Kennedy Ice- up for grabs

Sat Nov 10 07:33:54 CST 2018

I got the point, but called it a rant (a nice one) because the two-per
state Senate structure won't ever be changed, however unfairly it awards
power.  I only brought up Trump's popular vote deficit to show that the
52/1 example isn't reflected in the nation-wide divide (if 52 means blue
and 1 means red).  The only reason this unfair power distribution is now
seen as a Big Problem is because the GOP has gone power-mad, caring only
for itself, not for the Country, and more sane (and ethical) minds are now
desperate for a remedy.

David Morris

On Sat, Nov 10, 2018 at 4:09 AM jody2.718 <jody2.718 at protonmail.com> wrote:

> Thanks for the compliment, but you're not quite getting my point. It's not
> about Trump's numbers, Its about the tiny fraction of the population in
> rural states whose senators are yielding enormous power over the vast
> majority of the country, and are being played by Trump, et al., for that
> reason. Maybe this timely op-ed by Paul Krugman, who compares Wyoming, with
> even fewer people- 600,000- than North Dakota's 755,393, to California's
> 35,000,000+, and yet has equal senatorial representation:
>
> "But here’s the thing: The Senate, which gives each state the same number
> of seats regardless of population — which gives fewer than 600,000 people
> in Wyoming the same representation as almost 40 million in California —
> drastically overweights those rural areas and underweights the places where
> most Americans live."
>
> And,
>
> "So what happened Tuesday, with Republicans getting shellacked in the
> House but gaining in the Senate, wasn’t just an accident of this year’s map
> or specific campaign issues. It reflected a deep division in culture,
> indeed values, between the American citizenry at large and the people who
> get to choose much of the Senate.
>
> This divergence will have profound implications, because the Senate has a
> lot of power, especially when the president — who, let us not forget, lost
> the popular vote — leads the party that controls it. In particular, Trump
> and his Senate friends will spend the next couple of years stuffing the
> courts with right-wing loyalists.
>
> We may, then, be looking at a growing crisis of legitimacy for the U.S.
> political system — even if we get through the constitutional crisis that
> seems to be looming over the next few months."
> https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/08/opinion/midterms-senate-rural-urban.html
>
> But more importantly, Trump doesn't actually give a rat's ass about the
> average folks in those states. He plays to their fears and tells them what
> they want to hear- pretends he's their great white hope- and then goes off
> to Mar-a-Lago, or Trump Tower, and signs off on the next tariff that will
> end up crippling their economic future, or eliminating some regulation that
> wil end up destroying their environment. They are merely a means to his and
> his wealthy clients' ends.
>
> jody
>
>
>
> Sent with ProtonMail <https://protonmail.com> Secure Email.
>
> ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ Original Message ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐
> On Friday, November 9, 2018 2:02 AM, David Morris <fqmorris at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
> Jody,
>
> It's the Constitution we have. And the part ain't gunna get changed, ever
> (though I dream of a parliament-style tweak).  But even so, Trump was
> elected shy just 3 million popular votes, not 52/1.  But it was a nice rant.
>
> David Morris
>
> On Thu, Nov 8, 2018 at 7:00 PM jody2.718 <jody2.718 at protonmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Hey Becky-
>>
>> I did think about you when I picked North Dakota to compare with
>> California, re: the crazy way the Senate over compensates for majority
>> rule. And that 11 y/o granddaughter- that couldn't be the "child of the
>> storm" born in the wake of that F5 twister, could she be? If so, I'm
>> getting old way to fast.  Thanks for responding.
>>
>> But no, I'm totally sympatico with the farmers of North Dakota,
>> especially in juxtaposition to the agribusiness giants gobbling up farms
>> that have been in families for generations- an American Tragedy supplanting
>> The American Gothic:
>>
>>
>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Gothic#/media/File:Grant_Wood_-_American_Gothic_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg
>>
>> My aim was to indicate how the Trumpublicans are undermining democracy by
>> using the Senate to allow minority rule and frustrate the will of the vast
>> majority of the country, including many fair-minded folks in "red" states
>> who voted for democrats, or even moderate leaning republicans who ccould't
>> be heard in their own party. Trump does not care about North Dakota except
>> as a means to a very bad end.
>> But more people in rural states need to realize that his policies,
>> wrapped in a sheep's clothing of pseudo-concern for their fears of being
>> forgotten, are endangering their environment, and way of life.
>>
>> jody
>>
>>
>> Sent with ProtonMail Secure Email.
>>
>> ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ Original Message ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐
>> On Thursday, November 8, 2018 6:12 PM, Becky Lindroos <
>> bekah0176 at sbcglobal.net> wrote:
>>
>> > If elections go to straight popular vote (or equal population ratios
>> for states), who’s going to bother even listening to the concerns to any
>> rural area, much less visiting? Will farm policies count anymore? Will
>> commodities and farm land be heavily taxed - drop all those stupid
>> subsidies to farmers? (Well, duh, who cares? Their scattered votes don’t
>> count like the votes of millions of people concerned with prices and urban
>> housing and transport.)
>> >
>> > Nowhere near all farmers are anything like big business - many barely
>> get by with both mom and pop doing other jobs like teaching and equipment
>> repair. The prices they get are pretty well determined by big business
>> (grain and bean buyers). It’s coming though, big business farms will rule
>> if enough big city people want to stop rural US from getting a vote which
>> actually counts. (ironic heh)
>> >
>> > Note - I’m kind of on the fence about this, but my family has been
>> involved in farming (North Dakota no less) one farm since 1876), about 6
>> generations plus one growing up. It got divided up so it’s not a big farm
>> now. Family farms tend to sell out after about the 3rd generation, but this
>> one and many others like it haven’t! My daughter and son-in-law farm it
>> (while working as a teacher and a mechanic). It would be so cool if my
>> granddaughters decided try it. One might but she’s still only 11. lol -
>> >
>> > Becky
>> > https://beckylindroos.wordpress.com
>> >
>> > > On Nov 8, 2018, at 6:19 AM, jody2.718 jody2.718 at protonmail.com wrote:
>> > > The future is cute and cuddly, but every time grandma tries to grab a
>> hold of the "little bargain" he just seems to melt away. The U.S. Senate,
>> however, now there's a real bargain.
>> > > North Dakota- pop., 755,393, and Two senators
>> > > California- pop., 39,536,653, and Two senators
>> > > Ratio- about 52 : 1
>> > > In Senatorial Mathematics, each person from North Dakota is worth 52+
>> Californians.
>> > > Excuse me while I dust off my degree in rocket science, but in terms
>> of power, why would anyone even bother trying to persuade the voting
>> percentage of 39.5 million people in California to vote for them when the
>> same effect could be had by persuading 2 percent of that many in North
>> Dakota?
>> > > 322,613 people voted in North Dakota for the senatorial race. In
>> California, no senate seats up for re-election, but 7,140,132 people voted
>> for the governorship. On a percentage basis the turnout was way higher in
>> North Dakota- almost 43 % of the estimated 2017 population (hard to
>> believe, actually), while in California, about 20% of the estimated 2017
>> population voted for governor. Still, 51% of 322,613 in N.D. needed to
>> control a senate seat, or about 165,000 votes, versus 51% of the estimated
>> 7,140,132 voting public, or, about 3,641,500, in California- 22 times as
>> many votes needed in California to control a senate seat.
>> > > Where would you spend your money?
>> > > "Does Dellman's sell Shoes?"
>> > > [Population estimates- Wikipedia. Voting numbers- Washington Post]
>> > > jody
>> > >
>> > > Sent with ProtonMail Secure Email.
>> > >
>> > > -----------------------------------
>> > >
>> > > Pynchon-L: https://waste.org/mailman/listinfo/pynchon-l
>>
>>
>> --
>> Pynchon-L: https://waste.org/mailman/listinfo/pynchon-l
>>
>
>