US Elections 2008

[Luminisk]

Originally Posted by Hari Michiru

No wonder Obama wants to ban the use of guns...

I don't recall Obama wanting to ban guns; it is a right guaranteed in the second amendment.
That being said it is a political suicide (in more than one way) to suggest banning guns.

[nanafan]

Originally Posted by Kaioshin Sama

John McCain's speech in Pennsylvania was the stuff of legends.

so true, it was one of those moments i thought he really said that, then he tries catching himself, epic fail in my opinion

[Vexx]

The "ugly gun ban" of 1994 that was a major factor in the Dems losing control of the House to the Republicans for the first time in 40 years --- hopefully that taught them a lesson. All Obama has suggested is that some form of assault gun regulation should be in place (see "regulated militia" of 2nd amendment; militia being "the people"). The "ugly gun ban" (mistitled something else as usual) was stupid and written by people with no clue or confused agendas (much like the DMCA and the PATRIOT Act). And of course, since then the Supreme Court has ruled and directly clarified this issue (that the "people" spoken of in #2 are the same "people" referred to in the other ammendments of the Bill of Rights).

As part of a multi-generational family of gun-owners, I'll fight against rules that are poorly thought out - but the bigger picture here is that I won't be led by the single-issue nosering by the GOP. And the biggest picture is that the GOP has royally screwed everyone in the world but a very select subset of the wealthy.

[mg1942]

I go to other (right-leaning) forums and they say that Obama + supermajority support might revive Fairness Doctrine. They say it's nothing but another form of government censorship. Will this be introduced in the 111th congress?

[Reckoner]

Originally Posted by mg1942

I go to other (right-leaning) forums and they say that Obama + supermajority support might revive Fairness Doctrine. They say it's nothing but another form of government censorship. Will this be introduced in the 111th congress?

I heard this from a close friend of mine who, to my dismay, is a conservative that listens to Dennis Pragger all the time .

It seems justified logically, but some of the republicans see this as a way for the left to destroy the little conservative media they have at the moment.

[james0246]

Originally Posted by mg1942

I go to other (right-leaning) forums and they say that Obama + supermajority support might revive Fairness Doctrine. They say it's nothing but another form of government censorship. Will this be introduced in the 111th congress?

Well, I know that Obama has expressed a complete opposition to the Fairness Doctrine, supporting instead the idea of letting multiple viewpoints to be expressed by the people (via blogs, network neutrality, etc), not having them forced on the people.

[Vexx]

Rather than re-asserting the Fairness Doctrine -- I'd just prefer that anyone who licenses a channel be required to perform their news/reporting duties to keep that channel as a public service and that it be disconnected from their bottom line profit.

General, until "quite recently" (aka late Reagan era), news departments operated "at a loss" -- it wasn't their PURPOSE to make money for the network corporation. It was their purpose to satisfy the requirement of keeping their lease on that part of the public airwaves. Guess what, we actually got NEWS rather than infotainment.
Until that happens, other than the BBC or PBS - you're not really watching what I'd call "news". You're watching crap designed to keep your eyeballs in place through the next commercial break.

[Shadow Kira01]

Originally Posted by james0246

Well, I know that Obama has expressed a complete opposition to the Fairness Doctrine, supporting instead the idea of letting multiple viewpoints to be expressed by the people (via blogs, network neutrality, etc), not having them forced on the people.

In order to have a democratic society, it is only natural for a politician to support the idea of letting multiple viewpoints to be expressed by the public in the interest of the public. On the other hand, by having viewpoints forced onto people is merely a form of dictatorship that most people wouldn't like.

[mg1942]

Ok I may be asking too much that's laced with weird questions... will there be more restrictions in manga-industrial-complex (some samples of 2D lolicon for example) under democratic-led congress? I know that Republican-era congress wasn't so friendly to 2D lolis.

How about the supreme court? Obama may put 3 new activist judges (with good intentions) in the SC during his first term, but may end up twisting/spinning/bending the 1st amendment, causing 2D lolis to be banned. If 2D loli is banned I might say to myself "nothing of value is lost" since most people who are into that stuff can just download it anyway (just don't bother importing, and don't forget to *shred* the files after viewing).

[Solace]

I doubt you'll see such efforts continue to gain traction with Democrats in power, unless it's forced into a key issue. A better question to ask would be what they'll do with the junk that's already passed.

[james0246]

Originally Posted by mg1942

Ok I may be asking too much that's laced with weird questions... will there be more restrictions in manga-industrial-complex (some samples of 2D lolicon for example) under democratic-led congress? I know that Republican-era congress wasn't so friendly to 2D lolis.

How about the supreme court? Obama may put 3 new activist judges (with good intentions) in the SC during his first term, but may end up twisting/spinning/bending the 1st amendment, causing 2D lolis to be banned. If 2D loli is banned I might say to myself "nothing of value is lost" since most people who are into that stuff can just download it anyway (just don't bother importing, and don't forget to *shred* the files after viewing).

It has been a few years since I have looked at the various "Pornography Laws" (I am a supporter of the regulation of pornography, even if I fully support the right to create and distibute pornography), but, as far as I know, McCain would be the person who would try to outright ban 2D loli content. McCain, just early last year, proposed a bill that greatly increased the penalties under the PROTECT Act (also known as the Amber Alert Law). It should be noted that former Attorney General Janet Reno (Democrat) was famously against the DoJ dealing with issues concerning pornographic material (she hated the Child Pornography Prevention Act of 1996 (sponsored and passed by the Republican Congress), considering it unconstitutional...which the Supreme Court finally confirmed to be unconstitutional in 2004), as opposed to Ashcroft and Gonzalez (both Republicans) that were very anti-any-porn. Honestly, the issue seems like such a waste of time, that I doubt anyone will be worried about it in the next few years.

That being said, to the best of my knowledge, Loli eroge is legal in America (if someone has more recent information, please correct me). So, you cannot go to jail for possessing loli material or looking at loli material (though I am unsure about selling loli material), and depending on the recent Handley case, the legality of shipping/receiving loli eroge by mail will be decided.

[yezhanquan]

In the case of the States, it's better to check up the laws of the state you're living in. It can differ from federal law.

[Autumn Demon]

according to wikipedia 2d underage porn is illegal in America. too lazy to do more research :|

[Luminisk]

... How the did we side-tracked on to child porn laws?

Spoiler for Loli:

From what I read in the wikipedia article you linked loli is legal, or at least it exists in a gray area.
One man with loli material was convicted, but only because he had other materials involving real children.

Not exactly on the same topic but it is a good read nonetheless
http://www.mediafire.com/?0qmz0nzhlzo

It is from my anthropology class last semester; interestingly enough the same professor offers an anime course

[Vexx]

Originally Posted by Autumn Demon

according to wikipedia 2d underage porn is illegal in America. too lazy to do more research :|

Ya'll are slapping terms around too vaguely to discuss the subject properly.
*Drawn* erotica (of any kind) is perfectly legal in the US (though it may cause people to give you a wide berth). There isn't any censorship outside of the idiocy that manga publishers do to themselves or because of small righteous but clueless mobs. However, attorneys looking to grandstand are always trying to push the envelope. Its certainly the case that both legal and social trends are not rational on this topic.

Photos of Real People are a different issue:
Photos of under-age people are usually illegal depending on the state, which makes it "interesting" when traveling across state lines since "under-age" is an arbitrary state-by-state assessment.
Photos of pre-pubescent children for erotic purposes are illegal in all states.
Parents taking perfectly legitimate pictures of their children sometimes get caught up in this nonsense.

No word on the status of clothing store children's underwear catalogs

The main thing to worry about from Democrats is that they tend to be "owned" by the media industry and gave us wonderful stupidity like copyright extension into infinity and the DMCA. They roll over for imaginary terms like "intellectual property" and bow before the Vast Media Machine.
So, the RIAA and companies like BayTSP may dance a jig after November. So you might want to be sure and support groups that watchdog consumer rights and the Fairness Doctrine so you don't end up having to pay $$$ everytime you listen to or watch something you've paid for already

[Luminisk]

Originally Posted by Vexx

The main thing to worry about from Democrats is that they tend to be "owned" by the media industry and gave us wonderful stupidity like copyright extension into infinity and the DMCA. They roll over for imaginary terms like "intellectual property" and bow before the Vast Media Machine.
So, the RIAA and companies like BayTSP may dance a jig after November. So you might want to be sure and support groups that watchdog consumer rights and the Fairness Doctrine so you don't end up having to pay $$$ everytime you listen to or watch something you've paid for already

When are they going to allow the "Happy Birthday to You" song to pass into public domain

Spoiler for answer:

2030? ... Yeah, that'll happen Time Warner is sitting pretty with a copyright that generates ~$8K a pop which should have expired decades ago.

*Sigh* Our copyright system is a mess.

[Flo]

Let's take some time off from serious discussion for a few minutes as I found an interesting picture in Pixiv. Heaven or Hell! Let's Rock!



As depicted in the pixiv artist site
Obama Move List:
→←PKK = "Change!"
↓↑KPKK = "Progress!"
↑←↓→↑PPP = "O-bomb"

McCain Move List
↑→KKP = "Memories of 'Nam"
←↓→PK = "Faith of my Fathers"
←↓←→↑KKP = "The Mccain Train"

[Shadow Kira01]

Based on the current polls, it is still difficult to determine who will win the elections. Although Obama has an 8-point lead, there is still 8 days left. At the same time, McCain is now advocating a policy to be similar to the Bush Administration rather than distancing from it, what confidence! On the contrary, the Republicans are currently divided, as though there is now a McCain Faction and a Palin Faction, pretty interesting. What to make of it? Last minute changes by presidential candidates are usually either advantageous or disadvantageous, it only goes one way.

[mg1942]

THIS JUST IN!!!

ATF disrupts skinhead plot to assassinate Obama

http://www.mercurynews.com/elections/ci_10828988
http://www.reuters.com/article/newsO...49Q7KJ20081027
http://www.wbtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=9246417

[Luminisk]

Originally Posted by Shadow Minato

Based on the current polls, it is still difficult to determine who will win the elections. Although Obama has an 8-point lead, there is still 8 days left. At the same time, McCain is now advocating a policy to be similar to the Bush Administration rather than distancing from it, what confidence! On the contrary, the Republicans are currently divided, as though there is now a McCain Faction and a Palin Faction, pretty interesting. What to make of it? Last minute changes by presidential candidates are usually either advantageous or disadvantageous, it only goes one way.

If running your campaign is any reflection of running an office, the light does not shine on the McCain campaign favorably. The McCain camp is undisciplined, it lacks coordination and communication to send out a clear and coherent message. Then when the high waters came all too ready abandon ship and shoot others in the foot to save themselves.

I am going to compare the McCain campaign to the sinking of the Titanic. It was going swell until the economic iceberg hit, and now it is preparing to break into two before it sinks like a rock to the bottom. But instead of salvaging what they can, by help their fellow republican senators whom are facing the clear reality of losing their seat, the McCain camp is ardent in preforming seppuku and taking as many down with them as possible.