Nov 2023 Mod notice:
There may be other, more specific, threads about some aspects of US politics, but this one tends to act as a hub for all sorts of related news and information, so it's usually one of the busiest OTC threads.
If you're new to OTC, it's worth reading the Introduction to On-Topic Conversations
and the On-Topic Conversations debate guidelines
before posting here.
Rumor-based, fear-mongering and/or inflammatory statements that damage the quality of the thread will be thumped. Off-topic posts will also be thumped. Repeat offenders may be suspended.
If time spent moderating this thread remains a distraction from moderation of the wiki itself, the thread will need to be locked. We want to avoid that, so please follow the forum rules
when posting here.
In line with the general forum rules, 'gravedancing' is prohibited here. If you're celebrating someone's death or hoping that they die, your post will get thumped. This rule applies regardless of what the person you're discussing has said or done.
Edited by Mrph1 on Nov 30th 2023 at 11:03:59 AM
Absolutely so. I sometimes wonder why, apart from difficulties in becoming informed and taking time out of trying to eke out a living, people don't seem to register the just-as-essential importance of elections other than Presidential ones. Maybe civics courses over-emphasize the sway of Presidents? Legislative sausagemaking isn't exactly fun or sexy study material, unlike the Great Man Theory.
Or perhaps we have elections too often, and that results in voter burnout in and of itself? I haven't seen much of anything in the way of scientific study on that train of thought.
edited 23rd Mar '16 11:14:27 PM by darksidevoid
GM: AGOG S4 & F/WC RP; Co-GM: TABA, SOTR, UUA RP; Sub-GM: TTS RP. I have brought peace, freedom, justice, and security to my new Empire.If a Republican wins, no. Life is gonna become very unsafe for anyone who isn't white and people are gonna have an incredibly difficult time entering the country.
You also have to remember that they don't ever just mean immigrants who entered without paperwork. That's just a dogwhistle.
edited 24th Mar '16 3:25:04 AM by LeGarcon
Oh really when?"Or perhaps we have elections too often, and that results in voter burnout in and of itself? I haven't seen much of anything in the way of scientific study on that train of thought."
An election every two years for the House Reps isn't really that onerous. We could do away with elections entirely, if it's too much trouble for our pea-brained electorate, but I've been told that's a bad thing. The truth is probably that people can't really bring themselves to care about legislative politics. The U.S. Congress acts so dry and procedural while in session that the average voter can't get excited about someone who says, "Vote for me so I can do that soporific bullshit you see on C-SPAN." Presidential elections, and to a lesser degree, Senate elections, are political theater more interesting for the controversy they generate, so naturally, more people vote in those.
"For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die."It's not an issue for the Supreme Court. If the law means what i think it means, it's the state of North Carolina banning municipalities from passing protections in excess of state law (a favored GOP tactic when red states have blue urban areas that get uppity about civil rights or treating workers well).
The way around that is to simply change the existing federal statutes on worker discrimination to include LGBT, which is what the Obama administration has been doing through powers of administrative interpretation. It'll just take a while for that to stick at all levels.
@Transgender Bathrooms: I find the "religious freedom" argument especially dubious that it's being used this way as this issue has zilch to do with religion. However, I think with bathrooms the thing is that they aren't actually about gender so much as biological sex. The purpose of such areas is to keep people with similar genitalia together, so the proper response is probably to change the labels from "Men and Women" to "Male and Female".
As for the sexual predator thing, I would look at it from the other way around-even though very few transgendered people are predators, a predator might pretend to be a transgendered person. Or another way to look at it, a transgendered person might be at extra risk from being attacked by sexual predators. This threat might not be that likely, but it's probably at least worth considering.
The rest of the bill is likely stupid, though.
edited 24th Mar '16 7:55:11 AM by Protagonist506
Leviticus 19:34

Reason #10,763 why people who only pay attention to presidential elections are completely missing the point in American politics, why the Democrats desperately need a 50 state strategy with functional local infrastructure in each state, and why the truly most important elections come in census years.
| Wandering, but not lost. | If people bring so much courage to this world...◊ |