a couple of weeks ago I read How Democracies Die. It was a pretty quick read for me because for those of us who hang out here, it covered very familiar territory. I would highlight two thins from the book. First, the writers consider Newt and the Class of 1994 to be bigger factors than we generally acknowledge here. The case was persuasive. Trump didn’t emerge intact from Zeus’ forehead like Athena. The writers could have made a bigger deal of Palin as a Trump harbinger. The other point has to do with what the Dems should do when they regain power. I think the writers had two goals. One was to rouse us that what is happening is not normal and is a real threat. (Mission Accomplished.). The other is to argue that the Dems shouldn’t use the new norms to cripple the GOP. They believe the Dems shouldn’t retaliate and should work to reestablish our norms. That part was ok, to me, but not great. I mean, if the Dems aggressively work to make voting easy, is that retaliation or reestbalishing norms? How about campaign finance? Those issues are, to me, not clear cut. And just to show you what we are up against https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/po...ZXl0k4CwEO/amp.html?__twitter_impression=true Trump wants the Secret Service to monitor polling places.
I think they are spot on. If someone like me is saying "should we let them even vote again," and dapip and Jitty are talking about democracy's demise, then there is clearly an element of retribution and vengeance among liberals. It is paramount that what be done instead is aggressively expand the franchise, add Puerto Rico and DC as states, add some element of proportional voting in to give the clearly dissatisfied millions of voters some third-party status, expand the size of legislatures, reduce the length of campaigns, and do something - ANYTHING - about Daylight Savings Time and the penny.
Meh. The first time he was not clear enough. The second time he was getting his message around. He lost me by the third.
Sweet Jesus how did that happen. I click to put something in once, and there you go. I'm why we can't have nice things.
In all seriousness, I think that Dems should use some of the tools fancied by the GOP with two purposes: 1. Give the GOP a doses of their own medicine to punish them, but mostly to force them into creating a stricter code of conduct and a more explicit set of rules to be followed by Congress. No more Hastert Rule, no more stonewalling by the majority leaders and no more midnight voting. Make governance as transparent as possible by limiting lobby and making it visible and restricted to certain seasons/bills. Also, increase Congress staff so lawmakers do not have to rely on ALEC to write their bills. 2. Make voting easier and also reform campaign finance. Add more seats to the House, make more colonies... err.. territories into states, automatically register all 18 year olds, lower voting age, change voting days to the weekends... Repeal Citizens United, put strict limits on Russian private contributions and increase public campaign finance.
Let PR vote to become a state (or Independent) yes, DC, I am not sure about, that would be too much (but I would be ok with it if it happened). Shit, lets create a State of Pacifica with Guam, the marshall islands, ect. But as I said in another thread, I think the Democrats should look to repeal the Permanent Apportionment Act of 1929. http://history.house.gov/Historical-Highlights/1901-1950/The-Permanent-Apportionment-Act-of-1929/
I wasn't sure if he was in the first one, and the third just looked like gilding the lily. I was thus only convinced of the second.
Easy peasey...instead of messing with the clocks just start everything one hour later in the Fall. As for the penny, I got nuthin.
On the bright side, our sunny state is headed the Arizona way... http://wavy.com/2018/03/10/florida-lawmakers-vote-to-stay-in-daylight-saving-time-all-year-long/amp/
I'm on board with this. Five AM is an arbitrary number. Just wake up when sunrise hits. Sleep eight hours before.
This time of year, it is phenomenal in the former (though edging toward hot doom with the foggy mornings increasing - DST transitions have nothing on Abu Dhabi/Dubai fog for highway mayhem), and pretty nice in the latter.
Yuck ... the sun officially rises at 5:15 AM here in mid June, meaning it's light before 5. Do I need it light before 4 AM? Answer: Nope.
Aren’t you by Chicago? I mean, I guess that daylight savings make more sense for northern states, but in Florida I think it doesn’t, as sunlight hours are about the same throughout the year...
True enough. I can see why Florida might wish for a different solution than us. But it seems like such a mess to have this issue be resolved by states' rights.
Nairobi is almost exactly on the equator, so no DST, and because of the altitude the weather is terrific. Houses are built without AC or heating. There is a 2 month rainy season.