I recoil at the term “community”

Earth to Rob–this blog is a community and you donate your time to it, commie. :-p

re: “asian indian” an paks an bangs. lots of the latter apparently put “asian indian” on the census by mistake. but anyway, 90% of american brownz are “asian indian,” so good first approximation.

That’s old data and as you mentioned has a lot of problems in addition to standard problems with census data (like underreporting of poor people). First approximation yes – good, arguable

Maybe I am a crazy wild-eyed idealist, but I think you have to turn out the vote for everyone. As someone who has a probably unhealthy and fierce desire to protect the franchise and promote democratic participation, I think the more people who turn out and vote, the better (if nothing else, this legitimizes victory).

You’re a crazy wild-eyed idealist and you’re in good company.

May the best candidate win. (This is what [electoral college, indirect, corporate lobbyist, mainstream media] democracy looks like!)

ak, try to stop her chatting with Geraldine Ferraro— and consider yourself forced to vote.

We can see where that selfish greed has landed Gujarat and India cant we? Here’s the latest condemnation of India’s indefensible record in feeding its citizens: looks like Gujarat performs worse on the Global Hunger Index than even the abysmally bad indian average. Worse even than Orissa. Check out the graph:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7669152.stm

“Twelve Indian states have “alarming” levels of hunger while the situation is “extremely alarming” in the state of Madhya Pradesh, says a new report.”

“India has more people suffering hunger – a figure above 200 million – than any other country in the world, it says.”

Not necessarily. The race card hasn’t been fully used yet. When it is unleashed watch out. You can see the beginnings of a possible impending catastrophe for Obama with the way the ACORN issue is playing out. The latest Gallup poll shows that McCain has moved up in the polls and is now only two points behind Obama, within the margin the error. I think this is the consequence of the Acorn voter registration frauds involving african americans. And the black Reverend “goddamn America” Wright is waiting in the wings to deliver the coup de grace. Hammering on Obama’s Ayers “relationship” didnt work well for the Republicans primarily for the reason that Ayers is white.

point taken – i’ve been watching too many ads on tv though by the technical definition of the word ‘super’ it’s not an incorrect description, though that’s probably a pretty boring conversation…i actually don’t disagree with the tax, or added tax bracket, if you will – it exemplifies many of the policies behind a graduated system of taxation.

Re: voting your pocketbook, I think people are going to see money in their pocket shift; it’s not just taxes, but also health care reform, minimum wage, and other costs that workers are presently internalizing that may shift in the future.

that’s what my follow-up comment was for.

As for undecided voters, I really think we should be calling them “lazy” or “apathetic” at this point. Because, what further information are they looking for, really?

hypothetically, if i were undecided, i might be thinking about who has more veracity. it’s a sceptical way to think, but not an irrational one – bas we’ve seen in the past, just because a candidate lays out a policy does not mean that he will either carry it out or intends to do so. in my generation’s time, this is probably the most important election to date – the stakes are pretty high and the candidates have been pulling out all the stops…

I’m also curious to know how Obama-supporting SM readers feel about keeping certain votes to a minimum (i.e., those of the wealthy, conservative Asian Indians).

It is a disgusting idea. Granted that these voters are not at the power and information disadvantage that the targets of Republican vote suppression are, but still, this is a particularly egregious exemplification of ends justifying means (not that they always don’t).

As for undecided voters, I really think we should be calling them “lazy” or “apathetic” at this point. Because, what further information are they looking for, really?

Maybe I am a crazy wild-eyed idealist, but I think you have to turn out the vote for everyone. As someone who has a probably unhealthy and fierce desire to protect the franchise and promote democratic participation, I think the more people who turn out and vote, the better (if nothing else, this legitimizes victory). Just as I get riled about voter suppression targeted at the poor, I think it would be incredibly unethical and problematic to suppress (or “minimize”) the votes of individuals who would vote McCain.

and a significant amount of desis fall into the $250k and above bracket – the target bracket of obama’s supertax on the rich. of course, tax is only one of the big issues in this particular election, but many people – esp. wealthy/older americans – tend to vote based on what affects them most financially.

With all due respect, ak, characterizing Obama’s tax plan as a “supertax” on the rich is misleading. Re: voting your pocketbook, I think people are going to see money in their pocket shift; it’s not just taxes, but also health care reform, minimum wage, and other costs that workers are presently internalizing that may shift in the future.

Wealth…equals a desire to hold onto that wealth.

Let’s set aside the notion that “wealth” is more than hefty bank accounts, McMansions and luxury SUVs. Let’s also set aside the examples of “wealthy” people like Warren Buffet, George Soros, and Bill Gates who support progressive taxation. And we might as well set aside idealistic notions of a “commonwealth,” while we’re at it, too.

Hoarding and concentration of capital in the hands of the few serves nobody’s self-interest in the long term.