as we go through. Who is right and who is wrong? W…

Only on the Internet... SFN's candidates for President of the United States are Representative Ron Paul of the Republican Party and Senator Barack Obama of the Democratic Party. Call CNN, let's rock Iowa. So! It now falls to you to select which of the two you would rather see elected as President. You may post your choice and argue vociferously why it is superior if you so desire as well.

I thought about putting this in biomedical ethics, but I'd figured that it would be better over here. It's about vaccinations and the people who are against them. Just found it this morning while browsing, let me know what you think: EDIT: forgot the link: http://www.badastronomy.com/bablog/2008/01/04/woo-shot/

I was watching the latest republican debates from Thursday night on Youtube, and became more disturbed than usual about the rhetoric coming out of these salesmen. (Not to mention the priceless moment I haven't seen anyone write about yet - Huckabee said, to paraphrase, 'We can not only win the White House, but we can keep the country safe too' - as if keeping the country safe is second in priority to winning the White House - did anyone else catch that? Yeah, keep telling me how Ron Paul is the nutcase...) Romney, particularly, but also Huckabee and Guiliani all seem to be running for president of the world, not America. All of their comments concerning inter…

A lot of talk since the New Hampshire primary has been about whether race is now a factor in the Democratic nomination race. Last week Hillary Clinton got upset over an out-of-context quote in which she was talking about the importance of the 1964 Civil Rights Act (making it sound like she thought it was more important than MLK's efforts). Her husband got into some trouble when he was misquoted over comments about the Obama campaign. And I've also heard some comments from observers of the New Hampshire primary asking whether race might have been a factor there (i.e. people voting against Obama because he's black; NH is overwhelmingly white). I guess it was j…

Just watched this video, another good one by cdk. It kinda made me feel a little guilty and a bit stupid watching it. But it did make me think and gives even more reason as to why our current investment in the Iraq war is just plain stupid. Enjoy....

And time for the irony: Snopes's entry on Obama.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/73372 Fire away, Paulites. The article is mostly about the conspiracy theories surrounding the formation of a "North American Union," parallel to the European Union, and Paul's particular affinity for the notion. Now, I don't know about anyone else, but that notion doesn't particularly frighten me. I haven't seen the numbers crunched, obviously, but I don't see any reason why this is intrinsically a sinister thing. I'm a pretty rabid free-trader, though.

I must say that despite the fact I am not American and live in the UK, I have been enthralled by developments in the American presidential race, and most specifically the campaign of Ron Paul. In fact I think it has turned into an addiction as I have spent shameless hours scouring the internet, especially youtube for coverage of this candidate... In fact part of the reason of making this thread is I fell that talking about my ailment may help me tackle this perhaps, and let me do more useful things with my spare time:embarass: ... Has anyone else felt a fascination with this candidate, and is undergoing a similiar craze, not just in terms of how rare such a politi…

this is incredible! http://video.stumbleupon.com/#p=3xdgkays4k this Has to be a setup surely!???

Does this hurt Hillary..........Or Obama?

Here's what it is, in case you don't know: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_Tax My father's been harping on this to me for a while, and I'm wondering what any of you might think about it. Is it a good idea? Personally, I'm skeptical. It seems like a good idea, but I'm afraid that government would lose the ability to use taxation as a social incentive, and if the 16th Amendment is repealed, might be tempted to raise tariffs if sales taxes come up short. I'm also not sure what effect it would have on the middle class. The system wouldn't be so dissimilar from what we have in Tennessee, except that we pay state estate and gift tax and there is a state corporate…

Is Ron Paul's denial of evolutionary theory relevant to the election?

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=hr110-888 What do you think? Status of Resolution Apparently, some people question the factual accuracy of some of the statements contained within the resolution.

The debate tonight on ABC was *amazing*. Best debate format yet.

If the election were held today, which of these Iowa winners would you vote for? Barack Obama Mike Huckabee Note: This poll will close on Tuesday (the day of the New Hampshire primary).

First, allow me to start by paying my dearest condolonces to this lady, who heartfully applied democracy in most, if not all of its colors. May God rest her soul in peace, and may He punish those responsible for her assassination. Now we know that democracy is never bound to work in such regions as Pakistan, but in the long-distant solution or end, good will win over evil. Who do you think is responsible for her assassination, and what could be the reasons for that? What do you think about Pakistan's decision of not making an international tribunal for this assassination? How do you see Pakistan after the assassination of former PM Bhutto? How do you see the region…