Well, according to that presidential match site, apparently I’m a ABBALATNNKBHHNCTWIN*.
(*-Anybody But Bush, As Long As They’re Not Named Kucinich, Because He Has No Chance To Win In November.)
So yes, I’m for Kerry, although as a Californian my vote will be pointless.
I also have to say that this thread appears to contain some of the more respectful exchanges between posters with opposing political viewpoints. But maybe I’ve been hanging out too much in Great Debates.
You’re perfectly willing to let this nation go in the red for another 4 years because you want your space program? sigh
Condoms are a hell of a lot more effective than nothing.
Let somebody else pick up the burden? Why not let some other country go into space then? What practical use does space exploration have other than to say “wow, look at us! we’re on Mars! la de fricken da!”
It isn’t quite that simple. Roe vs Wade hangs by the barest of threads. It was upheld by a 5-4 margin back in 1992, but only because one Justice had a sudden attack of conscience and switched his vote at the last minute. There is a very likely chance that if Bush remains in office, enough Justices will either die or retire to allow him to appoint pro-life justices in their place that will overturn the decision.
Bush has said that his idea of the perfect justice is Antonin Scalia, for Christs sake! ANTONIN SCALIA!
Sure, that will work in the majority of States, but I don’t trust Idaho, Utah, or any of the Southern States to follow anything but their religious beliefs in regards to abortion legislation. The women in those States who want a choice will be screwed. Sure, some of them could travel, but the poor ones who REALLY need an abortion will be shit out of luck.
Thank God they haven’t yet ( 
), but they’re aching to do that.
And what about Bush’s endorsement to forever ban gays from getting married? Does your conscience allow you to vote in favor of a man who wants to enshrine bigotry in the Constitution?
None of those things require us to go to Mars!
I wouldn’t take anything for granted! Seriously. Remember, the Republicans were able to rally enough support in this state to evict a sitting Democratic Governor and replace him with one of their own (not saying his ouster wasn’t warranted, just illustrating their power and drive). I learned at the Kerry Meetup in Redondo Beach last Thursday that the Republicans have gotten over 8,000 new registered Republican voters in the city of Torrance alone. This will not necessarily be a cakewalk. Your vote and your voice are very, very important here!
Blalron, I wouldn’t trouble yourself. Tuckerfan is a lost cause, as he is completely obsessed with the space program, even to the point of not giving a damn about the fact that a gigantic, rusty eyesore that has fallen into disuse by NASA has been deemed hazardous waste and is literally poisoning the earth; it is that important to him that it remains standing as a monument to his childhood dreams. He is “enraged” that it’s being torn down, and thinks you should be too. I kid you not. [cite]
Actually, by the same token, I really respected W’s response when the mic picked him up calling a reporter an asshole. He didn’t back down, didn’t apologize, just stated that, hey, it was a private remark to the VP. Which is exactly what he should have done. So I wouldn’t be so quick to call Kerry weak for doing much the same.
PS: I’m voting for Kerry only b/c Bush is an em-bare-ass-ment to the GOP. Unfortunately, the party cannot realistically nominate anyone else this year. Glad to know at least one other like me on this board (hell, in the world).
PPS: To be totally Machiavellian for a moment, US parties are way too short-sighted. Sometimes it’s a good idea to give an office over for a term, e.g. if you think the economy will be turning down and believe the other party’s candidate will make bad choices which will damage their party, so you can sit it out and come back stronger next time around. Sadly, this isn’t one of those times. ::sigh::
Yeah, 12 years of huge deficits during the Reagan/Bush era didn’t kill us then, and they won’t kill us now.
Yeah, well I don’t see the Bushitas proposing that we outlaw them any time soon.
What practical use does someone in Africa have for a homeless program in the US? They do have a practical use for the improved telecommunications which are a direct result of the space program. They do benefit from improved communications technology (thank you space program), better weather forecasting (thank you space program), and better methods of manufacturing (thank you space program) to name but a few examples. You can see more here. Until the space program came along, there hadn’t been a massive upshift in the daily lives of folks on a global scale. Everything you see around you has benefitted from the space program. Everything.
Landing men on the Moon cemented the US’s position as a global superpower. Not because it shifted the minds of folks around the world that we were better than the Soviets, but because of the massive amounts of new technologies which were created by the space program. The Chinese have declared that they will be going to the Moon. Why? Because they know that the equivalent of a single space shuttle load or roughly 25 tons of helium-3 could supply a nation’s energy needs for a year. Despite what our politicians and industry leaders seem to think, the Chinese are not stupid. If they get to the Moon, they’ll not be so foolish as to muck about there for a bit and then leave. That means China will gain a technological edge on the US. Hey, if you think Bush’s human rights record is piss poor, it ain’t nothing compared to the Chinese! By all means, turn the world over to them.
And when they get that clone-o-matic perfected and can begin spitting out carbon copies of Scalia every time a member of SCOTUS croaks or retires, I’ll be concerned. Given the glacial process it takes for a new justice to get confirmed by any President, the odds of Bush being able to foist another Scalia on us are pretty slim.
Most places women are already out of luck. It’s really hazardous to be an abortion doctor right now, you think that those folks are going to go away if Kerry gets elected? Or that he’ll be able to put a stop to it? Nope. Abortion is going to remain a hot button issue for the rest of humanity’s existence.
He’ll have about as much luck with that as he has with the whole anti-flag burning amendment. Which is none at all. They’ll talk and talk, get everyone on both sides of the issue all puffed up about it, but in the end, gays will be allowed to marry.
Nothing requires us to get up in the morning, but we still do.
Actually I think doing nothing is a heck more effective in AIDS prevention then doing somethign w/ condoms 
Anyway interesting bringing up mars, this is a issue I feel strongly about, and is a critical issue. Bush wins my vote on this one alone as I feel it is the future of humanity. If OTHO Bush did not support it and J.F.K. did I would strongly consider voting for him, with 2 major considerations, the War on Terrorism MUST be won (or deflected from us), and J.F.K. has to show NO signs of taking multiple sides on this issue, though his creadability for me is not great.
Actually this was my ready response if the OP had actually answered my question as to why. But thanks for reading my mind and adding it.
Tuckerfan are you interested in starting a debate on the space program. I’m ready to support you as I’ve always thought we should be putting way more resources into developing technolgies for space travel. Not enough to vote for Bush (unless he gauranteed me a seat on next trip to Freedom) but enough to help you debate it.
Speak for yourself, spaceboy.
Wait a second here… Kerry’s initials are JFK? Well now, that’s… interesting!
If I was American, I’d vote Bush out. (Actually I saw Dennis Kucinich on Letterman the other day, and he seemed really quite cool. Great comic timing. And I thought Howard Dean would’ve been a unique President. Oh well.)
Not a bad idea, but I won’t have the time until this weekend.
Weekends good for me. If I don’t respond immediately send me a link.
im not voting for him
my best friends uncle was in the war with him and apparently they were coming to shore in their boats and kerry started to freak out so the uncle had to knock kerry out with his AK otherwise they all would have gotten wasted. if u look u can still see the scar on kerry’s head. anyways from what i know kerry is trying to play himself off as a big war hero and id have to say he’s a big war pussy. someone took that story to the press and the day after it was published my uncle was fired because “we dont have a need for your position anymore” the uncle was an insurance adjuster. try having an insurance company w/o an adjuster and let me know how it works out
Wow. The U.S. used AK47’s?? That’s news…
I agree that we need to do more to support NASA, and we’ve neglected it for far too long. We can only say “wait 'til we’re stable” for so long. However…currently the Bush administration hasn’t shown me that they have any serious inclination to bolster the program any more than have the last two administrations.
Tuckerfan, if you have any cites, I’d love to read them. Thanks.
Welcome to the Straight Dope. You may want to re-read the mission statement, though.
Your best friend’s uncle, huh ? At least it’s a variation on the old friend-of-friend.
Now, as far as I’m informed, the AK assault rifle was the weapon favoured by the Vietcong and NVA. Are you sure your best friend’s uncle was fighting for the US ? Just asking, is all…
That’s very sad. Of course, seeing as the main AK-wielding character was your best friend’s uncle at the start of this story, I fail to see why your uncle losing his job is the slightest bit relevant. Unless, as I am beginning to suspect, this story of yours is made up - and pretty poorly, I might add - on the spot.
Good eye, Maureen!
Moving this to Great Debates.
US forces in Vietnam unofficially used the AK quite a bit. The M-16 series was plagued by early problems (Which even when cleared, was still not really trusted by many of the ‘early adopters’). The M14 was considered bulky and ill-suited to jungle warfare. AKs were prized for their reliability, and were often carried by ‘special’ units. Unofficially, of course.
This lead to a few “friendly fire” incidents, IIRC. Still, I’d say that whattheheck’s story is a load of bull.
Maureen, it’ll probably be this weekend before I can come up with some decent links.
Leaning towards Kerry.
As the story was taken to the press, I’m sure you can provide us with a cite. That would be a link to the story from a reputable online source, or a specific reference to the newspaper or magazine that published it. If this is indeed a legitimate story, I’d very much like to read it.