JaneAusten

http://www.yorkdispatch.com/ci_21525518/divisive-voter-id-law-goes-before-pa-high Voter ID goes to PA State Supreme Court Voters have already been disenfranchised due to this. Read the end of the article about Jim Cramers father a vet who was Not going to be able to vote until he went on Twitter and complained a out it.

I don't see anyone jumping to Romneys defense except the same tired set of people who have excused his flip flopping and ignorant stmts already. He's gotten criticism from members of his own party, so I don't see how this stmt by him is going to gain him anything with independents.

http://www.salon.com/2012/09/12/mitt’s_shameful_libya_statement/ It' amazes me that Romney still slides by when he makes idiotic, insulting, distAsteful, or contradictory statements. I don't consider my self overly partisan, but I can't understand how he polls with 46% of the population wanting to vote for him. He's the most disingenuous candidate ever in the history of presidential elections.

So are we still saying voter Id laws would not discourage those that are considered "undesirable" voters? http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2012/09/12/voter-id-laws-could-disproportionately-hurt-young-minorities/

I don't think that there is any concrete evidence that the film inspired this attack but I'm sure it's no coincidence that is happened on September 11th. I have to ask those who think the answer is the US getting involved militarily, do you want a draft? I've felt for a long time that the reason Americans in some ways seem so apathetic regarding Iraq and Afghanistan is the lack of a draft. It's one thing sending over troops from an all volunteer army its another thing asking mothers to unwillingly send their children to fight a war that's not yours.theres been no real sacrifice asked on the part of the American people other than a huge deficit.

I haven't been following the voter Id drive so I'm curious, how are they proposing it get payed for. Since voting is a constitutional right, they cant expect voters to pay for it. in Illinois when we register, we receive a non photo voter Id card and it costs nothing. Also they would have to give voters ample time prior to an election to get one with some sort of transitional period.

I was happy to see Andy Murray win. I like Federer but at some point watching Mr. Perfect(yes Federer should win a Nobel prize for being the best person in the world) grows tiresome. And how about Serena. After her injury, she's really come on after her rehab and is probably a better all around tennis player than she ever has been. She seems to be not taking her tennis career for granted anymore.

No program passed is going to satisfy everyone 100 percent. Obviously this is something Kerry is sensitive to. In the interest of his party he could have softened his descent I suppose but I'd rather he be honest about his concerns with his constituents than tow the company line. But ok the biggest problem for small businesses offering health insurance I thought was the fact that due to their size they have limited opportunities to gain decent rates. Aren't small businesses being afforded not only tax credits but an insurance exchange giving them the opportunity to shop for and receive more cost effective plans? Businesses large and small have already sidestepping insurance by using contractors or 1099 personnel or only working employees a maximum of 35 hours, meaning they don't have to offer them coverage under their current plans. Max I assume you were a corporate accountant at one point so I'm sure you're aware of tactics businesses have instituted to save them the costs of insurance.

Ranking Obama on Foreign Policy http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/01/23/grading_obama_s_foreign_policy?page=full This really didn't start out as a foreign policy discussion, more about our allies lack of support and enthusiasm for Obama, but there are 9 "experts" who grade Obama's foreign policy, which goes from meh to above average. He's been IMO mediocre, with some successes and some failures. My biggest question for Obama is has he learned at all from his mistakes. That was something JFK did when it came to foreign affairs, even in his short time as president.

Im not sure anyone here has indicated Obamas foreign policy or handling of foreign affairs has been exemplary or a lot of what he's done. I've read a lot of his supporters here being critical of him.. Thats the real problem I have with some members of the GOP , who insist many who do support Obama are blind to his mistakes. It would be like me making assumptions about everyone supporting Romney must be blind to his hiccups also. Not meaning to be offensive, I'm not trying to, but you brought up the issue about the US allies all disliking Obama now.

The only one on the list that is legitimate is China who had some optimism for the US and World economic conditions when he took office that didn't culminate as they had hoped. Thats something tangible that some could argue has had a direct impact on them economically, but it's not like they were in love with the prior administration or were in love with Obama. They aren't an ally either.

I think changing the rhetoric in the DNC platform was caving. Read where God was referenced the 1 time in the 2008 platform vs how the verbage was altered for the 2012 platform and the intent was exactly the same. Add in the fact that the vote was in no way obvious to be affirmed by 2/3 of the voters. It was a stupid change and unnecessary. I also am not sure more experience would have helped Obama. The political climate at the time was ripe for a fresh face and change so had he had 20 years senate experience, he may not have been elected anyway. Do I think the lack of Washington,political experience hurt him, yes, but Clinton, JFK, also had missteps in their first year or two and learned from that. Clinton had no Washington experience but what he has are exceptional political instincts. Kennedy had political pedigree to an extent. I think there was a lot of truth to what Bill Clinton said. No one other than Roosevelt has ever had to deal with an economic climate in such turmoil. I doubt John McCain, had he been elected, would have been much more effective.

Marceline I love your passion and now well you articulate your views and I often find myself agreeing to everything you say. Max I know you have felt that race played a position in getting Obama elected. I disagree. While many people may have voted for him due to his skin color, more than enough people balanced that out because there are still people in this country who voted against him because he's African American. I think he was elected for a lot of the same reasons Carter was elected. Promise of a new kind of politics in Washington. Both stumbled and in Carter's case failed for that reason even if their tactics were different. Carter trying to take it all on himself and Obama wanting everyone to be a happy family. I'm not a Reagan fan but I have to respect his political gifts. He set his agenda not only on things he believed in but things he knew he could get done in Washington. Abortion, sure he spewed the republican rhetoric once in a blue moon, but he never spent one iota of political capital on it. Why? He wasn't passionate about it and he knew it was a fight he could never win and continue to lead effectively. And the changes to social security? He and Tip O.Neill were reputed to have hammered out the changes in Tips office in the Capital building over a bottle of scotch. You'd never seen that lever of cooperation today on the part of either party. As ineffective as Obama may be, the republicans have been nastier to him than they were to Bill Clinton. This version of the GOP has no interest in compromise. Hell their own party today is splitting. Ron Paul has shown that and there is a reason the Tea Party exists today and it's not due to the GOP being some huge group of problem solvers. Bill Clinton who I still adored, was a disaster his first 2 years. He picked his first issue as Gays in the Military and Healthcare. These may have been issues he was passionate about, but he wasted so much political capital on 2 items that probably had zero chance of succeeding. But he learned from it and fought back and like Reagan, he didn't take his important issues to congress, he took them to the American people. The republicans to this day still don't get Bill Clnton and why the population of this country still adores him. None of them to this day don't get why more Americans didn't care or support the investigations into his transgressions, didn't favor impeachment, all things driven by partisanship and had nothing to do with the welfare of the country. Gerald Ford lost his bid for election to the presidency for doing what was the right thing for the country by pardoning Nixon and not caving into those who just wanted Nixon to pay. He knew what it seems like politician don't today, that it would have eaten up the country and that we were a country that needed to move forward. It was probably one of the bravest thing any President in recent history has ever done. Obama says he made mistakes and has learned from them? In the absence of anyone out there who can present an viable alternative, I'll have to trust in him and hope he means what he says. I think you have an opinion and believe he's a dishonorable man. Me I don't feel that was. I think he's an honorable man who didn't understand the political climate in Washington and got in over his head. I can only hope he's learned from his mistakes as Bill Clinton did.

The rumor is and not sure if it's true, is that the president pushed the mention of "God" back into the platform. Frankly it was not even in the platform 4 years ago in any context that had anything to do with faith IMO. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/05/dnc-platform-god_n_1858891.html It's Fox News and the RNC that made this into an issue about Democrats being godless. I agree with Marceline, , the Democrats and yes Obama, can be weaklings when they let things like this potentially sway their position or in this case rhetoric. As for Jeruselum not being referenced and the idea that somehow this means the Democrats and Obama hate Israel, has the US withheld aid and money we've been giving to Israel for years, part of it used to help them defend themselves against the climate they live within? The answer is no. How that gets interpreted as being anti Israel, I have no clue.

It was politically motivated for the most part and was gradually pushed once Roosevelt was elected to a third term. The ammendment was pased I think a few years after Roosevelt died. While not enforced by an ammendment prior to then, it was widely acknowledged that the president would serve no more than 2 terms.. I think many felt Roosevelt gained too much power due to his longevity in the office. The irony is that according to Doris Kearns Goodwins book on the Roosevelt's, "No Ordinary Time", Roosevelt allegedly did not want to run for a third term and was pressured into running due to the instability in the world climate because of World War 2. He was widely loved and respected by the American people and it was felt the country needed his leadership and strength during that time. Every time a president serves that certain factions of the political hierarchy gravitate to, there tends to be talk about repealing it. It was talked about when Eisenhower, Reagan, and Clinton served.

I don't think it has to do a thing with Obama the person what they liked was that Obama energized the audience and capitalized on that. He doesn't do that now and try as they have to try and make Romney exciting and have bent over backwards to give him some media appeal it hasn't worked. No one is energizing anyone in the media between the 2 candidates. Last election it was Obama and Palin to an extent

Don't forget Mel Gibson

It's ok because he's an American Icon. The RNC should be embarrassed because that appearance completely overshadowed Romney's acceptance speech. The funniest thing I read was "Minutes after Eastwood began his speech, someone created an @InvisibleObama account on Twitter. It has already amassed 30,000 followers and counting."

Me thinks and always has that if men were the ones impregnated and giving birth, abortion would not only be legal but embraced as morally right by everyone. "A woman's reproductive system is no ones responsibility except her own and it's no one else's business to judge much less legislate what is a personal decision, regardless of the circumstances." This stmt above by the way was made by the ultra conservative Barry Goldwater by the way.

Romney has been losing support over the summer from groups he had decent support with. He's lost traction with white males. This selectIon while understandable to an extent, is going to lose him support from seniors. The media loving Ryan(they love anyone who is controversial) isn't going to help them once they get organizations like AARP against them.

I doubt Romneys tax returns are going to show anything illegal. What I suspect it's going to show is that he paid very little for a few years due to tax advantages the mega rich have, giving the American Public a real glimpse of just how unbalanced the income tax system can be and genuine visibility into loopholes that may lead to some of the tax advantages things like the Bush tax cuts provided the very rich.

I can understand many feeling Obama got hand held by the media in 2008. I kind of felt this way during the primaries somewhat when Hilary seemed to get lambasted by everyone. But he was a new face people knew little about so he didn't have a lot of baggage to dredge up. So I kind of got it. But then came the demands for his lineage and his religious faith (no he's not a Muslim not that that should matter), and worst of all having to produce his birth certificate AFTER he became president. I want to see one republican who's run in the past so many years who was required to prove they were a citizen other than the normal protocols.

I like Andrew Lincoln. Right now Rick is the main protagonist so the show cant afford to lose him. If someone like Michonne comes in and takes over that role over time, he can go. If Lori and Karl died, Ricks character would change. They give him the will to survive and want to thrive. I'm not a fan of killing off secondary characters just because they are allegedly useless. But you shouldn't kill off characters for shock value. I think Sophia and Dale dying both served a purpose and represented huge turning points with the survivors. Same with killing off Shane.

This show is made of awesomeness. I'm not a gore lover and if this show was just about zombies I wouldn't care. It's the human element and the quest for survival in the midst of a sort of modern day apocalypse that makes this show great. These are not real spoilers but speculation based on the comic 1 glen dying this season(in the comic) 2 the governor seeing himself as a modern day Jesus Christ but is really a bad guy(in the comic) 3 morgan and his son return(speculation) Kirkman has actually talking about killing off Rick but has said he can't come up with a good way to do it or where it would make sense in terms of story.