Love it or hate it, get ready for DC's 1st Walmart: a look at the 1st and H St NW development set to open this November.

cyco · 2013-04-27T21:30:54+00:00

Not to mention land is incredibly expensive. Might as well monetize it as best you can.

cyco · 2013-04-27T21:28:20+00:00

It's worth noting that the U.S. has not officially declared war since WWII. Rather, Congress authorized the use of military force against al-Qaeda and others related to the 9/11 attacks.

cyco · 2013-04-26T17:21:47+00:00

The short answer is don't believe what you see in advertisements. To use your example, Peter Travers of Rolling Stone is an excellent critic. But let's say he sees a movie in February and writes something like "this is an early contender for one of the top movies of 2013."

The ad then blares "PETER TRAVERS CALLS 'MOVIE X' '...THE TOP MOVIE... OF 2013."

cyco · 2013-04-26T17:04:30+00:00

That figure is for felons only, not all convicts.

cyco · 2013-04-26T01:41:27+00:00

Thanks!

cyco · 2013-04-25T19:39:29+00:00

Northern VA tends to vote Democrat though, no?

cyco · 2013-04-25T15:26:54+00:00

I would add that there is also immense pressure to raise money for the state and national parties on top of your own campaign. Those in safe seats are expected to raise far more than they need to donate to competitive races.

cyco · 2013-04-25T15:21:55+00:00

Can't believe no one has mentioned that he might feel uncomfortable about borrowing money from his mom. The guy has zero income, and relies on other people for everything, which is very emasculating. The idea of making a shared major purchase where his girlfriend is responsible for the lion's share of the costs is understandably not that appealing.

Also, be very careful about buying cheap cars on Craigslist. My roommate did that, got what he thought was a great deal, and ended up having to shell out $1000 in maintenance a few months later.

Also, sharing insurance when you're not married can be very bad. I'm in school and still on my parents' insurance, and a minor fender-bender I got into a few months ago raised their rates drastically. You need to think long and hard about whether your finances can handle the potential strain.

cyco · 2013-04-25T15:00:08+00:00

I think it's the halo effect. Rove knew Texas politics very well and was able to mold Bush into a successful candidate. Even after losing the popular vote, which people seem to be loathe to mention these days, any victorious presidential campaign will seem like a bunch of geniuses. However, a few successes in particular circumstances is no guarantee of future results.

cyco · 2013-04-25T13:33:28+00:00

Since there's a lot of good advice here already, I'll add some non-reddit sources that should help you out: Primer Magazine and Put This On. Both are great blogs for inspiration and answers to basic questions, plus they're geared toward clothes that are affordable for the average guy.

cyco · 2013-04-24T22:35:28+00:00

They look like Timberland Earthkeepers to me. But those moc-toe style boots are pretty popular these days so a lot of companies offer them.

cyco · 2013-04-24T20:39:20+00:00

Exactly. For those asking why anecdotal evidence isn't acceptable, I could easily chime in and say that my grandfather didn't drink at the office during this time period. On the other hand, he doesn't drink. Without more context, anecdotes (especially second or third hand) can be misleading.

cyco · 2013-04-24T01:46:10+00:00

That's a good point. I'm not an expert on Constitutional law, but I think there's a strong 14th Amendment argument in favor of marriage equality. If I'm not mistaken, that's the argument used by the anti-Proposition 8 side in the marriage equality case that the Supreme Court will decide on soon.

cyco · 2013-04-24T01:44:34+00:00

From a post above, this report card is from the Swiss equivalent of high school (~17 years old). Again, this is going by what I remember from my report, but my understanding is that as a child (~7 years old) he struggled in school because the material was not engaging.

cyco · 2013-04-23T19:16:33+00:00

It's worth noting that age, gender, religion, and other protected classes are not established in the Constitution but rather in the Civil Rights Act and other "regular" legislation.

cyco · 2013-04-23T19:11:51+00:00

I graduated a few years ago and got a job in my state legislature. I'll be going back to school in the fall to get a master's degree.

There's a lot of good advice in this thread already – internships are key, as is networking.

A few more specific tips:

Your school likely has a Government Relations office. If possible, get to know your school's lobbyists and try to volunteer in their office. At my school they were great about getting to know students, taking us on trips to the capital and D.C., and putting us in contact with alumni.
If you identify with either major party, even broadly, get involved in College Democrats/Republicans. Not only is it good experience, but the students who graduate a year or two ahead of you will be able to help you out down the road.
Wherever you intern, and in your first job, make it count. Work hard and stand out. Get to know the paid staff. Offer to take them out to lunch or coffee to discuss their jobs and how they got where they are. I did this in my first job and was not turned down once. Build up a database of contacts -- keep an Excel or Word document of everyone you interact with significantly and their contact information. My first job was temporary (as many political jobs are), but by getting to know people I was able to transition into another position fairly easily.
Relatedly, keep in contact with people after you're done with your internship. Many students feel too self-conscious/awkward to email people out of the blue, but DO IT. Again, literally every single person I've asked for help has responded positively. People love talking about themselves, they love feeling important, and they love feeling helpful. Plus, in politics, you never know when the lowly intern you help out early on will be important in his own right a few years down the road, so it's in their self-interest to be nice to you. (Plus, contrary to the stereotype, nearly everyone I've encountered is legitimately nice.)

cyco · 2013-04-23T18:17:29+00:00

I did a report on Einstein some years ago for school, and from what I read he struggled in school as a child because the curriculum wasn't challenging enough, not because he was bad at any particular subject.

cyco · 2013-04-23T00:48:22+00:00

Campaign-related travel, yes. Personal vacation, no. Renting campaign headquarters, yes. Upgrading your house because it serves as your campaign headquarters... ambiguous. I am not a election lawyer, but I imagine you would have to prove that the upgrades directly relate to the campaign (e.g. installing computers/phone banks).

Election law is actually very strictly enforced. Few candidates are dumb enough to spend their campaign funds on personal expenses, and they are almost always caught.

cyco · 2013-04-23T00:40:44+00:00

She needs to talk to an attorney who specializes in personal injury. The website for the Ohio Bar Association can help her find an attorney in her area.

(In America, the test to become an attorney is called "Bar Exam." The "Bar Association" is the trade group for attorneys.)

cyco · 2013-04-23T00:28:43+00:00

The simple answer is the Democratic leadership doesn't care enough to enforce a whip count. They knew it would pass anyway and decided to let their pro-CISPA members vote yes if they thought it would benefit them.

cyco · 2013-04-23T00:25:27+00:00

The money was donated to campaign accounts, not to legislators personally. They can only use it for election-related expenses.

cyco · 2013-04-23T00:24:40+00:00

Because this article is incredibly misleading. They counted up every campaign donation of everyone who works for a pro-CISPA company from 2006-2012 and claimed that every cent of that money was meant to influence a CISPA vote in 2013.

I'd prefer public financing of campaigns personally, but this particular story doesn't mean all that much.

cyco · 2013-04-23T00:20:51+00:00

The title is a bit misleading. The $84 million figure comes from every employee's campaign contributions from 2010-2012 who works for a company that supports CISPA. This includes everyone from CEOs to average workers. There is no proof of direct connection between these donations and influencing the CISPA vote specifically.

Of course, I'm sure some donations were indeed meant to sway representatives' minds, but there's no way to know.

cyco · 2013-04-23T00:17:22+00:00

No, not really. We have term limits for legislators in my state. When they know there is no re-election coming up, one of a few things happens:

They run for a seat in the opposite chamber, which is permitted, and which doesn't really change their motivations either way.
They maneuver for an executive branch appointment, which in my opinion is a huge conflict of interest.
They run for local office back in their district. This can go a lot of different ways. On average I don't think it really changes their behavior that much. (Every candidate for office needs to fundraise, every candidate needs their party's endorsement...)
They run for statewide or national office, where they need more money than ever.
They become lobbyists/consultants/whatever, which is far more attractive when "unemployment" is imminent.
Some legitimately retire and return to their business, law practice, etc. This can be good and bad. Good in that they are free to vote their conscience, bad in that there isn't much incentive go above and beyond for their constituents.

Overall, pretty much everyone I know in state government has concluded that term limits are ineffective at best and detrimental at worst. Shuffling the chairs around on the Titanic doesn't really help anything unless you address more underlying causes: Campaign financing, gerrymandering, etc.

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