BallotVox

Canadians for Obama

Barack Obama has quite a worldwide following. He’s got vocal supporters as far away as Gaza City and as close as Canada. From our northern neighbors, first a serious comment: these young Canadians say Obama’s appeal is all about international relations:

And next something silly: this old-timey song pays tribute with an Obama cutout superimposed on Canadian classics, including a Loonie and a Tim Hortons doughnut:

How about that touch with the northern lights?

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Science Debate 08?

See the periodic table? [Mike Mertz / Flickr]

A group of scientists, educators, and business leaders is calling for Science Debate 2008, and thousands of people have signed on in support. The goal here is to convince the 08 candidates to debate big scientific issues — issues that affect America’s national and economic security.

Larissa Zhou is on BallotVox’s science beat and found the first three of these posts.

Twenty-four-year-old Natty from NYC is somewhat involved in the push for SD08, and he’s frustrated by the pessimists who don’t believe it will happen:

The common excuse for “probably won’t happen” seems to be that politicians won’t want to look scientifically ignorant when asked questions about science. Well, the entire purpose of the proposal seems to be missed. Nobody’s asking the candidates to count electrons or describe the properties of black holes. We don’t expect them to tell us the solubility of various chemicals or to describe how the endocrine system functions. Admittedly, I can’t answer those questions and, embarrassing as that might be for me, those aren’t the important questions to ask a presidential candidate. What does need to be asked however is whether they will take a serious position on climate change, whether they will fund stem cell research, and what, ultimately, their administration would do to ensure that America remains at the forefront of science well into the future.

Natty probably wouldn’t be happy with Chicagoan ZapperZ’s cynicism:

While I think this is very important debate not just in terms of the issues, but in terms of a way we can judge how these candidates arrive at what they believe to be a valid opinion, I am not that optimistic that they will agree to this. Why? Because unlike most of the other debates, one actually need to have some knowledge of facts in this debate to be able to form an opinion. If you look closely at all the other debates, one can almost make things up as one goes along at answering the questions or discussing the issues. In those debates, style mattered more than substance. In a Science Debate, substance will take precedent over style. And for most politicians, that is very difficult to do.

John Marshall from Seattle — a “one-hundred percent natural, robust blend of cowboy, punk, and classical natural philosopher” — comments on Clinton and Obama staffers’ openness to SD08 (they were asked about it at a February scientific meeting in Boston):

Clinton’s guy was quite noncommittal and you could tell he was trying to find a way to say “In your dreams, nerds” without losing any votes; I am unsurprised. Obama’s rep, however, was quite stoked about the prospect and said that they were seriously considering it. I mean, that’s hardly a pledge, but surely it’s a good sign.

Scientist and futurist David Brin argues this on behalf of SD08 (hat tip to Ann Raber):

How absurd it is for an advanced nation, a purported leader of civilization, to choose new leaders without ever debating issues of technology and science. […]

America did better, as a nation, when it thought of itself as a nation of science. When it took pride in its leadership in forward thinking. When it considered the quest something very close to sacred.

If you agree with Brin and want to join the SD08 crowd, here’s a place to start.

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Catholic Rethinks Iraq

Inside a confessional [two stout monks / Flickr]

Stephen M. Bauer from New Jersey calls himself an ordinary Catholic. A Catholic whose guilt, it seems, includes his pre-Iraq-war thinking (via Ann Raber):

I am very disappointed in my own clarity of thinking just before the invasion of Iraq. Originally, I was opposed to an invasion of Iraq, based on the principles of Just War theory. But as the buildup came closer to the time of the invasion, I got caught-up in the surrounding emotions, based on what was being reported in the media. In hindsight, I realized that before the invasion, the U.S. and Iraq were behaving like my two sons fighting in the back seat of the car.

I knew that the Iraq war did not meet the necessary conditions of the Just War theory, but I told myself that the theory had not been updated for modern realities. I thought the war was justified on a “greater good” basis because of the crimes Hussein was committing against his own people. However, the Pope had warned Bush that in going to war against Iraq, too many innocents would suffer and that he would not be able to predict or control the course the war would take, the consequences or outcome.

You should only go to war when you have no other choice. We need to deal with people like Sadaam Hussein with negotiation, no matter how difficult it is or how long it takes. Our government does not put enough effort, talent, resources or priority into negotiations in situations like this. We need to be more creative in applying political pressure.

We arguably still need to be more creative in working the political angle in Iraq today… Bauer doesn’t specify which candidate he feels is addressing this best.

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Ready for a Female President?

Tory, a spunky young English major from the Chicago ‘burbs, assumes different personas to ask: is America ready for a woman in the Oval Office? She plays with common objections. It’s a clever piece except for the gratuitous insult towards the end (thanks, Ann Raber):

On the name-calling: Tory herself points out in another great video that respect is the way to go.

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Campaign Website Award

[Larsz / Flickr]

Genevieve Sponsler caught this post in her daily trolling of Voices without Votes (a very cool site that tracks foreign opinion about Campaign 08). In it, a South African expat living in Ireland comments on the style and effectiveness of the three remaining candidates’ websites. Highest points go to simplicity.

Assessment of McCain’s site:

I have to say it looks like a very action orientated website with lots of talk about his healthcare plan while also taking snipes at the democrats.

Assessment of Clinton’s site:

Way too crowded, would take me 5 min to figure out where to go.

You know what, I think I have come to the conclusion that whoever designed the Clinton website must have more than two eyes because it took me 5 minutes to find where I wanted to go. Even from the thumbnail, you can see the exhaustive detail on the site but Hillary doesn’t focus on the issues here. The first thing you see on her site is her need for money […]

Assessment of Obama’s site:

Nice, simple and clean interface with easy navigation.

The irony of this situation is that Senator Obama’s website does not ask for Money overtly like the Clinton website but it keeps things simple focusing on his main message of change while encouraging people to get involved.

The South African in Ireland declares Obama the winner because his site is the least cluttered. The grand prize? A “personal meaningless award for best website design.”

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Candidates on Free Trade

Telluride’s Free Box for free trades
[markschoneveld / Flickr]

Republican, corporate lawyer, and Cubs fan Pat Allen feels that John McCain — unlike his two potential Democratic rivals — has shown admirable consistency on free trade (thanks, Ann Raber):

During the Ohio primary last month, Senators Obama and Clinton were in a race to show the people of Ohio which one of them was more anti-free trade and which of them was more against NAFTA. Senator Clinton’s problem was that her husband, the one whose administration she got all that “experience” in, proposed NAFTA and pushed hard to get it passed. Senator Obama’s problem was that his main economic adviser told Canadian government officials that Obama’s NAFTA-bashing was just “politics” and that Obama really didn’t mean it.

Well, John McCain is not having that kind of credibility problem.

He goes on to quote New York Times and Independent pieces that show McCain’s commitment to free trade. His last line: “Now that is a candidate to be proud of.”

Presumably he approves not just of McCain’s consistency but also his position…

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Where’s Abortion?

Emily Green, a University of Michigan College Democrat, wonders why abortion has been a sleeper issue so far in Campaign 08 (via Larissa Zhou):

It fascinates me that in one of the most polarizing, controversial, and highly contested elections of the past 30 years, that one of the most polarizing, controversial, and highly contested issues of the past 30 years, Abortion, is no where to be found. […] Why is this? Why is an issue that fires up people more than almost anything else, nearly completely absent from this election?

Maybe its because Obama and Hillary share similar views. Maybe its because McCain wants to maintain his status as a somewhat socially moderate Republican. It just seems strange that in an election where people have such strong opinions on their candidate of choice, the candidates are keeping mum on their opinions on abortion.[…]

Strangely enough, abortion impacts one of the most upfront issues of the election; health care. Should abortion be covered by health care? Many pro-choicers say no. But there isn’t much publicity on the candidates views.

It’s a very good question, this question about abortion’s low profile. Maybe Emily’s guesses are right. Maybe it’s because everyone’s preoccupied with the economy and Iraq/Afghanistan. Maybe everything will change in the general election.

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Clinton: Deflated or in Fighting Form?

Hillary Clinton won the Indiana primary yesterday, but her margin of victory was small, and her defeat in North Carolina was quite sound. So with things not looking as rosy for her campaign as they might, how does she feel this morning? Is she flagging (thanks, James Mills)?:

[bammermother / Flickr]

Or is she ready for the next round (thanks, Ann Raber)?:

[electionjournal.org / Flickr]

The top photo is from Richmond, Indiana. Kate from Portland, Oregon, found the balloons tucked under a bush back in February in front of the house she was staying in. She seemed more concerned about what they portended for wildlife health than for Clinton.

The bottom picture is from the streets of Indiana a couple of days ago. It was uploaded by someone to the photostream of a citizen-media site called Election Journal. Note the Hillary sticker and signature on the boxer’s left glove.

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Obama HQ in Indiana Vandalized

Barack Obama must be pretty happy with his big victory in North Carolina and slim loss in Indiana. The days leading up to yesterday had some fairly ugly moments, though. This picture, emailed to Kate Sherrill, a college librarian, shows one of them in Vicennes, Indiana (hat tip to James Mills):

[Kate Sherrill / Flickr]

Best guess at the graffiti on the left-hand side: “God damn Wright. God bless the USA.”

We’re assuming that the “someone” who emailed Kate the photo took it him/herself and didn’t just rip it from the AP or another pro source.

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Democratic Delegate Math

The delegate math is looking tougher than ever for Hillary Clinton after the Indiana and North Carolina primaries. This barbed advice on how she might rejigger the numbers was found by our very own John Barth. The video was made prior to the Pennsylvania primary, so a few of the ideas are no longer relevant, but the bulk of it — the time travel part — still applies:

Rather a tidy strategy, really.

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Indiana and North Carolina Primaries

Democrats in Indiana and North Carolina voted today after days of rallies and knocking on doors. (Republicans voted, too, but…) These two pictures are from the last couple of weeks on the campaign trail. In Indianapolis, Brian Bruner captured what may be the best Hillary hat of the entire election (via James Mills):

[Crumblin Down / Flickr]

In Asheville, North Carolina, Charles Mummert found a different generation rooting for Obama:

[charles mummert / Flickr]

If she were holding that sign and wearing the Hillary hat maybe there would be world peace.

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Gas-Tax Math for McCain

This sarcastic engineer is armed with a calculator, and he’s no fool. He tells John McCain that his proposed summer “gas-tax holiday” (which Clinton supports and Obama opposes) is ridiculous. The engineer figures it will save each American a grand total of 30 dollars. Which, compared to what we’ll be paying for the Iraq war, he thinks is “drops in an ocean of bad policy” (thanks, Sarolta Cump):

If he gets that “whoop dee fuckin’ do” 30 dollars, maybe he’ll tell us what kind of pasta he and his fiancee enjoyed.

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