archer

If I could open a portal to a parallel world, I'd get all ten seasons of Gilligan's Island then re-sell them here for a fortune.

Looking at the meme that the Electoral College was to protect slavery because the slave states were the low population states
 
1790 census information 
https://web.archive.org/web/20141121134738/http://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0056/tabs15-65.pdf
 
Virginia 691,937    total slave population 287,959
Pennsylvania 434,373    total slave population 3,737
Massachusetts 378,787 + 96,540 in the District of Maine    total slave population 0
North Carolina 393,751    total slave population 100,572
New York 340,120    total slave population 21,324
Maryland 319,728    total slave population 103,036
South Carolina 249,073    total slave population 107,094
Connecticut 237,946    total slave population 2,764
New Jersey 184,139    total slave population 11,423
New Hampshire 141,885    total slave population 158
Georgia 82,548    total slave population 29,264
Rhode Island 68,825    total slave population 948
Delaware 59,096    total slave population 8,887
 
Note that slaves were counted where they were. And that it was legal for slaves to follow their owners around so if an owner who resided in a slave state was "temporarily" living in a free state, the slave could accompany him. So that's why there's slave counts in nominally free states.
 
But since slaves couldn't vote, subtract them out to see if the slave states were low population states and free states were high population states.
 
Massachusetts 475,327 free
Pennsylvania 430,636 free
Virginia 403,978 slave
New York 318,796 free
North Carolina 293,179 slave
Connecticut 235,182 free
Maryland 216,692 slave
New Jersey 172,716 free
South Carolina 141,979 slave
New Hampshire 141,727 free
Georgia 53,284 slave
Rhode Island 67,877 free
Delaware 50,209 slave
 
For the top six most populous states, there's 4 free and 2 slave.
 
But the claim is that slave states were the least populous states so they demanded the Electoral College to protect them from the ravages of democracy so we have to look at the least populous states to see if the claim is true.
 
So looking at the six least populous states, there's 3 free states and 3 slave states. 
 
I'd say that myth is busted.
 
(That was a hell of a lot of work for not much return. I guess I'll have to bask in the glow of work well done.)

Looking at the meme that the Electoral College was to protect slavery because the slave states were the low population states
 
1790 census information 
https://web.archive.org/web/20141121134738/http://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0056/tabs15-65.pdf
 
Virginia 691,937    total slave population 287,959
Pennsylvania 434,373    total slave population 3,737
Massachusetts 378,787 + 96,540 in the District of Maine    total slave population 0
North Carolina 393,751    total slave population 100,572
New York 340,120    total slave population 21,324
Maryland 319,728    total slave population 103,036
South Carolina 249,073    total slave population 107,094
Connecticut 237,946    total slave population 2,764
New Jersey 184,139    total slave population 11,423
New Hampshire 141,885    total slave population 158
Georgia 82,548    total slave population 29,264
Rhode Island 68,825    total slave population 948
Delaware 59,096    total slave population 8,887
 
Note that slaves were counted where they were. And that it was legal for slaves to follow their owners around so if an owner who resided in a slave state was "temporarily" living in a free state, the slave could accompany him. So that's why there's slave counts in nominally free states.
 
But since slaves couldn't vote, subtract them out to see if the slave states were low population states and free states were high population states.
 
Massachusetts 475,327 free
Pennsylvania 430,636 free
Virginia 403,978 slave
New York 318,796 free
North Carolina 293,179 slave
Connecticut 235,182 free
Maryland 216,692 slave
New Jersey 172,716 free
South Carolina 141,979 slave
New Hampshire 141,727 free
Georgia 53,284 slave
Rhode Island 67,877 free
Delaware 50,209 slave
 
For the top six most populous states, there's 4 free and 2 slave.
 
But the claim is that slave states were the least populous states so they demanded the Electoral College to protect them from the ravages of democracy so we have to look at the least populous states to see if the claim is true.
 
So looking at the six least populous states, there's 3 free states and 3 slave states. 
 
I'd say that myth is busted.
 
(That was a hell of a lot of work for not much return. I guess I'll have to bask in the glow of work well done.)

Recently when traveling abroad, I learned the Welsh word for 'push' is 'lluq'.
 
I saw it written on a glass door.

As a bagpiper, I play many gigs. Recently I was asked by a funeral director to play at a graveside service for a homeless man. He had no family or friends, so the service was to be at a pauper's cemetery in the Nova Scotia back country.
As I was not familiar with the backwoods, I got lost and, being a typical man, I didn't stop for directions. I finally arrived an hour late and saw the funeral guy had evidently gone and the hearse was nowhere in sight. There were only the diggers and crew left and they were eating lunch. I felt badly and apologized to the men for being late.
I went to the side of the grave and looked down and the vault lid was already in place. I didn't know what else to do, so I started to play.
The workers put down their lunches and began to gather around. I played out my heart and soul for this man with no family and friends. I played like I've never played before for this homeless man.
And as I played "Amazing Grace", the workers began to weep. They wept, I wept, we all wept together. When I finished, I packed up my bagpipes and started for my car. Though my head was hung low, my heart was full.
As I opened the door to my car, I heard one of the workers say, "I never seen anything like that before, and I've been putting in septic tanks for twenty years."
Apparently, I'm still lost....it's a man thing.

Sharpie, the weapon for the ultimate "marks-man".
 
 
 

I am not a good Christian, so at the risk of hypocrisy: It disgusts me how many religious people  seem to think Trump is sent by God to save them when even a glance at Jesus teachings would show that Trump is far more Anti-Christ than Christlike. Even sticking to the tend commandments He's lied, he's tried to steal, he's born false witness time and time again. He's encouraged the killing of others and his own lies have led to mass death.  He puts up idols to himself.  When you get to the new Testament "love thy neighbor" or the Beatitudes he really falls down. I've heard the excuse that God is using a flawed man to do his work blah blah, but in the end it's all contorted troll logic used by folks wanting to tell themselves how promoting a man of hatred and materialism is 'okay'. 
 
There's a line in the bible about people going to Jesus and claiming they did all this wonderful stuff in his name. I think a lot of folks in this country are at risk of getting a sad "I do not know you" in the hereafter. 
 
 

(I should add the above wall of text is merely an opinion, and I claim no academic expertise or even profound wisdom. I am powered by Pepsi soda and frustration)

i had a character several year ago who has a magical deck of playing cards that could be used as weapons. Mechanically, it was built as two linked Mutipowers. I (the player) drew a card whenever I wanted to attack, and the value and suit of the card told me what powers would be active.
 
Here's a link, if anyone's interested: Wild Card

Sharpie, the weapon for the ultimate "marks-man".
 
 
 

Sharpie, the weapon for the ultimate "marks-man".
 
 
 

Astronomers find fast radio burst source
 
https://apnews.com/article/astronomers-find-cosmic-radio-source-9aa883306b24272e6fa44c501b5ade11

Sharpie, the weapon for the ultimate "marks-man".
 
 
 

Poll: 94% Of Nation Would Rather Live In Authoritarian Dictatorship Than Wait 10 More Minutes For Results
 
https://politics.theonion.com/poll-94-of-nation-would-rather-live-in-authoritarian-1845532103
 
"I would much prefer to be subjected to the cruel whims of an autocratic megalomaniac than wait any longer for the final election outcome,” 
 
At press time, the other 6% of respondents confirmed that they were willing to wait another five minutes maximum.

I don't think either side of that divide have a full grasp of the concerns of the other. I moved to cities after graduating college and married a beautiful lady who deliberately chose to teach in inner city schools when she could have easily chosen to have taught in more suburban schools instead. (She grew up in very rural Kansas but learned to love the kids in the inner city after landing a job teaching there after her own graduation.)
 
That's one of the strengths of the Electoral College system, in my opinion. A president has to show strength in many different parts of the country rather than just in population centers.
 
Winning over voters in Washington state, Oregon, and Colorado is different than winning over voters in NYC, Detroit, or Miami.
 

Centerists House Democrats are talking about ousting Pelosi from the Speakership. They blame her for not going after Trump earlier on impeachment charges and for not attacking him more strenuously during the election. (She did seem to drop out of sight a lot more than I would have expected. And it's not unusual for the membership to blame the leader for losses or for smaller than expected gains.)
 
And they think that a fresh face might be better able to negotiate with Republicans in the House and Senate to shepherd through President Biden's legislation.
 
https://thehill.com/homenews/house/524503-centrist-democrats-talk-leadership-changes-after-negative-election-results

Unfortunately, outdated voter registration rolls are just a part of elections these days. Republicans want to take an axe to voter rolls in order to remove legit voters who don't vote every election in addition to removing people who should be removed (such as people who have died or moved from that address). Democrats, on the other hand, resist any efforts to update registration rolls to remove people who really shouldn't be there because they know Republicans are looking for excuses to remove real voters.
 
But as the article points out, that isn't evidence that anyone at all voted illegally. It just means that there would have been more opportunities for people to have attempted to cast illegal votes than would have existed otherwise. (And the difference in the number of opportunities is trivial.)
 
That is not, at all, like that one precinct in Philadelphia in the 2004 election which had more people cast votes there than were registered (which implied that no registered voter got sick, died, was called out of town, or forgot to vote plus a lot of unregistered citizens did same day registration...else something really unusual happened in that one relatively small place). I don't remember offhand exactly what the voting rate in similar precincts in the same city was but I think it was less than 50%. So someone could point to that place and legitimately say "I think something happened there because the voting rate was higher than 100% and was wildly different than other precincts in the same area".
 
But pointing to registration rolls which haven't been updated and trying to claim, "There was definitely fraud going on"...would be a silly claim if someone were to make it (counting down from three to when the president tweets out about it 3...2...1....)

I don't think either side of that divide have a full grasp of the concerns of the other. I moved to cities after graduating college and married a beautiful lady who deliberately chose to teach in inner city schools when she could have easily chosen to have taught in more suburban schools instead. (She grew up in very rural Kansas but learned to love the kids in the inner city after landing a job teaching there after her own graduation.)
 
That's one of the strengths of the Electoral College system, in my opinion. A president has to show strength in many different parts of the country rather than just in population centers.
 
Winning over voters in Washington state, Oregon, and Colorado is different than winning over voters in NYC, Detroit, or Miami.
 

Since election day is bound to be tense, adding a little levity to the mix:
 
 
George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump are dead and stand in front of God.
 
God asks Bush: “So? What do you believe in?”
Bush answers: “I believe in a free market, a strong America and a united nation.”
God says: “Very good. Why don’t you take a seat to my right.” And Bush takes his seat.
He turns to Obama and asks: “And what do you believe in?”
Obama says: “I believe in democracy, helping the ones who need it, and world peace.”
God says: “Very nice. Why don’t you take a seat to my left?” Obama sits down.
God turns to Trump and asks: “And what do you believe in?”
Trump replies: “I believe you're sitting in my chair.”
 
 
Okay, okay, if you don't like that punch line, we could go for this instead:
 
God turns to Trump and asks: "How the hell did you get in here? Security!"

I don't think either side of that divide have a full grasp of the concerns of the other. I moved to cities after graduating college and married a beautiful lady who deliberately chose to teach in inner city schools when she could have easily chosen to have taught in more suburban schools instead. (She grew up in very rural Kansas but learned to love the kids in the inner city after landing a job teaching there after her own graduation.)
 
That's one of the strengths of the Electoral College system, in my opinion. A president has to show strength in many different parts of the country rather than just in population centers.
 
Winning over voters in Washington state, Oregon, and Colorado is different than winning over voters in NYC, Detroit, or Miami.
 

I don't think either side of that divide have a full grasp of the concerns of the other. I moved to cities after graduating college and married a beautiful lady who deliberately chose to teach in inner city schools when she could have easily chosen to have taught in more suburban schools instead. (She grew up in very rural Kansas but learned to love the kids in the inner city after landing a job teaching there after her own graduation.)
 
That's one of the strengths of the Electoral College system, in my opinion. A president has to show strength in many different parts of the country rather than just in population centers.
 
Winning over voters in Washington state, Oregon, and Colorado is different than winning over voters in NYC, Detroit, or Miami.
 

Trump and Trumpism presents more than just the Democrats with major problems.
 
Trump is bad for the Republican Party if you think that Republicanism consists of something more than winning an election.
 
Once you set aside rule of law and the norms our governing institutions have abided by...what direction is there other than personality cults and autocracy? That has literally happened over and over in countries across the world throughout history.
 
We've traditionally had a two party system in the US which contested over which is the best way to run a democratic republic.
 
We're faced now with the serious possibility of having one party which wants to run a democratic republic and another party which devoutly wants a hereditary dictatorship and will settle for nothing less.

Trump and Trumpism presents more than just the Democrats with major problems.
 
Trump is bad for the Republican Party if you think that Republicanism consists of something more than winning an election.
 
Once you set aside rule of law and the norms our governing institutions have abided by...what direction is there other than personality cults and autocracy? That has literally happened over and over in countries across the world throughout history.
 
We've traditionally had a two party system in the US which contested over which is the best way to run a democratic republic.
 
We're faced now with the serious possibility of having one party which wants to run a democratic republic and another party which devoutly wants a hereditary dictatorship and will settle for nothing less.

There were 12 postal districts affected, but some postal districts covered more than one state (or parts of more than one state).  The states affected are:
Pennsylvania Michigan Colorado Wyoming Georgia Texas Alabama Vermont New Hampshire Maine South Carolina Florida Wisconsin Arizona New Mexico

All I can say is that I'm deeply disappointed in results I'm seeing around the country. The worst president in my lifetime....easily...and people are flocking to him. Clearly evil men like Mitch and Lindsey retaining. Even if Biden wins....anti intellectualism has won the day. People want to be "ruled". I'm absolutely disgusted right now....