Politics

Suppose you got the opportunity to rewrite the United States Constitution. You've been invited to a new Constitutional Convention and you can propose anything you want. What would you put in? What would you omit? There's a lot of hot issues, like gun control, gay marriage, government surveillance, and money in elections, which could be addressed. But you could also restructure the government entirely. What if Congress were more like a parliament? What if redistricting was taken out of the hands of the legislature? I'm thinking of redesigned elections (no more first-past-the-post), a stronger 4th Amendment, and some sort of proportional representation in Congress. …

Somebody taking revenge on people blamed for causing gratuitous pain, treating one badly, etc, by destroying what they care about and killing the ones they love, is not beyond all comprehension surely? We live in culture and country in which the mentally ill, the outsiders, and similar people, are often lonely and abused; and in which revenge, even self-destructive backlash, has a place and a role. We cannot change that by force. And we are an armed people, which we can only change by force at a very heavy cost. So this shit is going to happen, as it has in the past, as long as its motivational roots are fertilized. There is no way to coercively control and block…

The Republicans and Democrats cannot agree on a fiscal plan. One of the main issues is this. What will happen when you put a higher tax on everyone who earns over $250,000 a year? It will bring in a lot more money, but will it stiffle the economy? Boner says that people earning over $250,000 will stop hiring people because the extra tax will be too much for them. They won't be able to afford to hire anyone new. This will slow the economy and even less taxes will be collected in 2013. Do the best economists agree with this? But what about the tax plan of rich getting tax credits AFTER they hire someone? Also, is the kind of economic activity that rich people stimulate also…

America's got it's first black president and now the people of Maine have allowed the first gay marriages. The gun problem will take a while longer but it's getting there in other areas. (Reuters) - The first gay and lesbian couples to wed under Maine's new same-sex marriage law exchanged vows early on Saturday in a series of spare but joyous civil ceremonies held shortly after midnight. "We finally feel equal and happy to be living in Maine," an exuberant Steven Bridges, 42, said shortly after he and his newly wedded husband, Michael Snell, 53, became the first couple at City Hall in Maine's largest town to tie the knot. http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/12/…

Hi everybody, I was speaking to a very intelligent friend of mine many months ago and he said that there will always be wars and that there is nothing we can do to prevent wars from taking place. It is all part of being human, right? Anybody got any ideas on how we can prevent wars from happening in the future? Furthermore, is my friend right? Will wars take place forever in our history from time-to-time? Is it inevitable that we as a human race keep hurting each other? The world now is becoming more globalised. International trade has made it possible for countries to obtain essential resources without going to war. But as people die, the y…

Some of you were likely only just born and in diapers when this man led the US Army and a cotingent of our allies to liberate the small nation of Kuwait from Saddam Hussain and his thugs from Iraq. This guy, even with his bravado, was a good and decent gentleman. . Our nation lost a great leader when General Norman Schwarzkopf passed from the scene at 78 years of age. “SEMPER FI” http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12/27/16197379-desert-storm-commander-norman-schwarzkopf-dies-at-78

Here is a question I never heard asked. What good was it to immediately announce Osama Bin Laden's death? Why not keep it a secret and use the info gathered at his compound to track down and kill or capture other Al Qaeda leaders BEFORE they could find out by looking at the newpaper headlines "Bin Laden Killed"? Then they all scattered and we missed a golden opportunity.

the Right to Vote, I am aware that the majority of people do not agree with me on this subject, but I do get some quite encouraging support and would not mind if you people from the SCIENCEFORUM.NET would offer your comments, if you feel like it. Please refer to my blog: link removed as per rule 7

Hey guys. Just read a fascinating report that said climate change is going to impact insurance premiums and home prices pretty dramatically in the next 50 years: http://www.movoto.com/blog/homeownership/climate-change/ Does anyone have an opinion? I'd like to think it's not too late to make a change!

Who murdered our Ambassador in Benghazi, Libya? I know he is dead along with 3 of his comrades, but why? It has been a month now and Obama's cabinet has said nothing that rings of truth. Or are the Republicans still just grasping at straws to hurt this administration during the coming election campaign? i'm surprised there hasn't been more discussion on the issue.

We could use the thread to discuss similar incidents of the past couple of decades, for which we have had enough time to get perspective. a short partial list of possibilities: 2008 US embasy bombings in Yemen, ten killed. 2008 arson of the US Embassy in Serbia. 2007 grenade attack on the US Embassy in Athens. 2006 armed assault on the US Embassy in Syria, 1 killed. 2004 armed assualt on the US Embassy in Uzbekistan, 2 killed. 2004 armed assault on the US Consulate in Saudi Arabia, 8 killed. 2002 armed assault on the US Consulate in Karachi, Pakistan, 10 killed.

This cartoon reminds me of certain threads on this board.

I'm posting this in politics rather than immediately putting it in the trash basket. A day or so ago it was announced that my favorite 2 condiments would no longer be produced. "HO-HOs and TWINKIES"!!! Oh Yes! Both are CONDIMENTS; I eat them with everything. But, My God, am I dreaming? A stupid little disagreement over union wages and Hostess closes its doors to 16-18 thousand workers? What the hell is going on? Who does Hostess think they are to deprive hard working Americans of their livelihood and others not employeed by Hostess? How many will there be involved? Then I ask myself, just how many people out there are guilty of believing unions provide such protection? Le…

Interesting story on a unique card Texas can play, out of the 1845 Annexation Agreement, that could possibly work. So what does that mean? Well, Texas could field another 8 senators if they divided themselves into 5 states. That would tip the balance of power to republicans, maybe for perpetuity with that kind of edge, if one can assume Texas states would stay red. And according to Tom Delay: That's 8 new senators, Tom, you already have 2. I'm quite sure most would dismiss Texas as redneck whiny brats, but I think that's oversimplifying and a bit flippant since this is an old streak of theirs. Thirsting for independence shouldn't be disparage…

Huxley seems to have been more prescient than Orwell. We are not being controlled by an overarching and forceful government that decides what and when we think. Instead we are being made complacent by our technology and toys... Distracting and desensitizing ourselves with 24 hour news cycles, self selection and extreme filtering of our sources of information, and ready made context lacking bite sized snippets of gossip and garbage that get fed to us by the latest social media. It's sad that during the Age of Information truth itself has become such a casualty. Short memories in the United States are killing us. Do you agree?

Thiere was a study I found from Stanford is comparing how different regions attain economic growth. In the middle of the report, they mention that lowering population growth is a contributing factor to increasing standard of living. Even though this seems obvious to many people, there are still many who cling to the belief that more humans are necessary for a country's well being, while in fact the opposite is true. Even though lightly populated areas do experience economic growth with population growth, eventually a large population becomes a burden that is too difficult to feed, house and employ, and educate as we are beginning to learn in this country. It's partic…

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So, I stood in line in the rain at 6:10 this morning to make sure I could get in and out when the polls opened at 7 am. Presented my drivers license to the lady at the voting desk, they scanned it and told me I had to fill out a provisional ballot. So I go to the next desk to fill out the provisional ballet where they inform me that my United States Citizenship is in question! The guy at the provisional desk actually already had a piece of paper in front of him with my name on it, before he knew who I was, that stated my citizenship was in question. Born in the USA, lived here all my life, but they don't think I am a citizen. I have never had this issue, ever! …

Interesting analysis http://davidbrin.blogspot.com/2012/10/eight-causes-of-deficit-fiscal-cliff.html I like how he crystalizes the analysis: we had a budget surplus under Clinton. So we need to look at what changed. The 2009 budget, Bush's last, had a deficit projection of $400 million, but a revenue shortfall of $600 million, for a $1 trillion total, adding to the debt from various actions that were not paid for: wars, Medicare part D, and tax cuts. The actual deficit came in higher; there are appropriations that happened during the year. But that's the baseline for the deficit that Obama inherited. There's also the interesting observation that pa…

Even FOX "news" is now saying Obama won. Good job. Other big wins: Elizabeth Warren won, Todd Akin got legitimately raped in the polls, and Colorado became the first state to legalize marijuana. Also, Maine legalized gay marriage. Man, are some conservatives going to be PISSED about this election.

For those of you who do not already know about it, "The Silent Scream" was a classic pro-life video where a medical doctor explains in detail the procedures used in abortion. By today's standards it is a really slow and boring film (nearly a half hour long), but it was well made, and is still often referred to amongst pro-life activists. Abortion is a silent injustice. What is the true cost of a woman being "liberated" ? Sometimes I wonder just how many little human fetuses have to be sacrificed on the altar of women's rights. So sit back and enjoy the videos comments welcome. Perhaps these old videos will stimulate some good debate.

There is, of course, more than one way to read the consequences of the re-election of Barack Obama. As one who found reasons to favor his defeat, even while agreeing that Romney and his party are not an acceptable alternative, I am at this point considering whether, and if so, how, to broach this subject here. My argument has to be addressed to those who see Obama's re-election as either entirely salutary or at least the best of all practical possibilities and who see few or no negatives attending it. That is because it's now clear that, without some successful work on recapturing a now-lost-segment of the electorate, there can be no recovery of anything "to the Left…

Here's a video explaining how our budget got how it is now. How is it that Obama is responsible for the debt, again?

When America acts like a democracy rather than a democratic republic, we get things like equality and recreational use. It is almost enough to restore some faith in humanity.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/puerto-rico-votes-on-whether-to-change-relationship-with-us-elects-governor-and-legislators/2012/11/06/d87278ae-288b-11e2-aaa5-ac786110c486_story.html Honestly, I think this is probably bigger news than Obama getting re-elected. Puerto Rico has long been a US territory but has been deserving of statehood for some time and it seems as though the popular vote has finally swung that way as well. Obviously the measure has to be submitted and approved by congress before statehood is granted and internal politics will no doubt slow things down. I wonder if they'll be any opposition at here. Probably many Americans don't even reali…