Politics

When McCain heard that Obama was promising to push for broadband distribution across the country and network neutrality, he stated that he didn't much care for the music teenagers are into and said he'd prefer a small town hall with harmonicas any day of the week. Crumby jokes aside, here's a talk Obama gave to the folks at Google regarding his ideas for technological innovation in November 2007. <hmmm... I wonder if this would have been better in the CompSci forum....oh well.>

As most of you have probably heard by now, there is some broohaha about Governor Palin, presently the VP pick on the McCain presidential ticket, wanting to ban books. A good summary of the issue and how it's come about is available via the Boston Globe at the following: http://news.bostonherald.com/news/2008/view.bg?&articleid=1117009&format=&page=1&listingType=2008pres#articleFull Accroding to this recent CBS News piece, there is an interesting new angle to the story: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/09/11/politics/animal/main4439414.shtml Ross emphasized an angle I previously hadn't heard much about. Palin was elected mayor than…

Sarah Palin broke her press silence, and was interviewed by ABC News: http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Vote2008/story?id=5778018 I'm reading through the transcript now...

This is one of those cases that initially sounds very simple, but turns out to be rather complex. Or maybe it isn't. Oh dear! How awful those doctors must be, denying medical care to gays and lesbians! Let's listen to the obligatory media straw man, shall we? Oh my god! Are you telling me he refused to help a pregnant woman dying on the sidewalk?!?!?!?!?! Er wait, how did he know she was a lesbian? ... Um ... <insert patented Jon Stewart camera stare here> I see. So this wasn't about emergency care, it was about an elective procedure, other doctors were available, and what we're really saying here is that the doct…

This thread is not about whether abortion is right or wrong. If you wish to discuss that, there is already a thread here, here, or here. Also, please keep it about things older than about 100 years ago. There is already plenty of discussion about abortion, I just thought some context would be nice. As I understand it, abortions were done thousands of years ago. They were very unsafe; I heard that 90% of such abortions resulted in the mother's death as well. The ancient greeks had few abortions, instead choosing the safer option of birthing the child, and then either abandoning it (especially for deformed children) or selling it into slavery. Link: http://www.fjkluth.…

First, view the ad here: Except Obama's legislation sought to give "schools the ability to warn young children about inappropriate touching and sexual predators." http://www.kansascity.com/445/story/789668.html Is there anything else to say except McCain is blatantly lying to get elected? (ed: oof, supposed to be "kindergartners" there in the title, whoops)

Democrats seemed to blink over the issue of offshore drilling the last couple of weeks, but Republicans don't seem real happy about that. With Nancy Pelosi now supporting the so-called "Paris Plan", Republicans seem to be saying "er, wait a minute, don't give us what we asked for, we want to wait and ask for something else instead. http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/opinion/la-ed-offshore15-2008aug15,0,5866232.story Amusingly, Pelosi seems to still be playing the no-beaches-for-oil card, grandstanding over the congressional federal restrictions and refusing an up-or-down direct vote on the issue. In an interview today she called it "a hoax on the America…

Obama is often sarcastically described as "the messiah," "golden boy," "the one," etc., due to his allegedly fanatical support base and media bias. I've been pretty much accepting that description, but it occurs to me that the reason why I've accepted it has a lot more to do with him being described that way than actual direct evidence. Yes, Obama supporters tend to be a lot more enthusiastic than McCain supporters, but a) isn't that more to do with the Republican base distrusting McCain, and b) since when is that a bad thing? Yet commentators can't seem to go two minutes without sarcastically reinforcing the notion of Obama as the object of substance-free "Obamania." Can…

This spate of hurricanes got me thinking about safety in Caribbean nations. Hurricane safety is, of course, a vital issue in regions where hurricanes are prone to cause great damage. While a lot of progress has been made in the science of prediction and understanding the mechanism of hurricanes in recent years, as well as how to defend buildings and people against their power, a lot of work needs to be done in third-world nations, some of which are gravely vulnerable. Just to look at a worst-case scenario for a moment, a brief glimpse at Haiti would seem to be in order. The other day Ike (which is currently blustering my house with its outer bands as I write this…

If he picks Tim Pawlenty, it will be interesting. Obama and McCain pick a running mate who is similar to their respective opponents. I think Sarah Palin of Alaska would be a very interesting choice and might add some spark, but it is risky - she has even less experience than Obama. Romney would normally be considered the obvious choice, except he is Mormon, which is not an "acceptable" minority. I bet McCain wants Palin. Let's see if he goes for it.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/09/02/rnc.day/index.html?eref=rss_topstories He's not going to be physically present, but he'll remote in via satellite. I'll be interested to hear what he has to say...

This quote seems relevant to the current debate: Mod note: This thread was split off from this thread about McCain's choice of Sara Palin for VP: http://www.scienceforums.net/forum/showthread.php?t=34906

From Fact Check: * Lieberman said Obama hadn't "reached across party lines" to accomplish "anything significant," though Obama has teamed with GOP Sens. Tom Coburn and Richard Lugar to pass laws enhancing government transparency and curtailing the proliferation of nuclear and conventional weapons. * Thompson repeated misleading claims about Obama's tax program, saying it would bring "one of the largest tax increases in American history." But as increases go, Obama's package is hardly a history-maker. It would raise taxes for families with incomes above $250,000. Most people would see a cut. * Lieberman also accused Obama of "voting to cut off funding…

Well here's one surprise: Apparently McCain drew even more viewers than Obama, by half a million. http://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/stories/2008/09/01/daily33.html I still think Obama's numbers fed McCain's and Palin's numbers, but I'm just guessing there. Anyway, FactCheck.org has an article up on McCain's acceptance speech: http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/factchecking_mccain.html A couple of highlights: And this one responds to what is becoming a very popular meme amongst McCain supporters: It just doesn't feel right to me, these accusations that Obama is anti-free trade. I think he's just, to steal a popular phrase from…

I saw Joe Biden on Meet the Press this morning, and I was pondering his position on abortion, which I think is interesting. In a nutshell, he believes that abortion is wrong, but he supports the right to have that choice and he votes in favor of abortion rights. This is an interesting position, and I think a great example of the value of middle ground / common ground reasoning. I can understand how some, especially religious folks, see this as hypocrisy, and/or just plain wrong. For one thing, from a unilateral perspective it seems like something that just cannot be anything other than wrong. Life is life, right? And even from a non-unilateral position, when look…

England's most celebrated street artist is most certainly Banksy, who's pulled a number of quite interesting stunts like doctoring several copies of Paris Hilton's album and distributing them in music stores, but he's mostly known for his "graffiti". Banksy is revered as a cultural hero, and many municipalities meticulously protect and restore his artworks. Well, that's England for you... Back here in America we don't have a Banksy, but we have Shepard Fairey. There's two likely paths you've encountered his artwork: his now ubiquitous portrait of Obama, or his infamous "Obey Giant" artwork: (and yes, that's him putting those posters up) Well, I was qui…

Well, I guess the thread title says it all. Wow. I guess she scared a lot of people. http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/09/04/palin-speech-pulls-in-8-million-for-obama/ Barack Obama's campaign says it has raised more than $8 million from over 130,000 donors following Republican VP candidate Sarah Palin's speech Wednesday night. The campaign also says it is on track to raise $10 million before John McCain takes the podium at the Republican National Convention tonight. http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5i6BkMiFClO-golI3_rj8iiidLNTAD9308008B Barack Obama's presidential campaign said it raised $10 million Thursday following t…

I thought it worth mentioning here that Bob Woodward's fourth book on the Bush administration, entitled "The War Within", is due out this week. Amazon has it listed for $20.38 on pre-order. This one is supposed to focus on 2006-2008, and it's already drawing some interesting attention in the media. According to this Fox News article, the book is less critical than #3 ("State of Denial"), but accuses him of failure to lead even as the surge succeeded. In my opinion, what makes Woodward's opinion so valuable is that he has an open mind, and is not predisposed to judge the president by his party or ideological affiliations. He looked at the evidence and h…

This is why I hate political conventions. Over 38 million Americans watching and nobody bothers to call him on his facts. Misleading people should not be a path to public office. Yeesh. Fortunately the reliable, non-partisan Anenberg FactCheck organization leaps to the rescue. Some highlights: Full, detailed analysis can be found here: http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/factchecking_obama.html (I wonder if they'll get over 38 million hits. Somehow I doubt it.)

I am somewhat on the fence in posting this, because it is some rather obvious fodder for partisan comment, but frankly it's just too interesting a political story. What I'm referring to, for the benefit of our friends overseas who may not have heard (?), is that a major hurricane, about the same strength (possibly even stronger) of the now-infamous Hurricane Katrina, is barreling down on New Orleans. And it's due to hit just as the Republican convention is getting underway in Minnesota. In fact it's expected to make landfall at almost the exact moment that President Bush is scheduled to give his speech. No. Really. The irony here is astounding. The afterma…

Suppose you were selected to be part of a committee chosen to hire a President for the U.S.A. via traditional hiring methods. What requirements and qualifying restrictions would you include in your solicitations? What job experience and education would you expect to see in resumes submitted for the position? What qualities would an optimum candidate possess?

i'm doing my reserch on the toipc "Separatism in jammu & kashmir", hence need your views about the same. please answer this questionner http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?key=pbKZDiJ0q9EIvrHyfAxXfdw

Last week bascule posted an interesting chart showing the two tax plans from McCain and Obama. Well someone put together a little Web app that allows you to input your marital status, number of dependents and income level and see which one would tax you more. http://obamataxcut.com/ This is the chart they used, which Bascule posted earlier: (Edit: Found bascule's original thread on this, and linked it above.)

Who are you voting for? I'm voting for Paris.

Hah, I beat the text messages. http://www.kmbc.com/politics/17267009/detail.html#