[POLL] United States Presidential Elections 2016

[FoolKiller]

I figured out who I'm voting for.

Best option so far.

Now to get that made into a shirt.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

Australia - 2, GOP - 0

Ted Cruz claims that we had a spike in rapes and sexual assaults following our gun buy-back in the mid-1990s:

http://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2016-...im-australia-lie-washington-post-says/7115598

I kind of find it terrifying that the candidates for the leader of the free world are so ill-informed about parts of the rest of the world.

 

[Chrunch Houston]

Australia - 2, GOP - 0

Ted Cruz claims that we had a spike in rapes and sexual assaults following our gun buy-back in the mid-1990s:

http://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2016-...im-australia-lie-washington-post-says/7115598

I kind of find it terrifying that the candidates for the leader of the free world are so ill-informed about parts of the rest of the world.

He probably heard that from some pundit on a cable news channel show. Some people will say anything to bolster their point.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

He probably heard that from some pundit on a cable news channel show. Some people will say anything to bolster their point.

Then it's disturbing that someone running for President is so easily swayed by pundits.

 

[Chrunch Houston]

Then it's disturbing that someone running for President is so easily swayed by pundits.

I agree 100%.

Presidential candidates (or anyone else for that mater) should fact check before they repeat.

 

[1241Penguin]

Presidential candidates (or anyone else for that mater) should fact check what they repeat.

In an ideal world maybe. I suspect that the majority of the public themselves aren't aware of the facts either, which makes it that much easier for candidates to spew out whatever they want so long as it sounds enticing to sway public opinion.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

Then how can you have an informed or balanced debate?

 

[Joel]

I figured out who I'm voting for.

Best option so far.

Now to get that made into a shirt.

You "strange women distributing swords" voters are idiots. If you knew anything at all you'd support moistened bints lobbing scimitars.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

Damp dames dealing daggers?

 

[TenEightyOne]

Shady sheilas shucking sheaths.

 

[Dotini]

Populists pound piss-poor pundits.

 

[Liquid]

Crazy Catladies Communicate Claymores

 

[Dotini]

I figured out who I'm voting for.

View attachment 507166

Best option so far.

Now to get that made into a shirt.

This image of a sword lifted by the lady of the lake seems archetypically Arthurian. In other words, it symbolizes a virile nation arising united from the chaos of the dark ages.

 

[Adamgp]

Feel the FreezerBern:

http://www.today.com/food/ben-jerry-s-founder-creates-bernie-sanders-ice-cream-flavor-t69056

 

[ukfan758]

That thick slab of chocolate on the top does sound appetizing.

 

[Dotini]

Hillary Clinton's email excuses are falling apart:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opin...e8022e-c36a-11e5-8965-0607e0e265ce_story.html

 

[Sanji Himura]

Bernie Sanders releases his Tax Plan... ...Tax increases for everyone:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/anthony...n-nations-rich-recoil-in-horror/#4aaa68427340

There is a chart in that article that compares the Sanders plan to Trumps and what is currently on the books.

 

[Johnnypenso]

Australia - 2, GOP - 0

Ted Cruz claims that we had a spike in rapes and sexual assaults following our gun buy-back in the mid-1990s:

http://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2016-...im-australia-lie-washington-post-says/7115598

I kind of find it terrifying that the candidates for the leader of the free world are so ill-informed about parts of the rest of the world.

American Rape Statistics over the same period:

GOP 1 Australia 1(I'd question that but I don't know where it came from)

 

[Sanji Himura]

CNN got caught planting favorable questions for Hillary in the Town Hall yesterday, thanks to one off hand comment by a questioner...

Watch the video here:

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/201...nn-of-planting-questions-for-hillary-clinton/

 

[FoolKiller]

This image of a sword lifted by the lady of the lake seems archetypically Arthurian. In other words, it symbolizes a virile nation arising united from the chaos of the dark ages.

That's still no basis for a system of government.

Feel the FreezerBern:

http://www.today.com/food/ben-jerry-s-founder-creates-bernie-sanders-ice-cream-flavor-t69056

We don't need a choice of over 60 flavors of ice cream when children are hungry in this country.

 

[Dotini]

That's still no basis for a system of government.

By default and necessity, feudalism was the system of government when Alfred the Great began filling the holy grail of an England unified south of Hadrian's wall.

 

[Omnis]

Ben and Jerry are communist hypocrites. They make a really good product though. Ice cream is the opiate of the masses.

Ironically, the communist ice cream combines my least favorite things: mint ice cream, and mint chocolate.

 

[Sanji Himura]

Ben and Jerry are communist hypocrites. They make a really good product though. Ice cream is the opiate of the masses.

Ironically, the communist ice cream combines my least favorite things: mint ice cream, and mint chocolate.

I prefer Blue Bell myself, but I'm staying away from Ben and Jerry's from now on because of this.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

GOP 1 Australia 1

You clearly didn't read the source. Cruz claimed that there was a sudden, sharp spike in the statistics coinciding with the gun buy-back in 1996-1997, which isn't true.

If you're going to try and discredit a statement that another person has made, the least you can do is actually read the source provided.

 

[CodeRedR51]

I prefer Blue Bell myself, but I'm staying away from Ben and Jerry's from now on because of this.

 

[Sanji Himura]

You clearly didn't read the source. Cruz claimed that there was a sudden, sharp spike in the statistics coinciding with the gun buy-back in 1996-1997, which isn't true.

If you're going to try and discredit a statement that another person has made, the least you can do is actually read the source provided.

No, I think it was you who misinterpreted the data. Crime, in particularly violent crime, don't have sudden spikes in year over year statistics, but gradually increase/decrease over time. That is how statistics work. You can report on the data year over year all you want, but in statistics you have to look for trends. In 1993, before the gun buyback was even a conceivable possibility, rapes were at 69 (I assume that it was per 100,000 since @Johnnypenso didn't link to any reports here, I'll grant you that much.) 1996 was when the buyback program went into effect, and Rapes were at 79.4, that is an increase of 15% over three years.

Now look what happens when you expand the trend, say from 1996 to 2003, as it is the next waypoint on the chart. Rapes in 2003 were at a staggering 90.3. That is a 30% increase from 1993 levels, and 13% increase from 1996 levels.

Regardless of what you may/may not believe, Ted Cruz did tell a half truth here. No, Rapes did not have the "sudden spike" that many of us may think that the term means, but it did increase 30% over three years before the gun buyback program went into effect, and six years after it did. That's a trend, sir.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

That's a trend, sir.

The source in question acknowledges that there was an increase over time, but denies the spike Cruz claimed it to be. It may be a half-truth, but that raises the problem of it being half true when he is claiming it to be a whole. He provides no evidence to conclusively prove that there was an increase in those crimes as a direct result of the buy-back program. In one instance, there was a spate of gang rapes that terrorised the city of Sydney for several weeks, where each offender was charged for each individual crime, which would have single-handedly skewed the data for that year. You can clearly see it in the sudden upswing.

At the opposite end of the scale, an increase in the number of reported crimes can actually be a positive sign because it means women are coming forward. Look at the American college system and attempts to address rape on campus. Many of those crimes went suppressed or unrecorded for years, but the first step in addressing the problem is in getting the victims to come forward. That's going to lead to a spike in the statistics, but it's a positive outcome.

The point is that Cruz made a spurious claim. He openly stated that there was a direct correlation between an increase in sexual violence and our buy-back program. But this is not supported by the evidence and fails to take into account other variables. What bothers me most about it is his assumption that American gun laws are what is right for Australia, as if we're incapable of deciding what is right for ourselves. Twenty years after the fact, the events of Port Arthur still horrify most of us.

 

[huskeR32]

View attachment 507339

This chart actually disproves Cruz, as there is a slight decline after the gun buy-back in 1996. The first significant jump doesn't happen until 2000; It's a huge stretch to attribute that increase, four years on, to the buy-back.

I'd also note that the three years before the buy-back had the greatest average annual increase of any stretch on the chart.

--

In an ideal world maybe. I suspect that the majority of the public themselves aren't aware of the facts either, which makes it that much easier for candidates to spew out whatever they want so long as it sounds enticing to sway public opinion.

This is the heart of the matter. A majority of Americans can't be bothered to investigate claims made by candidates, and any time the media tries to do it for them, they're shouted down as being the untrustworthy "mainstream media."

So, I'm sad to say that this:

Then it's disturbing that someone running for President is so easily swayed by pundits.

Isn't really the problem. The candidates know exactly what they're doing. They know that they're lying, and they know they can usually get away with it.

 

[FoolKiller]

By default and necessity, feudalism was the system of government when Alfred the Great began filling the holy grail of an England unified south of Hadrian's wall.

Are you really trying to have a serious conversation about a Monty Python reference?

If so, I can quote the entire scene, so it'll be fun.

 

[Johnnypenso]

Ben and Jerry are communist hypocrites. They make a really good product though. Ice cream is the opiate of the masses.

Ironically, the communist ice cream combines my least favorite things: mint ice cream, and mint chocolate.

What's the connection between mint and communism? Honest question

You clearly didn't read the source. Cruz claimed that there was a sudden, sharp spike in the statistics coinciding with the gun buy-back in 1996-1997, which isn't true.

If you're going to try and discredit a statement that another person has made, the least you can do is actually read the source provided.

The least you could do is read your own sources. The graph I quoted is from your source that shows a significant increase in sexual assaults after the gun ban/buyback.

Also from your source:

"And as you know, Hugh, after Australia did that [gun buyback program], the rate of sexual assaults, the rate of rapes, went up significantly, because women were unable to defend themselves," Senator Cruz told the radio host.

Nowhere does it say, "sharp spike". You clearly didn't read your own source or you'd know that.

Rates did indeed go up, more than 15% in fact, which, to the thousands of women who are part of that 15%, is pretty significant wouldn't you agree? When you juxtapose that with the American stats, which show a sharp decline over the same period, it makes it all that much more significant. Cruz is right and your own sources show this to be true.