I can't believe I watched the entire debate of the damned last night, but can now declare a preference for the fade-to-dark heat death of the universe to a cyclic collapse and rebirth. I never want to do that again.
"If you can keep your head while those around you are losing theirs, you can collect a lot of heads."
Homo sum, humani nihil a me alienum puto. -Terence
I've been muttering about this for a while but finally looked up the numbers.
To be president you need to be 35 yrs old and native born (US Constitution Article II, Section 1, Clause 5)
I'm skipping over exclusions for previous impeachment (US Constitution Article I, Section 3, Clause 7) and rebelled against the US while holding office (US 14th Amendment Section 3) as being a comparatively small number.
In 2014, roughly 155 million people in US over age 35 so as to be eligible to be president Using Nativity Status - Native as 91%, I get 141 million.
144,000,000 (ish) choices for our leader
So out of 141 MILLION choices, the best we can do for our President is Bush/Carson/Christie/Cruz/Kasich/Rubio/Trump or Clinton/Sanders ?
I say let's go for a lottery. Look how popular the last Powerball was!
Powerball prize of November 8, 2016 is either $x Million or US Presidency
Buy a ticket to the White House. Comes with 4 yrs salary and a life pension
Cash only please. You have to wait in line at the local convenience store like everyone else.
No ads. No debates that are really repeating lines from your ads. Increased funding for education. No whining about Electoral College overweighting Idaho and Montana
Democrats (on the whole) have no real right to complain about their lack of choices. They don't show up to the polls when the legislators and governors are being elected and then they cannot figure out why whe4.5n it is time for a presidential election, none of their favorites are viable candidates.
If it weren't for the fact that Republicans basically piss off and kiss off large sections of the electorate, by now we'd have 8 justices who we cannot stand instead of 4.5 wingnuts.
We've had a couple of election cycles to sort this stuff. Obama is not eligible anymore, and the people who've risen to the top don't pass the smell test unless we've comparing them to Trump and Cruz. That's our fault.
Edited by NoNukes, : No reason given.
Under a government which imprisons any unjustly, the true place for a just man is also in prison. Thoreau: Civil Disobedience (1846)
History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people. Martin Luther King
If there are no stupid questions, then what kind of questions do stupid people ask? Do they get smart just in time to ask questions? Scott Adams
If it weren't for the fact that Republicans basically piss off and kiss off large sections of the electorate, by now we'd have 8 justices who we cannot stand instead of 4.5 wingnuts.
We've had a couple of election cycles to sort this stuff. Obama is not eligible anymore, and the people who've risen to the top don't pass the smell test unless we've comparing them to Trump and Cruz. That's our fault.
If everyone who voted for Obama in 2008 and 2012 had showed up for both mid-terms, we'd be looking at a different world.
Many (including me) are bitter about 8 years of absolute obstructionism from the GOP in Congress. If everyone who feels that way had showed up to vote in mid-terms, the GOP wouldn't have had the opportunity.
"Every nation gets the government it deserves." -Joseph de Maistre
Politics abhor a vacuum quite as much as nature. As last night's debate again demonstrated, the worst among us have rushed to fill ours.
"If you can keep your head while those around you are losing theirs, you can collect a lot of heads."
Homo sum, humani nihil a me alienum puto. -Terence
Politics abhors a vacuum quite as much as nature. As last night's debate again demonstrated, the worst among us have rushed to fill ours.
You nailed it!
What if Eleanor Roosevelt had wings? -- Monty Python
One important characteristic of a theory is that is has survived repeated attempts to falsify it. Contrary to your understanding, all available evidence confirms it. --Subbie
If evolution is shown to be false, it will be at the hands of things that are true, not made up. --percy
I say let's go for a lottery. Look how popular the last Powerball was!
Well I have argued that this is the best way to select the house of representative members, ... you know - the one's who are most supposed to represent the people rather than the state or the nation (or party or corporations).
Set the total at 450 members and draw names from citizens that file income tax returns, with 150 chosen every year for a 3 year stint.
A few years ago, over in the UK, we had a census we had to fill in (or at least, were strongly encouraged to). Asked a load of questions, by and large useless ones.
I always thought we missed a trick. We should have asked "would you be happy to run for public office ?" And then we should have banned from public office for life, anyone who answered yes.
I believe that, on balance, we would be better governed by people who would do the job on sufferance, rather than by people who want to do the job.
Could there be any greater conceit, than for someone to believe that the universe has to be simple enough for them to be able to understand it ?
Well I have argued that this is the best way to select the house of representative members, ... you know - the one's who are most supposed to represent the people rather than the state or the nation (or party or corporations).
Set the total at 450 members and draw names from citizens that file income tax returns, with 150 chosen every year for a 3 year stint.
I'd prefer to draw names from voting rolls--too many poor people don't have to file returns.
And restrict Powerball to voters. That'll wake 'em up on election day.
"If you can keep your head while those around you are losing theirs, you can collect a lot of heads."
Homo sum, humani nihil a me alienum puto. -Terence
That is, for better or worse somewhat depending, the most brilliant idea I have seen in a long time.
Spaced a few minutes apart, I again noted Coyote's Heilein quotes and saw the numbers on the giant Powerball buys, recalled Heinlein's idea of only vets voting...and shazam!
"If you can keep your head while those around you are losing theirs, you can collect a lot of heads."
Homo sum, humani nihil a me alienum puto. -Terence
The polls have it neck and neck for Bernie & Hillary, with O'Malley doing better that the majority of the republican field.
The last debate before the primaries in New Hampshire & Iowa can be watched on:
Personally I would be happy with any one of the three, but I support Bernie's programs for the working people.
I just found out that signatures were needed to get Bernie on the RI ballot, and am surprised that this has not already been done. I will be doing that at a signing event on thursday. You may want to check the status in your state.
Re: Hillary? Ack! But still better than ANY republican
Sayth the man who just accused me of believing the Bengazi "controversy" as evidence of my Kool-Aid imbibery.
Amusing counter attack, dronestar ... however I let my actual words (not your straw man) that I actually posted defend me:
Message 49: What Hillary stands accused of -- purely by partisan politics -- are trumped up innuendos and misrepresentation of facts -- or are you deluded enough think Bengazi was anything real? ...
But hey, if you really think she is a criminal then list the crimes and provide the evidence that they are real and not propaganda.
Or step away from the kool-aid.
Note that I did not accuse you, but asked you a question, and followed it with a request for information on actual crimes.
You mean . . . again?
No I mean a first time, an actual listing of actual crimes and backed by actual evidence supporting that they are actual crimes and not propaganda.
You dodged by the weak counter attack above.
Okay. To limit YOUR off-topic straw-man accusations, please first answer Question One: Was the american invasion of Iraq a war crime?
Seeing as it was made "legal" (if any invasion of another country when not at war can be considered "legal") by coercing votes from congress and the UN with falsified information, a drummed up atmosphere of fear, and a rush to convict Iraq of having weapons of mass destruction before the real evidence was obtained from the UN inspectors, the answer is yes* ... funny how not one shred of the purported "evidence" panned out in fact (lies and misinformation have a habit of disappearing, don't they?).
But the war crimes involved were the torture of prisoners. As a result there are countries where Schrubia and Cheney do not travel to as they would be arrested and tried on actual charges filed against them.
The Schrubbia/Cheney fiasco in the middle east first bulked up the numbers of terrorists and then allowed them to coalesce into ISIS. Because they had no idea of what they were doing, and were focused solely on getting oil, protecting the oil fields more than the museums and cultural treasures or the actual people of Iraq.
Enjoy
Where the * denotes deluding congress and the UN using false information in order to get approval.
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