2020 Presidential Election 2: The Primaries are upon us

[Cartmann99]

42 minutes ago, church_of_dog said:

How are you asked to prove you will be out of the county?  I wonder if one could claim a trip or appointment even if it doesn't exist "got cancelled at the last minute"...

I pulled up the application, and to my enormous surprise, it looks like you are on the honor system. I couldn't find anything on the form about providing something like a receipt for plane tickets as proof that you're going to be out of the county.

Quote

Expected Absence from County - If you chose expected absence from county, you must expect to be absent from the county on election day and during the hours of early voting in person or for the remainder of the early voting period after you submit your application. Your ballot must be mailed to an address outside the county. Important: Give date you can begin to receive mail at the address given.

https://webservices.sos.state.tx.us/forms/5-15f.pdf

FYI: Early voting in Texas begins two weeks before election day.

[AuntK]

On 3/4/2020 at 11:22 AM, TuringMachine said:

I want the VP to be Warren, though I also like Stacy Abrams

I would love Warren as VP, but we need her in the Senate. I would like to see Abrams in the Senate as well. It would be great to see a US Senate with a diverse female majority instead of a bunch of old white men!

[HerNameIsBuffy]

5 minutes ago, AuntK said:

I would love Warren as VP, but we need her in the Senate. I would like to see Abrams in the Senate as well. It would be great to see a US Senate with a diverse female majority instead of a bunch of old white men!

We do need her in the Senate, but we also could really use her as the Sec of Education.

But with the ages of both candidates, and Bernie's health, her as VP could be a nice plan B.

[AuntK]

4 minutes ago, HerNameIsBuffy said:

We do need her in the Senate, but we also could really use her as the Sec of Education.

But with the ages of both candidates, and Bernie's health, her as VP could be a nice plan B.

I agree. The choice of VP is more critical than ever before.

DOE has been destroyed or "DeVosed"  and needs a new Secretary to restore its mission. And even though Warren is 70, she is like RBG, she is healthy, firing on all cylinders, articulate & will do a great job wherever she lands.  

[church_of_dog]

3 hours ago, Cartmann99 said:

I pulled up the application, and to my enormous surprise, it looks like you are on the honor system. I couldn't find anything on the form about providing something like a receipt for plane tickets as proof that you're going to be out of the county.

https://webservices.sos.state.tx.us/forms/5-15f.pdf

FYI: Early voting in Texas begins two weeks before election day.

Ah, but you have to have your ballot mailed to you out of the county.  That's bizarre -- what if you're just going to be at a work conference at a hotel or something?  Even for a longer vacation people don't usually get mail at their vacationing location.  I don't see the downside to letting anyone who wants to, vote by mail.  That's a drag.

[Destiny]

Ah, but you have to have your ballot mailed to you out of the county.  That's bizarre -- what if you're just going to be at a work conference at a hotel or something?  Even for a longer vacation people don't usually get mail at their vacationing location.  I don't see the downside to letting anyone who wants to, vote by mail.  That's a drag.

You can’t make it easy to vote! The evil POC will start to think it’s their right or something. We can’t have that!

/sarcasm

[Marmion]

On 3/5/2020 at 10:33 AM, nausicaa said:

 

Also, this is probably more for a policy thread but I just learned that Sanders' Green Plan calls for banning nuclear power. And doesn't call for banning coal, oil, or natural gas. WTF? We would lose 50% of our emissions-free output. I thought we were past the hippie knee jerk "nuclear is bad" days.

It's frustrating that a guy who looks toward Europe for so much can't see the success of their nuclear programs. The more I learn of this guy's actual plans, the more turned off I am. 

. 

While , I would have thought that phasing out coal , and other pollutants , would be a higher priority , I do know from my following the left-wing political scene , around the world , that opposition to nuclear power is part of the standard partyline . For instance take this one Japanese teen girl singing ensemble , whom has had collaboration with the Japanese Communist Party , incidentally . { 

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2011/09/08/music/seifuku-kojo-iinkai-ditch-the-idol-prattle-for-an-antinuke-message/#.XmLjziMo7bU , 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_Communist_Party#Affiliated_organizations } So this position would be in keeping with the Sanders campaign's alignment with the furthest left position that is thought to be politically viable  for this country .   And the Communist Party USA has encouraged their members to both oppose nuclear energy http://www.cpusa.org/action_tout/?page=24 , as well as to support Sanders , even though they also do not consider him to be a fellow Communist comrade .  { http://www.cpusa.org/article/bernie-sanders-political-revolution/ , http://www.cpusa.org/party_voices/bernie-sanders-is-not-a-communist-i-should-know/ , https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2016-05-31/communist-party-leader-voted-for-sanders-will-back-clinton }  But , as I just now discovered , there seems to be some dissent emerging among the ranks of the left on this issue . To give equal time , here are these articles . { https://atomicinsights.com/the-left-needs-to-reconsider-its-automatic-position-against-nuclear-energy/ , https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/09/cnn-climate-town-hall-bernie-sanders-elizabeth-warren-nuclear-power.html } 

[hoipolloi]

News flash to @Marmion: communism isn't the same as socialism. Saying so only reveals one as laughably ignorant.

ETA: In case you need some assistance, @Marmion, click this link.

Edited March 7, 2020 by hoipolloi

[Marmion]

7 minutes ago, hoipolloi said:

News flash to @Marmion: communism isn't the same as socialism. Saying so only reveals one as laughably ignorant.

ETA: In case you need some assistance, @Marmion, click this link.

Where did you see me say that ?  In fact , I posted the opposite .  For clarity sake , all Communists are socialist , not all socialists are Communist however . Like how the IFB is Christian , but not all Christians are IFB . That's how logic works .   And your knee jerk reacting with a condescending cliche is not an attractive feature .  If anything it will cause people to be less inclined to vote for your candidate , just out of spite . 

[nausicaa]

1 hour ago, hoipolloi said:

News flash to @Marmion: communism isn't the same as socialism. Saying so only reveals one as laughably ignorant.

ETA: In case you need some assistance, @Marmion, click this link.

Where did she say in her post that communism is the same as socialism? I only saw her state that Communism is on the extreme left. Which it is by nearly all political spectrums I've seen?

I don't know what she wrote that merited such a nasty post. Am I missing something? This is so out of left field (pardon the pun).

Edited March 7, 2020 by nausicaa

[hoipolloi]

42 minutes ago, nausicaa said:

Where did she say in her post that communism is the same as socialism?

The entire post, by implication, equates socialism and communism. They aren't the same thing and it is misleading to imply that they are.

 

[laPapessaGiovanna]

Marmion's post basically says that since the Japanese Communist Party wants to get rid of nuclear powerplants (and after Fukushima it's not that absurd a position) then it's obvious that Sanders thinks the same, because apparently all the left of the world is the same and it's all affiliated to the Japanese Communist Party or something.

Whoever considers that nuclear power in Europe is a great success story needs to take a long hard look at the nuclear crisis France is facing. I fully agree that the coal and oil industry needs to go first, but we cannot think that we can rely on nuclear power to replace it, we need to find viable alternatives to both.

ETA the bulk of France nuclear powerplants was built in the eighties and early nineties, when socialists were in charge, just saying.

Edited March 7, 2020 by laPapessaGiovanna

[danvillebelle]

If you watch clips from Biden from 2012 and even 2016 and compare them to now, the mental decline is OBVIOUS.  IMO saying otherwise (that it's just his stutter) is wishful thinking.  I have watched dementia descend and kill two family members, I know what it fucking looks like.  He is sundowning....his own people have said as much (his gaffes get worse in the evening).  It's not being mean to point this out, it's stating a fact.  BTW, is it "mean" to point out Trump's also obvious mental decline, or is it just mean when it's a Democrat?

OK, forget the mental decline aspect.  HIS. RECORD. IS. AWFUL.  Besides that, he lied and plagiarized repeatedly in '88, was caught and called out on it, and then conveniently said things like "Oh, I forgot to say "in the words of".  He makes up stories to make himself sound better and apparently just hopes no one will fact-check.   He is pure Democratic establishment, tied to corporate money, and will keep doing their bidding.  

I am a liberal progressive and I want CHANGE.  Biden is 4 years of no gain for poor people, no gains on healthcare, no gain for the working class, no gains for minorities.   

I've said my piece and I'm not up for debating - peace out.

[Rachel333]

42 minutes ago, danvillebelle said:

If you watch clips from Biden from 2012 and even 2016 and compare them to now, the mental decline is OBVIOUS.  IMO saying otherwise (that it's just his stutter) is wishful thinking.  I have watched dementia descend and kill two family members, I know what it fucking looks like.  He is sundowning....his own people have said as much (his gaffes get worse in the evening).  It's not being mean to point this out, it's stating a fact. 

He is not sundowning, that is a completely different thing and is really fucking offensive to anyone who has had a relative sundowning. It is not a fact to say he's sundowning, that is a completely subjective opinion from someone who I'm assuming is not a doctor or they wouldn't be posting stupid stuff like that. If his gaffes increase in the evening, maybe that's because he's, um, tired? That's a normal thing. And he has always been gaffe-prone. There are also many recent videos of him clearly showing sharp cognition, but I guess it wouldn't seem that way if you're only watching clips from people who hate him that were chosen to convey a particular message.

There was a good post on reddit yesterday going through the effects of aging and clearly showing that you cannot diagnose Joe Biden with dementia. In another post someone gives a long list of mistakes Bernie has made that could also be cherry picked to suggest he has dementia, things like saying we went to war with China in WWII, calling someone the wrong name multiple times even after corrected, saying they'll pass gay marriage in all states a year after the supreme court ruling, and asking voters to support him in the Iowa caucus twice when he was doing a rally for the Nevada caucus. Mistakes happen, especially when you're running a grueling campaign and are being filmed nearly all the time.

If you were saying that it's an indisputable fact that Donald Trump has dementia I would also call you out on that. You cannot diagnose him.

On a personal note, as someone who is dealing with a close relative with dementia for the first time, fuck everyone making light of it by using it as a political attack. My grandfather is, fortunately, still cognitively very capable for someone with dementia, but it's not even close to the same thing as a politician making mistakes sometimes. There's absolutely no fucking way Joe Biden could have gotten this far if he was actually suffering from dementia.

This is a bad faith attack, almost certainly being magnified by Republicans and Russians, and I'm really disgusted to see so many Bernie supporters making that claim.  If someone wants an example of Bernie supporters using ugly, ableist, personal attacks they can look at this very thread. It's not just pointing out that Biden has made mistakes, it's saying that it's a fact that he has dementia and is sundowning, which is either a really fucking stupid thing to say or a knowingly deceitful claim. If you want to discuss his record, do that, but don't say shit like that. I cannot take anyone seriously who is repeating this garbage.

[WiseGirl]

1 hour ago, Rachel333 said:

On a personal note, as someone who is dealing with a close relative with dementia for the first time, fuck everyone making light of it by using it as a political attack. 

Preach! 

[nausicaa]

3 hours ago, danvillebelle said:

I am a liberal progressive and I want CHANGE.  Biden is 4 years of no gain for poor people, no gains on healthcare, no gain for the working class, no gains for minorities.   

The president isn't a monarch. He has to work with Congress. Biden being moderate, and better for the down ballot, may actually allow more to get done. If Sanders even won, it would likely be a Republican congress and Sanders' "I don't compromise" attitude that is fueling his campaign could lead to a complete stalemate. Our Constitution isn't designed for one person to just overhaul the country in four years. 

 

5 hours ago, laPapessaGiovanna said:

Whoever considers that nuclear power in Europe is a great success story needs to take a long hard look at the nuclear crisis France is facing. 

ETA the bulk of France nuclear powerplants was built in the eighties and early nineties, when socialists were in charge, just saying.

I have zero opinion on socialists in regard to nuclear. If anything I would have thought they were in favor of it. Which is why I was surprised that Sanders is against it.

Could you point me towards sources about France's nuclear crisis? 

I will say, the U.S. has a very strong nuclear safety program in place (one of the reasons we don't have a ton of plants: it's a long, arduous, and expensive process to deal with all the regulations to build one). I have heard some Americans nuclear engineers scoff at the laxness of France's regulations, but didn't know if that was just part of a general anti-French attitude Americans can have.

And if we're going to talk Fukushima, we have to discuss how many direct deaths occur from coal and oil every year, a number that is exponentially higher.

It would be wonderful if we could find another even safer alternative, but as of right now nuclear is the only viable large scale clean power source.

Edited March 7, 2020 by nausicaa

[NakedKnees]

On 3/6/2020 at 10:33 AM, Rachel333 said:

The "Biden has dementia" narrative is another ugly attack that a lot of Bernie supporters have been boosting since they realized that Bernie is losing to Biden. There are a lot of clips that are taken completely out of context, and some are just examples of his stutter that they're mocking. It's really nasty stuff.

I just wanted to second this. I would consider myself fairly hardcore on the social-justice-type equal rights stuff, but it just baffles me what a blind spot ageism is in society in general, including among progressives.

Even here on FJ, I feel like we'd get reamed (or at least criticized) for armchair diagnosing mental illness like depression of someone we see on TV. But somehow, possible age related cognitive decline is not off-limits? That's not good.

[apple1]

23 hours ago, HerNameIsBuffy said:

We do need her in the Senate, but we also could really use her as the Sec of Education.

But with the ages of both candidates, and Bernie's health, her as VP could be a nice plan B.

THAT. I think Warren deserves more - but as Sec of Education - she could undo a lot of the damage that Devos has done.

[Marmion]

17 hours ago, hoipolloi said:

The entire post, by implication, equates socialism and communism. They aren't the same thing and it is misleading to imply that they are.

 

I was trying to make it a point not to do that actually . It had occurred to me that some might think that I was red baiting , which  would not have been my intended outcome . But , in response to your claim that socialism , and Communism are distinct positions on the political spectrum , I have this question to ask you .  Would you consider  The Left Party of Germany to be democratic socialist , or would it be Communist ?  Why or why not ?  See , it's my contention that since such parties as the Social Democratic party has moved in the direction of the third way , democratic socialists have now come to be merged together with Eurocommunists in a singular multi-tendency camp . Why , even in our own country , the Democratic Socialists of America , which has endorsed Bernie Sanders { https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2019/07/sanders-warren-debates-democratic-socialists/595147/ , https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/3/21/18276037/bernie-sanders-dsa-endorsement-reparations } , is this way too .  It also contains a Communist caucus { https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Socialists_of_America#Policy_and_ideology , https://medium.com/@DSACommunistCaucus/dsa-communist-caucus-our-statement-bccd8fb2bcbd  , https://www.dsausa.org/democratic-left/coalition_politics_and_the_fight_for_socialism_dl/ }  And lastly the ISO , which used to be a Trotskyist group , before they voted to dissolve in the wake of a sex abuse scandal , a number of its former members are now part of the DSA . { https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/International_Socialist_Organization , https://internationalsocialism.net/what-happened-to-the-international-socialist-organization-a-political-assessment/ , https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Socialist_Organization#History } So the broad left contains both democratic Communists , and socialists .  

 

13 hours ago, laPapessaGiovanna said:

Marmion's post basically says that since the Japanese Communist Party wants to get rid of nuclear powerplants (and after Fukushima it's not that absurd a position) then it's obvious that Sanders thinks the same, because apparently all the left of the world is the same and it's all affiliated to the Japanese Communist Party or something

No , I merely cited them as one prime example , in order to demonstrate to @nausicaa  that rather than being some sort of lunatic fringe opinion , opposition to nuclear power plants is actually rather standard through out the global left .  And I might add that this might also be due to red socialism seemingly giving way to green socialism , by and large . 

Edited March 7, 2020 by Marmion

[Pleiades_06]

Opposition to nuclear power is not just a global left policy-it has been a mainstream political platform followed by the CDU in Germany (Christian Democrats/Angela Merkel’s moderate right party) since 2012. Fukushima was a major reason why ending nuclear energy gained multi-party support there. It had nothing  directly to do with Communism or Socialism. 
Germany has struggled to meet deadlines though: https://www.cleanenergywire.org/news/german-govt-squashes-speculation-extension-nuclear-plants

As for Die Linke, or Left Party of Germany, they definitely support a “communist faction” within the party. Basically that means that the party is comprised of different groups-ranging far left to moderate left-which work together to compromise on issues.  I wish I could find a link in English-here is the German if you care to see it: 

https://www.die-linke.de/partei/parteistruktur/zusammenschluesse/kommunistische-plattform/

Honestly, I lived in Germany for 10 years and my husband-a naturalized German citizen -still lives there. Bernie Sanders’ policies would not fit in with the stated platform of the Left Party there. I feel comparing his platform to those of socialists in other countries is like comparing apples and oranges. I can’t speak for all countries but there is definitely a socialist spectrum in Germany, even within the parties themselves.

That said, I agree with others on this thread who have stated Sanders has said some crazy things that will make it hard for me, at least, to vote for him. And I’m pretty left of center.

[hoipolloi]

Gonna dissent here from those who believe we can't or shouldn't comment on the apparent mental and physical health of either tRump or the two leading D candidates, Biden & Sanders. Every one of them is an adult and a public figure. Close scrutiny of their actions and behavior is completely fair and, indeed, is critical to the process of the 2020 elections. That scrutiny must include health issues. If you don't want the scrutiny and questions, don't fucking run for POTUS. End of story.

I am old enough to remember Reagan's obvious decline, particularly in his second term. Of course, only afterwards did we find out that he had Alzheimer's which certainly would explain some of the strange behavior in his last years as POTUS. It is very alarming to me that the media have continually allowed tRump to hide or lie about significant events or present his fucking insane raving on COVID-19 and other issues as somehow normal. NONE of this is normal and it should ALL be discussed openly and extensively.

Do Biden and Sanders have significant health issues? Quite possibly, heart attack and stuttering aside. Should truthful information on these issues be available to US voters for their consideration during this election? Absolutely, yes. Should we be allowed to discuss real or potential health issues? Absolutely, yes. Are there a myriad of bogus-ass lies on the intertubez about all three old, white men? Absolutely, yes.

As an official old myself, I have very real concerns about both Sanders & Biden being up to the job. I already know that tRump's health is failing badly, on a daily if not an hourly basis. I really, really want to know what I'm getting if either Biden or Sanders become the D nominee & then get elected as POTUS.

 

 

 

 

[NakedKnees]

38 minutes ago, hoipolloi said:

Gonna dissent here from those who believe we can't or shouldn't comment on the apparent mental and physical health of either tRump or the two leading D candidates, Biden & Sanders. Every one of them is an adult and a public figure. Close scrutiny of their actions and behavior is completely fair and, indeed, is critical to the process of the 2020 elections. That scrutiny must include health issues. If you don't want the scrutiny and questions, don't fucking run for POTUS. End of story.

I am old enough to remember Reagan's obvious decline, particularly in his second term. Of course, only afterwards did we find out that he had Alzheimer's which certainly would explain some of the strange behavior in his last years as POTUS. It is very alarming to me that the media have continually allowed tRump to hide or lie about significant events or present his fucking insane raving on COVID-19 and other issues as somehow normal. NONE of this is normal and it should ALL be discussed openly and extensively.

Do Biden and Sanders have significant health issues? Quite possibly, heart attack and stuttering aside. Should truthful information on these issues be available to US voters for their consideration during this election? Absolutely, yes. Should we be allowed to discuss real or potential health issues? Absolutely, yes. Are there a myriad of bogus-ass lies on the intertubez about all three old, white men? Absolutely, yes.

As an official old myself, I have very real concerns about both Sanders & Biden being up to the job. I already know that tRump's health is failing badly, on a daily if not an hourly basis. I really, really want to know what I'm getting if either Biden or Sanders become the D nominee & then get elected as POTUS.

 

 

 

 

My big concern with commenting on mental health status of presidential candidates based on what we see in media is that it's armchair diagnosing. If we're going to do it at all, it has to go through a thick filter of critical theory of media. If there are actual, real, medical diagnoses, I can see that as being important, although I don't know the legal ins and outs of presidential qualifications to personally say how that matters.

I think it kind of begs the question of at what point normative mental/cognitive health is a requirement for the job of the president. To use the example of Reagan, to my knowledge, his Alzheimer's didn't really have a huge impact on the United States.  On the contrary, his biggest impacts were made before his decline. He was surrounded by people who helped support him and the country through the decline. So, is Reagan really the best example of why early cognitive decline isn't compatible with presidency?

[fraurosena]

Commenting and opining on perceived mental and physical decline does not equal diagnosis, armchair or otherwise. It is perfectly fine to post about what you think you see. We are not doctors or psychiatrists and any comment we make here can therefore only be seen as such. A comment. An opinion. A worry. There is nothing wrong with that. 

 

 

[hoipolloi]

48 minutes ago, NakedKnees said:

To use the example of Reagan, to my knowledge, his Alzheimer's didn't really have a huge impact on the United States. 

The point is -- we don't know. 

Alzheimer's notwithstanding, Reagan is arguably responsible for the rise of tRump and the fucking shitshow that is the Republican party these days, complete with its fundie asshat wing. It all started with Reagan. 

Edited March 8, 2020 by hoipolloi

[hoipolloi]

15 minutes ago, fraurosena said:

Commenting and opining on perceived mental and physical decline does not equal diagnosis, armchair or otherwise.

No, it doesn't.

What should be receiving transparent & extensive coverage are behaviors that indicate health problems, such as tRump's repeated misfires with speech or the increasing visibility of apparently involuntary muscle spasms or jerks, especially in his shoulders & arms. These things are NOT NORMAL in an older person and the media has to quit ignoring or covering them up. 

TBH, I haven't watched enough video of Biden or Sanders to know if either or both of them have similar issues. If they do, then they, too, need to be covered openly by the media. The behaviors should not be ignored, covered up, or normalized.