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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: FaultLine who wrote (11394)	10/8/2003 10:55:52 PM
From: LindyBill	Respond to of 793790

PfP is starting to sound like the New Right Wing Extremists thread... You are right. Part of it is due to the election results yesterday. And part is due to the unbalanced nature of the posters. Not enough liberals. But as long as everyone is civil, I really can't do much about it. I suspect that we will drop dramatically in posts now that the California Elections are over. It's "Hot Stove" time until January.

To: FaultLine who wrote (11394)	10/9/2003 2:21:29 AM
From: greenspirit	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 793790

I respectfully disagree FL. What exactly has been posted here in the past few days which is extreme right wingism? Please be specific. What I see happening here is similar to what I've seen happen on a few of the best threads on SI over the years. Namely, people talk and express their views in mostly a civil way. What's different about this political thread is we have a moderator. So the thread is free to debate the issues, talk about the political ups and downs and present their ideas without name-calling and degenerating into rude behavior. Believe it or not, the GWB thread started out in a very similar way, it was once a fantastic thread of news and informed debate. I could name a few others which began similarly. From my point of view, what caused their demise was the inability of liberal posters to present their ideas in a civil reasonable way. After a few hundred nasty barbs were tossed back and forth, the culture of the thread degenerated into what we see today. I'm not sure what you're looking for in a political thread which would meet your needs of non extremism. However, let's review for a moment what just happened in a relatively important Governors race in California. The leading Republican contender was basically accused of being a Hitler admirer, a womanizer, and a molester in order for the entrenched liberals to keep power. He was attacked by a well known and obviously liberal slanted paper. He was attacked by the Davis campaign, he was attacked by the mainstream national press and forced to defend himself against charges which were never really made specific. Further, the mainstream press never went after the Davis or Bustamante campaign in a similar vein. I ask you in all seriousness. Who were the radicals?

To: FaultLine who wrote (11394)	10/9/2003 11:04:36 AM
From: carranza2	Respond to of 793790

I think we're seeing the rolling out of the natural life cycle of a good political thread. Starts slowly at first, then attracts an informed group that debates civilly, attracting attention. The board grows and inexplicably develops a right or left wing predilection. The more extreme element then predominates, taking over, and the value of the board declines. The first sign of trouble are complaints such as yours. What can be done? Beats me. I'd like to see more sharp liberals here, too.

To: FaultLine who wrote (11394)	10/9/2003 6:54:57 PM
From: LindyBill	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 793790

If she comes up with the real deficit number, FL, I bet it will really curl your toes! establishing a definitive number for the state deficit and listing all the borrowing, diversions, and tricks upon which the current budget rests _______________________________ California Insider A Weblog by Sacramento Bee Columnist Daniel Weintraub October 09, 2003 First thing: open the books Arnold Schwarzenegger has chosen Donna Arduin, the director of Florida’s Department of Finance, to conduct the independent audit of California’s books he promised during the recall campaign. Arduin, a Duke University graduate who has also worked for the state of New York and Michigan and as an analyst for Morgan Stanley & Co., is taking leave from the Florida administration of Gov. Jeb Bush and donating her time to do the Schwarzenegger audit, according to transition spokesman Rob Stutzman. While the scope of the audit isn’t yet clear, Arduin said she intends to complete it in time for Schwarzenegger to include her recommendations in his first budget, which must go to the Legislature by Jan. 10. Don’t look for this to be the top-to-bottom examination of potential waste and fraud in state government. That will come later. Arduin, at least in the first pass, will probably limit herself to establishing a definitive number for the state deficit and listing all the borrowing, diversions, and tricks upon which the current budget rests. Look for her also to perhaps recommend a few structural reforms, including the spending cap Schwarzenegger wants, and possibly a way to restructure the state’s debt. According to the transition team press release, Arduin in Florida has implemented a system where agencies and departments annually map out the cost and demand for each service they provide, with five-year forecasts for each. She favors performance-based budgeting under which departments attach “real-world performance measures” to each activity and connect outcome goals to budget dollars. sacbee.com