On today’s Show (10/13/12) we will discuss the debates—the Veep, past and upcoming Presidential—and the latest polls. Our guest will be Jeff Cox. The weather’s nice but chilly. This probably will be our last Show on the deck for this season. Of course, this is Indiana, so next week could be beautiful and 80 degrees (or miserable, sleety and a high of 42).

   As to the debate Thursday night and who won, let me go through the scoring categories, with a maximum of five points for…

   Thursday’s debate is shaping into a media blast. Generally, Obama supporters want blood. Republicans want to smirk more. So this Thursday, at 9 p.m., we get another "debate." Vice President Joe Biden versus U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan, the Republican nominee for V.P. Location: Centre College in Danville, Kentucky. Moderator: Martha Raddatz, ABC senior foreign affairs correspondent. Topics: all things foreign and domestic.

   The are a few more aspects of the debate I did not address…

   Okay, this Thursday, at 9 p.m., is another "debate." Vice President Joe Biden will debate U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan, the Republican nominee for V.P. The location of the debate is Centre College in Danville, Kentucky. The moderator is Martha Raddatz, ABC senior foreign affairs correspondent. The topics are all things foreign and domestic. After all, this is the only Veep debate.

   I shall return to my formula for how to score debates as used for last week’s "first" presidential…

"Civil Discourse Now" will shoot at 11 at the Village Cigar, 6455 North College, in the same strip center as Northside Social. Our guests will be Democratic Party candidate for Indiana Senate John Barnes and Libertarian Party candidate for Indiana House, District 100, James Nease.

   John Fugelsang is an actor and stand-up comic to whom Al Gore’s network, Current TV, has given an hour slot. The title of the show is "So That Happened." I caught the premiere last evening (Friday, October 5) at 6.

   Fugelsang is the guy who elicited the "Etch-a-Sketch"® comment from the Romney campaign aide last spring. His Wikipedia entry has a run-down of his life, educational background (NYU film school), and work. I had been watching him the last couple of months on YouTube®.…

   The Show will be "live" from the Village Cigar, 6435 North College Avenue. Our guests will be John Barnes, Democratic Party candidate for Indiana State Senate, District 32, and James Nease, Libertarian Party candidate for Indiana House, District 100.

   The consensus is Mitt Romney won Wednesday night’s debate. If we use the factors I listed in my last blog to score the debate, what is the result?

   Delivery: Romney was less hesitant than he has been in the past, but was not spellbinding. On the other hand, Obama seemed asleep. I score Romney a 3 and Obama a 2.

   Responsiveness to questions: This is the "duck" factor. Again, politicians are terrible about this. A person does not answer a question when that person simply…

   How should one "score" the "debate" tomorrow night?

   In high school and college debate, ballots had six areas, each awarded five points, for a total of 30 points possible per speaker. My memory might be faulty as to those areas, but the scent of 3M paper still haunts my nostrils when I flash back to trips home from tournament.

   The usual areas were: delivery, refutation, organization, evidence, analysis, and cross-examination. Those ballots were for competitive rounds in…

   President Obama is reported to have crammed for the "debates" (I wince to apply that term to the glorified Q & A sessions to be held) he faces in the next couple of weeks versus Mitt Romney.

   One of my law professors, Henry Karlson, commented to my first-year Crim Law one day that, the previous evening, a former student had called to ask a question about evidence. That particular lecture was on a Friday. The student had called because he was taking the bar exam. The bar exam…

   Today, September 29, 2012, Civil Discourse Now will host Andy Horning, the Libertarian Party candidate for United States Senate, and Mark Waterfill, the Democratic Party candidate for Indiana Senate, District 35.

   Andy has garnered a lot of press in the last couple of days, with speculation he will split votes and affect a race that also features U.S. Representative Joe Donnelly (Democrat) against State Treasurer Richard Mourdock (Republican). 

   Mark Warerfill also will…

   Was someone from SNL hired to schedule George W. Bush’s public speaking engagements? Or did one of the Super PACs that "lean" toward the Democratic Party dump some money to hire "W" for a specific gig? Or is "The Onion" at work here?

   On November 1-2, the former President will attend, and be the keynote speaker at, the Cayman Alternative Investment Summit on Grand Cayman Island. The general election is November 6.

   Mitt Romney has listed, in the tax returns he has…

   The first presidential "debate" will occur on October 3.

   The dish on Mitt Romney is that he brings opponents down to his level. In my years of competitive debate in high school and, especially, college, and I understand the principle that a bad opponent can screw up a good team. The effect is akin to the pouring of Karo® syrup into the gear of the machinery of the brain.

   Comparisons frequently are drawn between sports and politics. In sports there is less subjective…

   People should not refer to the public Q & A sessions as presidential "debates."

   As a kid, I was interested in the idea that candidates for President of the United States engaged in debates. By the time I was aware of such matters, the "big" debates were in the past. Of course Lincoln and Douglas debated over a century before in their race for the United States Senate seat from Illinois. Those "debates" consisted of hour-long statements by each candidate in a Chautauqua…

   Stewart Alexander, Socialist Party USA candidate for President of the United States was our guest yesterday on "Civil Discourse Now."

   We filmed The Show yesterday. Due to techno-problems it will not be on the internet until later this morning.

I have been forced to deal so much with reality lately, I have forgotten how much fun the alternative fanciful debates of Mark Small and Paul Ogden can be.

Personally, Autumn is my favorite season of the year. It is not too cold. It is not too hot. And, unlike Spring, Autumn is often marked by low humidity. Cool, dry days and brisk nights!…

   We did not shoot "Civil Discourse Now" yesterday because today we have a Special Show.

   Our guest will be Stewart Alexander, Socialist Party of American candidate for President of the United States. Cameras will roll at 11. The Show should be up on the internet by 3.

   Paul Ogden has written a blog demeaning the month of Autumn. He told me, yesterday, he was then writing such a piece. I feel compelled to defend what is my, and other people’s, favorite season, although other people (notably members of tribes indigenous to this continent when Europeans arrived) would wonder how anyone could hold as a "favorite" one of the natural phases of our calendar.

   First, Mr Ogden mischaracterizes autumn as a season of death, marked by cold, overcast,…

   The majority of American pay income taxes. Choice of words gives rise to a claim that many Americans do not pay income taxes. Those Americans pay "withholding" taxes.

   "Taxable income" is defined as "[g]ross income minus all allowable deductions and exemptions; taxable income is multiplied by the applicable tax rate to compute one’s tax liability."  Black’s Law Dictionary, pocket ed., 1996.

   26 U.S.C. (United States Code) § 1 generally requires everyone to pay…

   Quotes aired or otherwise made public over the past several days have made me wonder how the Romney/Ryan ticket still has a shot at victory in 49 days:

   -Romney’s statements to fundraisers in which he writes off 47% of the American people as people whose votes will not bother to elicit curry, and as people who live off government handouts and should learn to fend for themselves.

   -Romney’s criticism of President Obama, in the same speech, as a person who has been…

   Ignorance breeds fear. Fear begets hatred. Hatred feeds war.

   The events in the Middle East this past week have been tragic. For years many people in this country have said hateful things about each other. One target group for anger has been the Islamic community. My use of the phrase "Islamic community" is inaccurate, as the Muslim religion is comprised of groups who view their faith in different ways. It is interesting that amongst the written materials in Osama bin Laden’s…