Guard Dog

You make over $200,000 a year? Really? Oh I guarantee that bar will be a LOT lower when the time comes.

No. The current representative system is written into Article I of the Constitution. It would require huge amounts of political capital to even get the conversation started in that direction, and, ultimately, the resulting policies wouldn't be all that different. For good or ill, in the States, there's a lot of reverence for the 1789 Constitution. There have been a few periods of major changes made to it (most notably, the initial Bill of Rights, the Civil War amendments, and the efforts of the early-1900s Progressives), but otherwise, there has been great resistance to anyone questioning the wisdom of the "founding fathers." Can you imagine the utter chaos that would result from a Constitutional Convention in our time? It was highly contentious in 1789, it took more than 10 years to get 13 states to ratify it. And in those days the was far more cultural and political similarity between the states than now. The document that would be acceptable to New England would never be ratified in the South or Mid-West. What the pacific coast states would require might be intolerable to the Great Lakes. There are far more political factions now that will want their pet issue put in. Religous conservatives, big government populists, greens, free staters, socialists, capitialists, etc. Thomas Jefforson produced a document that was six hand written pages long. The new one would probably require a hand truck to move it around. Actually there is a very good chance such an exersize would fracture the country whis would be a disaster.

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." Someday Sand you are going to wake up and realize that that vast majority of your fellow citizens do believe in God in some form or another. Including the founding fathers of your country who had the wisdom and foresight to spell out that unalienable right DO come from God and not from man. If rights came from man then man could take them away. So if you value your freedom it actually behooves you to be at least a little religious. But I was just using a phrase for emphasis the post in question.

To many of them their guns are like their babies. And now that Obama is elected they fear he'll take their babies away from them. It's not the gun itself it's the fact that the government would be attempting to supress/eliminate a god given constitutionally guaranteed right. It is real easy to see how the elimination of one right sets precedent for the elimination of others if the government decides it wishes to do so.

The state does not recognize marriage as a religious practice at all. In fact there are well documented divisions between the government and religion in this country that prevent that very thing. Marriage is viewed as a civil contract between two adults (although states are beginning to add the verbage "man and woman" like FL and CA for example). So I would not call it a sacred christian practice at all. In Aristes defense here (against Krezacks sophmoric argument that he is a bigot because he did not vote a certain way) I could make a compelling argument that a state constitution being the supreme law of the land (beneath the US Constitution) it is not appropriate/ or is appropriate depending on you view of government to use that to define terms of a specific civil contract between individuals. That would be a libertarian argument (to argue that it is not) even though the immediate libertarian response to gay marriage is "who cares" and "let them do what they please" as a matter of individual freedom. edit: This sounded right in my head but i'm not doing well getting my point accross my keyboard here. But I think you see what I'm getting at.

I'm a little hung over this morning but I am cheered by one thing. The democrats failed to achieve a super-majority in the Senate. So although last night was a huge win all around for the left, they did not seize total power. That is a good thing. I'm very curious how Obama will proceed now. Will he attempt to stay centered or will he immediately veer hard to the left? The powers that be in Congress will be pushing him left. It will be interesting to see. I suspect he is prudent enough to govern as a moderate. The last time the Dems held all the cards they went absolutely hog wild taxing and spending and two years later they were swept out of power in dramatic fashion. That could easily happen in 2010. Prediction: The first thing the 111th Congress does once sworn in in Jan 2009 will be to vote itself a pay raise.

Absent a federal law the 10th Amendment requires the SCOTUS to defer to the California State Supreme Court. They in turn are required to defer to the California Constitution. If prop 8 passes it is the law of the land and the California SC must up hold it and the SCOTUS has no standing to rule on it. If Congress were to pass a law permitting gay marriage then the state law banning it would be overridden. So if prop 8 passes then the only choices are to try to repeal it via ballot initiative in 2010 or call you congressman. Obviously the former would have a far more likely chance of success. About the only way I see to bring it to the SCOTUS would be if a couple married in a state where it is legal is residing in California and is denied the benefits of that marriage by the state THEY would have standing to challenge the California law under the "Full Faith and Credit" clause of the US Constitution. This has been tried before and it has failed and the current SCOTUS is far less activist than even under Rehnquist. I doubt they would rule on the case even if it were tried. Incidentally, I noticed Florida also passed a similar ban: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/politics/...0,6683922.story

Pennsylavania has gone to Obama. McCain needed to win that one if he lost either NC or Ohio. He has no margin of error now. If they call either Florida or Ohio for Obama I'm shuttong the computer off and making anther drink. And then another after that.

Latest from FL with 8% of precincts reporting (none in panhandle, they just closed) Obama 51% McCain 48% http://enight.dos.state.fl.us/

So far no surprises. The traditionally red states are going for McCain, the blues for Obama. North Carolina may upset that apple cart though. Looks like Obama is going to win there.

McCain win West Virginia, Obama takes Delaware. North Carolina, South Carolina, Indiana are a dead heat with 5% of precincts reporting. McCain has a strong lean in Virgina. This is BIG news. If McCain win VA he will be doing pretty well.

First results are in, McCain win Kentucky, Vermont has fallen to Obama. http://www.foxnews.com/index.html

That has always been my biggest fear, unfettered power by any one political party. It is all the more terrifying when one considers that kind of power wielded by a leftist reactionary party hell bent on destroying the country and remaking it in it's own image. At least thats how I see it. If you think about it the Dem's have become the party that is against individual liberty. They oppose free speech and try to suppress it with their "fairness doctrine". They oppose the freedom to own a firearm. They oppose the right to be secure in person and property by the way they hailed the Kelo V New London decision and Dem controlled state governments have made extremely heavy handed use of imminent domain to seize private property to sell for economic development. They have ever been the champions of heavy taxation and redistribution of wealth so one might argue they are opposed to economic liberty as well. I could go on but I think I made my point. Voting democratic is the equivalent of selling your soul for bread.

Obama has enough "safe" electoral votes that to win McCain will need to essentially run the table on the 8 undecided/too close to call states. But Enoch is right. If Obama wins any two of the Florida, Virginia, Ohio trifecta McCains chances of victory will be just about zero.

As early as midnight eastern time, or as late as tomorrow morning if the races are close out west.

Politics are incredibly differnent in the US it seems. In my political environment, this combination would seem like a contradiction (except if "liberal" means socially liberal, and even then it wouldn't really fit). I have some incredibly productive days behind me now, and still two of them to go. I certainly hope I'm not totally burnt out by then... You are absolutely correct Samm. And kudos for pointing it out. In US politics the word "liberal" has taken on a meaning that is polar opposite it's textbook definition.

I strongly disagree. And I disagree with Hurlshot, there are stark differences between the two. Obama by himself is not so bad. Obama with a liberal/socialist supermajority in congress and four years of unfettered power.... terrifying.

I voted. Tonight I'll go home and watch the election returns. If Obama wins I'm going online and buying a shortwave radio, two sets of rechargable batteries, canned goods and bottled water and a thousand rounds of ammo for each of my firearms. Oh and five hundred pounds of dog food and two cases of Milk Bones. I kid of course.... I'll probably just play NWN2 (still trying to get throught the first time) and get well and truly drunk and try to forget that the majority of my countrymen might be out there making a serious mistake.

How is it polling? I've heard it was dead meat politically. I've never understood why this is a big deal. If a gay couple want to get married why should any one else care? That whole "Life Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness" thing has to apply to everyone or it applies to no one.

I had dinner with a lady I just met last week yesterday. First date I've been on in ages. She dosn't like dogs. I don't think we would get along.

Ditto to what Enoch said. Well, at least it will all be over tomorrow. We have discussed at great length who is voting for who (or supporting for all non-US types). Tomorrow I'll cast my vote for McCain and once again I'm voting for the lesser of two terrible choices. No matter who wins tomorrow I have only one hope: that the election outcome is not close. I do not mean a land slide. I believe the EC vote will be close. I just want the victory of whoever wins to be unassailable in every state they actually did win. If we had a repeat of 2000 in this political and cultural climate it can only end badly. All I'm hoping for is that it is decisive one way or another.

I guess there is always mods. The problem is I don't have the time anymore. Actually, a campaign to do all of that is quite possible in NWN1. Now that the CODI material is out it would require nothing more than a little effort and time. The bummer of it is no one would ever play it because the NWN1 ship sailed a long time ago. Few still have the game installed and fewer would put it back on to play a mod no matter how good it might be.

Barack Obama

My wishlist for NWN2 NX3: 1) Planescape setting. Not the butchered version that WOTC added to the FR campaign setting as an afterthought but the real honest to god Planescape setting and rules. If you need the source books I have soft copies of them all, I'll be happy to send them. 2) A fully fleshed out Sigil tileset/heightmap with great spire, charter house, faction houses, and sufficient textures to create appropriate terrain of any plane. 3) A full monster manual of planescape setting creatures (feel free to reuse from FR 3rd Ed where appropriate but you had better include more tiefling heads, gloamings, dabus, and the Lady of Pain doggone it!) 4) A full 100+ hour campaign story that is so good and compelling that it will make me forget Torment. 5) Factons. ALL of them. With appropriate feats and skills amd emnities. This is not negotiable Can you guys do all that? No? Shoot. It would have been awsome. Well, if you can't do that then please make the setting in Icewind Dale or the Shining South please. Anything you guys make I'll probably buy.

"You wants Deekin?"