Tomorrow (Tuesday, Nov 3rd) is Election Day!

This year there are judicial and municipal elections and I highly encourage you to vote and vote Democrat! Polls are open from 7am to 8pm.

Unsure of who to vote for?Take a look at a sample ballot for tomorrow here: http://seventy.org/Elections_Upcoming_Election_Information.aspx

All judicial candidates supported by the Pennsylvania Democratic Party can be found here: http://www.padems.com/Officials/Candidates/

Two important races:
Seth Williams for Philadelphia District Attorney: The Drexel Dems endorsed Seth last winter and helped him win the Democratic primary in May. Support him tomorrow! The District Attorney is extremely important to keeping our streets safe in Philadelphia. Learn more about Seth at www.votesethwilliams.com.

Judge Jack Panella for Supreme Court: The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania will play a large role in congressional redistricting that will take place after the 2010 U.S. Census.

Voting & Polling Place Info

Do you live in a Drexel residence hall? All residence halls vote in Van R Hall at 3320 Powelton Ave.

Not sure where to vote? To find your polling place, click here: http://www.phillyvoter.org/locator/%28S%28ilifrm45heyhdt45du3yiz55%29%29...

Not registered at all? Click here to register: http://www.rockthevote.com/rtv_register.html
(Please note: This does not allow you to vote tomorrow. There are deadlines before each election)

Hope you can make it to the polls tomorrow! For any other info, visit our Student Voting Guide on the right side menu!

Hello Everyone,

Love to learn, play games, put your knowledge about politics into practice? Do you need University 101 credit?

Come volunteer on Saturday November 7th for Lindy Scholars!

Lindy Scholars in a community outreach and youth mentoring program for 6th-8th West Philadelphia students.

The Dems will facilitate a fun and engaging activity on World Cultures/Customs for the scholars.

Last year's Lindy events were great. Dems made politics simple and exciting and the scholars left the program inspired to stay informed and engaged in their communities.

When: Saturday November 7th, 1:00-2:00 p.m
Arrive: Dems Volunteers arrive *11:45 a.m.* to learn how to facilitate the day's activities
Where: Matheson (room TBA)
ANYONE CAN PARTICIPATE, NO EXPERIENCE NEEDED.

Please contact Krystle Wilson, Community Outreach Director at community@drexeldems.org or 860-338-1064 if you interested in coming/have any questions/activity ideas!

Join Pennsylvania's Senior Senator, Arlen Specter, and the Drexel Democrats for a Town Hall Meeting on Friday, October 9th at 4:00PM in McAllister 2019 (corner of 33rd and Chestnut, above Bookstore)

Ask Senator Specter about healthcare and the public option, the Employee Free Choice Act, Iraq, Afghanistan, the economy, or his past record such as his vote for President Obama's stimulus plan.

The Senator is coming to Drexel to answer any and all questions from the Drexel community.

Senator Specter is currently running for re-election to the United States Senate, for the first time as a Democrat.

Don't have time between classes and homework to learn about President Obama's healthcare plan? Learn it in just 4 minutes!

I listen to a lot of podcasts, and one of them is the almost daily "American Conservative University." Not to be confused with any actual institution of higher learning, it usually consists of a one hour block of c-list wingnut radio hosts like Dennis Prager or Michael Medved.

Anyway, Dennis Prager is perhaps most hilariously known for his boorish moralizing about Judeo-Christian values. However, after listening to a number of these Prager podcasts, I was struck by how astonishingly stupid he is. I know, I know, I shouldn't be that surprised. But take these two examples, and see what I mean.

First, Prager had wingnut comrade Hugh Hewitt on his show to discuss the "Fair Tax," the highly regressive and foolishly impractical nationwide consumption tax. Hewitt is not a fan of the Fair Tax, while Prager is. Well enough; people disagree. However, I was truly astonished at the level of Prager's misunderstanding of the tax. I mean, you would think that a nationally syndicated radio show host who advocates for a policy has given policy details at least a modicum of thought. But you would be wrong. Behold my transcript of this exchange (starting at the 20:55 mark).

Hewitt: One other thing about the Fair Tax is that they've done a very good job of selling the idea of 23%, and that's misleading. A good friend of mine once said that he preferred clarity to agreement.

Prager: Who was that? Who was that?

Hewitt: It was a guy named Prager.

Prager: Oh, Prager.

Today is Tuesday May 19th and that means if you're registered to vote in the city of Philadelphia, it's very important that you get out there and vote! Turnout is always lower in primaries, so your vote counts that much more. Early reports are that turnout is very low across the city, and as Dan U-A notes, that only empowers entrenched political machines to decide the election. If you think Philadelphia deserves better, then do something about it.

The only endorsement we made in this election is Seth Williams, the candidate for District Attorney. He's the rare candidate that brings both experience and a fresh perspective to this important job, and Philadelphia desperately needs a smart, competent DA. He has also been endorsed by the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Fraternal Order of Police, Liberty City Democrats, Neighborhood Networks, and many other groups in the city. Check out his website at VoteSethWilliams.com.

There are a number of other positions to vote on, and though we haven't endorsed anyone in those races, our old Obama organizer was working for Leon King, for judge. Young Philly Politics has others they've endorsed here.

You vote at the same place you voted in November, which is at Van R hall if you live in any of the dorms or University crossings.

Don't forget; If you don't vote, you don't get to complain!

At the 100 Days panel discussion last night there were a number of issues raised that deserve further discussion, if only to explain how wrongheaded some of the assertions made were. However, one exchange I thought was interesting enough to return to it here. While responding to a question about the oppressive taxes in this country from a College Republican in the audience, I referred to the fact that we actually have some of the lowest effective tax rates in the developed world. Hardly exciting stuff, but the interesting thing was the response that invoked. A number of students from the College Republicans and the Student Liberty Front (think Ron Paul...) reacted immediately as though I misspoke or made an obvious error. To them it was obvious that we have oppressively high taxes.

They were confused, however, about nominal tax rates and effective tax rates. Behold, the data.

Anyone who has taken any economics understands the difference between nominal and effective rates. It's a distinction that's crucially important when discussing interest rates, for example. Nominal tax rates are the marginal rates levied, the numbers actually specified by statute. Effective tax rates, however, are what companies actually pay. The difference, of course, is that large corporations, as is their prerogative, spend a fair deal of effort lowering their actual tax liabilities through loopholes and tax shelters. While nominal marginal rates can certainly affect business decisions, effective tax rates are more relevant to a discussion of the effect of taxes on the economy, and for anyone claiming oppressive taxation.

Come check out "100 Days of President Obama" tonight! It's a student panel discussion about the Obama administration also featuring the Drexel Republicans and Student Liberty Front. Discussion moderated by Prof. Scott Knowles. Q & A to follow.

Starts at 7:30 in Mitchell Auditorium in Bossone (JFK Blvd and Market St)