Will you watch?

[shoottx]

You listen to too much Limbaugh, Hannity and Ingraham.

Nope!

Not a fan there either, they also lack a balanced perspective.

And that is the problem I am describing. We have an old line news system that is broken and a new news system that is acting as an adversary. Both are dancing with each other and ignoring the 4th estates real role. Now I am not naive enough to believe you can be absolutely neutral. But you can present the information with as little bias as possible or from both (or multiple) sides of an argument. So I end up gathering information from a variety of sources and then distilling the "news" into useful information.

[pelligrini]

aaaahhhh! I remember why I didn't want to watch. I keep repeating "Answer the da** question!"

[TB Roye]

Just got back from the dog park. It"s still on, out to the shop for some baseball and stopper turning. I will hear all about from the main stream, drive by media in morning. I did email my Representative in Congress today after I heard about the 100 Billion in pork that was added to the bail out. I asked her to put 100K in it for me so I can build and equip a new woodworking shop. I don't think she will be responding


9:44 pm PDT Just came in from the shop. The spirits of the Debate gotme. My $7.00 Acrylic Bottle Stopper blank blew up and went flying across the shop. Maybe there is a message there. Maybe if I sent an Email, naw let it go.

Tom

[germdoc]

Both "contestants" held their own and defended their positions well.

For the record, Gwen Ifill was absolutely impartial and professional in her role as moderator.

[Russianwolf]

Fellow Texan, and F.D.R. Vice President "Cactus Jack" Garner is quoted as saying that the vice presidency wasn't worth "a warm bucket of spit,".

I personally think he probably overrated it substantially..

unless the president dies. Then it is VERY relevant.

That's the way I always view this. I'm paying attention to the Presidential candidates' first and most important decision, who he/she picked to replace him/her in the event that he/she dies in office.

[Ed62]

Both "contestants" held their own and defended their positions well.

For the record, Gwen Ifill was absolutely impartial and professional in her role as moderator.

I agree. Palin did a much better job than I expected. Biden came across as expected. My opinion is based on the first hour of the debate. I'll see the rest of it today.

Ed

[germdoc]

And if you know anything about FDR's health history, thank goodness Garner was not on the ticket.

Fascinating quote from Dr. Emanuel Libman, famous pathologist at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City, reacting to Roosevelt's appearance in newsreels in 1944: "It doesn't matter whether Roosevelt is re-elected or not, he'll die of a cerebral hemorrhage within 6 months." In retrospect it was medical and political malpractice for those with knowledge of his condition to let him run for reelection.

[Alex Franke]

I thought it was a great debate -- moved quickly and covered a lot of topics, and I think both Palin and Biden did a great job -- both better than expected. I got no hint that the moderator might have leaned toward one candidate over the other.

I agree that the VP is also very relevant. The job of president has a mortality rate of about 20% (roughly 10% by assassination alone) -- over 200 times higher than loggers, and over 400 times that of roofers, power line workers, steel workers, and other dangerous jobs.

I think what is largely irrelevant, however, is the policies of the VP candidate, because if (God forbid) the president dies in office, the VP should continue in the spirit of the president -- because it's the president's positions that people voted for.

[fbrend123]

Nope!

Not a fan there either, they also lack a balanced perspective.

And that is the problem I am describing. We have an old line news system that is broken and a new news system that is acting as an adversary. Both are dancing with each other and ignoring the 4th estates real role. Now I am not naive enough to believe you can be absolutely neutral. But you can present the information with as little bias as possible or from both (or multiple) sides of an argument. So I end up gathering information from a variety of sources and then distilling the "news" into useful information.

Gotta jump in here, at the risk of going beyond the bounds of the thread. Never listened to Ingrham, but Rush and Hannity never ever tried to pretend that they had a balanced perspective. In fact, they openly state their biases. Neither do they claim to be journalists.

I agree that the old line news system is broken inasmuch as they have pretty much blurred the line between news and editorial opinion, but still claim to be just reporters. Dan Rather's "fake but accurate" fiasco is probably the most extreme example.

I submit that the new news system is the internet, where you can find "news" from all sources (and all sides), along with reaction from the general public Many more opportunities to get all sides of a story and form your own opinion based on the information available. Better than the networks and newspapers, in my opinion. I don't consider Rush or Hannity part of the "new news system", or indeed, of any news system.

Sorry for the rant. I'll shut up, now.

[cgallery]

For the record, Gwen Ifill was absolutely impartial and professional in her role as moderator.

Is her lie by omission mitigated by her performance as moderator? Not in my book.

[DonHo]

" Originally Posted by germdoc View Post
For the record, Gwen Ifill was absolutely impartial and professional in her role as moderator."

I beg to differ, she did seem to be impartial but if her professional role as moderator was to ask questions and get answers to those questions, she totally failed. Other than the first question, neither candidate stayed on subject with the question. On the second question, Biden ask if he could go back and address something in the first question and she said
something along the lines of "sure if you want to" and she lost controll from that point on.
It really didn't matter much to me because I have made up my mind but still I'd like to see them answer the questions put to them.

DonHo

[Alex Franke]

I beg to differ, she did seem to be impartial but if her professional role as moderator was to ask questions and get answers to those questions, she totally failed. Other than the first question, neither candidate stayed on subject with the question. On the second question, Biden ask if he could go back and address something in the first question and she said
something along the lines of "sure if you want to" and she lost controll from that point on.

I think her role, though, was mainly just to throw the questions out there and then hold the candidates to their times, rather than to guide their answers...

[dbhost]

I was intrigued by the idea of the mortality rate of the U.S. Presidency. So as a consumate DIY sort of guy, and computer geek, I did what is to be expected. Compiled a list and analyzed the data.

George Washington 1789-1797
John Adams 1797-1801
Thomas Jefferson 1801-1809
James Madison 1809-1817
James Monroe 1817-1825
John Quincy Adams 1825-1829
Andrew Jackson 1829-1837
Martin Van Buren 1837-1841
William Henry Harrison 1841 Died in office. Pnuemonia
John Tyler 1841-1845
James K Polk 1845-1849
Zachary Taylor 1849-1850 Died in office. Cholera
Millard Fillmore 1850-1853
Franklin Pierce 1853-1857
James Buchanan 1857-1861
Abraham Lincoln 1861-1865 Died In Office of an assasins bullet
Andrew Johnson 1865-1869
Ulysses S. Grant 1869-1877
Rutheford B. Hayes 1877-1881
James Garfield 1881- Died In Office of an assasins bullet
Chester Arthur 1881-1885
Grover Cleveland 1885-1889
Benjamin Harrison 1889-1893
Grover Cleveland 1893-1897
William McKinley 1897-1901 Died in Office of an assasins bullet
Theodore Roosevelt 1901-1909
William Taft 1909-1913
Woodrow Wilson 1913-1921
Warren G. Harding 1921-1923 Died in Office. Pnuemonia
Calvin Coolidge 1923-1929
Herbert Hoover 1929-1933
Franklin Delano Roosevelt 1933-1945 Died in Office. Cereboral Hemmohage.
Harry S. Truman 1945-1953
Dwight D. Eisenhower 1953-1961
John F. Kennedy 1961-1963 Died In Office of an assasins bullet
Lyndon B. Johnson 1963-1969
Richard M. Nixon 1969-1974
Gerald Ford 1974-1977
Jimmy Carter 1977-1981
Ronald Reagan 1981-1989
George Herbert Walker Bush 1989-1993
William Jefferson Clinton 1993-2001
George W. Bush 2001-2009

There were 43 different Presidential "Offices" held, by 42 different presidents. Grover Cleveland holds the honor as it were, of losing en election, and then coming back 4 years later to get back into office...

There were 4 presidents, Lincoln, Garfield, McKinley, and Kennedy that were killed by an assassins bullet. 2 died of pnuemonia, 1 of food born cholera (that might have been an intentional poisoning), and 1 of cereboral hemmohage.

So while the 20% number is off by a decimal point here or there, it is roughly right...

If I knew there was a 20% chance I would be shot, or keel over dead during my time in a specific career, I would look somewhere else for a job!

[Alex Franke]

I was intrigued by the idea of the mortality rate of the U.S. Presidency. So as a consumate DIY sort of guy, and computer geek, I did what is to be expected. Compiled a list and analyzed the data.

Great list! Not to get too far off topic, but another thing to consider is about a dozen more assassination attempts, so I've added them to your list and colored them red. The further you go down, the redder it gets. So it really is a pretty dangerous job, which is why I believe the VP choice really is a rather significant one...

George Washington 1789-1797
John Adams 1797-1801
Thomas Jefferson 1801-1809
James Madison 1809-1817
James Monroe 1817-1825
John Quincy Adams 1825-1829
Andrew Jackson 1829-1837 Assassination attempted (both guns misfired)
Martin Van Buren 1837-1841
William Henry Harrison 1841 Died in office. Pnuemonia
John Tyler 1841-1845
James K Polk 1845-1849
Zachary Taylor 1849-1850 Died in office. Cholera
Millard Fillmore 1850-1853
Franklin Pierce 1853-1857
James Buchanan 1857-1861
Abraham Lincoln 1861-1865 Died In Office of an assasins bullet
Andrew Johnson 1865-1869
Ulysses S. Grant 1869-1877
Rutheford B. Hayes 1877-1881
James Garfield 1881- Died In Office of an assasins bullet
Chester Arthur 1881-1885
Grover Cleveland 1885-1889
Benjamin Harrison 1889-1893
Grover Cleveland 1893-1897
William McKinley 1897-1901 Died in Office of an assasins bullet
Theodore Roosevelt 1901-1909 Assassination attempted (after he left office)
William Taft 1909-1913
Woodrow Wilson 1913-1921
Warren G. Harding 1921-1923 Died in Office. Pnuemonia
Calvin Coolidge 1923-1929
Herbert Hoover 1929-1933
Franklin Delano Roosevelt 1933-1945 Died in Office. Cereboral Hemmohage. Assassination attempted (5 shots, just before being sworn in)
Harry S. Truman 1945-1953 Assassination attempted
Dwight D. Eisenhower 1953-1961
John F. Kennedy 1961-1963 Died In Office of an assasins bullet. Assassination attempted (thwarted suicide bombing)
Lyndon B. Johnson 1963-1969
Richard M. Nixon 1969-1974 Assassination attempted twice
Gerald Ford 1974-1977 Assassination attempted twice
Jimmy Carter 1977-1981 Possible assassination attempt thwarted
Ronald Reagan 1981-1989 Assassination attempted
George Herbert Walker Bush 1989-1993 Assassination attempt thwarted, just after leaving office
William Jefferson Clinton 1993-2001 Possible assassination attempted twice
George W. Bush 2001-2009 Possible assassination attempted twice

[Black wallnut]

Due to the amount of spam that seems to be targeting polls I am closing all the open polls. Sorry guys!