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Satchel

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Everything posted by Satchel

  1. I wouldn’t be too sure: How National Popular Vote Works Winner-take-all is not in the U.S. Constitution, and not mentioned at the Constitutional Convention. Instead, the U.S. Constitution (Article II) gives the states exclusive control over the choice of method of awarding their electoral votes—thereby giving the states a built-in way to reform the system. “Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors….” The National Popular Vote law will take effect when enacted by states with a majority of the electoral votes (270 of 538). Then, the presidential candidate receiving the most popular votes in all 50 states and DC will get all the electoral votes from all of the enacting states. That is, the candidate receiving the most popular votes nationwide will be guaranteed enough electoral votes to become President. Under the National Popular Vote law, no voter will have their vote cancelled out at the state-level because their choice differed from majority sentiment in their state. Instead, every voter’s vote will be added directly into the national count for the candidate of their choice. This will ensure that every voter, in every state, will be politically relevant in every presidential election—regardless of where they live. The National Popular Vote law is a constitutionally conservative, state-based approach that retains the power of the states to control how the President is elected and retains the Electoral College. National Popular Vote has been enacted by 16 states and the District of Columbia, including 4 small states (DE, HI, RI, VT), 9 medium-sized states (CO, CT, MD, MA, MN, NJ, NM, OR, WA), and 3 big states (CA, IL, NY). These jurisdictions have 205 of the 270 electoral votes needed to activate the law.
  2. We only need 61 electors. We should be good by 2028.
  3. We came close in 1969. Never say never.
  4. With Maine joining the compact earlier this week, the US is closing in on being able to select the POTUS by popular vote. To date, states with a combined total of 209 electoral votes have come aboard. We only need a few more states that can provide 61 more electors to ensure the election of POTUS by popular vote, barring of course, congressional roadblocks and litigation that is sure to come: https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/4597982-led-lightbulb-efficiency-rule-savings-american-households/ Maine has become the latest state to join an interstate effort to elect the nation’s president by a popular vote, Gov. Janet Mills (D) announced Monday. Mills said she will allow the legislation to become law without her signature, paving the way for Maine to join the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, a proposal aimed at guaranteeing the presidency to the candidate who receives the most popular votes in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Under the proposal, each state would give all its electoral votes to the candidate who wins the national popular vote for president, no matter how the individual states voted in an election. 8 The compact, however, is on hold and will not come into play for this November’s election, The Associated Press (AP) reported. The proposal must receive state pledges that equal at least 270 electoral votes, the number needed to elect a president, Mills said. Sixteen states and Washington, D.C., have already joined the compact, and with the addition of Maine, the law has 209 electoral votes so far, the governor added. It is not immediately clear if congressional approval is needed for the compact to be implemented
  5. Watching the Mayorkas impeachment is fascinating. Republicans have reduced it to gumming up their own show with a bunch of procedural votes in hopes of delaying the inevitable. They acting like children.
  6. The families targeted for this pilot program sit at 200% below the poverty level. For some reason, this offends Paxton’s Christian sensibilities. He’s a demon: HARRIS COUNTY, Texas — Calling it “plainly unconstitutional,” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued Harris County to block a guaranteed income program days before the payments were set to begin. Around 1,900 families would receive $500 in cash payments a month, for 18 months. And there would be no strings attached, and no rules on how they spend that money Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis, one of the strongest proponents of the pilot program, says the public purpose is very clear: to reduce poverty and help the poorest of the poor. “This has nothing to do with the constitution,” Ellis told us on Inside Texas Politics. “Part of what I think General Paxton and my former Republican colleagues in the state legislature ought to be worried about is that slippery slope. What about vouchers?” The Precinct 1 Democrat says he thinks there are several well-heeled groups, on the left and the right, that could try to challenge various other programs used by cities and counties if the lawsuit is successful. And when Paxton says the guaranteed income program violates a section of the Texas Constitution that says no local government can “lend its credit or to grant public money or thing of value” to individuals, Ellis says that also sounds exactly like school vouchers. “A number of my former colleagues who are still active in politics, some who are no longer active in politics, have called me jokingly saying Rodney, you may have come up with a way to kill vouchers if they really strike this down,” he said with a smile. “You’re going to strike down a bunch of these giveaways that go to billionaires? What about the program that the state did bailing out, giving money to utilities that made a fortune after that freeze anyway?” Harris County Commissioners approved the guaranteed income pilot program, called “Uplift Harris,” using more than $20 million in federal COVID-19 funding, so they’re not even using state dollars.
  7. I don’t see how the assault of higher ed in Texas won’t invite inquiries from the AAU and other accrediting agencies: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/education/2024/04/11/dei-tenure-antisemitism-texas-lt-gov-patricks-priorities-for-higher-education/ Patrick released a 15-page document Thursday detailing the interim charges for the Texas Senate to explore in the coming months, which included critical examinations of faculty on college campuses as well as free speech. One charge is to monitor the state’s ban on diversity, equity and inclusion at public colleges and universities. He wants lawmakers to examine “the progress each institution has made in aligning university policies and procedures with the provisions of Senate Bill 17, ensuring Texas college campuses foster equal opportunity and reward individual merit and achievement.” This announcement comes weeks after Sen. Brandon Creighton, author of the DEI ban, sent a letter to university leaders reinforcing the expectations and oversight process of the new law aimed at keeping DEI programs out of state schools. Schools could lose millions in state funding if they do not adhere to the ban.
  8. https://www.yahoo.com/news/iran-has-reportedly-launched-a-drone-attack-on-israel-how-we-got-here-and-what-happens-next-210336502.html Tensions have long simmered and flared between Iran and Israel. Iran has been accused of providing funding and support to militant groups like Hamas and Hezbollah to help facilitate attacks on Israel. But Saturday's attack came less than two weeks after a suspected Israeli strike on the Iranian embassy in Damascus, Syria. The attack killed seven of Iran’s military advisers, including three senior commanders. Although the attack took place outside Iran, it may as well have been a direct hit on the country. Diplomatic compounds, including embassies and consulates, are generally considered sovereign territory of the country they represent and are afforded certain protections. However, during times of war or conflict, diplomatic compounds may become targets for attacks by opposing forces. These attacks are usually condemned by the international community, and when they do occur in conflict zones, it often leads to diplomatic tensions — and potential repercussions. Saturday's attack came amid the ongoing war between Hamas and Israel, although Iran does not take responsibility for aiding Hamas during its attack on Oct. 7 that killed 1,200 Israelis.
  9. Most big schools now have general managers.
  10. And now the Chris Ruffos and John Roberts of the world would have us believe that we live in a color blind, color neutral world because they’ve changed out offensive racial slurs with terms like DEI, wokeness and CRT.
  11. Black Sirius had a blast with this story today. The bug eyed butter biscuit who interviewed her on Fox is from Garland and worked with James O’Keefe at one point.
  12. Most of conservative America has never gotten over the election of Barack Obama. It’s the only thing that explains this obsession with black voter suppression.
  13. Does Chief Justice Roberts know this kind of thing is still happening? https://www.yahoo.com/news/wing-operatives-jacob-wohl-jack-220938188.html Far-right operatives Jacob Wohl and Jack Burkman have agreed to pay New York Attorney General Letitia James' office up to $1.2 million for a robocall campaign they put together to suppress the Black vote ahead of the 2020 election. “Wohl and Burkman orchestrated a depraved and disinformation-ridden campaign to intimidate Black voters in an attempt to sway the election in favor of their preferred candidate. Now they will pay up to $1.25 million," James said in a statement Tuesday announcing the agreement, which still needs to be approved by a judge. James filed suit in 2021 against the pair, who were known for smearing President Donald Trump's political opponents with transparently false accusations. The suit alleged that Wohl and Burkman were responsible for more than 5,000 robocalls filled with misinformation about voting in New York in August 2020. The speaker on the call identified herself as “Tamika Taylor of Project 1599” and falsely claimed that voting by mail would result in voters’ having their personal information used by the police to track old warrants and allow credit card companies to collect debts and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to track people for mandatory vaccinations.
  14. The Baylor faithful are hopeful they can bring McCasland home. McCasland’s Tech grad wife thinks they’re already at home.
  15. Here’s what he said about Religions: they are the fingers that point us to the moon.They are not the moon themselves.
  16. Richard Rohr is a bad ass.
  17. He’s a stressed AF. Read his 3am screeds.
  18. True, but there is no shortage of other schools willing and able to do business with these kids. I’m friends with a board trustee at SMU and their boosters can’t wait to throw all kinds money at these new moguls.
  19. Somebody help me understand how DEI causes injury to those in the dominant culture college campuses in Texas?
  20. Correct. And everybody outside of the South will snicker.
  21. The notion of historical blue bloods continuing to be a thing is very much an open question. The playing field has leveled and continues to change. The days of kids caring about Roll Tide, Pig Sooie, or Hook ‘Em are so over. They’re business people now and they’re all about business.
  22. It’s annoying to watch her be so willfully ignorant. She’s stupid too.
  23. There 71 select schools in the AAU. I would be surprised when one considers the impact on faculty recruitment and retention, research dollars and brand, Texas and aggy administrators won’t being saying “so.”
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