One Year Later.

[mindseye]

Today is the anniversary of the 2004 presidential election. In the year that’s passed:

• December 26: Tsunami devastates Sri Lanka and other countries surrounding the Indian Ocean. 280,000 dead. The US initially pledges a mere 15 million dollars towards relief efforts.
  
  
• February 10: North Korea announces that it has weapons of mass destruction. Since they do not have vast oil reserves, BushCo ignores them.
  
  
• Also on February 10, Saudi Arabia holds municipal elections in which only males may vote. However, BushCo does not export democracy to countries that own us.
  
  
• March 21: Dubya, who once mocked Karla Faye Tucker in the days before her execution, decides that saving the life of a long-brain-dead woman is worth trashing the 'sanctity' of her marriage. And interrupting a vacation!
  
  
• May 19: Star Wars III: Revenge Of The Sith is released with the not-too-veiled reference to "how democracy dies".
  
  
• July 6: In the IOC's first round of voting, the proposed American site for the 2012 Summer Olympics places next-to-last. Considering that the US won the site selection for 1996 and 2002, the low placement is widely seen as a snub. London is awarded the Olympics instead.
  
  
• July 20: Canada legalizes same-sex marriage nationwide, and hasn't been plagued by locusts yet.
  
  
• August 29: Hurricane Katrina hits the Gulf Coast. The damage is severe, but became much worse when the levees in New Orleans failed -- just a year after BushCo cuts the funding needed to maintain them.
  
  
• September 20: Bill Frist is under investigation for alleged insider trading.
  
  
• September 26: Criminal mastermind Lynndie England takes the fall for the Abu Ghraib scandals, but will serve a mere three years.
  
  
• September 28: Tom DeLay is indicted for conspiracy to violate state election laws.
  
  
• October 8: Earthquake in Pakistan takes over 79,000 lives. The US aid package is larger than the one initially offered in the wake of the Sumatran tsunami (say that three times fast&#33, but was still only fourth largest among nations' aid packages.
  
  
• October 26: The 2,000th American soldier died in Iraq. This is still less than 8% of the number of innocent civilians killed in Iraq.
  
  
• October 27: Bush accepts the resignation of Harriet Miers, and later decides that legal scholar Samuel Alito is the second most qualified candidate for the position.
  
  
• October 28: Scooter Libby is indicted on counts of perjury and obstruction of justice. We're still waiting on the rest of the indictments.

 

[B_HappyHammer1977]

Am I right in thinking that in his first 'victory', over the whole population of America, he didn't actually get the majority of votes and that it was only because of the majority of states that he 'won' it?

Free to be corrected here...

 

[mindseye]

Originally posted by HappyHammer1977@Nov 2 2005, 11:54 AM
Am I right in thinking that in his first 'victory', over the whole population of America, he didn't actually get the majority of votes and that it was only because of the majority of states that he 'won' it?

Free to be corrected here...

[post=357677]Quoted post[/post]​

In the 2000 election, Al Gore won a majority of votes nationwide. The state of Florida, however, was within less than half a percentage, triggering (by state law) a mandatory recount. Much legal wrangling ensued over how to conduct the recount (electronic vs. by hand; statewide vs. county-by-county, etc.), and in December 2000, the Supreme Court invalidated ongoing recounts and decided the election in favor of George W. Bush.

Had a statewide manual recount been undertaken and certified, Al Gore would have won the state of Florida -- and thus the election -- by between 60 and 171 votes, depending on the standard used to count partially-punched ballots. (source).

 

[B_HappyHammer1977]

Originally posted by mindseye+Nov 2 2005, 06:11 PM--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(mindseye &#064; Nov 2 2005, 06:11 PM)</div><div class='quotemain'><!--QuoteBegin-HappyHammer1977@Nov 2 2005, 11:54 AM
Am I right in thinking that in his first &#39;victory&#39;, over the whole population of America, he didn&#39;t actually get the majority of votes and that it was only because of the majority of states that he &#39;won&#39; it?

Free to be corrected here...

[post=357677]Quoted post[/post]​

In the 2000 election, Al Gore won a majority of votes nationwide. The state of Florida, however, was within less than half a percentage, triggering (by state law) a mandatory recount. Much legal wrangling ensued over how to conduct the recount (electronic vs. by hand; statewide vs. county-by-county, etc.), and in December 2000, the Supreme Court invalidated ongoing recounts and decided the election in favor of George W. Bush.

Had a statewide manual recount been undertaken and certified, Al Gore would have won the state of Florida -- and thus the election -- by between 60 and 171 votes, depending on the standard used to count partially-punched ballots. (source).

[post=357679]Quoted post[/post]​

[/b][/quote]

So why did they just decide that one would win without a proper recount? Or even voting again? Sounds more than crooked to me&#33;....Oh yeah, isn&#39;t it Jeb Bush who&#39;s senator down there?&#33;

 

[Dr Rock]

Originally posted by HappyHammer1977@Nov 2 2005, 05:22 PM
So why did they just decide that one would win without a proper recount?

[post=357681]Quoted post[/post]​

because they saw the opportunity and took it.

 

[cruztbone]

check out arnoldsneighborhood.com to see how he is connected with the Bushes. Have friends in CA? you can help us send GWB and his cabal of capricious crapdoers by asking your CA friends to vote no on props
74, 75, 76 and 77 on election day (nov. 8) thank you&#33;

 

[B_HappyHammer1977]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(cruztbone &#064; Nov 3 2005, 05&#58;39 AM) [post=357791]Quoted post[/post]</div><div class='quotemain'>
check out arnoldsneighborhood.com to see how he is connected with the Bushes. Have friends in CA? you can help us send GWB and his cabal of capricious crapdoers by asking your CA friends to vote no on props
74, 75, 76 and 77 on election day (nov. 8) thank you&#33;
[/b][/quote]

Not knowing anyone there, not much I can do. But what are these propostions?

 

[Onslow]

More stupidity on the part of ignorant liberals who continue to point and blame while offering no real solutions.


And for the record since nobody bothered to tell HappyHammer...Jeb Bush is the governor of the state of Florida.

 

[B_HappyHammer1977]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Onslow &#064; Nov 3 2005, 02&#58;38 PM) [post=357888]Quoted post[/post]</div><div class='quotemain'>
More stupidity on the part of ignorant liberals who continue to point and blame while offering no real solutions.


And for the record since nobody bothered to tell HappyHammer...Jeb Bush is the governor of the state of Florida.
[/b][/quote]

I see, thank you for clearing that up (?)

 

[DC_DEEP]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(HappyHammer1977 &#064; Nov 2 2005, 12&#58;54 PM) [post=357677]Quoted post[/post]</div><div class='quotemain'>
Am I right in thinking that in his first &#39;victory&#39;, over the whole population of America, he didn&#39;t actually get the majority of votes and that it was only because of the majority of states that he &#39;won&#39; it?
[/b][/quote]
Hanging chads aside, that disparity between popular votes and who gets elected is an unfortunate consequence of the Electoral College, which IMHO outlived its usefulness when the telegraph made instantaneous nationwide communication possible.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(mindseye &#064; Nov 2 2005, 01&#58;11 PM) [post=357679]Quoted post[/post]</div><div class='quotemain'>
In the 2000 election, Al Gore won a majority of votes nationwide. The state of Florida, however, was within less than half a percentage, triggering (by state law) a mandatory recount. Much legal wrangling ensued over how to conduct the recount (electronic vs. by hand; statewide vs. county-by-county, etc.), and in December 2000, the Supreme Court invalidated ongoing recounts and decided the election in favor of George W. Bush.
[/b][/quote]
Interesting you bring that up. Granted, that is exactly what happened. However, does the Supreme Court even have the authority (1) to usurp Florida state law regarding recounts, and (2) to have any involvement whatsoever in the election process, let alone decide who won in any given state or nationwide? I don&#39;t recall any phrase or clause in the Constitution which grants those powers to the Supreme Court.

P. S. - In response to your poll, I did not vote in the 2004 election. As a legal(?) resident of Virginia, the Commonwealth will not register me to vote, nor issue me a driver&#39;s license, because I refuse to give my social security number. As far as I am concerned, and in keeping with the Privacy Act, I only need to reveal my SSN to my bank, my employer, and my accountant - for tax purposes only. It is not to be used for identification purposes, although too many citizens allow it. It seems to me that my passport would be identification enough, but the commonwealth of virginia disagrees with me.

But can you imagine how wet it made Kathleen Harris&#39; little twat when she realized that she and "Jebya" were going to influence the Supreme Court to operate outside its purviews and appoint a president?

 

[jonb]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Onslow &#064; Nov 3 2005, 05&#58;38 AM) [post=357888]Quoted post[/post]</div><div class='quotemain'>
More stupidity
[/b][/quote]
Ad hominem.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Onslow &#064; Nov 3 2005, 05&#58;38 AM) [post=357888]Quoted post[/post]</div><div class='quotemain'>
on the part of ignorant liberals
[/b][/quote]
Another ad hominem.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Onslow &#064; Nov 3 2005, 05&#58;38 AM) [post=357888]Quoted post[/post]</div><div class='quotemain'>
who continue to point and blame while offering no real solutions.
[/b][/quote]
Actually, we have solutions. First and foremost: Impeach Bush, and revoke his cabinet&#39;s citizenship wholesale. Secondly, go back to the Clinton-era way of doing things.

 

[cruztbone]

EASY TO SEE why Bush&#39;s approval rating is down to 37% approval when you have Onslow on your side, George. I am liberal, and neither ignorant nor foolish. I actually bother to get involved in CA politics, and unlike you Onslow, I support measures that will actually improve the quality of life of most people in our state.

check out the props on the CA secretary of state .gov website. Then buy a clue: your party is coming to end next year, and conservative control of congress will end with it.

 

[D_Barbi_Queue]

To play this fairly, here&#39;s some of the positive things about that has happened in the past year:

December 2004 - President Bush to send delegation to assess tsunami relief aid then commits &#036;350 million for tsunami relief efforts

January 2005 - Iraqis have their landmark election

February 2005 - President Bush seeks an additional &#036;950 million for tsunami relief
President Bush signs Class-Action Fairness Act of 2005
Declared that major disaster exists in Ohio from the severe winter storms, flooding and mudslides therefore allowing federal aid to become available to them.

April 2005 - declared that an emergency existed in NH where it was hit by record snow amount in March, allowing it to receive federal aid to repair damages


May 2005 - President Tours Hydrogen Fueling Station, Discusses Research
Bush also Discusses Biodiesel and Alternative Fuel Sources
Presents CAFTA-DR

June 2005 - signed the H.R. 1812, the "Patient Navigator Outreach and Chronic Disease Prevention Act of 2005"
President Calls on Congress to Pass a National Energy Policy, which would help decrease our dependency on foreign sources of energy

July - signs the Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act of 2005
Congress passes Energy Bill and Highway Bill

August - Iraqis draft Constitution
signs H.R. 1132, the "National All Schedules Prescription Electronic Reporting Act of 2005"
signed the Transportation Act (which is also believed to create more demand for machines we make in America, and therefore more jobs)
signed Energy Policy Act
and CAFTA-DR (which is expected to generate billion of dollars in increased sales of U.S. goods and farm exports)

September - Bush signs &#036;10.5 billion aid package to aid Katrina victims

also: In the past 12 months, the economy has created over 2 million jobs.


Unemployment has declined to five percent, the lowest it has been since September 11th and lower than the average of the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s.

Inflation remains low (aside of gas

)

As of August: Federal deficit is projected to be &#036;94 billion less than previously expected, and the government is ahead of pace to reach President Bush&#39;s goal of cutting the deficit in half by 2009.

Bush signed into law the first National Energy Plan in more than a decade (read - Clinton never signed one)

President Bush signed bankruptcy reform that makes the system more fair for creditors and debtors. (I personally know a couple of people that are otherwise taking advantage of declaring bankruptcy and then not having to pay back a dime - but still can easily afford to)

No Child Left Behind Is Working: New results show that math and reading scores for nine-year-olds are up from five years ago, as are math scores for 13-year-olds.

 

[D_Barbi_Queue]

"August 29: Hurricane Katrina hits the Gulf Coast. The damage is severe, but became much worse when the levees in New Orleans failed -- just a year after BushCo cuts the funding needed to maintain them."

I don&#39;t think you can blame that one soley on Bush: http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2...9/7/90925.shtml

Also, The Army Corps of Engineers insists that Katrina was just too strong, and that even if the levee project had been completed it was only designed to withstand a category 3 hurricane.

 

[Onslow]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jonb &#064; Nov 3 2005, 11&#58;47 PM) [post=358042]Quoted post[/post]</div><div class='quotemain'>

Actually, we have solutions. First and foremost: Impeach Bush, and revoke his cabinet&#39;s citizenship wholesale. Secondly, go back to the Clinton-era way of doing things.
[/b][/quote]
If the Clinton era had been as fantastic as you pretend then your pals Al Gore or John Kerry (one or both) would have been able to win an election and win it handily without any questions of ballot irregularity or anything else.

Further, keep in mind (and this is VERY important for you to remember JonB) impeachment is just a piece of terminology and in todays political machine it is worth absolutely nothing--wasn&#39;t your buddy Clinton impeached? and yet you want to return to the Clinton era way of life? You really need to see your doctor about changing those mind-drugs you&#39;re on.

 

[B_HappyHammer1977]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Onslow &#064; Nov 4 2005, 05&#58;00 PM) [post=358211]Quoted post[/post]</div><div class='quotemain'>
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jonb &#064; Nov 3 2005, 11&#58;47 PM) [post=358042]Quoted post[/post]</div><div class='quotemain'>

Actually, we have solutions. First and foremost: Impeach Bush, and revoke his cabinet&#39;s citizenship wholesale. Secondly, go back to the Clinton-era way of doing things.
[/b][/quote]
If the Clinton era had been as fantastic as you pretend then your pals Al Gore or John Kerry (one or both) would have been able to win an election and win it handily without any questions of ballot irregularity or anything else.

Further, keep in mind (and this is VERY important for you to remember JonB) impeachment is just a piece of terminology and in todays political machine it is worth absolutely nothing--wasn&#39;t your buddy Clinton impeached? and yet you want to return to the Clinton era way of life? You really need to see your doctor about changing those mind-drugs you&#39;re on.
[/b][/quote]

Why is it important that US presidents only serve two terms? If they do well, why shouldn&#39;t they stay for longer?

 

[Dr Rock]

because nobody in a position of authority should be trusted with it THAT far. "doing well" is a question of perspective; for example there are, honestly, still people out there who believe that the current president has "done a good job" or however you wanna put it. if EVERYONE agreed on the same criteria for a government, then we wouldn&#39;t need to bother with a farcical "election" process to convince everyone that their vote somehow matters a crap in the first place.

 

[SpeedoGuy]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Onslow &#064; Nov 3 2005, 01&#58;38 PM) [post=357888]Quoted post[/post]</div><div class='quotemain'>
More stupidity on the part of ignorant liberals who continue to point and blame while offering no real solutions.

[/b][/quote]

As opposed to the constructive and respectful behavior of conservatives during the Clinton years and now. Just turn on your AM radio to get a dose of it.

SG

 

[jonb]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(TexAssgirl &#064; Nov 3 2005, 07&#58;31 PM) [post=358089]Quoted post[/post]</div><div class='quotemain'>
"August 29: Hurricane Katrina hits the Gulf Coast. The damage is severe, but became much worse when the levees in New Orleans failed -- just a year after BushCo cuts the funding needed to maintain them."

I don&#39;t think you can blame that one soley on Bush: http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2...9/7/90925.shtml
[/b][/quote]
Newsmax is a tabloid owned by someone who thinks Clinton killed two Arkansas teens with a train&#33;

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Onslow &#064; Nov 4 2005, 08&#58;00 AM) [post=358211]Quoted post[/post]</div><div class='quotemain'>
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jonb &#064; Nov 3 2005, 11&#58;47 PM) [post=358042]Quoted post[/post]</div><div class='quotemain'>

Actually, we have solutions. First and foremost: Impeach Bush, and revoke his cabinet&#39;s citizenship wholesale. Secondly, go back to the Clinton-era way of doing things.
[/b][/quote]
If the Clinton era had been as fantastic as you pretend then your pals Al Gore or John Kerry (one or both) would have been able to win an election and win it handily without any questions of ballot irregularity or anything else.
[/b][/quote]
Ballot irregularity means that someone on your side probably lost. I didn&#39;t say Clinton was perfect, but ANYTHING would be better than Bush.

 

[Pecker]

Ladies and gentlemen, we&#39;ve heard it from jonb:

Karl Rove for president&#33;