When it comes to voting, policies matter more than personalities. We are not voting for outstanding moral person of the year. We are voting for the person whose political ideas/policies will result in the most good. When forced to choose between candidates of poor personal characters, we cast our vote for the person who has the best policies, given our options.
Some people look at the deficiencies in character or policy or both, however, and conclude that they cannot cast their vote for any candidate in good conscience, or that they must vote for a third party candidate who has better policies than the major party candidates. I think both responses are a mistake. If our goal in voting is to make a moral difference in the world rather than just a moral statement, then we shouldn’t stay home or vote for an unelectable third-party candidate. Let me explain.
Regarding third-party candidates, I will be the first to say that I think our political system would be better if we had more than just two powerful political parties. Competition is good. But if a third-party had any chance of winning a presidential election, they would need to demonstrate that in the primaries. That’s not the case this election, nor in most past elections. So when you vote for a third-party candidate in a presidential election that demonstrated he does not have a chance of winning during the primaries, you are surely not going to make any moral difference with your vote since you cast it for someone who is demonstrably unelectable. Your vote would be better spent if it was cast for the better of the two major party candidates. Casting it to a third-party means one less vote for the better-of-the-two-major-party candidates, and this increases the likeliness that the worst-of-the-two-major-party candidates will win the election, and thus increases the likeliness that the most evil possible will be realized. I guess it could be said that casting your vote for a third-party could make a moral difference: a bad moral difference.
What about staying home? This is not a good decision for the same reason. Every person of conscience who stays home means one less vote for the better-of-the-two-major-party candidates, increasing the likeliness that the worst-of-the-two-major-party candidates will win the election, and thus increases the likeliness that the most evil possible will be realized.
When faced with the choice of worse and “worser,” choosing the worse is better.
Thinking to Believe 
October 22, 2016 at 3:16 pm
I believe the appointment of the supreme courts justice yo replace Scalia and the possibility of 2 to 3 more is the most important issue for our for our country.
I would prefer for Donald Trump to just come out and say hr has not lived his life as a saint, nor has he ever said he was. Hillary Clinton has not spent her time as a saint either. So, what is the comparison between the two. A crooked politician that has sol out her office and her country for her own personal gain as compared to a successful business man that has successfully played by the rules set forth by politicians like Hillary Clinton. Yes he buys Chinese steel to build his buildings. He must buy it to be competitive. The reason he must buy it is because our politician made it this way for our companied to survive.
While he is at it, show how the policies of our politicians make it possible for people like him to not pay taxes. The n tell us how he, will fix these things.
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October 22, 2016 at 5:52 pm
TRUMP / PENCE – 2016!!! LOVE YOU GUYS!!!!!Elaine 🙂
From: Theo-sophical Ruminations To: elaine926@yahoo.com Sent: Saturday, October 22, 2016 2:19 PM Subject: [New post] Policies matter more than personalities, 3rd parties, and stay-homers #yiv5597686510 a:hover {color:red;}#yiv5597686510 a {text-decoration:none;color:#0088cc;}#yiv5597686510 a.yiv5597686510primaryactionlink:link, #yiv5597686510 a.yiv5597686510primaryactionlink:visited {background-color:#2585B2;color:#fff;}#yiv5597686510 a.yiv5597686510primaryactionlink:hover, #yiv5597686510 a.yiv5597686510primaryactionlink:active {background-color:#11729E;color:#fff;}#yiv5597686510 WordPress.com | Theosophical Ruminator posted: “When it comes to voting, policies matter more than personalities. We are not voting for outstanding moral person of the year. We are voting for the person whose political ideas/policies will result in the most good. When forced to choose between candidate” | |
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October 23, 2016 at 10:05 am
elaine hodges:
I wouldn’t trust Trump or Pence as far as you can throw up.
Prov 26:11 sums up Trump: “Like a dog that returns to its vomit Is a fool who repeats his folly.”
Pence used “bigotry, cloaked as religious protection” toward the LGBT community that allowed businesses in the state of Indiana to discriminate against groups of people in the name of Religious Freedom. Deliberately rendering Jesus words of non effect: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater.
Metaphorically they both lie a “mile a minute”
The House voted 40 to 10 in favour for the Bill’s passage. When a reporter asked Speaker of the House Brian Bosma whether it would be against the law for a business to put up a “no gays allowed” sign, he stated that “it would depend” on whether the business was in “a community that had a human rights ordinance.”
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October 23, 2016 at 10:42 am
B Bob:
“A crooked politician that has sold out her office and her country for her own personal gain” is a liar’s fabrication right out of the mouth of Trump the Fool You fell for the fool and are guilty by association for an astounding lack of common sense.
“…..as compared to a successful business man….” but you forgot to add…. “on the backs of others”:
“J. Michael Diehl, who owns Freehold Music Center, sold Trump eight Yamaha grand pianos for around $100,000. ‘He put out a bid for pianos about a year before the Taj opened. I won the bid. I delivered the pianos, and I waited and I waited to get paid. And finally I heard from them that I had three choices: to accept 70 percent of the bid or to wait until the casino could afford to pay the bill in full. Or I could force them into bankruptcy with everybody else and maybe get 10 cents on the dollar. I took the 70 percent, and I lost 30 percent.’‘ [Newsweek, 10/30/15]
“Juan Carlos Enriquez, owner of The Paint Spot, in South Florida, has been waiting more than two years to get paid for his work at the Doral. The Paint Spot first filed a lien against Trump’s course, then filed a lawsuit asking a Florida judge to intervene. In courtroom testimony, the manager of the general contractor for the Doral renovation admitted that a decision was made not to pay The Paint Spot because Trump ‘already paid enough.’ As the construction manager spoke, ‘Trump’s trial attorneys visibly winced, began breathing heavily, and attempted to make eye contact’ with the witness, the judge noted in his ruling. That, and other evidence, convinced the judge The Paint Spot’s claim was credible. He ordered last month that the Doral resort be foreclosed on, sold, and the proceeds used to pay Enriquez the money he was owed. Trump’s attorneys have since filed a motion to delay the sale, and the contest continues. Enriquez still hasn’t been paid.” [USA Today, 6/9/16]
“Some small businesses, such as Classic Chandeliers in West Palm Beach, Fla., decided they couldn’t afford to fight. In 2004, Mr. Trump chose 5-foot-wide chandeliers with 75 bulbs from the store, said Judith Jacobson, who said she designed the fixture and worked there with her ex-husband, Nicolas Jacobson, the owner. Mr. Trump’s representatives negotiated to buy three chandeliers for his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida for $34,000 total with a 50% down payment, according to court records. ‘The fact that he was Trump,’ Ms. Jacobson said, ‘my ex-husband said ‘OK, we wouldn’t have any problems with someone who has the means.’ ‘ Mr. Trump later sued Classic Chandeliers in Palm Beach County, Fla., court saying he shouldn’t have to pay in full because the company didn’t install the chandeliers properly. Mr. Jacobson, whose last name was spelled Jacobsen in the lawsuit, denied the claim. Court records show the suit was dropped in 2006 after a planned mediation.” [Wall Street Journal, 6/9/16]
“A private detective is suing Donald Trump for more than $5,000 in unpaid fees for keeping tabs on another detective hired by Trump’s ex-wife. Rob Kimmons, owner of an investigative firm in Houston, claims Trump failed to pay him for monitoring another Houston private eye retained by Ivana Trump to watch her husband and Marla Maples.” [Orlando Sentinel, 2/16/91]
Two Virginia lawyers accused Donald Trump of failing to pay their firm.
“After a Trump lawyer called Mr. Hopper’s work ‘shoddy’ in a local publication, Mr. Hopper filed his suit, alleging defamation and breach of contract. Trump lawyers responded that the business didn’t owe the money and denied defaming him.” [Wall Street Journal, 6/9/16]
Molded Fiber Glass Co. was forced to write off $2 million of a $3 million bill, and its owner was forced to borrow money to pay off companies he hired to complete Donald Trump’s project. [Associated Press, 6/28/16]
Donald Trump hired Eric Silverstein for a $800,000 sign painting job, but Silverstein was offered just 50 cents on the dollar upon completion. A suit would take years, and he simply couldn’t afford the legal fees.” [Newsweek, 9/28/87]
Donald Trump refused to pay a $1.2 million bill to an Atlantic City paver.
A quarter of a century had passed since Donald Trump refused to pay $1.2 million for the paving stones her late husband installed at Atlantic City’s Taj Mahal casino. But for Paone and others like her — the dozens of contractors and their families who never got all they were owed — it could have happened yesterday.” [Associated Press, 6/28/16]
Donald Trump paid contractors on his Taj Mahal casino just 33 cents on the dollar after the casino failed with a promise of 50 cents later for the businesses that survived long enough.
Newsweek: Atlantic City contractors with Trump “were so accustomed to getting paid cents on the dollar that they habitually built in an extra percentage.”
Former Atlantic City Mayor Jim Whelan: “There were a lot of small contractors and vendors who got hurt, who went out of business because Trump did not pay contracts on time.”
Atlantic City bankruptcy lawyer on Trump’s shorted contractors: “It wasn’t just the money; a lot of these guys went into depression.”
“‘We got next to nothing,’ says Michael MacLeod, whose 40-person studio made the giant elephant statues at the entrance to Taj. ‘I took a big hit.’” [Associated Press, 6/28/16]
Atlantic City contractor: “If ethics or morality has nothing to do with business, [Donald Trump is] a very good businessman.”
US Roofing Corp. President Dave Farragut: Donald Trump was “notorious for stringing people out and not paying.”
Atlantic City union president: Donald Trump’s failure to pay contractors was “jeopardizing these people’s medical coverage, and their pension benefits have not been paid.”
Tom Stapleton: “There’s 60 boys on my bench because of’ Trump’s failure to pay.
Trump Shorted His Employees
Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort faced a federal lawsuit from a dishwasher over failure to pay time-and-a-half overtime for three years.
“Just last month, Trump Miami Resort Management LLC settled with 48 servers at his Miami golf resort over failing to pay overtime for a special event. The settlements averaged about $800 for each worker and as high as $3,000 for one, according to court records. [USA Today, 6/9/16]
“In one case, the Trump Organization paid $475,000 to settle a claim with nearly 300 Los Angeles golf club employees in a class-action suit alleging unpaid wages and age discrimination, among other offenses.” [International Business Times, 3/14/16]
source: http://correctrecord.org/fact-check-phil-ruffin-lies-about-trumps-record-paying-his-bills/
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October 23, 2016 at 11:41 am
AND . . .Hillary sells out our country. Which is better? A business man doing business according to the law and rules of business or, a corrupt career politician that has sold out our country for her own personal gain?
Ummm….I’ll go with the business man. Nobody’s perfect, but we know the type of judges Clinton will select. I, for one, believe in the constitution. If she becomes president, we can kiss our constitution goodbye forever.
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October 23, 2016 at 12:00 pm
Trump supporters are a scary bunch of Alt White, nazi-like supremacists and a friend of Putin who undermines everything peaceful. Look at Syria, the Baltic States and the Ukrainian territory of the Crime of Crimea.
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October 23, 2016 at 12:04 pm
Russia has no better friend than Clinton. She sold them our Uranium. How stupid is that? She did it for the money.
QUOTE: Look at Syria, the Baltic States and the Ukrainian territory of the Crime of Crimea.”
FYI: This happened under the Obama, Clinton government, Not Trump.
WAKE UP. SHE is worse than TRUMP.
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October 23, 2016 at 1:10 pm
B Bob:
You need a lesson against against and that lesson is called knowledge.
The truth about the Hillary Clinton-Russia-Uranium ‘scandal’
The Washington Post
Paul Waldman, The Washington Post
Apr. 28, 2015, 8:53 AM
What’s the allegation against Hillary Clinton? The reason this is a story is the potential that there was some quid pro quo involved: that in exchange for donations to the Clinton Foundation and/or the speech Bill Clinton gave in Russia, Hillary Clinton used her position as Secretary of State to make approval of this sale happen. It need not be explicit, but at the very least there has to be a connection between donations and official action that Clinton took.
What’s the evidence for that allegation? There isn’t any, at least not yet. The only evidence is timing: people who would benefit from the sale made donations to the foundation at around the same time the matter was before the government.
What’s the evidence in Clinton’s favor? Even if Clinton had wanted to make sure the sale was approved, it wouldn’t have been possible for her to do it on her own. CFIUS is made up of not only the Secretary of State, but also the secretaries of Treasury, Justice, Homeland Security, Commerce, Defense, and Energy, as well as the heads of the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and the Office of Science and Technology Policy.
The Director of National Intelligence and the Secretary of Labor are non-voting members, and CFIUS’s work is also observed by representatives of other agencies like the National Security Council and the Office of Management and Budget. The idea that Clinton could have convinced all those officials and all those departments to change their position on the sale, even if she had wanted to, borders on the absurd.
Furthermore, the official who was the State Department’s representative on CFIUS at the time, Jose Hernandez, told Time magazine that Clinton did not participate in the evaluation of this deal: “Secretary Clinton never intervened with me on any CFIUS matter,” he said.
So in this case, we have no evidence of a quid pro quo, and we don’t have evidence that Hillary Clinton took any action at all with regard to this sale, in favor of the interests of the donors or otherwise.
So what can we draw from this? One of the most important tasks the press has during a presidential campaign is to investigate the candidates — who they are, what they’ve done in the past, and what they plan to do in the future. The investigations of Hillary Clinton will no doubt be vigorous and ongoing.
But given the history of these kinds of investigations — where again and again, dark insinuations of wrongdoing regarding the Clintons were made, then spread widely with the justification that “questions are being raised,” yet the allegations turned out to be either completely false or wildly overblown — we in the media have an obligation to take extra care when a new story like this one comes up.
Read the full article here:
http://www.businessinsider.com/everything-we-know-about-the-hillary-clinton-russia-uranium-scandal-2015-4
And after knowledge puts your ignorance to bed, you can tell me what part of know do you not understand?
That doesn’t mean we should ignore it or soft-pedal it. But it does mean that we ought to work hard to separate facts from innuendo and speculation.
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October 23, 2016 at 1:29 pm
And further B Bob:
This is the point. Donald Trump lies. All the time.
He doesn’t just stretch the truth in the way most politicians do: selectively citing facts that make them look good, deliberately omitting ones that make them look bad, overstating or understating the probable impact of the campaign promises they make.
No, he just says things that aren’t true. And he knows it. Sometimes it’s something big — a conspiracy theory to excuse his global-warming denialism. Sometimes it’s so minor that its unnecessariness makes it all the more infuriating.
Daniel Dale, a reporter for the Toronto Star, has taken recently to posting a list on Twitter of all the provably false statements he hears from Trump on the campaign trail each day. It might not be technically fair to call all of these statements “lies” — it’s possible that Trump himself believes them to be true. But at a certain point, his callous disregard for facts crosses the line into criminal neglect.
On many days, Dale counts at least 10 falsehoods. On one day, he counted 18.
Even more alarming, while Trump often repeats some of his lies from one day to the next, most of the lies Dale recorded were just told once. Over the nine days Dale’s recorded so far, Donald Trump has told a total of 64 unique lies.
Those lies range from the small — like who wrote the song “The Snake” that he likes to recite at his rallies — to the substantial, like saying on four separate occasions that his tax plan would cut taxes on the working class and three times saying that Hillary Clinton would substantially increase “your taxes.”
Dale’s efforts have proved that it’s theoretically possible to process all of Trump’s lies, and other news outlets have started to follow suit. Politico magazine, counting both candidates’ tweets as well as speeches and interviews, tallied 87 Trump lies over five days — an average of one lie every three minutes over about five hours’ worth of remarks. (Hillary Clinton didn’t do as much public speaking over the five days Politico tracked, but even if she had, Politico wrote, his lie rate would “still surpass her nearly four times over.”)
Trump supporters — even birthers — were surprisingly supportive. Many of them praised Trump’s trolling of the media by getting them to cover his press conference by teasing a statement on birtherism. And then there was this woman, who, in an interview with Benny Johnson of the Independent Journal Review, expressed it simply: “Whatever Trump says is true.”
Donald Trump hates lies, but can’t tell the truth. Neither can his supporters.
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October 23, 2016 at 1:30 pm
I don’t need a lesson on Geo-politics of the Russia and The Soviet Union. You do, unfortunately you will n ever get one. I understand business and geo-politics of the region. Trump doesn’t do business there but Clinton did. She did it in the normal way of doing business with Russia. Do you what the norm is? Corruption. The only thing is, she could have gotten a whole lot more than she got. I spent a large part of my life dealing with the Soviets and Eastern Bloc politicians and Oligarchs.
The fact that Trump doesn’t do business with them speaks to his business acumen, and the fact Clinton did and got nothing of value for selling us out speaks to her incompetency and corruption.
It is a no brainer. I have said more than i want to say. You lack understanding and experince in these matters
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October 23, 2016 at 1:34 pm
Believe George Sorros and his media
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October 23, 2016 at 2:24 pm
Sure B Bob You know all about Russia and the Oligarchs
Trump’s trademarks in Russia
These are a sign of how eager Trump has been to expand into Russia. In 1996, he filed to register “Trump Tower.” In the last decade, he’s also laid legal claim to “Trump,” “Trump International Hotel and Tower,” “Trump Home” and “the Trump crest design.” CNNMoney obtained the records from the Russian intellectual property law firm Sojuzpatent, which he hired to file the trademarks in that country.
None of the real estate projects have come to life.
Back when he still owned the pageant’s parent company, Trump struck a $20 million deal to host the 2013 Miss Universe pageant in Moscow.
He invited Putin to the pageant, asking: “Do you think Putin will be going to The Miss Universe Pageant in November in Moscow – if so, will he become my new best friend?”
Putin didn’t go.
In 2008, a Russian billionaire paid Trump $95 million for a Florida mansion. Trump made $54 million on the deal.
Trump tried several times to build a signature Trump Tower in Moscow. It never worked out.
In 1997, Trump agreed to have a Russian artist named Zurab Tsereteli build a massive, $40 million bronze Christopher Columbus — larger than the Statue of Liberty. According to The New Yorker, the idea was to plop it down on Trump’s development project in Manhattan’s West Side. It ended up in Puerto Rico instead.
Trump Vodka in Russia? Meh.
This was a typical Trump deal. He put no money down, got to slap his name on a brand and claimed royalties. Drinks Americas Holdings (DKAM) actually made the stuff.
The company’s former CEO told CNNMoney they didn’t manage to make much headway into the Russian market. All they got was a single deal to sell 8,000 cases of vodka, a fraction of the 100,000 cases they sold worldwide.
The real value was the photo-op.
“If you can sell vodka made in the Netherlands to Russians in gold bottles with ‘Trump’ on them, and wealthy Russians think this is good vodka, this is a marketing coup,” said Patrick Kenny, former CEO of Drinks Americas Holdings.
Then there’s a Russian ex-con named Felix Sater. He was an executive at the Bayrock Group, which licensed the Trump name to build the Trump SoHo New York and Trump Tower Fort Lauderdale.
Sater pleaded guilty to racketeering in 1998.
In a 2013 deposition for a lawsuit, Trump distanced himself from Sater.
“If he were sitting in the room right now, I really wouldn’t know what he looked like,” Trump said.
Trump’s bromance with Putin
What’s clear is his friendly view of Putin.
He praised Putin’s 2013 op-ed in The New York Times warning the United States to not get involved in the Syrian conflict, which Trump called “a masterpiece for Russia and a disaster for the U.S.”
He suggested this week he might accept Putin’s annexation of Crimea from Ukraine. And on Thursday’s episode of Fox and Friends he said that Putin is a “better leader” than Obama, “because Obama is not a leader so he’s certainly doing a better job than Obama is, and that’s all.”
His latest jaw-dropping call to Putin came on Wednesday, when Trump publicly prodded the Russian government to hack Clinton to track down the government emails she deleted.
“Russia, if you’re listening, I hope you find the 33,000 emails that are missing,” he said at a press conference in Doral, Florida. Trump later said he was being sarcastic.
Trump’s adviser
Trump’s campaign manager also has a tangential tie to the Kremlin. Paul Manafort had advised Ukraine’s ex-president Viktor Yanukovich when he was largely considered Russia’s political puppet. Following a Ukraine revolt, Yanukovich fled to Russia.
What part of “KNOW” don’t you understand?
and you know the bible too…..well, except of course the curse of Ham, how Jesus knew the betrayer before the betrayal, who the two men were Jesus met on the mountain called the transfiguration………
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October 23, 2016 at 3:03 pm
Ok. you are smarter than me.
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October 23, 2016 at 3:55 pm
Trump never claimed t o be a saint. therefore, he never claimed to repent. So, Elaine, how can he return to what he never left? Do you judge someone according to what they claim to be? Or to what they you think they are?
Trump never claimed to be a saint. Neither did Crooked Clinton. However, only one of those twi are CROOKED according to the LAW. that one, is Clinton. Not Trump. She should be defending herself in criminal court instead of running for president. Of the these two non saints, she is the only criminal.
So get your head out of where the sun does not shine and do your part in waving our country. PLEASE!!!!
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October 23, 2016 at 3:57 pm
Trump is not a saint, but he loves our country and our people.
Clinton is not a saint, but she betrayed our country and our people. Those are the facts.
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October 24, 2016 at 5:01 am
This election is about the Supreme Court and two bad choices for President. One choice is worse than the other:
http://thoughtfulideas.blogspot.com/2016/05/if-elected-hillary-clinton-will-reshape.html
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October 24, 2016 at 7:41 am
The Church and Christianity in general in a debate:
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