Random Politics & Religion #00

Or vote for Alfred E. Neuman.

that isn't going to stop me from voting for them!

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The only joke bigger than the current sports approach to politics in America is the idea we're ever getting a Libertarian president.

that isn't going to stop me from voting for them!

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Sure, we already have several classes of people who can't vote, it's not like there's no accepted justification for them either. I think less people should vote, for instance, if you can't show ID to prove who you are, you should be forbidden to vote.

And pets.

It's an outrage that my American born dog who works (she works security) and pays puppy taxes can't vote for proper representatives in her district. No one has more enthusiasm about MSNBC being on in the background than Maggie.

ex-convicts & kids are the only groups that I'm aware of.

ex-convicts & kids are the only groups that I'm aware of.

Like so many before them, Bazileo Hernandez (left) and Jeff Williamson came to North Dakota's oil country seeking a better life. They just came too late.

As recently as last spring, unskilled workers could show up in the No. 2 U.S. oil producing state and vie for salaries north of $100,000 per year with guaranteed housing. The steep drop in oil prices has changed that.

Despite North Dakota’s frigid winters, Hernandez (left), Williamson (center) and their friend Terra Green arrived to Williston from the Pacific coast with no housing and little warm clothing.

They were hoping to find work at the state's Bakken oil formation, considered one of the largest in the world. But as extracting oil from the Bakken is now far less profitable, some companies in North Dakota are laying off staff and curtailing housing perks. Those still hiring are demanding specialised skills.

After four weeks in Williston, the friends were not able to find full-time jobs.

While private and public social services have never been the region's strong suit - there are only 10 beds available at a church-run shelter - cheap oil and the rapidly evolving employment demands have exacerbated the plight of would-be workers who show up on Williston's doorstep.

This despite the best efforts of state and local officials to warn that jobs, housing and other necessities should be arranged before setting foot in the Bakken.

With no place to sleep, Hernandez, Williamson and Green hopped between a motel and an acquaintance's motor home.

Yet out of despair sprung a bit of hope: After arriving in Williston as friends, Green and Williamson fell in love. They married at the local courthouse.

Later the same day, Green took a bus back to Oregon, where she is from. Williamson followed a few days later. They soon separated.

"In Williston, I was taking a risk and not knowing what would happen," Green said, wistfully. "We knew we had a connection, but it was too early."

Incidentally, on the subject of voting, especially as it pertains to the President, your individual vote isn't worth a damn in most cases. If you happen to live in a swing state (want to know if you're in a swing state? count how many times Presidential candidates visit during an election cycle), your vote might actually matter, but we're still ultimately ruled by a ridiculous system. The Electoral College made sense in the 1700s, it's insane today.

If you care about voting, pay attention to the local and state level. Not only is it closer to direct democracy, such that a single vote matters, but it's the only part of US government that gets anything done anymore.

Would anyone object if I linked to a series of YouTube videos about alternative voting systems and how they're not only better but would free us from the tyranny of our two-party system?

What are the several classes of people who do not have the right to vote?

So you're only requirement for people to have the right to vote would be that they have a form of identification?

For instance = my only requirement? You fail so hard at reading.

So what would some of your other requirements be?

Would anyone object if I linked to a series of YouTube videos about alternative voting systems and how they're not only better but would free us from the tyranny of our two-party system?

Why bother to post them if you're not going to put forth any effort to READ them?

You already posted one. I took the time to read it. Your issue with my response was that I said it was your only requirement not that I didn't read the one you posted.

So please, enlighten me with the requirements you would put forward to have the right to vote in America.

if they start with colossal campaign finance reform, I'm interested.

Finance reform is a red herring

At almost exactly this time last year US Federal Reserve chairman Janet Yellen stated that the central bank would stop using unemployment as a target to determine interest rate rises. Back then it was anticipated a hike in US rates would only happen at some point this year. Fast forward to 18 March 2015 and the Federal Reserve Open Market Committee (FOMC) dropped its ‘patient’ pledge on rates contained in a previous statement this January – but still remains cautious.

The immediate market reaction after the official press release regarding the statement of the FOMC, one of three Fed tools controlling monetary policy, saw US stocks and Treasuries rally – although the dollar dropped and parity with the euro was put on hold. At the close of trading the Dow Jones Industrial Average had risen 227.11 points to 18,076.19 – up 1.25% on the day.

Since the FOMC last met in January it noted that information received indicated that “economic growth has moderated somewhat” with labor market conditions improving further and strong job gains and a lower unemployment rate. It was also pointed out that despite an advance in business fixed investment “the recovery in the housing sector remains slow and export growth has weakened.”

Their latest statement nevertheless stated: “The Committee [FOMC] anticipates that it will be appropriate to raise the target range for the federal funds rate when it has seen further improvement in the labor market and is reasonably confident that inflation will move back to its 2% objective over the medium term. This change in the forward guidance does not indicate that the Committee has decided on the initial increase in the target range.”

The next three FOMC meetings are scheduled for April (28-29), June (16-17) and July (28-29) – with a total of eight meetings scheduled for 2015. The economic pundits had widely been expecting a hike in rates this summer – albeit that it will modest when it comes. It now seems that it could be further out.

Enrique Diaz-Alvarez, Chief Risk Officer and lead currency specialist at Ebury, a global business finance specialist that works with over 3,000 business organizations across Europe that has traded c.£6bn (c$8.82bn) in foreign exchange (FX) for clients over the past three years, commenting on the FOMC statement said: “It’s been a case of ‘buy the rumour, sell the news’, with the dollar [US] dropping by almost 1% in trade-weighted terms immediately after the release of the statement.”

Diaz-Alvarez, who previously worked as a managing director at Societe Generale in New York and a consultant for McKinsey & Co, added: “With the Fed having revised down both the pace at which rates are expected to rise to normal levels and its definition of full employment to 5.0% from 5.2%, markets everywhere are celebrating this perceived indulgence on the part of the Fed.”