Not exactly. We all bear responsibility for what we post.

Just curious- does anyone here actually have a teen daughter who has gotten pregnant? I did (she was 17), and thank goodness for the school that catered to pregnant girls. It took her an extra year, but she stayed in school, got her diploma, and did the graduation ceremony, all as a single mother. So it can be done, and now she has a job, and makes enough money to support herself, and her 10 yr old son. Not the path I would have chosen for her, but she is surviving.

I take full responsibility for posting it, of course. But I wanted to get your (collective) take on it. You guys are infinitely better at getting to the bottom of some things and most times I return your refutations to the original sender.

Classicman, your post immediately made me realize that I need to take all the stuff being said about Palin with a grain of salt.

Thats no fun though...:headshake!

From taking responsibility for what I post to how to decide whether to post at all. When I'm uncertain about posting something, I find these questions helpful:

1 -- Is it true?

2 -- Is it kind?

3 -- Is it helpful or necessary?

If the answer is yes in all cases, then I feel confident that it is a worthwhile post. The more no answers I get, the less likely it is that I'm making a worthwhile post.

1 - unknown - main reason for posting
2 - typically irrelevant - whether it is mean or harmful more likely..
3 - yes/possibly - another reason I posted it

Here is another link I found over lunch - from the New York Post - Have at it

The “Earmarks” Issue


It totaled up at 900 million or so.
[bold mine]

McCain had criticized earmarks from Palin

Classic! stop repeating those facts. It confuses people! :lol2:

HOMELESS 'DRIVEN' TO VOTE OBAMA

Well isn't that last bit special?

Oh my Gawd!

People voting. Obeying the law. Encouraging civic responsibility and involvement. WTF?

Don't the republicans know any bums or crooks? Or are they just unwilling to soil the upholstery?

Seriously, what a non-news story. The implication that there's some illegal activity here... where's your smoking gun?

Yes, the republicans have protested. They took their case to the Ohio Supreme Court and lost. This sounds like sour grapes to me.

Read for yourself.

Moderates hate when homeless people vote?

Even insane people are allowed to vote. Unless you are currently in prison, you are allowed to vote.
Now. This isn't about me or how many times I voted. It's about equality!

:biglaugha

Good one Shawnee.

Note the thread it is posted in and that I neither condoned nor condemned it. I just posted it as food for fodder. Way to jump all over something that didn't exist. Boy you all seem a little overtly sensitive lately.

If "food for fodder" is not intended to mean "fodder for discussion", maybe you should define it. You seem to be taking the response to your post a bit "overtly" sensitively.

That's "jumping all over something?"

Really, and I mean this with all due respect, it seems you are the sensitive one these days. No one can joke with you, you cry "moderate" over and over then consistently use the far right view to, seemingly, get something over on the liberals, then when someone calls you on it you say you're being attacked, the person is being unfair, or you claim moderation again.

Seriously, Classic, what's up? :trulyconcerned:

Seriously? Shawnee? Are you - I really hate to say this, but I honestly don't believe you. OK? - Put me back on ignore like you said I was and lets just leave it at that - Mmmkay?

If you were "truly concerned" you would have responded to one of the several PM's I sent you.

Well then HM, maybe someone should be discussing that instead of the poster. You think?

I have not received any PMs from you, because I DID have you on ignore, because your response to me when I challenged you was, as is typical for you these days, "put me on ignore if you don't like it."

So, I did. I don't believe ignored people's PMs come through, but I took you off yesterday and I've received none since.

You're not yourself these days. I understand, lord knows I've been out there more than once. But it's not just me you're mad at, that I can see clearly.

Classicman, Liberty University, which is a private christian university located in the battleground state of Virginia, has about 11,000 students. The overwhelming majority of them are conservative Republicans. Many of them are from out of state. The university administration has been actively working to get those out of state and unregistered students to register to vote locally in Virginia because most of them come from home states that are solidly going for one candidate or the other. Their vote counts more in Virginia.

Anyway, not only is Liberty University registering all these new voters, it is also CLOSING THE SCHOOL on election day to give everyone the chance to vote, and it is driving the students to the polls.

Jerry Fallwell, the founder of the university, stated "Liberty University's 11,000 students and 4,000 faculty and staff could cause Liberty to become known as the university that elected a president!"

As a moderate, how do you feel about this?

BigV did, in the post immediately following yours. Brianna did, two posts later. And two posts after that, you started complaining.

And, as to the substance of your complaint, posting an article without comment is implicit support of that article. Posting an article and following it with a snide comment in support of that article moves a bit closer to explicit support of the article. But if you feel that your intentions were misinterpreted and you are hoping for more discussion of the substance of the article, you could offer your take on it.

As for me, I'll second BigV and Brianna.

What Obama's team is doing is standard operating procedure. It's called "walking-around money". You roust people off the street. You give em ten bucks and point them where to go and who to vote for.

Due to happen in Philly, too

It's just the machine operating like the machine operates.

So are the tricks used by the GOP to get voters of the rolls.

While I don't doubt that that happens frequently, the article seems to be about paying the campaign people (who would otherwise be volunteers). Maybe some of them convert themselves back to "volunteers" by passng it out to potential voters...

Hmm seems like a loaded question to me. Then again I've already been accused of being overtly sensitive once today. Maybe I am.

I find this a very different set of circumstances - everyone knows what this school and Falwell are about. I cannot really see the comparison between this and picking people out of homeless shelters and off the streets. Sorry.

Its still an effort at stacking the deck, isn't it?

Have you lot considered compulsory voting?

Down Under, you must turn up, get your name crossed off the roll, take your ballot paper into a booth, wave a pencil over it, and put it in the ballot box. (EDIT: There is no machine counting - poll workers do that by hand - but we almost always know who the new government is within 6 hours of the poll closing. There is a paper trail for a thorough count and any recounts that may be called for.)

It is also illegal to deliberately cast an informal vote, but it is a gazillion times more illegal to try to find out how someone else voted. So in effect, you have to turn up, but you don't really have to vote for any particular candidate.

Having worked at elections, a few people ( <5%) do this.

I like this because without compulsory voting, moderates are less likely to vote, while extremists are more likely, and extremist whackos (OMG, where did I get that phrase?) are over-represented in the final result.

The fine for not voting is $20. :lol:

Might work if we only used the population of Texas, sort of like you all down there. Not in this country. People love to compare our health situation to Canada, France, and esp the UK. Well you know what, combine all those populations and you still don't come close to the number of people in the US. You can't take a micro economy and compare the workable solutions to a macro economy. On top of the South Park would make lots of fun of you... :D

But they could use all those $20 fines to pay for the bail out.

For a taste of some real uninformed dialog, and I use the term loosely, click here.

Most of the bloggers spelled Ayers name incorrectly too. Oh well I guess everyone gets to vote no matter how ill informed they are.

Barack Obama (D)
Expenditures Breakdown

I cannot quote the site, so I'm just providing the link.
It is pretty interesting to see where the money goes.

Polling $21,500,862
Travel $39,345,592
~~~~~~~~~~~~~

John McCain (R)
Expenditures Breakdown


Travel $19,812,518
Loan Payments $8,695,028

Unfortunately.... rag on me all you want but I think a short quiz at the polls before you cast your vote should be required. So you know, people at least know where Iraq is, etc. before helping to decide who is the next prez.

I was not ragging on you Bullitt - that was more directed at the likes of ACORN and its endless subsidiaries and whatnot. Pulling people off the street and outta shelters to vote.

People living on the street or in shelters will most likely be served better under Obama than under McCain. Why shouldn't they vote for the candidate who serves their interest more? Seriously, why do you have a problem with them voting? Do you have to be rich to vote? wtf?

No, monetary worth should have no bearing on ones desire or ability to vote. Its all part of being an American. I just prefer that those who actually want to and are motivated enough to vote do so instead of those who are pulled out of a trash can or whatever by some group whether it be R's or D's.

Given that a lot of these people have mental illnesses you have to wonder if they are promising them a hot meal for a vote for Obama. How could you be sure they are not doing something like that? It would be totally illegal to buy the vote. Do you think they may be telling them to vote for McCain?

I think both sides do this shit. I don't think either one should. Thats my point and I'm sticking to it.

So you are changing your position from post #87 of this thread where you saw no problem with the Republicans doing it, and only complained when the Democrats did it?

can we seriously get this election over with so the cellar can return to normal?

Because the election has brought out people's observational skills? :rolleyes:

Lookout, I was going to jokingly say "Fuck you and the horse you rode in on!" but I can't bring myself to do it.

no S123, because election years in the cellar get annoying because otherwise reasonable people become so ridiculously caught up in the partisan spin that their ability to approach the issues in a logical, nonbiased manner becomes increasingly stunted up until about 7 PM on election night at which point one side starts the "yippee!" taunts while the other side starts checking real estate and job leads in other countries because the sky is falling.

It's like clockwork.

I know, but glatt did have a good point. Just sayin'

Besides, I know I'm never reasonable, and this is just one more venue for my unreasonableness. :)

All kidding aside (is that an allowed colloquialism?) I agree with you: I can't wait for the election to be over either. I see myself getting caught up in it, angry, argumentative, a real brat sometimes.

On one foot I love to see people get fired up over something so important. On the other foot I hate to see the feelings it causes. Some of us are just so passionate about it. That is good, and bad.

No.

I love when people get fired up. Unfortunately we have passed the point in US history where US citizens will get fired up about the problem (the politicians) because they are too busy getting fired up over the symptoms (the hot buttons politicians push to gain power).

Obama's a douche who will not better your life in any meaningful way. If elected and alive he will stand before you in less than four years telling you to re-elect him so he can solve all our problems.

McCain's a douche who will not better your life in any meaningful way. If elected and alive he will stand before you in less than four years telling you to re-elect him so he can solve all our problems.

I'm not a big Palin fan, but I will say this - at least she hasn't made a career in the beltway. I would like the D's to find people like that. I would like the R's to find people like that. I would like to see the government of this country be comprised of individuals who actually do know what life is like in the world that you and I live in.

I'm not holding my breath.


****
In my fantasy world Tom Clancy's scenario for a plane crashing in DC and taking out the president, most of congress, most of the senate, most of the supreme court is a possibility. Real people gain the opportunity to take up the empty seats and work towards the good of the nation rather than the good of the lobbyists. like I said, it's my fantasy world.

Well NOW you're just pissing me off, you $#@%^&%*.

Just messin'

You aren't being very clear.

Do you think it's fine for Republicans, like those at Liberty University, to sign up more Republicans to vote?

Pulled out of a trash can? Are you serious?

People who live on the street and in shelters have just as much right to vote as anyone else. Not every homeless person is mentally ill, and even then, there are varying degrees. Seriously, there are not a bunch of completely mentally incapacitated people living in "trash cans."

Where am I unclear? In the first I disagreed that the two scenarios you put forth were comparable. In my latter post I simply reaffirmed my earlier position.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you: Classicman Palin!

Do you think it's fine for Republicans, like those at Liberty University, to sign up more Republicans to vote?

yes, no - you see there are two questions there. Although, and I'll say it again to be clear, I do not view registering college students the same as registering people living on the street or in a shelter.

I'm not sure what "yes, no" means.

Are you saying that it's OK for Republicans, like those at Liberty University, to be signing up more Republicans to vote, but it's not OK for Democrats, like ACORN, to be signing up more Democrats, like the homeless people, to vote?

Yes

no*

* These are predominantly votes that are garnered to simply skew elections on a one time basis. The college students are much more likely to be voting in future elections and will be more educated and informed voters.
My personal opinion is that everyone should be registered to vote while in High School which would eliminate virtually any need for these organizations, both D & R equivalents to exist.

Many states have a "Motor Voter" law, which connects registration to renewing your driver's license. Everyone who drives is basically automatically registered unless they take the time to opt out for some reason.

Good idea, don't let those pedestrians, and bicycle riding hippies, vote. :haha:

Horshit.