Leaderboard

I agree that that is one of the functions of the electoral college, but not the only one, at least at the start of the country. The 3/5ths compromise was put forward to address concerns of the southern colonies that they would be dominated by non-slave states because they would only count votes of white males, making their population much smaller than it actually was. For non-American readers, the 3/5ths compromise was an agreement to count slaves as 3/5ths of a person. Of course slaves still could not vote, so 3/5ths of nothing is still nothing. To go along with the 3/5ths arrangement, some mechanism had to be invented to turn that 3/5ths into presidential votes. The electoral college filled that role. Each state would be allocated some number of electoral college votes in proportion to their population, which in the case of slave-holding states was all the non-slave population plus 3/5ths of the total number of adult slaves. The electoral college allowed slave states to derive political power in proportion to the number of slaves, without actually allowing the slaves themselves any power. So I would say the electoral college had two functions: to keep power in the hands of the wealthy elite, and to allow southern slave owners to profit politically as well as financially from their slaves. Today the system may not favor slave owners, but it ensures that residents of some states have a disproportionally large voice in presidential elections, and other states have their voice diminished. For example, voters in Kansas have 3 electors, or about 1 for every 180,000 people. On the other hand, Texas has 1 elector for every 763,000 people. Are people who happen to live in Kansas really worth 4 times as much as people who happen to live in Texas? Texas has about the same population as Alaska, Colorado, North and South Dakota, Idaho, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Montana, Wyoming, and Utah combined. Texas has 38 electoral votes, and all those states combined have 63. You could make similar comparisons if you substituted California for Texas. So much for one person/one vote! The electoral college serves no useful purpose, it was conceived in order to support evil and it is deeply undemocratic. It's past time for it to be abolished.

Are we sure Brent isn’t Hannity?

I believe I've posted here a number of times that it really isn't a problem to jump in a suit, and anyone with jump experience would know that. The only part that could give you a problem might be the tie, and clearly he took that off. Also, the laceless, ankle high shoes with the Vibram type soles that Flyjack has posted would also work fine. So it seems that Cooper dressed just fine for the 'occasion' of blending in as an airline passenger.

Oh Keith! I might have to get a new keyboard... Wendy P.

The EC was at least partly to allow the electors to over ride a blatantly stupid result because the 'unwashed masses' were conned into voting for someone really bad. The fact that Trump was put in office in 2016 clearly shows that this has failed.

Every accused is entitled to a vigorous legal defense. It's one on the pillars of our legal system. I don't begrudge even the most evil of these fascist, racist pigs a good mouthpiece. And yes, that lawyer will be paid in advance. As far as former military go, it's a bit complicated. Retirees (drawing a pension) are subject to military law & prosecution (UCMJ). It's a rare occurrence, but it's an option. Most 'regular' military end up in the reserves for a number of years after the regular enlistment is over. Those reservists are subject to UCMJ. For veterans who didn't reach 'retirement' status (20 years of service), have been discharged and completed the reserve commitment, they are 'free and clear'. They cannot be charged in a military court for any civilian crimes. (Usual disclaimer: This is how I understand it. I may be wrong. If someone knows better, I welcome correction.)

Disagree - he's the most effective troll on the forum.

Yes, my bad - it was five times larger than I remembered.

Weird, you started your masterpiece by saying 5 years was enough to show that CO2 didn't raise temperatures.

It must mean that EV cars are doomed and will never succeed and Tesla will go bankrupt. You are so good at predicting and proving your statements!

At the time the Constitution was written there were no political parties (although they appeared soon after) and several of the "Founding Fathers" wrote against political parties in the Federalist Papers (although some of them later became founders/leaders of early parties). They hoped that those elected to public office would act as well-meaning individuals, concerned about good government and not about personal power. They hoped that ideas would be presented and debated, and legislators would then vote on positions that they believed were in the best interest of the country. I don't know if they were really so naive, or if they really believed that could become reality. At any rate I think they would be horrified to discover that one of the two biggest parties in the country has given itself over to grabbing power for itself, to the extent that they are quite willing to dump the spirit of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, just to install themselves and their pathologically narcissistic dictatorial leader into a permanent position of power. As far as the SCOTUS is concerned it's power has grown far beyond what the Founders imagined, or intended. Today most of the Justices are products of the Federalist Society, dedicated to (or at least strongly influenced by) ideas that favor putting political control in the hands of a few wealthy people. After all if they are rich it must be because they more qualified to govern than the unwashed masses! The judiciary may not write laws directly, but they can strike down anything that doesn't conform to their political leaning.

I think often it's a set-up for a slam, but then the other person doesn't respond the way he wants, or he loses his train of thought.

One of the nicest guys in the universe. Wendy P.

Apologies for the downtime without much warning. We moved to a new host with some improved resources, we're hoping this can resolve some of the intermittent downtime that users have been experiencing for a while. While we've tested a number of pages, if you notice anything out of place since the server move - just drop me a DM.