Morpheus

[quote name='Nerdsy'][color=deeppink]That's not a problem, that's exactly the point: finding which Democratic candidate is going to recieve more votes. The one with with the most votes in a contested state is considered the one most capable of beating the opponent.[/color][/QUOTE] The problem is that there is an assumption that supporters of one candidate will shift to mccain from the other, which really isn't likely, especially since most primaries are closed.

[quote name='Shy'][size=1]The Clinton argument is that Hillary's main voting block (white middle-class voters) are probably going to be the ones who will decide the general election. Whereas Obama has won more overall votes, he has done so in states that are [i]already[/i] guaranteed Democratic states. Hillary's wins are in contested states that could very well decide the election -- this is a key difference here.[/size][/QUOTE] The problem with saying that Hillary wins swing states is that she's winning them against Obama, not Mccain. If we go down this road at all, which we really shouldn't, it's worth pointing out that Obama won Missouri, a state that has sided with the victorious candidate in 25 of the last 26 general elections.

1. N/A 2. Because they need some kind of purpose in their lives and can't accept that humans don't know anything about how we were created. 3. Science can be compatible with religion, and yes I do believe in evolution. There have been hundreds of instances of survival of the fittest in modern times. 4. I don't know about most compelling, but I've come to accept this statement: "I don't know. I'll never know while I'm alive. No use wasting time pondering the subject." 5. I think it can occur to an extent, but by definition faith goes that step beyond reason. 6. N/A

[quote name='Sabrina'][FONT="Tahoma"]Since when did people form an opinion and ignore what's being said by others? Lets do away with the media! Opinions aren't needed! *gasp* Anyone thinking that other opinions don't factor in must not be able to actually think for themselves, because taking it into account and deciding if it should matter or not is part of getting to the core of what someone is about. Since when did forming an opinion require support? You make no sense, opinions are just that opinions and not fact and therefore do not require support when they are not being presented as facts. It does make you someone who is friends with conservatives... and anyone who doesn't know you personally is going to look at those you associate with to form an initial impression as to what you [I]might[/I] be like. You're arguing semantics instead of the sentiment behind what the post was saying, saying the term doesn't equal a solid opinion in that direction. No, it's one's right to not associate with someone, whatever the reason may be. No, you're nitpicking and arguing under the guise of claiming that you're debating, commonly known as [I]trolling[/I] I believe. No they don't have to come up with a [I]better[/I] reason. I or anyone could chose to not vote for someone because of hair color. [I]Seriously. [/I] [/FONT][/QUOTE] 1. I never said that he ignored him. People are going off of the assumption that Obama believes what wright says when every other bit of evidence points to the contrary. 2. Again, assumptions that he agrees with him. 3. Opinions don't require support. Intelligent people support their opinions with facts. A baseless opinion isn't something to be proud of. 4. And then, with my entire life open to media scrutiny, they'd readjust their opinion to how I truly am. 5. it's pretty pointless to argue a point and then end it with "That other guy won't even talk about me!" Which obama does. 6. I didn't say it wasn't their right, I was just commenting on the immaturity present in someone that only associates with people they agree with and shuns others. 7. Bringing up legitimate fallacies in statements is not trolling. 8. I'm saying in the context of this debate, having a baseless opinion isn't going to get you anywhere. By all means have these opinions, but don't expect them to hold up to any form of scrutiny.

[quote name='Godot']saying "I think the republicans are right and thats my view", is quite a bit different than saying "GOD DAMN AMERICA!, ITS IN THE BIBLE...!", i agree that it would be childish to disassociate yourself from someone because of certain opinions like "i think government should be reduced and that we should have the individual do more", however when people say things like GOD DAMN AMERICA! ITS IN THE BIBLE! its different what would you do if you went to a church like that? would you stay even after hearing retoric like that? please tell me if you answer is that you would leave, well why? i think your answer will explain why so many people are concerned over obama's association with wright[/QUOTE] No I would not leave, because I can see where he's coming from and I respect his opinion. I could vehemently disagree with what he is saying, but I'd see no reason to not go if the man was my friend and I enjoyed hearing him speak. You're really going to have to come up with something better than "This guy he is friends with said something I don't like." My first question to someone that said some of the things that Wright has said would be "Could you explain these quotes to me?", not completely shun the man for having opinions.

[quote name='Raiha'][COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"][B]Why should he? Come to think of it, could he possibly say anything about the middle class without sounding disingenuous? [/B] For starters, his pastor has apparently thumped into his brain the fact that "Middle Class "ness"" is supposed to be avoided. Which makes sense considering the Reverend Wright jumped from wherever the hell he lived in to a 10,000 square foot house in a private white neighborhood.[/FONT][/COLOR][/QUOTE] So we have a paradox. What do you want from him, to [I]imply[/I] that there is a middle class but not actually say it? [quote name='Raiha'][COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]But anyway, we should probably look into the fact that you're just picking an argument here for no good reason.[/FONT][/COLOR][/QUOTE] People debate in a politics thread. This isn't a new thing.

[quote name='Godot']im saying that it makes him very suspect. Also are you saying that it doesnt matter who obama, or anyone for that matter associates with. O yeah my best friend is a crazy terrorist (im not talking about wright completely) we are awfully chummy, but I love america. Doesnt something seem wrong to you there?. Hey some of my friends has different opinions to, i have my share of liberal friends its fun debating them. But that is completely different from someone who says and I quote "God Damn America, its in the bible...". why do you think opra left the church ill tell you why its because wright crossed the boundries of [U]difference in opinion but we can still be friends, to- God damn america its in the bible,etc-[/U] having a friend that has disagreements with you (even the disagreements between conservative and liberal) is far different that having a friend that says God damn america blah blah blah. im glad to be in a country where we can have opinions and arguments, those who made this country had plenty of arguments and disagreements but they still loved this country and would disassociate themselfs from someone who said god damn america. thats the difference.[/QUOTE] Disassociating yourself from an individual just because you don't have the same political opinions or that person makes statements that you don't agree with is rather childish.

[quote name='Drizzt Do'urden'][I] Please don't hate me for expressing my views [/I] Sorry I can't delete very much at a time with this cheap tv computer. But this portion came from Godot. Its sort've sad when you feel that way, havingto be afraid of being belittled for your views. And specifically to the personwho called my first post a "stupidly low blow". I may have choosen the easy way out in my initial comment. But you ^&*% sure better belive its how the white working class feels. That being said, that brings up another good point about the particular democratic candiates....WHO I ask you WHOhas had anything good to say about the middle class? I'm going to go with....John Mcain? Only candidate to acknowledge anyone other than just the upper and lower classes.[/QUOTE] Not trying to hate, but would Obama saying "Middle Class Americans" somewhere in a speech make your vote a deadlock?

[quote name='Godot']Now I know that your friends dont completely tell a person who you are but dont you think it tells you a little bit, look at obama's wife and her view, dont you see those kind of ideas and those of wrights coming together a little bit?(atleast its very suspect)[/QUOTE] No. No. A million times NO. I have many conservative friends, does that make me conservative in the slightest? Of course not I Have a feeling that I won't see Jeremiah Wright on the ballot in November. Nor will I see Michele Obama. I will see Barack Obama. The vote is for him. Basing it on who he associates with is completely pointless. Unless there is some proof that he really is a simple minded idiot that takes all of the opinions of his friends I see no point in even considering that he might hear wrights sermons and all of a sudden believe everything he hears.

[quote name='Raiha'][COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]I'm going to not vote for him because I think he would be bad for America. Oh yeah, and I think he's a Marxist.[/FONT][/COLOR][/QUOTE] Any support for this? Especially the last part.

[quote name='Raiha'][COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]I'll be voting for McCain because I appear to cling to guns and religions even though I myself am also only [i]half white[/i]. And the image of Obama lecturing the U.S. on race after the Reverend J. Wright fiasco isn't really the image of the bold leader I like. [/FONT][/COLOR][/QUOTE] You mean he knows this guy that has strong opinions, and somehow that reflects on [I]him[/I]? Anyone basing their vote on anything Reverend Wright has said must not be able to actually think for themselves, because that is what they would be assuming about obama.

Maybe it's just my school, but people from around here tend to go to state schools. Maybe it's our isolation (closest top private school is Vandy. 2 hours.), but the seniors with 4.0s and 30+ ACTs are all going to Kentucky, Louisville, or (me) Western Kentucky.

[quote name='Rachmaninoff']You think that's bad, for those working in the food industry, actual waiters and waitresses, an employer can consider tips as a part of their employees wages. Which means they can legally get away with only paying them $2.13 an hour in direct wages. So no tips means they get paid just about nothing since that's often a huge part of their actual wage. So I'm sure you can imagine just how unpopular someone who doesn't tip is. So unless the service is absolutely dismal, I always leave a 15% tip when I go out to eat. Unless there are more than eight of us since a lot of places at that point automatically add 15% to the bill. Similar to that service charge you're talking about I imagine.[/QUOTE] If the waiter/waitress doesn't pull minimum wage, their wages are supplemented to that level. Rarely happens. Also, that 15% gratuity has been declared illegal in at least one state, and if you don't pay it the restaurant can't really do anything about it as it is not an item that you bought from them. I'm not a huge tipper, but considering that I rarely spend a large amount of money at an eatery, 15% seems about right for what I leave.

Nintendo already did GBA Video, and there just wasn't enough support for the format.

The tournament is well under way, and the final 16 have proven themselves. Who do you think will win, and why? I have Memphis winning in my bracket, but I'd love to see Western Kentucky go deep. It's where I'm headed next year and Kentucky's Mr. Basketball, a former standout at my high school, is on the team. So I'm a bit biased. 1. North Carolina 4. Washington State 3. Louisville 2. Tennessee 1. Kansas 12. Villanova 3. Wisconsin 10. Davidson 1. Memphis 5. Michigan State 3. Standford 2. Texas 1. UCLA 12. Western Kentucky 3. Xavier 7. West Virginia

I've never been pulled over, but there are many instances where I probably should have been. Luckily cops are few and far between here. And it really doesn't matter how much of a hurry you are in, it's 3 seconds that might save you money and/or your life.

[quote name='Matt']Between Obama and Clinton, I am somewhat drawn. I support Clinton %100 on her Universal Healthcare. Britain, Canada, French, the Netherlands, and even Cuba - they all have universal healthcare. France's cost comes to around 120 dollars a month. And you get free hospital treatment. Got cancer? No cost for you...except for the healthcare tax. No matter what you have, you pay only 120 dollars a month.[/QUOTE] The problem is that there are people that don't have that much to spare every month. Also, it would cost much more here because of geography.

I'd really like to stop hearing about this. There are more important things going on.

[quote name='Stuart'][CENTER][IMG]http://img88.imageshack.us/img88/3149/votexa1.png[/IMG][/CENTER][/QUOTE] That may be the least effective political advertisement I've ever seen.

[quote name='Allamorph'][FONT=Arial]I think it's safe to say that the U.S. is the world's [I]biggest name[/I], but that's about as far as I'd go. We have clout, and a good deal of that; and we have our status as a debtor nation; but we're getting shaky as far as I see things.[/FONT][/QUOTE] I don't think there's any doubt that the US is, economically and militarily, the most powerful nation that the world has ever known.

[quote name='Japan_86'][SIZE="1"]I am very concerned about this election. As far as I'm concerned, Obama doesn't even care about our country. I have several friends in the Army and even those that were stationed in Iraq. They all agree on one thing. Pulling out of middle east would be disasterous. When I was listening to the radio I heard a very funny thing. A black man was called racist when he called Obama by his full name.[/SIZE][/QUOTE] Obama can see the writing on the wall, so he doesn't care about this country? there's no way in hell we will stop the civil war from erupting, the only choice is whether we want to be in the middle or not. [quote name='Japan_86'][SIZE="1"] Anyways...I am not very happy with the democrats at all. Not saying that Bush is awesome or anything. However, Washington state elected Christine Gregoire. She promised better higher education. She has been in office for what, two years. She has not done a thing and in fact, education has declined. Democrats talk to get elected and Republicans are too silent or too afraid. I do not like any of the candidates period.[/SIZE][/QUOTE] You're expecting too much from your elected representatives. They're not magic. They don't have the power to all of a sudden funnel enough money into education to both combat inflation and lower costs. With 179,408 students in only the main public 4 year colleges in Washington, $1,000,000 straight towards tuition would only lower tuition $5.62, inflation not even factored in. The governer also has no control over college programs and renovations, which increase tuition costs.

[quote name='Allamorph'][FONT=Arial]Well, it [I]is[/I] fair and balanced, right? [I]Right??[/I][/FONT][/QUOTE] It does indeed lean very far to the right.

[quote name='AzureWolf']Quoted for terrible interpretation. "Most" is not the same as "all." Please notice that there is a difference.[/QUOTE] Most does not change it from being a horrendously inaccurate statement. Scientology is a cult, scientists are groups of people that test possible explanations for what happens in the world around us. Scientology sometimes directly contradicts science. [quote name='AzureWolf']The utopian science you speak of does not exist in this world, so you are taking a leap of faith. Aside from that primer, I'm not going to waste my breath repeating the same thing I've said twice before in this thread.[/QUOTE] Wait... [quote name='Morpheus']No, it's not. Because scientific beliefs are tested, while religious beliefs, by their very nature, are untestable. Religious beliefs require a leap of faith to believe, while science is basically saying "This is our best [B]guess[/B], and we've tested it as much as we can at this point in time."[/QUOTE] What is Utopian about guess? Scientists try to find the truth, and what they believe evolves as the years go on.

[quote name='AzureWolf']Don't think your belief in science is better than someone's belief in religion. It's the same thing, even if what you believe in is different. [/QUOTE] No, it's not. Because scientific beliefs are tested, while religious beliefs, by their very nature, are untestable. Religious beliefs require a leap of faith to believe, while science is basically saying "This is our best guess, and we've tested it as much as we can at this point in time." [quote name='AzureWolf'] I don't blindly believe stuff like most [strike]scientologists[/strike] believers of science do.[/QUOTE] Quoted for sheer absurdity. That's like calling all muslims terrorists or all christians Westboro Baptists.

[quote name=''[Sound_Nin];805389'']It sounds to me as if Romney doesn't know a thing about his own religion. I could be wrong, but it seems that way.[/quote] Well, it seems Huckabee doesn't know a thing about the office he's running for. He seems convinced that the constitution is some dry erase board and the president is the one with the marker and eraser.* *though this is much better than our current president's belief that the constitution is a figment of our imagination.