Change the System

The electoral college was created 232 years ago because news travelled slow when the Constitution was being written. The Founding Fathers weren't sure if voters would be totally informed. The Literacy Rate was low and they wanted to make sure the right person would be elected. the way to assure this at the time was to have people vote for the Electoral College. It is rather convoluted and some people may find it to be archaic but the goal was, "to form a more perfect union," not a perfect union. That is Utopian. Impossible.

There was a call to abolish the Electoral College in 2016 after Donald Trump defeated Hilary Clinton. Coincidentally, those who called for the abolition were supporters of Clinton, who won the popular vote despite losing in the category that counted: The Electoral College. I could have taken these calls seriously if they had been made before the election. Instead, it was just a bunch of people looking to change the rules in order to give their candidate the win.

There was more talk about changes to the voting system before that. Debbie Wasserman Schultz was the Chair of the Democratic National Committee before it was learned she had interfered with the nomination process and conspired against Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders. No one was crying foul over that. Why not?

There has been plenty of talk of a long, dragged out election process, especially when it comes to deciding the President of the United States. Again, I wish to remind you that the voters have been holding the cards all along. Those who wish to elect third-party candidates can. All you have to do is vote who you want to win and not who you think will win.

Here's my suggestion: Let's abolish with the Electoral College, the Primary Season, and the Political Party system in general. One person, one vote. No delegates. No Superdelegates. I'll take the most recent Presidential Election as an example.

Candidate          Votes

Hillary Clinton   17,174,180
Donald Trump   13,310,471
Bernie Sanders   13,243,376
John Kasich          4,139,352
Ted Cruz               7,393,794
Marco Rubio         3,353,864
Ben Carson              807,920
Jeb Bush                  280,934
Martin O'Malley      110,216
Rand Paul                  58,127
Chris Christie            54,938
Mike Huckabee         48,397
Carly Fiorina             37,447

Under my proposed system, Hillary Clinton would be elected President of the United States. Donald Trump would be elected Vice President. The President could choose their own Secretary of State or we could go further down the list and make Bernie Sanders the Secretary. This system would resurrect the system that chose the President and Vice President for the first three presidential administrations of this nation.

The obvious issue to this proposal is that there could be people in offices from different parties but the basic idea is that there would be no more parties. Everyone is tired of the gridlock. Everyone is tired of the partisan bickering. Here is suggestion. Nancy Pelosi said it was time to put country before party. Here is our chance to do that very thing.

Trump Impeachment

The House of Representatives is debating the impeachment of President Donald Trump after Speaker Nancy Pelosi called for an impeachment inquiry. The inquiry comes after Trump asked the Ukranian Government to investigate the family of former Vice President Joe Biden.

Pelosi said, "The President must be held accountable. No one is above the law." She also went on to say it would be done to, "defend our Constitution," and, "keep our republic."

Pelosi invokes the responsibility Congress is charged with as a reason for going down this path. The truth is this: Liberals in Congress have been looking for any reason to get rid of Donald Trump. Stormy Daniels didn't work. Russian collusion didn't work. Now they have a transcript of a phone call and they are hoping there is enough evidence of wrongdoing to remove Trump from office.
Of course, none of this is partisan. Congress, specifically the Democrats, just want to preserve the Republic and the Constitution.

The same thing happened in 1998. In that time it was a Liberal, Bill Clinton. Clinton was being investigated for (wait for it) whether he was lying about being faithful to his wife. Can you imagine if there was an investigation every time a public official may have cheated on his spouse? Again, people just wanted the facts. A fair process. We can do this civilly.

It's not getting better. It's getting worse. People continue to talk and act, "for the good of the Nation." Are they, though? While people on both sides of the aisle call on their "friends and colleagues" to, "stand with them on the right side of History," what are they really doing? They are telling their political opponents to go along with their agenda. Do they really think they are selling their agenda to the American people?

Changes to Political Posts

I have been long-disenchanted with the political system for some time. Readers will find that to be no surprise. Therefore, I will not be referring to people as Democrats or Republicans anymore. The political spectrum has been polarized for a long time and I feel these terms no longer apply and insult the leaders and statesmen (statespeople?) of the past. I feel it is best to refer to people as they truly are: Liberals or Conservatives.

So You've Protested... Now What?

There's been a lot of talk about a lot of things lately. There's been a lot of posturing, a lot of talk, a lot of hyperbole. There's been a lot of mugging for cameras and a lot of nice speeches being made about a lot of things. You see people on TV standing in the streets holding signs and blocking traffic. People are talking and demonstrating but not doing much else.

You saw that yesterday when a crowd of protestors took to the streets in Washington D.C. yesterday. Protestors literally took their cause to the streets as they stood in the middle of major intersections with signs to show the world they are fed up with the "lack of action" on the part of world leaders and they want their clean and green planet back. Stealing the spotlight, however, was a 16-year-old girl from Sweden named Greta Thunberg. Thunberg was the United Nations to deliver a speech regarding the dire situation the Earth and its climate is in due to the neglect and abuse by people and corporations in first-world and developing countries alike. Her scathing, "How dare you," reprimand has become the latest YouTube staple and eco-rallying cry for champions of the environment everywhere.

Again, this is a nice story for they climate activists and Thunberg has no doubt ingrained herself in the minds of people on both sides of the debate. A nice moment for the cause but what has it really accomplished?

Climate activists are demanding change. They are demanding action. What are they really doing?

"They're bringing people's attention to the problem," people may respond but hasn't that been the case for 30 years? Hasn't speaking, marching and protesting, calling for change been the standard for those who are so concerned about their future?

How did people get there? Thunberg came from across the Atlantic Ocean. She should have been,  "back at school on the other side of the ocean," according to her speech but instead she took a Transatlantic flight to make her point about neglectful leaders who "stole her dreams and childhood with empty words."

What exactly did this accomplish? What were Thunberg or protest organizers hoping to accomplish by staging this protest that came complete with a doctor's note? Wouldn't the environment be better served by having people like Thunberg staying home and finding local businesses whose practices benefit or don't impact the environment as much. Wouldn't the environment be better served by supporting those businesses? Why not call people's attention to such businesses instead of causing people to sit in idling cars while people block their way to work or home or a doctor's appointment?

Standing in people's way and calling attention to a plight doesn't accomplish anything constructive. It only fuels more frustration. The next time someone wants to show concern for the environment make sure you are supporting a business that uses "green" materials and be sure to let your friends know about it. Just be sure to do it on the sidewalk or over the phone so the rest of the world can continue with its business. Lead by example and let everyone know what can they can really do instead of grandstanding and telling yourself you have made a difference.

Hello, Neighbor (With apologies to Naragansett)

Yesterday I ran into a couple who used to live in my neighborhood until last year. I would see them from time to time sitting on their front steps and I would chat with them as I was doing things around the yard or coming and going to and from various errands people do everyday. It was a common occurrence but one that I always liked. I grew up in a neighborhood where everyone knew everyone and people were always talking to each other. Kids were always playing with each other and the grown-ups would be together at a planned occasion or just a chat that turns into a couple of beers and a little more chat.

We lamented to each other about our respective neighborhoods and how that doesn't seem to be the case anymore. This is partly because of the realities of Suburbia today. More and more neighborhoods are bedroom communities. People spend most of their time out of work getting to and from work. One of my neighbors leaves his house at 6:00 in the morning to be on time to his job. He is understandably tired at the end of the day and he is in bed early at night, tired from the commute, the job, and he needs to be up early the next morning so he can be back at it again.

My old neighbors and I came to the same conclusion: No one talks to people anymore. There are houses with lights on and flickering television sets. Nothing else. I take walks around the neighborhood and see the same thing on every street: dimly lit houses closed up for the night.

I'm not going to pretend I shun electronics or don't watch TV. I do and I like it. I just remember the warmer nights of the year when kids would be playing until their parents had to threaten them with punishment if they didn't, "get their butts over here," and parents would stop from raking the front lawn or watering their grass and flowers and take some time to chat with whoever was walking by. It usually wasn't anything Earth-shattering or something you would remember for the rest of your life but it was a little time with people in your part of town checking in on each other.

No one does that anymore. One night I suggested to my wife we grab a bottle of wine and drop in on some people we had been friends with for years and hadn't seen in years. Her response was, "No one does that anymore." Why not? Since when? When exactly did people stop having a social outlet in their neighborhood and roll up the front walk at the end of the day.

I understand people work and they have their obligations to their families. My family has its share of extra-curricular activities just like every other family. But what happened to sitting around and having a beer and chewing the fat, the rag, or solving the world's problems. I do have one glimmer of hope: Once a week friends gather at someone's house on Thursdays during the summer. It's a time we can catch up with friends of ours who live in different parts of the neighborhood for a cookout. Back home, the weather is cooling off. We will be heading back indoors lighting up the fireplace and I will be wondering if we will be seeing people outside when the weather warms up again.

By the way, the old neighbors I saw moved out almost a year ago. We've seen the new neighbors maybe three times.