Tag: 2024 Elections

Still Scratching Their Heads

With the their asses handed to them in the election lets look at the Dems and any possibilities they can bounce back.

Democrats are trying not to go into denial over their loss to Trump and his minions…..I thought I would look at some of the reports and pass them on.

My opinion is the Dems have been drifting too far right ever since Bubba Clinton and that is what got them where they are today for the working class feels it has been abandoned by the Dems after all these years.

I agree with Bernie…..

Sen. Bernie Sanders was reelected on Tuesday, but he’s not surprised that Democrats lost the White House. Sanders, who caucuses with Democrats, sharply criticized the party in a statement posted on social media, USA Today reports. “It should come as no great surprise that a Democratic Party which has abandoned working class people would find that the working class has abandoned them,” the independent senator from Vermont said. “While the Democratic leadership defends the status quo, the American people are angry and want change. And they’re right.”

Sanders cited issues including wealth inequality, noting that while “the very rich are doing phenomenally well,” weekly wages for the average American “are actually lower now then they were 50 years” when inflation is taken into account. “Will the big money interests and well-paid consultants who control the Democratic Party learn any real lessons from this disastrous campaign?” Sanders asked. “Will they understand the pain and political alienation that tens of millions of Americans are experiencing? Do they have any ideas as to how we can take on the increasingly powerful Oligarchy which has so much economic and political power? Probably not.”

The Party spent too much time focused on degrading Trump and not enough time on what really matters to the voter.

Take abortion and yes it is an issue and Harris spent many hours focused on returning to the days of Roe v Wade…..but did women care?

Donald Trump has won the majority of white women voters for the third straight time. 

Even after destroying abortion rights, even after a judge went to painstaking lengths to clarify that Trump raped E. Jean Carroll, and even as the Harris campaign targeted the imaginary “silent majority” of women hiding their political views from their husbands, 52 percent of white American women showed us who they are: Trump supporters.

National exit polls show that Trump easily carried white women’s vote, as white men too were 59 percent for Trump. For comparison, Black men and women went 20 percent and 7 percent for Trump, respectively.

There was so much liberal hand wringing over Harris’s perceived issues with Black male voters. Black men were too sexist, too uneducated, and were seen as a real vulnerability for her chances. “This election has taught me that there is a true intellect deficiency amongst our Heterosexual Black Men. It’s a sad reality,” one viral tweet on X read. A bit earlier, Barack Obama delivered an entire speech blaming Black men for their reluctance to back Harris. 

And yet Harris won three-quarters of Black men, while a much larger, much more powerful group of voters (white women) rejected the party begging for their votes for the third time in a row.

https://newrepublic.com/post/188061/white-women-harris-trump-exit-polls

Let’s take a deeper look…..

The dust is settling, and though in some ways the 2024 presidential election was typical, there are several ways in which it wasn’t.

  • Improving all over: Despite facing numerous legal battles and controversies since leaving the White House, former President Trump improved on his 2020 margin in 92% of more than 1,300 counties where at least 95% of the vote was counted, per Politico. “The median county shifted a bit under 2 points in Trump’s favor,” the outlet notes.
  • Popular vote: In a 20-year first for the GOP, Trump is expected to win the popular vote on top of the Electoral College; George W. Bush last did it in 2004. After losing the popular vote twice before, Decision Desk HQ has him with 71 million votes compared to Kamala Harris’ 66 million.
  • Latinos: Trump gained with “nearly every demographic group,” per CNN, but particularly Latino voters. They moved 26 points toward Trump from 2020, while Latino men moved 33 points in a massive swing, according to ABC News exit poll data. This surge in support “could fundamentally reorient American politics for a generation,” per Axios.
  • Starr County, Texas: Trump is the first Republican to win the former Democratic stronghold, part of the Rio Grande Valley region, in a presidential race since 1896. And it wasn’t close. He led by more than 15 points, per the Texas Tribune.
  • Independents in Georgia: President Biden won this group, which makes up 31% of the state electorate, by a 9-point margin in 2020. Trump was leading by 11 points in a CNN exit poll, marking a 20-point swing Jake Tapper described as “wild,” per the New York Post.
  • Dearborn, Michigan: After drawing 30% of the vote in 2020, Trump won 42% support over Harris’ 36% in the Detroit suburb of Dearborn, an Arab-American stronghold, per the Wall Street Journal. Meanwhile, Green Party candidate Jill Stein won 18% support in an apparent protest vote against the Biden administration’s support for Israel amid its war with Hamas.

AS I have stated….the Dems screwed themselves in 1992 by switching to a big business party…..and they have never looked back….they offer platitudes but no action to back up their accusations and promises.

What this country needs is another Eugene V. Debs…..a charismatic political firebrand….someone who will embrace a true change and not just in word.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Americans Are Better Than This

Now that the election is mercifully over we can sit back and look at just WTF happened….it is what I do.

For decades I have watched the American voter make some really strange and disastrous choices and in all that time I thought and wrote that the American people were better than their half-ass vote…..apparently I have been wrong in all those days of optimism.

I came across an op-ed that says it all……

I never want to hear the words “America is better than this” again. I never want to be told about America’s better angels.

I want honesty. I want an admission of exactly who we are as a country, and let’s be damn clear about that definition: We are a country that just elected – that just willfully chose – one of the most cruel, unscrupulous and transparently self-serving political figures in modern history to be president. Again.

We just elected a convicted felon who has normalized bullying, spread hate like an industrial sprinkler and shown us over and over and over again he sees laws as irrelevant and self-enrichment as sacrosanct. Faced with a billowing ocean of red flags – from indictments for trying to overturn the 2020 election to the coddling of dictators who rule enemy nations – a majority of Americans cast their vote for the man who is a totem of the worst in all of us.

So spare me the wails of “This isn’t who we are!” I’ve got bad news for the sane and decent among us: This is exactly who we are.

…

But America chose the guy who cavalierly said he’d be a dictator for a day. Voters chose the guy who denounces our allies and cozies up to our enemies. Voters chose the guy who is an adjudicated rapist, a role model to none, an often-incoherent and always hate-fueled loon who has turned Americans against each other in ways I never thought possible.

Voters chose Trump. He won. Cruelty won. Bullying won.

And that’s who America is right now. We are Trump, and we will own every bit of the shameful and painful and embarrassing things he does. We are not “better than this.” We lost the right to make that claim the moment the presidential race was called.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/columnist/2024/11/06/trump-wins-2024-presidential-election/759428050

I agree with the author….I do not want to hear we are better than this ever again…..because we are NOT!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Let The Vendetta Begin

Now that the election has culminated with Trump being thrust into the seat of power once again….there are concerns that he will make good on some of his veiled promises to get even with those that he thinks have wronged him in some way.

For your convenience I have found a list of those opponents to watch to see what the lord of the manor will do…people like Harris, Biden, Pelosi et al…..

Donald Trump ran a campaign based on retribution. Now he is perfectly positioned to carry it out.

For years, Trump has peppered his speeches and social media posts with vengeful calls for his political opponents, his critics and members of the media to be prosecuted, locked up, deported and even executed. In the waning weeks of the 2024 campaign, he escalated those promises of retaliation to a fever pitch.

Now that he’s won, he has both a popular mandate — and the power — to begin implementing his platform of punishment.

But others — including some of Trump’s closest advisers — have warned ominously that he’s far more likely to follow through in a second term. He won’t be inhibited by the need to run for reelection. He will be emboldened by a Supreme Court ruling that grants presidents broad immunity from criminal accountability after they leave office. And he is expected to be surrounded by aides more willing to dispense with norms to carry out his wishes.

Based on Trump’s own words, here are the people who have the most to fear.

President Joe Biden

Trump has frequently called Biden corrupt and, in June, reposted a Truth Social message that said he should be “arrested for treason.” In a speech last year, Trump vowed: “I will appoint a real special prosecutor to go after the most corrupt president in the history of the United States of America, Joe Biden, and the entire Biden crime family.”

Vice President Kamala Harris

Trump has described Harris’ failure to control migration as so severe that people have been “murdered because of her action at the border.” He told a campaign rally in Pennsylvania in September that Harris “should be impeached and prosecuted” for her role in permitting what he termed an “invasion” of the U.S. by undocumented immigrants.

Former President Barack Obama

In 2020, Trump accused Obama of “treason” for what Trump describes as the FBI’s surveillance of his 2016 presidential campaign over its ties to Russia. In fact, the email snooping was aimed at a former foreign policy adviser to that campaign.

In August of this year, Trump reposted a message on Truth Social calling for “public military tribunals” for Obama.

And the list goes on….

https://www.politico.com/news/2024/11/06/trump-retribution-enemy-list-00187725

He will try to ‘get’ all those people that have somehow wronged him…..us peons that are not too fond of him will be safe for his minions will neutralize us at every turn.

Can you think of anyone else not on the list?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Reactions From Around The Wold

Trump wins and the world will react….my reaction is thank god I do not have listen to many more endless campaigning just the infantile gloating.

The world has it say…..

People around the world are absorbing the news that Donald Trump will retake the White House, with world leaders from Israel to Hungary offering up congratulations, along with praise. Several leaders described the win as “historic.” More than one called it the biggest comeback in US history. Other notable individuals, including Trump ally Elon Musk and Trump enemy Stormy Daniels, have also weighed in. A roundup of reaction, via Fox News, ABC News, and Al Jazeera:

  • Elon Musk: He shared an edited image on X, showing him holding a sink against the backdrop of the Oval Office. “Let that sink in,” he wrote. It was a replay of a joke from 2022 when he bought what was then Twitter.
  • Stormy Daniels: The adult film star who suggested Trump would have her tried for treason told Good Morning Britain on Wednesday that she is
    “shocked and ashamed of what has happened in my country.” “You cannot tell me that it’s not because of racism that [Kamala Harris] did not win,” she added.
  • Mark Cuban: “Congrats @realDonaldTrump. You won fair and square. Congrats to @elonmusk as well. #Godspeed,” the billionaire Shark Tank star who campaigned with Vice President Kamala Harris wrote on X.
  • Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: “Congratulations on history’s greatest comeback,” he wrote to Trump on X. “Your historic return to the White House offers a new beginning for America and a powerful recommitment to the great alliance between Israel and America.”
  • Hamas: In a statement, the Palestinian group said it was withholding judgment. But it said Trump must “listen to the voices of the American community itself rejecting the aggression on Gaza” and realize Palestinians “will not accept a path that diminishes their rights.”
  • Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky: He congratulated Trump on an “impressive” victory and said the pair had discussed “ways to put an end to Russian aggression against Ukraine.” He added Trump’s “commitment to the ‘peace through strength’ approach in global affairs … can practically bring just peace in Ukraine closer.”
  • Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban: The longtime conservative ally of Trump called it “the biggest comeback in US political history!” as well as “a much needed victory for the World!” on X.
  • South Korean President Yoon Suk-Yeol: “Under your strong leadership, the future of the [Republic of Korea]-US alliance and America will shine brighter,” he wrote of Trump. “Look forward to working closely with you.”
  • British Prime Minister Keir Starmer: He congratulated Trump on a “historic” victory, noting the US and UK are “the closest of allies.” “I look forward to working with you in the years ahead,” he wrote.
  • Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi: Modi congratulated his “friend” on a “historic” win, adding, “As you build on the successes of your previous term, I look forward to renewing our collaboration to further strengthen the India-US Comprehensive Global and Strategic Partnership.”
  • Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan: “I congratulate my friend Donald Trump,” Erdogan wrote on X. “I hope that Turkey-US relations will strengthen, that regional and global crises and wars, especially the Palestinian issue and the Russia-Ukraine war, will come to an end.”

Take a close look at some of those comments….notice the world’s biggest douche bags are already schmoozing the president-elect.

If you would like to make your reaction known then please feel free to jot them down in the comment section.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

The Tally Is In

Yesterday the American people went to the polls to decide the direction of this nation…..will it be progress or stagnation or a trip to the past?

It is my sad duty to report the 2024 election.

The count continues but there is a trend and predictions have been made….still close but Trump is pulling ahead….

Donald Trump is on the brink of winning a second presidency after the AP called the battleground state of Pennsylvania for him early Wednesday. Trump earlier won the swing states of North Carolina and Georgia, with four other battleground states—and Alaska—still in play. A win in any one of them means he defeats Kamala Harris. Neither candidate registered an upset in the non-battleground states already decided, per the New York Times.

  • Electoral College count: Trump 267, Harris 224. The winner needs 270.
  • States for Trump: The AP has called Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska (statewide, along with the 1st and 3rd Congressional Districts), North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, Wyoming, and Maine’s 2nd Congressional District for Trump.
  • States for Harris: The AP has called California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington state, the 1st Congressional District of Maine, the 2nd Congressional District of Nebraska, and the District of Columbia for Harris.
  • Swing states: Trump won Georgia, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania, with Michigan, Arizona, Wisconsin, and Nevada still undecided.

looks like Americans have proven that hate, lies, and ignorance rules this nation.

Now let’s take a look at the Congress….beginning with the Senate….

Republicans will regain control of the Senate for the first time in four years, the AP projects. In the current chamber, Democrats have a 51-49 advantage, but incumbents were playing defense Tuesday night in a number of competitive states. The GOP gained its first seat of the night when the AP called West Virginia for Republican Gov. Jim Justice. He easily defeated Democrat Glenn Elliott, mayor of Wheeling, and will take the seat of retiring independent Joe Manchin. They flipped a second seat when Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown was ousted by Republican Bernie Moreno in Ohio. Elsewhere:

  • Cruz wins: GOP Sen. Ted Cruz avoided a flip in Democrats’ favor by surviving a strong challenge from Colin Allred, per the AP.
  • Florida stays red: GOP Sen. Rick Scott did the same by defeating Debbie Mucarsel-Powell in Florida.
  • Nebraska, too: GOP Sen. Deb Fischer defeated the surprisingly strong independent candidate Dan Osborne.

  • The GOP now has at least 51 seats, and the party’s advantage could grow depending on the outcome of other races:

  • Arizona: Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego vs. Republican Kari Lake, vying for the seat of independent Kyrsten Sinema, who opted not to run.
  • Michigan: Democrat Elissa Slotkin vs. Republican Mike Rogers, both vying for the seat of the retiring Democrat Debbie Stabenow.
  • Montana: Democratic Sen. Jon Tester vs. Republican Tim Sheehy.
  • Nevada: Democratic Sen. Jacky Rosen vs. Republican Sam Brown.
  • Pennsylvania: Democratic Sen. Bob Casey vs. Republican David McCormick.
  • Wisconsin: Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin vs. Republican Eric Hovde.

The House….now this is another story….too early as of this writing to say….

Republicans controlled the House heading into Tuesday, but the question of whether they’ll be able to hang on to it might not be answered for a day or two, if not longer. Still, Tuesday night should bring clues, with bellwether races in New York and California in particular. All 435 seats are up for grabs, but only 1 in 10 are seen as competitive contests. See this primer.

  • Familiar names: Republicans Matt Gaetz of Florida and Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia were among the big-name incumbents whose victories were called early, per USA Today.
  • Trump ally: In a good early sign for the GOP, Anna Luna won her bid for re-election in Florida, per the AP. Luna is an ally of former President Trump, and her race was labeled as one to watch by NBC News.
  • The count: It’s changing quickly given the sheer number of races at play, but the Washington Post counter had the GOP at 184 and Democrats at 156 after midnight. The magic number for control is 218, and it remains impossible to project which party will come out on top.

There you have the results as of this sleepy writing…..

It appears we will have Donald the Orange for another really long four years and that lap dog Vance will be at his elbow lying and hating along with him.

It appears that my confidence in the American voter, which was never very high, is stooped to new lows.

Until the final vote is counting there is still a chance….a very low chance that something will change….but please do not hold your breath.

Does this mean the threat of violence from the morons of this country (and there is a wealth of these parasites) been diminished?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

When Did Election Night Become A Thing?

My final thought on the voting…..it comes from…. Eugene Debs: “I’d rather vote for something I want and don’t get it, than vote for something I don’t want and get it.”  (now you see why I have not voted for a winner since 1976)

A little more history can not hurt.

Tonight there will be families glued to the TV in anticipation of the vote count for president…..some will rejoice and some will lament.

As usual I have a question….when did election night become this all encompassing thing?

And the answer is….

On the night of Tuesday, November 4, 1952, Americans across the nation gathered around their television sets to follow the results of the presidential race between Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower and Democrat Adlai Stevenson. That year, a television could be found in roughly one-third of U.S. households—compared with less than 1 percent in 1948—and politicians were just beginning to experiment with TV as a communication tool.

Many Americans were experiencing election night as they never had before. News networks would be announcing the next president live on TV. Adding to the anticipation: NBC and CBS planned to use new computer forecasting technologies to predict the results based on early returns. 

“It was the first real national television campaign with TV ads and then election night coverage,” says Richard Craig, professor of journalism and mass communication at San José State University and author of Polls, Expectations and Elections: TV News Making in U.S. Presidential Campaigns. “It turned it into much more of a televised event.”

By the 1950s, in an era of rapid technological innovation following World War II, TVs were rapidly making their way into American households. Ninety percent of households would own one by 1960. 

When TV news networks broadcasted election returns in 1948, they reached a much smaller audience than in the years to follow. A lot went wrong for the media that election night, says Ira Chinoy, author of Predicting the Winner: The Untold Story of Election Night 1952 and the Dawn of Computer Forecasting and associate professor emeritus at the University of Maryland’s Philip Merrill College of Journalism. 

First, TV news organizations’ were criticized for their lackluster presentation of the election returns. Reporters essentially recited the latest vote counts and hand-wrote them on chalkboards. Plus, Chinoy says, many journalists went into 1948 election night expecting that Republican Thomas Dewey would defeat Democratic incumbent Harry S. Truman as the pollsters predicted, in what became an embarrassing moment for the news stations. (This was also an issue in print journalism, leading to the infamous “Dewey Defeats Truman” headline published on the front page of the Chicago Tribune.)

https://www.history.com/news/1952-election-night-television-computers

Now you know what brought on this desire to sit up all night waiting for the election results.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

How Will They Vote?

Did you all fall back?

Once again we must go through this thoroughly useless waste of time and energy.

It is another glorious Sunday and I have one of those perplexing questions (as usual)……I do enjoy challenging my mind.

Only a very few days for we Americans dash off to the polls and vote for the next president and the question could mean how will the different strata of society place their trust but as usual it is never about what you would think.

Since many of us think voting is a civic duty I was wondering how astronauts vote…..I mean after all there is no polling station out there in the emptiness of space.

So how does one go about voting when isolated in space?

And as usual I have the answer for those probing minds.

Many consider voting a civic duty, even in those countries where it is not compulsory. People go to great lengths to exercise their democratic right of choosing their representatives in politics, but sometimes circumstances don’t make it easy. Imagine if you want to vote but you are in space – your nearest drop-off location for your ballot might be more difficult to reach than others.

Cosmonauts have been voting in space almost exclusively by proxy since 1971, and usually without a secret ballot, instead just telling ground control how they intended to vote. French astronaut Thomas Pesquet also voted from space in 2017 by giving a French colleague the authority to vote on his behalf. US astronauts, however, vote directly instead, which requires a bit more complexity.

First of all, just like any American away from home, the astronauts need to fill out a Federal Post Card Application to request an absentee ballot. With that, the astronauts are allowed to fill out an electronic ballot while on board the ISS. 

The ballots are encrypted and uploaded onto the station computer and then transmitted to NASA’s Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System, which sends the data down to Earth to the ground antenna in White Sands Test Facility.

The data from the antenna is then sent to the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. From there, the ballots are delivered electronically to the relevant county clerk for filing. A complicated, but easier (and cheaper) way than having the ballot sent up and then back down on spacecraft.

It was astronaut John Blaha aboard the Russian space station Mir in 1996 that started this process. He wanted to vote in the 1996 presidential election. NASA had a plan, but the effort was stopped by the Secretary of State of Texas, as the state did not yet have a provision for electronic voting. A bill to allow that was passed in 1997, and astronaut David Wolf later became the first American to vote in an election from space, by voting in Houston’s 1997 local election.

Since 2004, with the exception of 2012, American astronauts have consistently voted from the ISS. During the 2012 election, both American astronauts on board, Sunita Williams and Kevin Ford, had submitted their ballots before their flight. Williams, who is currently on the ISS, probably didn’t have a chance to do that this year; her mission was extended from one week to 8 months due to Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft series of problems.

The only astronaut to have voted from space in more than one election is Kathleen Rubins, who voted in both 2016 and 2020.

(iflscience.com)

Now that I have answered that damnable question I can go about a relaxing Sunday…..the grill will be fired up and a mound of burgers will be a sizzlin’.

I do hope that everyone has a good day and as usual….Be Well and Be Safe….

I Read, I Write, You Know

Lego ergo scribo”

Those Political Donations

As we close in the vote it seems that the begging for bucks has gotten non-stop…..I do not blindly support any party especially with my cash…..but what about others?

All I can say is you need to beware of the robo-calls and such….

A CNN investigation has uncovered a troubling trend in political fundraising, one in which elderly Americans—particularly those with dementia—are unwittingly becoming major donors to campaigns. Both parties have benefited from the practice, which often begins with a small online donation to a candidate. But once the hooks are set, a barrage of texts and emails follow, often deploying deceptive practices that sign people up for recurring donations without them realizing it. Those donating commonly think they’re communicating directly with their favored candidate. The investigation reached out to more than 300 of the largest and most-frequent small-sum political contributors and found dozens of examples of “unwitting elderly donors.”

“The fundraising operations that have solicited money from vulnerable senior citizens use either WinRed or ActBlue, two juggernaut digital platforms that unite hundreds of political groups and campaigns under a single umbrella,” per the story. It’s a profitable enterprise: Each platform gets about 4% off each transaction. The FTC has logged more than 800 complaints about WinRed from 2022 through 2024, and 120 about ActBlue. The story includes multiple examples of families fighting to get back hefty sums, sometimes in the six figures. “He was old, lonely, and isolated,” says the son of an 81-year-old donor who wound up in debt after giving about $80,000 in small but constant increments. “‘Save America, help save America,’ that was the constant message,” adds the son. “He would get thanked for helping to save America.”

These creeps do not care about the person making the donations as long as they get a name and a number.

Please beware of these parasites.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

That Damn Electoral College

As I have another round of medical meetings today I needed something easy to write about and what better subject than the EC?

We are mere days away from out trip to the polls and this year the focus, as always, will be on the Electoral College.

Most readers of IST know that I am not a big fan of the EC….I think it has outlived any usefulness.

But in case someone is still not aware of my feelings I can help out….

That Antiquated Electoral College Con

As long as I am going on about the EC let’s look at a little history….

The United States is the only democracy in the world where a presidential candidate can get the most popular votes and still lose the election. Thanks to the Electoral College, that has happened five times in the country’s history. The most recent examples are from 2000, when Al Gore won the popular vote but George W. Bush won the Electoral College after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling, and 2016, when Hillary Clinton got more votes nationwide than Donald Trump but lost in the Electoral College.

The Founding Fathers did not invent the idea of an electoral college. Rather, they borrowed the concept from Europe, where it had been used to pick emperors for hundreds of years.

As a scholar of presidential democracies around the world, I have studied how countries have used electoral colleges. None have been satisfied with the results. And except for the U.S., all have found other ways to choose their leaders.

The Holy Roman Empire was a loose confederation of territories that existed in central Europe from 962 to 1806. The emperor was not chosen by heredity, like most other monarchies. Instead, emperors were chosen by electors, who represented both secular and religious interests.

https://theconversation.com/no-country-still-uses-an-electoral-college-except-the-us-240281

That is right most countries that have tried this system have found it was a waste of time that is with the exception of the US and it fits well with the dominance of the two parties.

Then there was the debate on the system….

At the Constitutional Convention held in Philadelphia in 1787, discussions about how to choose the President were contentious. Because of the winding road the delegates took to reach the solution, the origins of the Electoral College are usually described as being either about the delegates’ distrust of the people or as a means to perpetuate slavery.

Actually, the Electoral College was about both and more. Examining the perspective of John Dickinson, a delegate from Delaware and an architect of the Electoral College who neither distrusted the people nor supported slavery, sheds light on the Framers’ intentions and how we might proceed at this moment in American politics.

Dickinson had extensive political experience before attending the Constitutional Convention. He had served as a legislator, member of Congress, and governor for Pennsylvania and Delaware. He wrote more for the Founding than any other figure, including the first draft of America’s first constitution, the Articles of Confederation (1776). He also advocated women’s rights and was an abolitionist. By 1787, he had freed all those he had enslaved and attempted to secure passage of an abolition bill in Delaware.

https://time.com/7028656/john-dickinson-electoral-college/

Then why can we not rid ourselves of this (expletive) system?

The electoral college is one of the most unusual parts of any democracy in the world. The bizarre system was invented as a compromise among the Founding Fathers more than two centuries ago – so why are we still stuck with it?

Electoral College started as a concession to small states that didn’t want to be overrun by the residents of more populous states.

“These states were really more concerned about being autonomous actors than they were about being one union,” she said. “So the electoral college was essentially a political deal, you know, to get them all together because otherwise you wouldn’t have gotten all those small states to join on.”

Kamarck said that throughout the 20th century, the winner of the popular vote always won the electoral college. But in the 21st century, the popular vote winner has lost the electoral college in two out of six elections so far.

What changed? As agriculture was automated, people gradually moved out of the middle of the country to urban areas on the coasts – but the distribution of electoral votes hasn’t been shifted to accurately reflect each state’s current population, leaving the biggest states in the union woefully underrepresented.

https://www.audacy.com/knxnews/news/local/can-we-ever-get-rid-of-the-electoral-college

Every four years I revisit my distaste for the EC and it still remains an unnecessary part of our election process.

I know it will never change but it feels good to vent once in awhile.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

The 2024 ‘No’ Vote

I have read several reports telling me that younger voters will stay away from the polls….even some of the older voters are not all that thrill and are considering not voting in this election.

If that is true why do they consider not voting?

The last time Richard Brown voted was in 2008. He had caught a couple of presidential debates on TV, and found himself liking what the Democratic candidate, Barack Obama, had to say. And as a Black man, he was excited by the idea of voting for the country’s first Black president.

Then in 2012, he decided not to bother casting a second ballot for Obama. It wasn’t that he had soured on the president — he just didn’t think it was necessary. “He’s already in office … [so] I kinda figured he didn’t need my help,” Brown said. He was willing to take the time out of his day to cast his vote, but he didn’t think it would have an impact on the outcome. “I know it’s kind of a stupid thought, but I feel like one missed vote isn’t going to change anything.”

Twelve years later, though, he’s planning to vote again. It’s not because Brown, who is now 53 and lives in the Midwest, is newly hopeful that his vote will matter. In fact, he’s not at all confident that the candidate he’s supporting, Joe Biden, will win. But the stakes of this election feel personal. Over the past four years, some of his friends have changed the way they act and talk, saying hateful things about Obama or sharing racist memes on Facebook.

“I’m not even really keen on Biden,” Brown said. “It’s more so that Trump is bringing racist rhetoric out of a lot of people.” Those kinds of comments are “really hurtful to me, disrespectful to me,” he said. So he’s decided to vote again this year: “This way, if [Biden] does lose the election, I can’t say that it was my fault because I didn’t vote.”

https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/non-voters-poll-2020-election/

I can understand for I find myself not at all thrilled with the two major candidates and any independents are not going to have a shot at the big chair….so not voting is an option, just not for me, but an option nonetheless.

Beyond that there are about 5 reasons some people will not vote….

Voting is a right that allows citizens to make their voices heard, but the reality is that as many as half of eligible voters in the US still don’t participate in the election process. 

The US lags far behind most other developed countries when it comes to voter turnout. Only 55.7% of Americans voted in the 2016 presidential election, and even less of the population, 36.4%, voted in 2014, according to the Pew Research Center. 

People’s motivations for voting vary. They might believe voting is their civic duty and that their ballot has the power to make a difference. Others just want to fit in with their peers, or their anger about a certain issue drives them to the polls. 

The reasons people don’t vote are just as complex. While full voter participation helps maintain a fair and functioning democracy, everything from logistics to socioeconomic status can get in the way.

Here’s a list of five things stopping Americans from voting. 

https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/why-people-dont-vote/

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”