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OmegaDestroyer
Hero of Order
Fox or Chicken?
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posted June 08, 2008 06:40 PM |
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While I've never encountered any case law on the matter, I'm fairly certain it's illegal to require someone to disclose their political association due to freedom of association. However, it is still a factor in employment and promotion. That's why it's best to be keep to keep politics to oneself in the office. When I interviewed for my job at the USDA, I was asked "who I considered a political hero." I simply responded "I currently do not have one, sir." I got the job, so it was all good. And damnit, I was an awesome receptionist! 
As to voting in the primaries, that's not a major loss to me. Since I don't identify with either major party, I don't think it's appropriate for me to have a say in their decision.
____________
The giant has awakened
You drink my blood and drown
Wrath and raving I will not stop
You'll never take me down
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Consis
Honorable
Legendary Hero
Of Ruby
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posted June 09, 2008 07:20 AM |
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Corribus,
It all depends on what you state you reside in. For example, Texas is one of the states that require all its judges to say which political party they are affiliated with before being allowed to take a seat at the bench.
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Roses Are Red And So Am I
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Minion
Legendary Hero
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posted June 09, 2008 01:59 PM |
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The homicide rate in Canada reached 1.73 per 100,000 in 2003. The average murder rate between 1998 to 2004 was 1.82 per 100,000
By comparison, the homicide rate in the US in the years between 2000 and 2005 has remained at an all-time low between 5.5 and 5.7 homicides per 100,000 individuals. The murder rate between 1998 and 2004 was 6.3 per 100,000
Approximately 70% of the total murders in the US are committed with firearms, vs. about 30% in Canada.
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OmegaDestroyer
Hero of Order
Fox or Chicken?
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posted June 09, 2008 04:07 PM |
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So what objects are used for the other 70% of the murders in Canada?
____________
The giant has awakened
You drink my blood and drown
Wrath and raving I will not stop
You'll never take me down
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Corribus
Hero of Order
The Abyss Staring Back at You
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posted June 09, 2008 04:13 PM |
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Moose. 
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I'm sick of following my dreams. I'm just going to ask them where they're goin', and hook up with them later. -Mitch Hedberg
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violent_flower
Promising
Supreme Hero
Almost there.
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posted June 09, 2008 06:25 PM |
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Moose!! LMAO
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Learn how to duck and weave because I will throw truth at you all day!
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mvassilev
Responsible
Undefeatable Hero
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posted June 09, 2008 06:40 PM |
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As amusing as this discussion is, I think that it's time to discuss the potential VPs that Obama and McCain might have.
For Obama:
 Hillary Clinton, former Presidential candidate, wife of Bill Clinton, Senator from New York.
Pros:
Has wide support among Democratic base, especially among women and working-class whites
Lived in the White House, and may have been involved in decision making
Record of being for universal health care
Might put Arkansas into play
Cons:
No crossover appeal. At all
From New York, which is hardly a swing state
Arkansas isn't that significant, and no guarantee that she would put it into play
Would counteract Obama's message of "change"
Supported Iraq War
Verdict: Not favorable
 Wesley Clark, retired general:
Pros:
Lives in South, might put some of it into play
Military experience
Moderate
Cons:
Not very high-profile
Little political experience
Clinton supporter
Verdict: favorable, might make a good Secretary of Defense
 Jim Webb, Senator from Virginia:
Pros:
Would put Virginia into play
Moderate, former Republican
Military experience
Cons:
Not very high-profile
Verdict: favorable
 Joe Biden, Senator from Delaware:
Pros:
Foreign policy experience
General Washington experience
Cons:
Makes gaffes
Is from tiny, solidly Democratic Delaware
Voted for Iraq War
Verdict: Not favorable, but might make a good Secretary of State
 John Edwards, former Senator from North Carolina:
Pros:
Support among white working-class
Would put North and South Carolina into play
Cons:
Haircut is a target for Republicans
Voted for Iraq War
Verdict: Favorable
 Ted Strickland, governor of Ohio:
Pros:
Executive experience
Ohio is a swing state, might lock it up for Obama
Some Republican support
Washington experience
Cons:
Clinton supporter
Verdict: very favorable
 Kathleen Sebelius, governor of Kansas:
Pros:
Executive experience
Ties to Ohio
Might put Kansas into play
Might bring more female supporters
Cons:
Not very high profile
Verdict: favorable
 Howard Dean, Democratic Chairman, former governor of Vermont:
Pros:
Moderate
Executive experience
Against the war from the start
Cons:
BYAAAAH!
Vermont is solidly Democratic
Appeals mostly to the same demographics Obama does
Verdict: not favorable
 Al Gore, former Senator from Tennessee, former Vice Presidient, environmentalist:
Pros:
Relatively moderate
Experience as VP
Against the war from the start
Very popular among environmentalists
Support among working-class whites
Cons:
Very unpopular with anti-environmentalists
Might not want to be VP again
Verdict: favorable, maybe appoint him head of the EPA?
 Bill Richardson, governor of New Mexico, former UN ambassador, former Secretary of Energy:
Pros:
New Mexico is a swing state
Appeal to Hispanics
Executive experience
White House experience
Foreign policy experience
Moderate
Cons:
Is a Hispanic, so an African-American/Hispanic ticket might put off some white voters
Very boring speaker
Verdict: very favorable
 Evan Bayh, Senator from Indiana, former Governor of Indiana:
Pros:
Executive experience
Indiana is a swing state
Moderate
Cons:
Not very high-profile
Verdict: very favorable
 James L. Jones, former Supreme Allied Commander in Europe:
Pros:
A lot of military experience
Might lock up Missouri for Obama
Cons:
Not high-profile at all
Verdict: favorable
 Chuck Hagel, Republican Senator from Nebraska:
Pros:
Washington experience
Would put Nebraska into play
Republican, so Obama would be working across party lines
Opposes the war
Business experience
Cons:
Nebraska is small
Except for the war, is a normal Republican, so wouldn't have much common ground with Obama
Voted for the war
Verdict: favorable, maybe Secretary of Defense
 Lincoln Chafee, former Republican Senator from Rhode Island, former mayor of Warwick:
Pros:
Moderate
Republican, so Obama would be working across party lines
Executive experience
Voted against Iraq war
Cons:
Rhode Island is solidly Democratic
Verdict: favorable
 Michael Bloomberg, Independent mayor of New York City:
Pros:
Moderate
Former Republican, former Democrat, so would be anti-partisan
Executive experience
Cons:
New York is solidly Democratic
Verdict: favorable
So the best choices for Obama would be Strickland, Richardson, Bayh, Webb, Clark, Bloomberg, Hagel, and Chafee, in that order.
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Eccentric Opinion
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OmegaDestroyer
Hero of Order
Fox or Chicken?
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posted June 09, 2008 06:43 PM |
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You left out Johnny Haircut, Mvass. He's certainly expecting something for throwing in his support.
EDIT: The haircut thing is more to show what an amazing hypocrite he is. Getting a $400 haircut and then campaigning for the poor really doesn't make you seem sincere about the cause.
____________
The giant has awakened
You drink my blood and drown
Wrath and raving I will not stop
You'll never take me down
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Mulroney
Hired Hero
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posted June 09, 2008 06:57 PM |
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Minion, the simplest reason to explain the difference is populaion distribution. Canada is huge. If I get angry I can drive up to where there aren't even any people, to calm down for a while.
Just check for yourself. No matter what country you look at, the most densely populated areas have the highest crime rates.
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Corribus
Hero of Order
The Abyss Staring Back at You
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posted June 09, 2008 07:09 PM |
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Quote:
Just check for yourself. No matter what country you look at, the most densely populated areas have the highest crime rates.
Correlation does not imply causation.
I'm going to start using that as a signature, I think.
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I'm sick of following my dreams. I'm just going to ask them where they're goin', and hook up with them later. -Mitch Hedberg
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Minion
Legendary Hero
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posted June 09, 2008 08:51 PM |
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Edited by Minion at 21:16, 09 Jun 2008.
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Quote:
So what objects are used for the other 70% of the murders in Canada?
I do not know the answer to this one, but sharp and blunt objects of varying kind is my educated guess.
Edit. I canno't understand why being a Clinton supporter is a con... Isn't Obama looking some way to draw support from the millions that supported Hillary?
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Corribus
Hero of Order
The Abyss Staring Back at You
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posted June 09, 2008 09:09 PM |
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Edited by Corribus at 21:09, 09 Jun 2008.
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Quote:
I do not know the answer to this one, but sharp and blunt objects of varying kind is my educated guess.
Doesn't that category include every object? I mean, pick any object under the sun and it is probably either sharp or blunt. Hell, even bullets qualify. They're pretty sharp. Until they slam into your rib cage. At which point they become blunt. Is that what you mean by an object which is both sharp AND blunt?
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I'm sick of following my dreams. I'm just going to ask them where they're goin', and hook up with them later. -Mitch Hedberg
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Binabik
Responsible
Legendary Hero
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posted June 09, 2008 09:12 PM |
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The homicide rate in Canada reached 1.73 per 100,000 in 2003. The average murder rate between 1998 to 2004 was 1.82 per 100,000
By comparison, the homicide rate in the US in the years between 2000 and 2005 has remained at an all-time low between 5.5 and 5.7 homicides per 100,000 individuals. The murder rate between 1998 and 2004 was 6.3 per 100,000
Approximately 70% of the total murders in the US are committed with firearms, vs. about 30% in Canada.
Damn, this is off topic but here goes....but only because this applies to a large number of debates in the other side rather than just this one.
You have to be very careful throwing around statistics. And you have to be ESPECIALLY careful throwing around statistics comparing one country to another.
If you have two groups collecting data. And those two groups use different definitions and methodologies to collect the data. Then the two sets of data can not be compared without making some attempt to normalize it and resolve the differences.
Country A: The death of a person due to gross indifference is recorded as a homicide
Country B: The above is not recorded as a homicide.
Country C: A crime is recorded when it is reported to police by the victim.
Country D: A crime is recorded when the police have done an initial investigation and determined than a crime has been committed.
Country E: A crime is reported only after the criminal has been caught and convicted.
Country F: Rape is reported by 42% of victims.
Country G: Rape is reported by 14% of victims.
When it comes to definitions of crimes, the UN has created a set of international definitions in an attempt to get around SOME of these problems. It is only mildly successful because nations only use the definition when reporting internationally, but not internally. So the process of taking raw data using one definition and converting it to data using a different definition results in serious problems, especially when information might not even be available other than the original classification.
Need I go on about the problems comparing data this way?
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Minion
Legendary Hero
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posted June 09, 2008 09:21 PM |
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Edited by Minion at 21:26, 09 Jun 2008.
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Quote:
Quote:
I do not know the answer to this one, but sharp and blunt objects of varying kind is my educated guess.
Doesn't that category include every object? I mean, pick any object under the sun and it is probably either sharp or blunt. Hell, even bullets qualify. They're pretty sharp. Until they slam into your rib cage. At which point they become blunt. Is that what you mean by an object which is both sharp AND blunt?
LOL. You got me. Anyways sharp objects are like knives or glass, and blunt objects are like baseball bats.
I really do not know what they use to whack each other, so I made my guess as broad as possible, hehee.
Edit: Bina, you are right about statistics, but that is why it is best to compare USA with Canada for example, and not Sudan, because there is somewhat similarity between the 2 countries... But if I am horribly wrong then feel free to correct that data.
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mvassilev
Responsible
Undefeatable Hero
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posted June 09, 2008 09:29 PM |
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Quote:
Edit. I canno't understand why being a Clinton supporter is a con... Isn't Obama looking some way to draw support from the millions that supported Hillary?
Yes, this would be the smart thing to do. But Obama might want to reward those loyal to him.
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Eccentric Opinion
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Binabik
Responsible
Legendary Hero
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posted June 09, 2008 09:41 PM |
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It's not like Hillary supporters are going to vote for McCain. The issue here is voter turnout.
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OmegaDestroyer
Hero of Order
Fox or Chicken?
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posted June 09, 2008 09:44 PM |
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What we need to do is have Senator Obama and Senator McCain sing songs they both wrote and then we can vote on it. That's how you get high voter turnout in this country. 
____________
The giant has awakened
You drink my blood and drown
Wrath and raving I will not stop
You'll never take me down
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Binabik
Responsible
Legendary Hero
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posted June 09, 2008 09:47 PM |
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I think we should go back to the 21 year old vote Or better yet, make it 30.
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Consis
Honorable
Legendary Hero
Of Ruby
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posted June 10, 2008 02:58 AM |
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High Voting Age
Japan has recently lowered their voting age to 20 down from 21.
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Roses Are RedAnd So Am I
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xerox
Promising
Undefeatable Hero
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posted June 10, 2008 08:00 PM |
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Why would you want to do that? 30 is to high, 20 is also very high.
In Sweden people can vote when they are 18 but people think 18 is to high, they want people to be able to vote when they are 15, or atleast 16!
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Over himself, over his own
body and
mind, the individual is
sovereign.
- John Stuart Mill
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