Archive for October, 2011
According to the latest Gallup Poll.
Nearly 11 years after the 2000 presidential election brought the idiosyncrasies of the United States’ Electoral College into full view, 62% of Americans say they would amend the U.S. Constitution to replace that system for electing presidents with a popular vote system. Barely a third, 35%, say they would keep the Electoral College.
This majority is probably not sufficient for Congress to amend the Constitution though. And, even if the Congress did, I would doubt that three quarters of the states would ratify the amendment.
A popular vote system for the Presidency give a disproportionate amount of weight to large states and urban communities where there is more population. This inequity is what the Founders wished to avoid and why they chose the Electoral College in the first place.
With 62% of Americans today in favor of abolishing the Electoral College, Americans show relatively little attachment to this unique invention of the country’s Founding Fathers. The system was devised as a compromise between those who wanted Congress to select the president and those who favored election by the people, and it has resulted in a highly state-based approach to presidential campaigning.
Those who advocate abolishing the Electoral College often do so on the basis that the system puts undue emphasis on a small number of swing states. Whether Americans as a whole are concerned about that byproduct is unclear. However, they broadly agree that the country should adopt a system in which the popular vote prevails. While Republicans are less supportive of this than Democrats, 11 years after the 2000 election politicized the issue, the majority of Republicans once again favor the change.
Also, remember, a large majority of Americans favored Prohibition and look what that Constitutional Amendment (18th) did to the United States.
Tags: Polling, President 2012
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These are my links for October 22nd through October 23rd:
- Rick Perry Comments Raise ‘Birther’ Flap Again – New comments by Rick Perry in Parade magazine have revived the issue of whether the Texas governor believes that President Obama was born in the United States.
In the interview, Mr. Perry was asked if Mr. Obama was born in the United States, and he replied, “I have no reason to think otherwise.” When pressed, he said, “Well, I don’t have a definitive answer.”
Mr. Perry noted that he recently had dinner with Donald Trump, who has cast doubt on the authenticity of Mr. Obama’s citizenship. Noting that they had discussed the issue of Mr. Obama’s birth certificate and that Mr. Trump does not think “it’s real,” the candidate, when pressed if he agreed, said: “I don’t have any idea. It doesn’t matter. He’s the president of the United States. He’s elected. It’s a distractive issue.”
Mr. Obama’s birth certificate is posted on the White House Web site, and it shows that Mr. Obama was born in Honolulu. The document is signed by state officials and his mother.
Still, a theory has gained currency among some conservatives that Mr. Obama was not born in the United States and therefore is not qualified to be president, assertions that have been widely discredited.
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Good Grief…..
- Libya’s liberation: interim ruler unveils more radical than expected plans for Islamic law – Mustafa Abdul-Jalil, the chairman of the National Transitional Council and de fact president, had already declared that Libyan laws in future would have Sharia, the Islamic code, as its "basic source".
But that formulation can be interpreted in many ways – it was also the basis of Egypt's largely secular constitution under President Hosni Mubarak, and remains so after his fall.
Mr Abdul-Jalil went further, specifically lifting immediately, by decree, one law from Col. Gaddafi's era that he said was in conflict with Sharia – that banning polygamy.
In a blow to those who hoped to see Libya's economy integrate further into the western world, he announced that in future bank regulations would ban the charging of interest, in line with Sharia. "Interest creates disease and hatred among people," he said.
Gulf states like the United Arab Emirates, and other Muslim countries, have pioneered the development of Sharia-compliant banks which charge fees rather than interest for loans but they normally run alongside western-style banks.
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Unintended consequences may be worse than the old tyrant….. It remains to be seen.
- Day By Day October 23, 2011 – Caveats | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Day By Day October 23, 2011 – Caveats #tcot #catcot
- Update: Chris Schauble Now a News Anchor at KTLA: WTF Happened to KNBC News Anchor Chris Schauble? | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – RE: Chris Schauble is now an anchor at KTLA Channel 5 and Elita Loresca is on maternity leave. Jennifer is a regular …
- Untitled (http://www.sacbee.com/2011/10/23/3998013/dentists-patients-feel-economys.html#mi_rss=Medical%20News?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter) – Dentists, patients feel economy's bite in Sacramento area: Douglas Lott sees it in the faces of many young peopl…
- Healthy Halloween Advice for Children With Diabetes – Yahoo! News – Healthy Halloween Advice for Children With Diabetes: While there are challenges, Halloween can still be fun for …
- Young vegetarians: Getting the nutrition they need – CNN.com – Young vegetarians: Getting the nutrition they need: Niki Gianni was 11 or 12 when she found a video on YouTube c…
- Flap’s Dentistry and Health Links and Comments for October 23rd on 22:36 | Smiles For A Lifetime – Temporary (Locum Tenens) Dentistry – Flap’s Dentistry and Health Links and Comments for October 23rd on 22:36
- Flap’s California Blog Links and Comments for October 23rd on 18:18 » Flap’s California Blog – Flap’s California Blog Links and Comments for October 23rd on 18:18
- Tony Strickland’s party favors – 95 percent accurate – Tony Strickland's party favors
- Untitled (http://www.sacbee.com/2011/10/23/3999692/dan-walters-with-its-high-unemployment.html#mi_rss=Dan%20Walters?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter) – Dan Walters: With its high unemployment, California can't afford to be choosy
- 2012 Proposition voting will require a college degree; long ballot good for Republicans historically. | FlashReport – 2012 Proposition voting will require a college degree; long ballot good for Republicans historically.
- Two efforts launched to repeal Calif. DREAM Act – Total Buzz : The Orange County Register – Two efforts launched to repeal Calif. DREAM Act
- Untitled (http://www.sacbee.com/2011/10/23/3998082/dan-morain-big-changes-are-coming.html#mi_rss=Opinion) – Big changes are coming to the Capitol #fb
- (404) http://www.sacbee.com/2011/10/23/3998082 – Big changes are coming to the Capitol #fb
- @Flap Twitter Updates for 2011-10-23 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2011-10-23 #tcot #catcot
- Medical News: IDSA: Oral Bacteria May Signal Pneumonia Risk – in Meeting Coverage, IDSA from MedPage Today – Oral Bacteria May Signal Pneumonia Risk: Oral bacteria may signal which patients are likely to develop healthcar…
- Flap’s Links and Comments for October 23rd | Smiles For A Lifetime – Temporary (Locum Tenens) Dentistry – Flap’s Links and Comments for October 23rd
- Dental News, Dental education, Dental Social networking – Botox, dermal fillers can enhance implant outcomes: When placing dental implants, practitioners should consider …
- Flap’s Links and Comments for October 20th through October 22nd | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Flap’s Links and Comments for October 20th through October 22nd #tcot #catcot
Tags: #catcot, #tcot, fb, Islam, Libya, Obama, Perry, Pinboard Links
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These are my links for October 20th through October 22nd:
- AP-GfK Poll: 37 percent support ‘Occupy Wall Street’ protesters; politics angers most people – More than one-third of the country supports the Wall Street protests, and even more — 58 percent — say they are furious about America’s politics.
The number of angry people is growing as deep reservoirs of resentment grip the country, according to the latest Associated Press-GfK poll.
Some 37 percent of people back the protests that have spread from New York to cities across the country and abroad, one of the first snapshots of how the public views the “Occupy Wall Street” movement. A majority of those protest supporters are Democrats, but the anger about politics in general is much more widespread, the poll indicates.
”They’ve got reasons to be upset, they’ve got reasons to protest, but they’re protesting against the wrong people,” Jan Jarrell, 54, a retired school custodian from Leesville, S.C., says of the New York demonstrators. “They need to go to Washington, to Congress and the White House. They’re the ones coming up with all the rules.”
”Occupy Wall Street” has been called the liberal counterpoint to conservative-libertarian tea party, which injected a huge dose of enthusiasm into the Republican Party and helped it win the House and make gains in the Senate last fall.
While the troubled economy is at the root of anger at both government and business leaders, there’s a key difference. Tea party activists generally argue that government is the problem, and they advocate for free markets. The Wall Street protesters generally say that government can provide some solutions and the free market has run amok.
Of the Americans who support the Wall Street protests, 64 percent in the poll are Democrats, while 22 percent are independents and just 14 percent are Republicans. The protest backers are more likely to approve of President Barack Obama and more likely to disapprove of Congress than are people who don’t support the demonstrations.
- Michael Ramirez Cartoon – Michael Ramirez – re: Gadhafi:
- President 2012: Nevada Moves Caucuses to February 4 After Florida January 31 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – President 2012: Nevada Moves Caucuses to February 4 After Florida January 31 #tcot #catcot
- Day By Day October 22, 2011 – Sell It | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Chris Muir and Day By Day wonder about the OWS folks……:
- foursquare
:: Gregory Flap @ Ronnie’s Diner – Great 8 mile run and now breakfast with Alice, Tara, Nancy & Mary (@ Ronnie's Diner)
- @Flap Twitter Updates for 2011-10-22 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2011-10-22 #tcot #catcot
- Flap’s Dentistry Blog: U.S. Senators Ask World Series Teams to Forego Chewing Tobacco – U.S. Senators Ask World Series Teams to Forego Chewing Tobacco
- Referendum to Overturn the California Dream Act is NOW Collecting Signatures » Flap’s California Blog – Referendum to roll back the California Dream Act is in the field…:
- Six Million Californians Living in Poverty? » Flap’s California Blog – Nearly six million in California living in poverty….:
- Steve Jobs Tells Obama: Dude, You Are a One Term President | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Steve Jobs agrees with Michele Bachmann? One Term President = Obama:
- Study: Cell Phones Don’t Increase Brain Cancer Risk | Smiles For A Lifetime – Temporary (Locum Tenens) Dentistry – Your new smart phone won't be delivering up cancer, according to a new study…
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- Flap’s Dentistry Blog: The Morning Drill: October 21, 2011 – Today's Dentistry and Health Headlines….:
- (500) http://flapsblog.com/2011/10/21/day-by-day-october-21-2011-99-percent/ – Chris Muir and Day by Day cannot relate to the 99 Per Cent and the Attorney General:
- Obama Job Approval Average Slides to New Low in 11th Quarter – RT @philipaklein: Only one elected president since Eisenhower had a lower 11th quarter average than Obama — Carter
- Punch-out in the desert – The Washington Post – RT @washingtonpost: Krauthammer: "Rick Perry is still Texas. And Texas simply isn’t enough."
- @Flap Twitter Updates for 2011-10-21 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2011-10-21 #tcot #catcot
- Gallup.Com – Daily News, Polls, Public Opinion on Government, Politics, Economics, Management – - Polling Matters by Frank Newport: Occupy Wall Street, Obama, Marijuana, and Facebook
- Flap’s Links and Comments for October 20th on 10:51 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Flap’s Links and Comments for October 20th on 10:51 #tcot #catcot
Tags: #catcot, #tcot, Occupy, Pinboard Links, Polling
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