What's your platform?

"high treason and bribery" aren't misdemeanors, and wrongful convictions are extremely rare. We won't change our laws to enable felons to enjoy the full rights as a citizen.

I'm also curious as to why my thoughts on this contradict my opinion that voting should not be mandatory. Seems like to me like they align quite well.

Can you explain further what your basis for that remark comes from.

I'm gonna answer your question with a question.

Do you REALLY want rapists, murderers, drug dealers, pedophiles, etc, having a say about the direction of the country? They have already shown that their decision making ability is compromised. Let them get reformed and then let the courts decide if they are up to the task of making sound decisions.

Also I have seen you post a few different times about "well other countries do this or that".

Well this is the United States. We can follow our own path. If you admire other countries so much. Feel free to relocate.

Why should convicted felons who have served their time not be able to vote?

Think hard about that. It will contradict your belief about mandatory voting.

Why should people in jail not be able to vote? Are they no longer citizens?

A lot of countries allow prisoners to vote. They actually treat prisons as a place to reform as a principle.

8inch...I didn't know that you lose your voting rights for misdemeanors.... Beyond high treason and bribery.

I'm talking about jail sentences. If you are sentenced to jail for a misdemeanor your voting rights are suspended until your release. After release they are automatically returned.

For a FELONY conviction your voting rights are suspended until release. At that point your voting rights will remain suspended until the convicted appeals to the courts for reinstatement. If the convicted chooses to not pursue regaining voting rights that will be their decision.

8inch...... Unfortunately, there are people who are wrongly convicted of felonies. That is a gross miscarriage of Justice. But what would you propose? Should we allow convinced felons vote because they might fall into that small percentage of "wrongly convicted" people?

I didn't know that you lose your voting rights for misdemeanors.... Beyond high treason and bribery.

And, not everyone convicted of felonies actually committed the crimes. Wrongful convictions take place all the time, especially when you don't have a qualified attorney.

After thinking about it. Misdemeanor sentences voting is reinstated immediately upon serving your sentence. Felony convictions must have voting rights reinstated by a judge.

That's a good point.. Is it OK if my platform is subject to change as information and valid points arise? Hahaha

Why? In committing a felony in our society, our laws dictate that you surrender your rights to elect the people who write the laws that you violated, why should that change? If you’re rehabilitated you may apply for an expungement. But just forgive and forget is not a fitting punishment if you were harmed by the felons action.

Due to another thread I want to add to my platform.

PHOTO ID must be required to vote. Must be a legal US citizen. If you are currently serving time for ANY offense you cannot vote. After your time is served you can vote again.

So much stupidity being spewed here!

"After the death of JFK, the Dems flipped on your ilk and passed the Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act. This flipped minorities from Republican Party to Democratic Party. The only way the Republican Party could survive was to flip ignorant, xenophobic, racists to their side... But, they couldn't come right out and say they were the party of ignorant racists without alienating their rich Wall Street supporters. So, instead Nixon came up with the "Family Values Party" after noticing the extreme overlap between being an ignorant, xenophobic racist and being an ignorant, homophobic Bible Thumper. (That is, both groups are largely the same people)."

I guess ol' JFK was standing in the way, huh? Good grief. Does it hurt when you think this shit up? Let's just drill this "cogent argument" right on down and explain how Senator Byrd was both a Klansman and Democratic Senator until his death in 2010,leading his party an amazing 45 years or so after your timeline that the D-Team did their "flip"?

Just fucking keep going, show the world what an arrogant idiot you can be.

"My style is to present full cogent arguments. It's who I am."

LOL.

If that's what you want to call it...

i would call it being pedantic asshole with a serious case of Dunning-Kruger.

But to each his own,,,

My point was even the simplest of math belies the 17% often trotted out as the "magic number."

"You just restated my post."

My style is to present full cogent arguments. It's who I am.

"So if you want to tax every dollar of GDP equally, that's $6.4/$21.44=29.9%. 30 cents of every dollar."

As I am sure you know, NO flat tax proposal has ever used that flat math.

They use the $2T of income tax receipts / $10 trillion in income and come up with a 20% flat tax.

Then the regressive taxes like payroll, property and sales are added on, so that the poor and middle class is paying 40% while the rich are paying 25%.

There is no point in doing this "simplification" if you're just going to tax the rich 30%, which is what they pay under the current system... which I'm sure you know and just left it intentionally unsaid.

"I always love how conservative thought gets labeled like this."

You mean... exactly how they are?

"You brought up Trumps belief is what many of us are defending. President Trump is not the author of my beliefs. Millions of Americans have been feeling this way for years. Maybe it's just that now we find ourselves in a do or die mode and finally are speaking out."

I never said you feel this way because Trump told you too. It's the other way around. You voted for him because he says the same ignorant and racist things that you already believed. You're a member of the Republican Party's army of useful idiots.

Once upon a time, the Xenophobic, racist, fools like yourself we in the Democratic Party, because they were anti-immigrant and pro-Jim-Crow segregation racist policies.

After the death of JFK, the Dems flipped on your ilk and passed the Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act. This flipped minorities from Republican Party to Democratic Party. The only way the Republican Party could survive was to flip ignorant, xenophobic, racists to their side... But, they couldn't come right out and say they were the party of ignorant racists without alienating their rich Wall Street supporters. So, instead Nixon came up with the "Family Values Party" after noticing the extreme overlap between being an ignorant, xenophobic racist and being an ignorant, homophobic Bible Thumper. (That is, both groups are largely the same people).

The "Family Values" party elected a man that breaks half the 10 commandments on a daily bases and has shown no history of being at all religious, because he promised to deport the brown people, ban the Muslims, put queers back into the closet, erase from history that uppity negro that dared get himself elected president, and make it socially acceptable to be a white supremacist again.

You just restated my post.

Except I used 35 words, and you used 273.

You really like to show how smart you think you are...

"And here comes the abortion debate in 3....2....1 lol"

Except the abortion debate has been in this thread for half a dozen posts already...

"A majority of ppl vote upon their religious beliefs."

And then wonder why politicians are incompetent and ineffective. As I stated, religion is a great tool for manipulating the masses. However, the real motivation for religious way is always wealth and power.

8inch...."Whether a woman decided to give birth or have an abortion, its her body."

And here comes the abortion debate in 3....2....1 lol

"I doubt there are very many people who actually get back more from taxes than they pay."

Most people who make this claim are limiting it to just "income tax". That is, they get back more in their income tax refund that was withheld from their paycheck. This isn't too hard to get pretty close on. According to the IRS, in 2019, 25 million households got a total of $63B or just under $2500 each.

Now, it is possible not all of them had $0 tax obligation, but the way the EITC is calculated is calculated, it is possible but highly unlikely that the amount of the credit is less than the tax obligation... that is, while a very small number of people in that 25 million didn't get back more than was withheld, but very, very few.

As for the total, again, not too hard to figure out. Back in 2012 to help defeat Obama in his second run, the Tax Foundation (an anti-tax Libertarian from for billionaires) calculated that in recent (to 2012) years, 60% of households got more in transfer payment from the federal government than they paid in (that year) in income and payroll taxes. What they failed to mention is that almost half of those households were elderly and that 80% of the "get" was Social Security and Medicare.

And, as I previously stated, the real purpose of both EITC (25 million households) and food stamps (38 million households) , is really about keeping poor people spending without raising the minimum wage, as a form of subsidy to businesses that pay low wages. Raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour, and the number of people that would qualify for these programs would fall drastically.

Religion was never separated from politics.

A majority of ppl vote upon their religious beliefs.

Politicians pander to churches and religious groups.

Whether a woman decided to give birth or have an abortion, its her body.

"AZ couple. Your comments about abortion almost sounded like mine yet you phrased it to sound like you totally disagreed.
The FEDERAL GOVT should step back from the abortion issue. Let the people in each state decide."

That is the opposite of what I said and believe. The government has a role to play in ensuring medical procedures are safe and effective. Beyond that, the right of a doctor and a patient to decide which "safe and effective" medical procedures to be performed is every bit as much a Constitutionally protected right under the 9th as right of the National Guard to keep and bear arms is protected by the 2nd.

Just as states can't choose to ban guns, then can't ban abortion... Unless this is yet another thing in the Constitution, that you claim to love, but actually hate.

"What exactly would be the "knee jerk reaction" to defending our country quickly and harshly?"

When Bin Laden attacked the USA on 9/11/2001, his goal was to get us to invade the Middle East, destabilize the region, lock us into an endless and unwinnable war that would eventually bankrupt us as happened to the USSR.

What did we do? Exactly what he wanted.

The non-knee-jerk reaction would be to sit back and think about what the enemy wants... and not do that. Do something else. Like, our drone strike program and other surgical tactical strikes, have been WAY more effective at a far lower price and with minimal loss of life, then boots on the ground ever was.

Think about it like a football player. The second shove is almost always the one the ref's see. So, if you're walking past an opposing player and he shoves you... don't shove back. At best, the ref's see both and the penalties offset. As worst, they didn't see the first, and you get called for the retaliation.

As for your mention of Sunday School, it simply strengthens my belief that most of your beliefs are based on xenophobic, ignorant hate. As I tell my fellow atheists then they say religion kills more people than all other causes... nope. Religion is a tool to motivate the masses, but for the people in power declaring the war it is about power and wealth.

Terrorists don't attack the USA because of religion. It is because of power and wealth. We prop up governments that oppress people, keep peoples divided, encourage infighting, and in other ways, keep the Muslim nations down.

Don't get me wrong... good policies. Every time the Muslim nations are united they attempt to replace the West as world's super powers, and I prefer it with us on top. BUT, make no mistake, it is about wealth and power, not which version of the Hebrew imaginary friend you worship.