November Elections

[darkknight9]

If by politically correct you mean being a decent, kind human being then I guess you're right. Considering Romney has been touting sexist, homophobic and racist policies, I can't begin to imagine why you'd vote him other than prejudice against those that he's persecuting (including being a self-loathing woman).

Only if by persecuting you also mean the other candidate, the one that has added more American citizens to his "kill list" (per the story in the NYTimes) and whose former press secretary made comments defending murdering the teenaged children of a suspected terrorist... two weeks *after killing the terrorist in question in a drone strike. Romney's only plus is that he hasnt held the office yet to screw it up, but all poor jokes and wars on 'women' and 'class warfare' aside, he hasn't murdered any children this election season.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/29/world/obamas-leadership-in-war-on-al-qaeda.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1&

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2012/10/how-team-obama-justifies-the-killing-of-a-16-year-old-american/264028/

I still stand by my original post, if you vote for either one you are a tool. But at least those who are voting republican this time around can vote with a cleaner conscience then their democratic kill/indefinite detention party bretheren.

[Eternal Icicle]

While the upcoming Presidential election is one that has been frustrating, enraging and at times disheartening for well over a year, Portland, OR's mayoral race is kind of refreshing. A lot of the news coverage on the race for mayor has been about how un-excited and unenergized people are, but I think that's a result of neither being polarizing individuals. Between the two options, it honestly seems like a win-win. I wish I would feel that way about the presidential election EVER.

Plus one of the mayoral candidates organized/compiled video for this in 2011 as state representative. I don't know if a sense of humor is necessary for the job, but it doesn't hurt!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oi0f6vsbOEQ

[Conscia Fati]

If by politically correct you mean being a decent, kind human being then I guess you're right. Considering Romney has been touting sexist, homophobic and racist policies, I can't begin to imagine why you'd vote him other than prejudice against those that he's persecuting (including being a self-loathing woman).

Ad hominem attacks aren't going to get our country anywhere. This is exactly my point: how can we live in a democracy when we just call the "other" names? Try to be a little open-minded.... just a little.

[Conscia Fati]

Only if by persecuting you also mean the other candidate, the one that has added more American citizens to his "kill list" (per the story in the NYTimes) and whose former press secretary made comments defending murdering the teenaged children of a suspected terrorist... two weeks *after killing the terrorist in question in a drone strike. Romney's only plus is that he hasnt held the office yet to screw it up, but all poor jokes and wars on 'women' and 'class warfare' aside, he hasn't murdered any children this election season.

http://www.nytimes.c...anted=all&_r=1

http://www.theatlant...merican/264028/

I still stand by my original post, if you vote for either one you are a tool. But at least those who are voting republican this time around can vote with a cleaner conscience then their democratic kill/indefinite detention party bretheren.

I don't think voting dem/rep makes one a "tool" -- but I totally agree that the drone wars and attacks on our own are terrifying and unjustifiable. I was so disappointed to hear that Romney also wants to continue the use of drones, but as you point out -- I'm voting against indefinite detention and the suspension of habeas corpus. This is way bigger than free birth control, people.

[1Q84]

I still stand by my original post, if you vote for either one you are a tool. But at least those who are voting republican this time around can vote with a cleaner conscience then their democratic kill/indefinite detention party bretheren.

I'm not defending Obama's militaristic side, but, on the whole, these are "combatants" and "aggressors", are they not? That, at least, never seemed up for debate--at least from that article. Foreign policy is foreign policy. Domestic policy is domestic policy.

Romney, on the other hand, is persecuting women and homosexuals because of his own backwards prejudice. Killing--no, but as Andromache has said, he would continue the same grand tradition that Obama is currently touting. Cleaner conscience? Hardly.

Try to be a little open-minded.... just a little.

So. So. So. Very. Ironic.... Cannot compute.

Edited October 28, 2012 by 1Q84

[Conscia Fati]

This is quite a good article, that makes a very good case for not voting for Obama, even if you are a democrat, based on issues of human rights.

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2012/09/why-i-refuse-to-vote-for-barack-obama/262861/

[Conscia Fati]

"So. So. So. Very. Ironic.... Cannot compute."

Look IQ, all I'm saying is that we live in a land of multiple view points. Be open minded! If you are voting democrat, I'm not going to call you evil or heartless. If you choose to vote for Obama, I think your decision is respectable. There are reasons to vote for Obama; reasons to vote for Romney; reasons to vote third party. I don't think Obama is a good president, but that doesn't mean I think YOU are a bad person. It doesn't even mean I think Obama is a bad person! I respect him as our president, even if I don't respect (some of) his policies. (See article above). I just am sick of people saying that voting for Romney means that you are a horrible person, that you hate women and gays, and that you are a heartless jerk. To vilify the opposite side with ad hominem attacks is not being open-minded. You called me self-loathing, without decency and kindness. How is that being open-minded, much less kind? I'm not calling you names, and I'm not going to. Just try to see the other's point of view! We live in a democracy which needs good, healthy debate, not name calling!

[darkknight9]

I'm not defending Obama's militaristic side, but, on the whole, these are "combatants" and "aggressors", are they not? That, at least, never seemed up for debate--at least from that article. Foreign policy is foreign policy. Domestic policy is domestic policy.

This. Is exactly what you are supposed to believe. Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain, the one fending off all of the appeals and legal challenges to the Patriot Act, which have to be done anonymously because its a felony to speak out about being served a government self written search warrant (never you mind the 'congress shall make no law" restricting your speech). All those appeals, all those complaints, all done here. In the US. In our courts by our OWN citizens. Volunteer at a legal aid center for school that happens to cater to African/Somali immigrants? Guess who just became a possible 'combatant', a likely 'aggresor'? YOU. Since its inception the Patriot Act has been modified to make 'combatants' anyone within social or commercial circles with racially profiled suspects. Think of it as the .gov's own six degrees of Kevin Bacon game. Foreign policy targets abroad include the children of any suspected 'combatant'.

If you are willfully ignorant, passing this off as "it will never happen to me" or "it only happens overseas" I sincerely hope you aren't close to or interact with anyone that may be on a profiling list. You may be in for a real life shock. NDAA and a beefed up Patriot Act are real. Am I mad that the prez didnt get rid of Guantanamo? Sure. Am I upset he broke nearly every campaign promise related to the disabled, the working poor, and up until very recently the LBGTQ folks? You betchya. As mad as I am that he took the illegitimate son of Bush/Cheney, the patriot act and instead of abolishing this piece of trash ***as he promised***, he strengthened it and renewed it? Damn right. Almost as mad as I am that he sent a letter written into congressional record by a fellow democrat that said he would not sign the NDAA unless it had a provision allowing the prez to lock up *anyone* without any due process... then told the media it was a real shame that had made it onto the bill, and he would sign the NDAA but in protest.

They are both career politicians and liars. Lie to me about being in bed with business. That's been happeneing for longer than I've been alive. But don't lie to me about why both the pimply faced kid working at the local Kwik-E-Mart *and* the local reporter who covered a story on the kids senior project in high school about foreign aid are now missing and no one knows where they are. Or when asking the Minneapolis cops about who broke into and trashed the house down the street why they think it was the FBI, but they can't comment on the case officially. Dont lie to me about these things.

These things are happening, right now. It's all very domestic. Keep that in mind when you vote in a few weeks. Cling to any perceived or preconceived notion you want to about feelgood domestic issues... but remember that unless you burn with hatred of the power of the sun over these issues, they will not keep you warm in the winter time in a drafty midwestern prison.

[darkknight9]

This is quite a good article, that makes a very good case for not voting for Obama, even if you are a democrat, based on issues of human rights.

http://www.theatlant...k-obama/262861/

"If two candidates favored a return to slavery, or wanted to stone adulterers, you wouldn't cast your ballot for the one with the better position on health care."

Thank you for the article. Very concise.

[1Q84]

This. Is exactly what you are supposed to believe. Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain, the one fending off all of the appeals and legal challenges to the Patriot Act, which have to be done anonymously because its a felony to speak out about being served a government self written search warrant (never you mind the 'congress shall make no law" restricting your speech). All those appeals, all those complaints, all done here. In the US. In our courts by our OWN citizens. Volunteer at a legal aid center for school that happens to cater to African/Somali immigrants? Guess who just became a possible 'combatant', a likely 'aggresor'? YOU. Since its inception the Patriot Act has been modified to make 'combatants' anyone within social or commercial circles with racially profiled suspects. Think of it as the .gov's own six degrees of Kevin Bacon game. Foreign policy targets abroad include the children of any suspected 'combatant'.

If you are willfully ignorant, passing this off as "it will never happen to me" or "it only happens overseas" I sincerely hope you aren't close to or interact with anyone that may be on a profiling list. You may be in for a real life shock. NDAA and a beefed up Patriot Act are real. Am I mad that the prez didnt get rid of Guantanamo? Sure. Am I upset he broke nearly every campaign promise related to the disabled, the working poor, and up until very recently the LBGTQ folks? You betchya. As mad as I am that he took the illegitimate son of Bush/Cheney, the patriot act and instead of abolishing this piece of trash ***as he promised***, he strengthened it and renewed it? Damn right. Almost as mad as I am that he sent a letter written into congressional record by a fellow democrat that said he would not sign the NDAA unless it had a provision allowing the prez to lock up *anyone* without any due process... then told the media it was a real shame that had made it onto the bill, and he would sign the NDAA but in protest.

They are both career politicians and liars. Lie to me about being in bed with business. That's been happeneing for longer than I've been alive. But don't lie to me about why both the pimply faced kid working at the local Kwik-E-Mart *and* the local reporter who covered a story on the kids senior project in high school about foreign aid are now missing and no one knows where they are. Or when asking the Minneapolis cops about who broke into and trashed the house down the street why they think it was the FBI, but they can't comment on the case officially. Dont lie to me about these things.

These things are happening, right now. It's all very domestic. Keep that in mind when you vote in a few weeks. Cling to any perceived or preconceived notion you want to about feelgood domestic issues... but remember that unless you burn with hatred of the power of the sun over these issues, they will not keep you warm in the winter time in a drafty midwestern prison.

First of all, I am not and never was under any illusion that Obama's feel good "Hope" stuff was anything more than very shrewd opportunism. So spare me the "this is exactly what you're supposed to believe" tin foil hat rhetoric. As a matter of interest, Obama has been and most likely will serve the majority of Americans' interest better than Romney. Romney will do all the awful cloak-and-dagger, militaristic aggressor sh** that Obama has PLUS fu** up the lives of a majority of people to boot. The age old "lesser of two evils" thing. They both are and ever will be products of the ever-decaying system.

Does America need a new political voting system? Most definitely. Are both of the candidates iterations of everything we've seen before? Of course. Does that mean you, as citizen, pull out of the system and do nothing? I hope not. How about you suggest something proactive instead of simply calling voters "tools"? Naw. Now that would just be too much effort. It's better to be an cynical, armchair politico.

Look IQ, all I'm saying is that we live in a land of multiple view points. Be open minded! If you are voting democrat, I'm not going to call you evil or heartless. If you choose to vote for Obama, I think your decision is respectable. There are reasons to vote for Obama; reasons to vote for Romney; reasons to vote third party. I don't think Obama is a good president, but that doesn't mean I think YOU are a bad person. It doesn't even mean I think Obama is a bad person! I respect him as our president, even if I don't respect (some of) his policies. (See article above). I just am sick of people saying that voting for Romney means that you are a horrible person, that you hate women and gays, and that you are a heartless jerk. To vilify the opposite side with ad hominem attacks is not being open-minded. You called me self-loathing, without decency and kindness. How is that being open-minded, much less kind? I'm not calling you names, and I'm not going to. Just try to see the other's point of view! We live in a democracy which needs good, healthy debate, not name calling!

I can't believe you wrote this and are voting Republican. It really blows my mind. The fact cannot be ignored that the man is intent on, and has been very vocal about (until he flip-flopped, that is) destroying much of the social progress that the US has made in recent years. That is enough of a reason to not vote for him.

Continually asking me to be open-minded while touting a candidate who is the definition of close-minded is just too much for me. You should be giving that speech to your candidate.

Edited October 30, 2012 by 1Q84

[budgiepie]

Hope this election makes the republicans more centrist so someday we can have an actual left-leaning party. Also thinking about CSUs here and that prop 30 business makes me nervous.

[Conscia Fati]

This. Is exactly what you are supposed to believe. Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain, the one fending off all of the appeals and legal challenges to the Patriot Act, which have to be done anonymously because its a felony to speak out about being served a government self written search warrant (never you mind the 'congress shall make no law" restricting your speech). All those appeals, all those complaints, all done here. In the US. In our courts by our OWN citizens. Volunteer at a legal aid center for school that happens to cater to African/Somali immigrants? Guess who just became a possible 'combatant', a likely 'aggresor'? YOU. Since its inception the Patriot Act has been modified to make 'combatants' anyone within social or commercial circles with racially profiled suspects. Think of it as the .gov's own six degrees of Kevin Bacon game. Foreign policy targets abroad include the children of any suspected 'combatant'.

If you are willfully ignorant, passing this off as "it will never happen to me" or "it only happens overseas" I sincerely hope you aren't close to or interact with anyone that may be on a profiling list. You may be in for a real life shock. NDAA and a beefed up Patriot Act are real. Am I mad that the prez didnt get rid of Guantanamo? Sure. Am I upset he broke nearly every campaign promise related to the disabled, the working poor, and up until very recently the LBGTQ folks? You betchya. As mad as I am that he took the illegitimate son of Bush/Cheney, the patriot act and instead of abolishing this piece of trash ***as he promised***, he strengthened it and renewed it? Damn right. Almost as mad as I am that he sent a letter written into congressional record by a fellow democrat that said he would not sign the NDAA unless it had a provision allowing the prez to lock up *anyone* without any due process... then told the media it was a real shame that had made it onto the bill, and he would sign the NDAA but in protest.

They are both career politicians and liars. Lie to me about being in bed with business. That's been happeneing for longer than I've been alive. But don't lie to me about why both the pimply faced kid working at the local Kwik-E-Mart *and* the local reporter who covered a story on the kids senior project in high school about foreign aid are now missing and no one knows where they are. Or when asking the Minneapolis cops about who broke into and trashed the house down the street why they think it was the FBI, but they can't comment on the case officially. Dont lie to me about these things.

These things are happening, right now. It's all very domestic. Keep that in mind when you vote in a few weeks. Cling to any perceived or preconceived notion you want to about feelgood domestic issues... but remember that unless you burn with hatred of the power of the sun over these issues, they will not keep you warm in the winter time in a drafty midwestern prison.

I meant to LIKE your post, and I accidentally gave you a negative reputation point! I'm so sorry!!

[Conscia Fati]

First of all, I am not and never was under any illusion that Obama's feel good "Hope" stuff was anything more than very shrewd opportunism. So spare me the "this is exactly what you're supposed to believe" tin foil hat rhetoric. As a matter of interest, Obama has been and most likely will serve the majority of Americans' interest better than Romney. Romney will do all the awful cloak-and-dagger, militaristic aggressor sh** that Obama has PLUS fu** up the lives of a majority of people to boot. The age old "lesser of two evils" thing. They both are and ever will be products of the ever-decaying system.

Does America need a new political voting system? Most definitely. Are both of the candidates iterations of everything we've seen before? Of course. Does that mean you, as citizen, pull out of the system and do nothing? I hope not. How about you suggest something proactive instead of simply calling voters "tools"? Naw. Now that would just be too much effort. It's better to be an cynical, armchair politico.

I can't believe you wrote this and are voting Republican. It really blows my mind. The fact cannot be ignored that the man is intent on, and has been very vocal about (until he flip-flopped, that is) destroying much of the social progress that the US has made in recent years. That is enough of a reason to not vote for him.

Continually asking me to be open-minded while touting a candidate who is the definition of close-minded is just too much for me. You should be giving that speech to your candidate.

As dark-knight points out, Obama has flip-flopped too... it's what politicians (and people) do....

Obviously, we're at an impasse. I don't want to fight with you. I'm sure you're a nice guy (girl?), and I wish you the best in your grad apps. And, regarding the election, may the best man win! : )

[rising_star]

I'm intrigued to see how the storm and the related transportation and power issues affect both voter turnout and how Supervisors of Elections handle this election. Any guesses as to what will happen so that voters in hard-hit areas, like coastal New Jersey and Virginia, can vote?

[Usmivka]

If you haven't already done so, please vote.

Edited November 6, 2012 by Usmivka

[1Q84]

I'm intrigued to see how the storm and the related transportation and power issues affect both voter turnout and how Supervisors of Elections handle this election. Any guesses as to what will happen so that voters in hard-hit areas, like coastal New Jersey and Virginia, can vote?

Not sure if you saw yet but apparently New Jersey citizens affected by Sandy can vote via email. I just hope a majority will choose to take that opportunity instead of not being bothered. I mean... I'm sure they're going through a hell of a time rebuilding/surviving but... some long-range planning (for the next 4 years) will definitely serve well other types of recovery that America sorely needs.

[Usmivka]

I'm having fun with this app: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2012/11/02/us/politics/paths-to-the-white-house.html

It lets you choose who wins in each state and follow all possible outcomes. It appeals to my OCD side.

[mandarin.orange]

I went to my polling location, and found myself punching chads in a basement. Haven't done that in 10 years.

WTF, Los Angeles...this state is where the Digital Age BEGAN!

[1Q84]

Not taking the high road: suck on that, Andromache.

[runaway]

I'm curious if anyone in CA can shed light on Prop 30 for us non-CA people applying to state schools there. How might this affect funding for new students? If at all?

[CageFree]

Prop 30 prevents automatic trigger cuts that were going to happen; the UC system was going to increase fees by 20% or more, the CSU system was going to admit a lot less students and raise fees. In the UCs they were going to continue the trend of accepting more out-of-state students because they pay more than in-state students.

I'm not sure this will affect funding other than keep things the way they are right now. Every school and department has its own funding parameters. I'm at a UC and I'm fully funded for 5 years through TA/Reader positions, for example.

[runaway]

Prop 30 prevents automatic trigger cuts that were going to happen; the UC system was going to increase fees by 20% or more, the CSU system was going to admit a lot less students and raise fees. In the UCs they were going to continue the trend of accepting more out-of-state students because they pay more than in-state students.

I'm not sure this will affect funding other than keep things the way they are right now. Every school and department has its own funding parameters. I'm at a UC and I'm fully funded for 5 years through TA/Reader positions, for example.

Thanks, CageFree! I figured as much, but it's nice to have the inside perspective. I did have one professor, who went to Berkeley, warn me that now was not the time to apply to UC schools because of the budgeting problems. She made it sound like general pessimism & morale was an issue. Do you think that's the case? (I'm applying anyway, but sort of curious to know what to expect.)

Edited November 7, 2012 by runaway

[CageFree]

It really depends on the school. At my school, you would be admitted with funding, but I know that my alma mater has SERIOUS funding problems in the same program. PM me for more specifics

[Conscia Fati]

Not taking the high road: suck on that, Andromache.

Please don't be so rude, IQ. There's really no point in being mean-spirited on an online forum. Besides, I know we have more in common than you think -- like a love for Latin literature! Really, let's put politics aside -- and best of luck to you and your partner and all of your apps. Pax.