Trump's America

[yovargas]

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/wi ... ats-again/

There is really no truth to the idea that the electoral college will consistently favor Republicans.

If that's true I'm actually glad to hear it. It means if the roles are ever reversed and a Democrat loses the popular vote but wins the election, maybe we can get some bipartisan agreement that the electoral college is stupid and get rid of it. Doubtful but maybe.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

I guess I should actually click on a link before commenting on it.

You are quite right, Faramond. These votes in Colorado and New Mexico were contingent on enough states to reach the 270 electoral vote threshold. I did not understand that from the post, and I didn't click on the NPR link to read the story.

[Frelga]

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/wi ... ats-again/

There is really no truth to the idea that the electoral college will consistently favor Republicans.

That's not exactly what Silver says in the linked article. At most, he says there is no certainty. Meanwhile, two most recent Republican candidates became Presidents despite losing popular vote.

But even if the advantage swings to the other party, it doesn't change the fact that the current system is vulnerable to manipulation in a few well-chosen regions.

[Dave_LF]

Well, in many countries, people vote for parties and parties elect their own leader. Trump could never have been elected in Ireland for example. It just couldn't happen.

My knee-jerk response is to say that makes a lot of sense. Of course, the UK is busy shooting itself in the foot (or maybe head) too.

But, it's worth pointing out, one could argue the problem there was that a critical, complex issue was put up to be voted on by a general population that didn't really understand it.

[Cerin]

I'm not as big a detractor of the electoral college as some. I don't blame it for Trump's victory so much as sexism, a poorly run campaign by Clinton and her team, Russian interference and Comey being forced by FBI insurgents in the New York office to announce that they were reopening the investigation into Clinton's emails, a most uninformed and apathetic public, and sexism. And did I mention sexism?

I would like to add to this list the 600,000 votes suppressed in three swing states, which Trump won by narrow margins. Take the sexism, the poorly run campaign, Russian interference and the Comey incident, and Clinton still would have won had that voter suppression not taken place. It irks me that there is so much focus on what I see as more minor influences while the humongous elephant in the middle of the room is continually ignored. Partisan officials have oversight of the election process in this country. Madness.

[Cerin]

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/wi ... ats-again/

There is really no truth to the idea that the electoral college will consistently favor Republicans.

If that's true I'm actually glad to hear it. It means if the roles are ever reversed and a Democrat loses the popular vote but wins the election, maybe we can get some bipartisan agreement that the electoral college is stupid and get rid of it. Doubtful but maybe.

I don't believe for a moment that Republicans would sit still and allow the results to stand if the roles were reversed.

[elengil]

Interesting show of who's in charge.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-nort ... SKCN1QF0E3

[Frelga]

https://twitter.com/johnrobertsFox/stat ... 4463763457

Fox News Chief White House correspondent

In nearly 10 years covering the @WhiteHouse, having been on Presidential trips to more than 100 countries, I have never seen the White House Press Corps kicked out of our unilateral press/broadcast center by request of a foreign leader.

For example, in Buenos Aires, we were in the same hotel as French President @EmanuelMacaron and there was zero problem. Kim comes to Hanoi and we get evicted from space we had bought and paid for just because he is in the same hotel.

PS: He linked to a parody account for the French President, by accident I'm sure

[Cerin]

I don't find this surprising. Kim Jong Un is not normal, and I wouldn't expect him to behave like a normal head of state. He's known to be secretive and paranoid, so it would be surprising if he agreed to house in the same hotel as the press corp.

[elengil]

I don't find this surprising. Kim Jong Un is not normal, and I wouldn't expect him to behave like a normal head of state. He's known to be secretive and paranoid, so it would be surprising if he agreed to house in the same hotel as the press corp.

It may not be in the one I posted, but one of the articles I read was saying he booked that hotel - so he decided to stay there knowing that the press was there, just so he could flex his muscles and boot them out. It isn't that he showed up and "oh surprise" - it's that he did this as a deliberate tactic.

And sounds like 'we' just let him do it.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

From what I have read, it is not clear whether it was the North Korean government, the Trump administration, or the Vietnamese government responsible for the decision to evict the White House press corps. Or a combination of all or some of them. I wouldn't dismiss any possibility.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

I think this is a very good column by conservative columnist David Brooks.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/28/opin ... QafG4LjYuo

[Frelga]

Judge demands answers from Roger Stone on book that could violate gag order

The judge in charge of Roger Stone's criminal trial on Friday demanded to know why the court wasn’t made aware of the “imminent general release” of a book that could include discussion of the longtime Trump adviser's legal proceedings, potentially violating a gag order.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

I don't think she is going to throw him in jail, but it isn't impossible. She has a very low tolerance for bullshit. As Paul Manafort discovered to his regret.

[Frelga]

So you are saying that she might *removes sunglasses* throw the book at him?

[Voronwë the Faithful]

I tried to avoid saying that, but yes.

Sent from my LG G6 using Tapatalk

[Voronwë the Faithful]

If she doesn't throw the book at him, she might throw the Instagram post at him.

Trump friend Roger Stone suggests Robert Mueller 'framed' him in Instagram post that could violate gag order

[Voronwë the Faithful]

Well, it looks like she might throw the book at him after all, rather than the Instagram post. She just posted and order denying his attorney's motion to "clarify" her previous order as it pertains to his book, and ordering him t produce records related to his book deal and schedule for release, the exact date the book first became available, when he learned the book had been printed, and other details, within a week. Despite the fact that the special counsel's office brought the Instagram post to her attention, she made no mention of it in her latest order.

[River]

Meddle not in the affairs of federal judges for they are subtle and quick to anger.

[Impenitent]

https://youtu.be/Ec02r_Zqqqk

Safe for work

Sent from a tiny phone keyboard via Tapatalk - typos inevitable.