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Senator Boxer Introduces Bill to Eliminate Electoral College
"This is the only office in the land where you can get more votes and still lose the presidency," Boxer said in a statement. "The Electoral College is an outdated, undemocratic system that does not reflect our modern society, and it needs to change immediately. Every American should be guaranteed that their vote counts."
[...] "When all the ballots are counted, Hillary Clinton will have won the popular vote by a margin that could exceed two million votes, and she is on track to have received more votes than any other presidential candidate in history except Barack Obama," Boxer said.
Trump will be the fifth president in U.S. history to win the election despite losing the popular vote. George W. Bush won the most recent such election, in 2000.
Also: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3wLQz-LgrM
(Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 17 2016, @10:19PM
If democrats only vote for pointless causes then republicans only vote to increase authoritarian laws that deny freedom to others. See, others can play the black and white game too.
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Thursday November 17 2016, @10:42PM
I see that you want to argue more than you care about what I actually said. We're not at home to pointless arguments at this time.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday November 18 2016, @01:38AM
I don't think he's arguing or out to pick a fight. He's simply calling you out on your strawman.
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Friday November 18 2016, @03:24AM
No, he's in fact creating a strawman because what he is arguing against is not what I said nor what I meant.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Dunbal on Thursday November 17 2016, @11:38PM
I'm trying to figure out how getting rid of regulations and cutting taxes is "authoritarian". Did you even HEAR what Trump was campaigning for? Or were you too busy thinking "omg he said he'd like to grab a girl by the pussy"?
(Score: 2) by TheGratefulNet on Friday November 18 2016, @02:22AM
cutting taxes is dumb when we are so far behind in our infrastructure repairs, healthcare, education - you name it.
raise taxes on the priv'd few (those one percenters) and keep it the same for the rest of us.
taxes make a country WORK. no taxes and you end up with cops writing tickets just to pay for their own services; not to mention civil asset forfeiture.
"It is now safe to switch off your computer."
(Score: 4, Informative) by Dunbal on Friday November 18 2016, @02:57AM
cutting taxes is dumb when we are so far behind in our infrastructure repairs, healthcare, education - you name it.
Why don't you run the math on the deficit. Then you'll realize that the American taxpayer hasn't really been footing the bill for many, many, MANY years. The US government PRINTS most of the money it needs. Taxes don't cover it - not by a long shot. So cutting taxes just means they have to print a little more money. Ahhh... but cutting taxes also means you get to keep more of your money. Businesses can afford to hire more people, take more risks on new ideas, etc. The economy grows. And if spending is kept the same, then a growing economy eventually wipes out any deficit no matter how big it is.
taxes make a country WORK.
No. Taxes make a GOVERNMENT work. That's all very well when you have a perfect government that gets the most value for its money. The Pentagon alone misplaced 6 TRILLION dollars [cnn.com] last year. It's a pretty safe bet the most of the US government is literally SHITTING money and there is no accounting of where that money has gone EXCEPT it's a pretty safe bet the final destination has not been the bank accounts of the average US citizen.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday November 18 2016, @05:00AM
Except tax cuts don't grow the economy [businessinsider.com], they weaken it, whereas higher taxes on corporations and the mega-wealthy lead to a stronger, more robust economy.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday November 18 2016, @11:07AM
I'll take the experience of living through the Reagan years and the booming 80's over some economic theory. Economists can be wrong.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 19 2016, @07:05AM
Economics is complex. I won't deny that tax cuts can sometimes stimulate the economy, but the continuation of exclusively cutting taxes, and only for the wealthiest (which increases everyone else's tax burden), increases income inequality; moderate income inequality is fine, but eventually it becomes extreme enough that the whole system breaks, and thats where we're headed now.
A realistic, sensible tax policy would be based on research and evidence and would apply cuts or increases as necessary, whichever best fits the current situation and benefits the most, instead of today's absurd and unsustainable idea that the only thing that should be done with taxes is cutting them for the wealthiest of the wealthy (although whats really happening is that taxes are effectively being eliminated entirely for the wealthiest of the wealthy, leaving everyone else to pick up the tab, increasing income inequality; its unsustainable in the long term, but of course that's the next generation's problem, right?). There is no "One size fits all" solution to complex problems like the economy, we should be working to alter the political climate such that the best and most effective ideas can be used instead of everyone only dogmatically insisting on a single approach, one single solution, and then only trying that same solution even more extremely if it fails. Trickle-down and supply-side economics are unsustainable bullshit, but occasionally they might be the best short-term, temporary solution, and should be temporarily implemented if so but should not be the one and only, sole policy, pushed and pushed and pushed until everything breaks, like has been the case for decades. Politics and democracy only work through compromise, not despotically forcing your will and ideas on everyone else regardless of what they want or what would work best.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday November 18 2016, @08:39PM
I'm probably "on your side" here (taxation is theft and/or slavery), but it is impossible for "the Pentagon" to have misplaced "6 trillion dollars last year". The entire US federal budget is around 4 trillion per year [insidegov.com], and the entire DoD "only" gets around 0.7-0.8 trillion dollars a year.
Accounting gimmicks to balance the books should not be used to "prove" that the fabric of reality has been warped.
(Score: 2) by Reziac on Friday November 18 2016, @03:57AM
Regulatory overreach costs the economy an estimated trillion dollars or so every year. Get rid of the needless regulations and that's a trillion dollars in business profits that falls from the sky -- all of it taxable, and I'd guess at a net revenue gain even after our highest-anywhere business taxes are cut to something rational.
And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Friday November 18 2016, @03:22PM
we're behind in our infrastructure repairs because the taxes are "given" to thieves, who, of course, don't spend it on what they are supposed to. regarding 1%ers: next it will be those damn 10%ers, then 50% ers. taxes make a country work? it should be quite obvious to anyone with any brains that the more money we give the government the worse shit gets. the cops go around stealing all day(when they're not too busy cracking heads) b/c they have been corrupted (enforcing unconstitutional laws, encouraged to revenue, commit fraud) by their thieving bosses(legislators) who are supposed to be kept in check by the people but the people are mindless slaves (like you). Paying income tax is sabotage.
(Score: 2) by tathra on Saturday November 19 2016, @06:12AM
yes. his platform is: "Because I said so", so there's an outright declaration he's going to to be very authoritarian and do everything he can to force his will on everyone. that says "everyone must do everything the way i tell them to", micromanaging and regulating people's lives and trampling states' rights.
here's 76 of his campaign promises [washingtonpost.com] and some highlighting of some of the unconstitutional, authoritarian, totalitarian, and outright despotic campaign promises (there's probably highly authoritarian stuff that i didn't identify too, probably some that i'm reaching a bit on, and i wont deny the possibility that i mis-identified some as authoritarian that are not, but there is absolutely an overwhelming authoritarian trend, and he also rates as the most authoritarian candidate [politicalcompass.org] we've had in a long time, or maybe ever):
1. Build a wall along the southern border that's taller than the arenas where Trump holds his rallies, taller than any ladder and one foot taller than the Great Wall of China.
2. Make Mexico pay for the wall.
3. "If I become president, we're all going to be saying 'Merry Christmas' again." -- Regulating people's conversations
4. Get rid of Common Core because it's "a disaster" and a "very bad thing."
5. The Environmental Protection Agency might also disappear.
6. Get rid of Obamacare and replace it with something "terrific" that is "so much better, so much better, so much better."
7. Knock down the regulatory walls between states for health insurance, making plans available nationally instead of regionally.
8. Rebuild the country's aging infrastructure -- especially bridges and airports that look like they belong in a third-world country -- for one-third of what the United States is currently paying for such projects.
9. Save Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security without cutting benefits.
10. Defund Planned Parenthood.
11. "I will take care of women, and I have great respect for women. I do cherish women, and I will take care of women."
12. Frequently use the term "radical Islamic terrorism."
13. Temporarily ban most foreign Muslims from entering the United States "until our country's representatives can figure out what is going on." -- unconstitutional, discrimination based on religion
14. Bar Syrian refugees from entering the country and kick out any who are already living here.
15. Heavily surveil mosques in the United States. Trump has said he's open to the idea of closing some mosques. -- unconstitutional discrimination, unconstitutional surveillance, violation of separation of church and state and the first amendment
16. Create a database of Syrian refugees. Trump hasn't ruled out creating a database of Muslims in the country. -- more unconstitutional discrimination
17. Never take a vacation while serving as president.
18. Prosecute Hillary Clinton for her use of a private e-mail server while serving as secretary of state. -- prosecuting his political rival, thats straight up despotism
19. Make medical marijuana widely available to patients, and allow states to decide if they want to fully legalize pot or not.
20. Stop spending money on space exploration until the United States can fix its potholes.
21. Pick Supreme Court justices who are "really great legal scholars."
22. Ensure that Iowa continues to host the nation's first presidential nominating contest. -- forcing his will on the states instead of letting them decide for themselves
23. Strengthen the military so that it's "so big and so strong and so great" that "nobody's going to mess with us." -- more authoritarianism, and the active duty military is also unconstitutional, violating Article I Section 8
24. Be unpredictable.
25. Allow Russia to deal with the Islamic State in Syria and/or work with Russian President Vladimir Putin to wipe out shared enemies.
26. "Bomb the s--- out of ISIS." Also bomb oil fields controlled by the Islamic State, then seize the oil and give the profits to military veterans who were wounded while fighting.
27. Target and kill the relatives of terrorists. -- straight-up war crimes, also unconstitutional
28. Shut down parts of the Internet so that Islamic State terrorists cannot use it to recruit American children. -- totalitarian censorship
29. Bring back waterboarding, which the Obama administration considers torture. Trump has said he's willing to use interrogation techniques that go even further than waterboarding. Even if such tactics don't work, "they deserve it anyway, for what they're doing." -- totalitarian and straight-up war crimes
30. Leave troops in Afghanistan because it's such "a mess." Protect Israel. And increase U.S. military presence in the East and South China Seas.
31. Find an "out" clause in the Iran deal and then "totally" renegotiate the whole thing.
32. "I promise I will never be in a bicycle race.
33. Refuse to call Iran's leader by his preferred title.
34. Negotiate the release of all U.S. prisoners held in Iran before taking office.
35. Oppose the killing of journalists: "I hate some of these people, but I would never kill them."
36. Find great generals -- like the next Gen. Patton or Gen. MacArthur -- and do not allow them to go onto television news shows to explain their military strategy: "I don't want my generals being interviewed, I want my generals kicking a--."
37. Drop that "dirty, rotten traitor" Bowe Bergdahl out of an airplane into desolate Afghanistan without a parachute. -- there is nothing more authoritarian than state-sponsored executions, especially cruel and unusual and summary (unconstitutional and illegal) ones
38. Fire "the corrupt and incompetent" leaders of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and dramatically reform the agency.
39. Invest more heavily in programs that help military veterans transition back to civilian life, including job training and placement services.40. Bring back jobs from China -- and Mexico, Japan and elsewhere.
41. "I will be the greatest jobs president that God ever created." -- sounds like he intends to have a very heavy, authoritarian hand in the economy
42. Students at Wofford College in South Carolina, where Trump attended a town hall, will all have jobs at graduation. -- sounds like straight nepotism and abuse of power to me
43. Aggressively challenge China's power in the world by declaring the country a currency manipulator, adopting a "zero tolerance policy on intellectual property theft and forced technology transfer" and cracking down on China's "lax labor and environmental standards." -- regulating and micromanaging what people are allowed to do with their own property
44. Rather than throw the Chinese president a state dinner, buy him "a McDonald's hamburger and say we've got to get down to work."
45. Replace "free trade" with "fair trade." Gather together the "smartest negotiators in the world," assign them each a country and renegotiate all foreign trade deals.
46. Put billionaire hedge fund manager Carl Icahn in charge of trade negotiations with China and Japan, and pick an ambassador to Japan who is "a killer," unlike the current ambassador, Caroline Kennedy.
47. Tell Ford Motor Co.'s president that unless he cancels plans to build a massive plant in Mexico, the company will face a 35 percent tax on cars imported back into the United States.
48. Force Nabisco to once again make Oreos in the United States. And bully Apple into making its "damn computers" and other products here. -- forcing private companies to do as the federal government demands
49. Impose new taxes on many imports into the country. Numbers thrown around have included 32 percent, 34 percent and 35 percent.
50. Grow the nation's economy by at least 6 percent.
51. Reduce the $18 trillion national debt by "vigorously eliminating waste, fraud and abuse in the federal government, ending redundant government programs and growing the economy to increase tax revenues."
52. Cut the budget by 20 percent by simply renegotiating.
53. Get rid of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.
54. Simplify the U.S. tax code and reduce the number of tax brackets from seven to four. The highest earners would pay a 25-percent tax. The corporate tax rate would fall to 15 percent. Eliminate the "marriage penalty" for taxpayers and get rid of the alternate minimum tax.
55. No longer charge income tax to single individuals earning less than $25,000 per year or couples earning less than $50,000. These people will, however, be required to file a one-page form with the Internal Revenue Service that states: "I win."
56. Ensure that Americans can still afford to golf. -- wat
57. Allow corporations a one-time window to transfer money being held overseas, charging a much-reduced 10 percent tax.
58. Get rid of most corporate tax loopholes or incentives, but continue to allow taxpayers to deduct mortgage interest and charitable donations from their taxes.
59. On his first day in office, Trump would get rid of gun-free zones at military bases and in schools. -- micromanaging and regulating state or county localities, forcing them to do as the federal government demands instead of letting the states/localities decide such policies themselves
60. Use "common sense" to fix the mental health system and prevent mass shootings. Find ways to arm more of the "good guys" like him who can take out the "sickos." Get rid of bans on certain types of guns and magazines so that "good, honest people" can own the guns of their choice. -- wat
61. Impose a minimum sentence of five years in federal prison for any violent felon who commits a crime using a gun, with no chance for parole or early release. -- mandatory minimums are very authoritarian and highly ineffective
62. Fix the background check system used when purchasing guns to ensure states are properly uploading criminal and health records.
63. Allow concealed-carry permits to be recognized in all 50 states. -- forcing federal authority on the states instead of letting them decide such policies themselves (whatever happened to "states rights"?)
64. Sign an executive order calling for the death penalty for anyone found guilty of killing a police officer. -- there is nothing more authoritarian than state-sponsored executions, also stripping away states' rights to create their own laws
65. Provide more funding for police training. -- more expansion of federal authority trampling states' rights
66. And provide more funding for drug treatment, especially for heroin addicts.
67. On the first day in office, terminate President Obama's executive orders related to immigration. This includes getting rid of "sanctuary cities" that Trump says have become refuges for criminals. -- more trampling of states' rights
68. Deport the almost 11 million immigrants illegally living in the United States. -- there is no constitutional way to identify illegal immigrants. "Papers please", warrantless stops/searches, and profiling/discrimination are all unacceptable and unconstitutional
69. Triple the number of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers. -- increasing the police state
70. Continue to allow lowly paid foreign workers to come to the United States on temporary works visas because Trump says they are the only ones who want to pick grapes. -- at least borderline human rights violations, allowing wages so far below a living wage and the minimum wage (plus doesn't this directly contradict his intention to deport all illegal immigrants?)
71. End birthright citizenship. -- blatantly unconstitutional, birthright citizenship is explicitly stated in the 14th amendment
72. Say things that are politically incorrect, because the country does not have time to waste with political correctness. -- wat (maybe somebody can finally define what "pc"/"politically correct" means? other than bigots being offended at being called out on their bigotry. fucking own up to it and stop crying about your feelings being hurt because society finds your beliefs that people different than you are subhuman scum repugnant.
73. Make America great again -- and strong again, as it has become too weak. -- sounds pretty authoritarian and despotic
74. Be a cheerleader for America and bring the country's spirit back. -- wat
75. Bring back the American Dream. -- more expansion of federal overreach and trampling of states' rights?
76. Start winning again. -- wat