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Politics & Tech

BladeVenom said:
Ron Paul would have been my choice. He has one of the best pro-tech voting records, especially when it comes to keeping the government from interfering where it doesn't belong.
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Definitely. And like the other poster said, he was one of the few presidential candidates that weren't the run-of-the-mill political slime.

And while I don't agree that politicians should have to have a science/math degree, I do think they should have to have some kind of law, anthropology, psychology, etc. instead of literally going to school for politics.
 
In my life (I'm 41 now) I've never ever even considered voting before Ron Paul came along. Watching him get so thoroughly ignored in the debates, barely even invited really, was pretty tough. All he had to do was open his mouth and the first time I heard the man talk I knew he was a rarity in the political arena: a man that speaks the truth and doesn't spew bullshit constantly.

I wish he'd been able to stick it out longer, truly. I would have registered for the first time in my life and actually gone to vote for him.

But alas, it wasn't meant to be. Hopefully he'll get out of the political game and go back to being the Dr he really is.

I'm a firm believer that people should not be allowed to make politics a 'career' - I think that's what has ruined the entire concept in all ways. The founding Fathers had the idea of being whatever they were, be it a farmer, a carpenter, etc and doing that, but answering a call to duty and going to serve in a political sense for a period of time, doing what you can do, then returning home.

These fucking lifetime bastiges that milk the jobs, I can't stand it personally. And anyone that thinks elections put people in office really needs to go to the School of Hard Knocks for a full education 'cause it never happens.

Ah, what a world this could be...
 
i can't really get behind any political figure.
And i really can't stand ron paul. He annoys me to the max. Just reading what he would do makes me sick. I would much rather have tried and true white guy then some wacko that things his magical ideas are right up US of A's alley.
I think i'm so stubborn because i realy don't fit into any party, i always tend to think some common ideal is out of place. I can't stand McCain because he looks like he would bomb anything that moves. I've been debating a move to Canada if he gets elected. I'd just be very afraid of being in america after he comes into power.
Obama strikes me of someone who talks so highly of himself and change that he is just setting himself up for being called a liar.
I if he gets elected he will have the problem of people hating him, saying how not much has changed, and how its not that different from bush. Because the public at large thinks that as soon as the new guy we should see a change in 6 months...

I'm just a very scared citizen, i think we are at an extremely pivitol time in the history of the county. And i think if John McCain gets elected the US will slip into the second great depression, but thats just my point of view.
 
I agree with W1retap that if McCain does the right thing and chooses Romney this is over. If they can get the records Barack has been trying to hide including Medical, School, Woods foundation etc then it is really going to be over. It's funny to me that McCain released 1000 pages of medical records and Barack won't release anything but a one page letter from his doctor. Anyone fighting so hard not to release information must have a reason. On the other hand if McCain does something suicidal like picking Lieberman then all bets are off.
 
If another Republican is elected, this country deserves what horrible things will continue to happen to it. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Pretty simple concept.
 
There are damn few pols at the national level that have great geek credentials. Yes they might be for Net Neutrality, but that's about it. Too many of them are still gobbling at the RIAA / MPAA trough. They have been brainwashed by the AAs attitude that everyone online is either a thief a potential thief. They listen too much to Hollywood's rhetoric about revenue and American jobs lost to piracy, while ignoring that fact that Hollywood takes jobs away from Americans every time something is made outside the US, especially Canada. What is needed is someone in Washington to stand up and say "OK you demand we crack down on piracy, then in exchange we want 90% of every film and TV program made right here in the US."
 
Dethred said:
If another Republican is elected, this country deserves what horrible things will continue to happen to it. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Pretty simple concept.
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heh, it doesn't much matter when you have a democrat running that has already proposed over $1 trillion in *new* spending and government programs, and over $1 trillion in *new* taxes.. just in the first year he's in office. That would do wonders for our stagnant economy. Beyond that, the world stage would be even a worse mess, due to his position of wanting to meet dictators and terrorist leaders without preconditions, essentially drumming up appeasement deals like his very thin resume shows. Also, calling countries "tiny and not a threat" that are developing or already have nuclear weapons.. that really shows great judgment for one aspiring to be commander-in-chief. Then if we look even further, we look into what the past 25 years of his life has been like and what type people he surrounds himself with for political expediency. You have everyone from pastors who preach anti-white anti-american hate speech, all the way to people who bombed our own political buildings. It took every tooth and nail of the media just to get him to lightly condemn these people.. it literally took months. That's what's even more frightening.
 
Dethred said:
If another Republican is elected, this country deserves what horrible things will continue to happen to it. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Pretty simple concept.
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Wait are you saying you voted for Bush not once but twice?

Heh j/k'ing :p
 
w1retap said:
heh, it doesn't much matter when you have a democrat running that has already proposed over $1 trillion in *new* spending and government programs, and over $1 trillion in *new* taxes.. just in the first year he's in office. That would do wonders for our stagnant economy. Beyond that, the world stage would be even a worse mess, due to his position of wanting to meet dictators and terrorist leaders without preconditions, essentially drumming up appeasement deals like his very thin resume shows. Also, calling countries "tiny and not a threat" that are developing or already have nuclear weapons.. that really shows great judgment for one aspiring to be commander-in-chief. Then if we look even further, we look into what the past 25 years of his life has been like and what type people he surrounds himself with for political expediency. You have everyone from pastors who preach anti-white anti-american hate speech, all the way to people who bombed our own political buildings. It took every tooth and nail of the media just to get him to lightly condemn these people.. it literally took months. That's what's even more frightening.
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Oh please lets not get started with McCain and his wonderful foreign policy of nuke everything and anyone that we have a problem with. And just incase the enemy somehow managed to live through the nuke shit-storm then lets create a new draft and send everyone in.

Yea and last I checked previous great political leaders did just what Obama has done in the past. Meet with hostile countries like China, USSR, and North Korea without preconditions and successfully deescalated rising military tensions. Of course you're fine and free to go with the nuke everything train of thought that is McCain.
 
DemonDiablo said:
Oh please lets not get started with McCain and his wonderful foreign policy of nuke everything and anyone that we have a problem with. And just incase the enemy somehow managed to live through the nuke shit-storm then lets create a new draft and send everyone in.

Yea and last I checked previous great political leaders did just what Obama has done in the past. Meet with hostile countries like China, USSR, and North Korea without preconditions and successfully deescalated rising military tensions. Of course you're fine and free to go with the nuke everything train of thought that is McCain.
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ahaha, nuke everything. Great arguement. :p

I don't like the man much either, but at least he doesn't have a one page resume, and he served and suffered for this country. Given the two viable choices for prez, I'll take McLame any day of the week.
 
w1retap said:
ahaha, nuke everything. Great arguement. :p

I don't like the man much either, but at least he doesn't have a one page resume, and he served and suffered for this country. Given the two viable choices for prez, I'll take McLame any day of the week.
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Which brings us back to choosing the lesser of two evils.
 
Martyr said:
by hard i mean physical science, math, engineering, ect. not saying liberal arts degrees are easier. (i am thinking it though)
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I think in this particular aspects i would say that history or related (cultural anthropology etc) would be valid as well. But i do agree that the current batch that are going to school to be politicians are nothing more than criminals with degrees that help them be efficient at it
 
so following the constitution makes you sick? Amazing how far we have gotten away from the initial concept of america...you know...back when it worked... so i guess the constitution isn't up the good US of A's alley... interesting... i guess by that logic the bill of rights isn't for us either.

anyway i do have to agree with you the obama and mccain are a lose lose situation.

Barr gets my vote... Not as entralled with him as I was with Paul, but he'll do the job better than tweedle dum and tweedle dumber.

Duffman247 said:
i can't really get behind any political figure.
And i really can't stand ron paul. He annoys me to the max. Just reading what he would do makes me sick. I would much rather have tried and true white guy then some wacko that things his magical ideas are right up US of A's alley.
I think i'm so stubborn because i realy don't fit into any party, i always tend to think some common ideal is out of place. I can't stand McCain because he looks like he would bomb anything that moves. I've been debating a move to Canada if he gets elected. I'd just be very afraid of being in america after he comes into power.
Obama strikes me of someone who talks so highly of himself and change that he is just setting himself up for being called a liar.
I if he gets elected he will have the problem of people hating him, saying how not much has changed, and how its not that different from bush. Because the public at large thinks that as soon as the new guy we should see a change in 6 months...

I'm just a very scared citizen, i think we are at an extremely pivitol time in the history of the county. And i think if John McCain gets elected the US will slip into the second great depression, but thats just my point of view.
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w1retap said:
heh, it doesn't much matter when you have a democrat running that has already proposed over $1 trillion in *new* spending and government programs, and over $1 trillion in *new* taxes.. just in the first year he's in office. That would do wonders for our stagnant economy. ....
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On this point I have read two articles in two excellent magazines (Business Week and The Atlantic Monthly) which showed that both economic plans would either cost the same or McCain's would be more expensive (though not by much).

Deficit spending is still a tax on the public, its just deferred.

Certainly who is responsible for racking up large deficits and running up the debt in the last 30 years is pretty clear.

As for tech issues, I don't think we can count on McCain being that knowledgable about the subject. Certainly Obama's camp knows how to use the Internets.

I think one of the biggest issues that needs to be addressed is overhauling the patent system, which is horribly broken.

Right now it is stiffling innovation, not nurturing it.

Has anyone addressed this?

S&M
 
but yeah you keep rooting for mccain. if you have missed the number of warning signs about the republicans this year, i guess you are in for a surprise
 
lol, not quite. The man was pretty far down my list of candidates, just higher than Obama.
 
As a Canadian, I don’t have much of a choice in what happens south of the boarder this year. Regardless of this, as an outsider looking in, I have a few observations to make.

John McCain scares me... Not in the same way that Jeb does, but I am frightened of that man, and I don’t even live in your country. I have the very strong feeling that his actions as your President will adversely affect my life.

Obama is not JFK, please punch the next reporter that makes that analogy. Yes, he may be charismatic. Yes, he may be an articulate speaker. But I have yet to see him truly passionate about something (read: piss a whole bunch of people off and not care about it because it’s right.)

Speaking of “towing the middle”, both of the candidates are guilty of it, but that’s just the result of years of your voters demanding it... “Oh dear no, he’s way too far to the right for me.” Face it, these guys are trying to be everything to everybody taking as few stands on anything that really matters if they can help it. Those things they DO take a stand on have been tested and guarantee them the largest returns on votes possible.

People keep on bringing their history up. Do you really think that matters at ALL given how many advisors/handlers they have running their lives?


Meh, I'm done.
 
If you didn't realize already, McLame is a lib in re-pube-ican clothing. Don't let his talk fool you. He's trying to reel in the conservative vote when he's anything but that.
 
w1retap said:
lol, no, that's because he never wants to take a position on anything.. his unequivocal voting record of "present" shows just that. Nobody really knows where he stands, even his supporters. It's rather scary when you think about it.
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Yeah, I know. That's my biggest complaint about Obama. He tries to please everyone and not commit to anything.

I've debated this with my friend and he made a good point. There's a lot of issues in office that come up as a surprise. Take for example Hurricane Katrina. Nobody knew what Bush's response would be beforehand, right? Well, we're really voting for someone that you feel can make the right call with the information he is given when the times comes. (we've seen how long it takes Bush, who's rooted in rhetoric, to make a decision that he doesn't have bias towards) It could possibly be a good thing that he doesn't commit to a side. It signals an openess to hear both sides and make an educated decision.

Think of a Mac fanboy. A lot of their supporting arguements are often irrational. They find a way to try and validate their opinion no matter how ridiculous it may be. Let's say they suddenly got put in charge of RIM, would they just shut down the whole company? You'd probably want someone who's a little more neutral running it, right? Someone who'll make educated decisions based on facts not bias.
 
w1retap said:
If you didn't realize already, McLame is a lib in re-pube-ican clothing. Don't let his talk fool you. He's trying to reel in the conservative vote when he's anything but that.
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looking at this figure, the past 4 years mccain has stepped in line with the repubs and the bush administration. rank and file

McCain-ACU-ADA-scores.gif

McCain's congressional voting scores, from the American Conservative Union (pink line; 100 is most conservative) and Americans for Democratic Action (blue line; 100 is most liberal)
 
Pull all the wiki links you want.. it doesn't change his stances of aligning himself with key libs in the congress such as Feinstein, Liberman, Feingold, etc. When you co-sponsor legislation with folks like those, it's alienating yourself enough from the conservative base where you don't deserve a title of "conservative". Flip on the conservative talk radio once in a while to see what is going on, you might find it interesting. They don't like McLame one bit.
 
w1retap said:
ahaha, nuke everything. Great arguement. :p

I don't like the man much either, but at least he doesn't have a one page resume, and he served and suffered for this country. Given the two viable choices for prez, I'll take McLame any day of the week.
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Trust me, serving your country doesn't mean that you're a great leader. ...at best, it means that you're stubborn/tough and won't change your mind no matter what. Some of the guys that I've served with wouldn't be fit to run a sandwhich shop, let alone this country.

I spent 3 years in the Army (82nd Airborne) and the closest thing to compare the military to is high school. You get an allowance from your guardian, you live in their house (on post), you get grounded (restriction to barracks) and your allowance taken away (half pay for ____ months) when you're bad. Every morning you wake up and do what they say or "if you don't like it, get out of my house". You do what they want without question or you get punished. Evenutally, when you make it up to older brother/babysitter status...there's no democracy in decision making. You get told what to do and you pass that on to the next guy.

Most of the time military guys have very little people skills. That's why they say it takes at least 10 years to get de-militarized. You go from a fight or flight mentality to having to make real decisions and actually listen to what people have to say. That's another reason why I think that military divorce rate is so high (I saw all of my friends get left by their wives). The general that said McCain's service didn't make him a great Presidential candidate was dead-on. Actually, the guy knew better than most people.
 
PynkFloydd said:
Trust me, serving your country doesn't mean that you're a great leader. ...at best, it means that you're stubborn/tough and won't change your mind no matter what. Some of the guys that I've served with wouldn't be fit to run a sandwhich shop, let alone this country.

I spent 3 years in the Army (82nd Airborne) and the closest thing to compare the military to is high school. You get an allowance from your guardian, you live in their house (on post), you get grounded (restriction to barracks) and your allowance taken away (half pay for ____ months) when you're bad. Every morning you wake up and do what they say or "if you don't like it, get out of my house". You do what they want without question or you get punished. Evenutally, when you make it up to older brother/babysitter status...there's no democracy in decision making. You get told what to do and you pass that on to the next guy.

Most of the time military guys have very little people skills. That's why they say it takes at least 10 years to get de-militarized. You go from a fight or flight mentality to having to make real decisions and actually listen to what people have to say. That's another reason why I think that military divorce rate is so high (I saw all of my friends get left by their wives). The general that said McCain's service didn't make him a great Presidential candidate was dead-on. Actually, the guy knew better than most people.
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yes, I agree with what you're saying there. Except, I was saying I have a choice between two people, one of which who will become the next president. Personally, I’d rather have someone who served this country and suffered for it, and his family has a long track record of serving the country valiantly. Obama on the other hand seems to surround himself with people of just the opposite nature, and many of his actions and words back that up.
 
I wouldn't be too worried... it's just the product of a general naivete regarding technology that almost all old farts tend to posses. Everything has to be explained to them, and often the only ones who are there to explain are lobbyists.

If you really care how your congress person votes on tech bills, you should contact them for an appointment (easier than it would seem, actually), or at least just sit down and write a letter. If you guys want to complain about the RIAA or DMCA, the least you could do is take some of the responsibility yourself -- it's just as much your duty as an american citizen, as it's their duty as congressmen.

In the end, I don't really see a valid point anywhere. The US privacy laws aren't all that bad compared to some other countries, and you can't even bring up anti-piracy laws without realizing if you pirate, then you really are breaking the law (whether or not you feel entitled to all the movies and music you can pack on your hdd's, hehe).
 
w1retap said:
yes, I agree with what you're saying there. Except, I was saying I have a choice between two people, one of which who will become the next president. Personally, I’d rather have someone who served this country and suffered for it, and his family has a long track record of serving the country valiantly. Obama on the other hand seems to surround himself with people of just the opposite nature, and many of his actions and words back that up.
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You're definitely allowed to have your own opinion based on that. Unfortunately, I see a lot of the young guys in the military being told a lot of the opposite. ...almost harassed into voting Republican. It's fair to vote whatever which way you please when you have all of the facts available. From my experience, a good number of people don't.
 
And what the heck does Obama or McCain have to do with this discussion anyways? There's already plenty of flame posts to voice your generalities and ambiguities...

In the meantime, how about we have a relevant discussion, such as the voting records and stances of certain political figures on tech issues, and how it affects the industry in the end? Otherwise we're all just arguing our own vain opinions, without any real discussion going on.
 
noc_81 said:
If you really care how your congress person votes on tech bills, you should contact them for an appointment (easier than it would seem, actually), or at least just sit down and write a letter. If you guys want to complain about the RIAA or DMCA, the least you could do is take some of the responsibility yourself -- it's just as much your duty as an american citizen, as it's their duty as congressmen.
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That's a good point. I've contacted my IL Senators (Obama being one of them) and it does make a difference if enough people contact them. They even have a face-to-face meeting set up once a month with coffee and doughnuts where you can openly discuss issues that are important to you. I've never been able to travel to Washington to take part but, if something was that important to me...it's there. Senators meet with their constituents, it's their job.
 
PynkFloydd said:
You're definitely allowed to have your own opinion based on that. Unfortunately, I see a lot of the young guys in the military being told a lot of the opposite. ...almost harassed into voting Republican. It's fair to vote whatever which way you please when you have all of the facts available. From my experience, a good number of people don't.
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Nobody can harass anyone into voting a certain way. It's only your personal decision in the ballot box. This isn't Saddam's Iraq here in the US.
 
jpcahn said:
I agree with W1retap that if McCain does the right thing and chooses Romney this is over. If they can get the records Barack has been trying to hide including Medical, School, Woods foundation etc then it is really going to be over. It's funny to me that McCain released 1000 pages of medical records and Barack won't release anything but a one page letter from his doctor. Anyone fighting so hard not to release information must have a reason. On the other hand if McCain does something suicidal like picking Lieberman then all bets are off.
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Just had to comment, as this is just so hilarious...

I'm not too younger than Obama, and my medical history could be summed up in less than half a paragraph. On the other hand... a 71 yr old man like McCain..? He could release 10,000 pages, and I'm sure it wouldn't cover everything. It lists everything from combat injuries, to prostrate checks, to the glandular disorders...

You know what, I bet Obama's hiding that he's a muslim.. :eek:
Then again, would, or should, that even be an issue..?
 
noc_81 said:
And what the heck does Obama or McCain have to do with this discussion anyways? There's already plenty of flame posts to voice your generalities and ambiguities...
QUOTE]
This topic is about the upcoming presidential election coupled with technology stances. We are free to discuss that in this topic, and I haven't seen anyone get uncivil yet. Actually, it's quite a good discussion.
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Well, it's one thing to have a discussion... it's entirely another to have 20 strongly opinionated people ranting back and forth without any real comprehension of what a discussion is.

I would be greatly interested in an actual back-n-forth about the tech aspect, but an open ending flame war isn't going to offer any real info, let alone change anybody's mind about anything.
 
heh, don't make it one then. We all doing just fine on having an open discussion about this topic.
 
Well that quote got all kinds of rumble f'ed but whatever. On the part about soldiers being "forced" into voting Republican... what a bunch of crock. If anything its the other way around. Obama has a better voting record, when he actually does vote anyways, on military issues than McCain. Also most service men and women dont support a draft, a person who volunteers to be a soldier is far more effective than the smuck who got tossed into the mix without his willingness to want to be there, while McCain has it on his own website that he isnt afraid to reinitiate the draft.

But if you must discuss the "topic" then I'll say this. If you're worried about Obama on tech issues than you better steer far and away from McCain. Prior and during the candidate primaries the guy was bragging about his lack of tech savvyness. I mean the guy was sitting there smiling and laughing about his ignorance with tech and computers. Up until recently he didnt even know how to use email, still doesnt, he knows how to read it but not how to respond, and that says a whole lot.

All of that said and put a side, McCains lack of knowing how to use the computer is the least of my concerns in him or any candidates electability. I dont even know if tech issues makes number 10 on my list of concerns in the upcoming election. They could take away the internet in America but so long as they can manage to fix even 5 of the top 10 issues in this country, then ill compromise for it.

Of course i'd probably move to Canada until they brought the internet back but thats for another discussion.
 
w1retap said:
Nobody can harass anyone into voting a certain way. It's only your personal decision in the ballot box. This isn't Saddam's Iraq here in the US.
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Ha ha ha! You've never been in the army, huh? You can vote for anybody that you want but, they can still surprise you with an extra special PT session for <insert made up reason here>. They can't harass you at the ballot box but, if you're open about supporting a Democrat...they'll try and "educate" you.

I really didn't know many guys that voted while I was in. It's pretty much viewed as a hassle (remember, you're away from your home state and it's not like you go down to the local polling booth) that's not going to change anything. Plus, when you're 17-21, you just shut up and do what you're told...unless you're asking for "special attention".

You're also forced to "donate" to a few organizations once a year. It might be different in the rest of the army but, that's the way that they did things in the infantry.
 
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