Remember making a Rube Goldberg device in middle school? Hated that assignment, when the boys had it...
Remember the commercial from a few years back where car parts essentially assemble themselves? Mesmerizing and admirable in its precision... which is why I posted above. One, it goes with the whirlygig theme and is oddly transfixing and meditative, and two, it illustrates an interesting point about elections. Our vote, as we have seen recently, doesn't elect the president, but directs our electoral college vote to that 270 majority needed to win. Third party voters and write-in candidates may have seen their vote as a mandate to elect anyone but the two main candidates, when in reality, it did nothing to prevent the travesty of a Trump presidency - heretofore referred to as TP for the amusement with a 12 year old level of scatological humor. But that's a whole nother story.
A Rube Goldberg machine is a contraption that through a series calculated events, movements and orchestrations achieves a goal at the end of the process, not unlike the election process. The popular vote is supposed to cast the electoral vote in the direction of the candidate to gain a majority of 270 votes in the electoral college. When we lose sight of that goal, it's just a Rube Goldberg machine that didn't hit the mark, or the marbles spilled, the dominoes were not aligned or the fire didn't burn through the rope to release the pulley.
The electoral college was established to ensure that votes from states with greater population did not hold more weight than votes from lesser populated areas. Electoral votes are determined by how many representatives we have in Congress and the Senate. Has this approach outlived its usefulness? Is it time to do away with the electoral college and develop a better system. There are numerous opinions and reasons for each side; but not until we have a suitable replacement. Same with Obama care. Is it perfect, no. Should it be repealed and abolished? Not until we have a better workable solution to put in place. Reinventing the wheel has no place in politics or health care.
So, the question remains, where do we go from here? Would Canada or Mexico annex WA, OR and CA as New Canada/Northern Mexico? Should we secede and form our own union? What do we call it Caloreton? Washregfornia? Orlifton? Do we invite Bernie Sanders to lead us and each send 5 representatives for legislative body? The advantage would be we have coastal access, legalized weed and same sex marriage. The down side is we have TP for a neighbor. Build another wall? What people don't realize about a wall is that it impedes relationships, exchange of goods and services and all that is walled in may not all be good; all that is walled out may not be all bad. Long story short, USA would be a better ally than enemy. We have a few months to develop coping skills and tons of jokes.
To go in another direction, on the plus side, Faux news will have fodder to report EVERY GIVEN DAY of the next 3 months; the next 4 years and beyond. For those that thrive on that kind of journalism, you have the full smorgasboard coming 24/7. I'm using my cable to tune in to the Daily Show on a more regular basis.The plan to use military to support and reinforce our decaying infrastructure at home a point I can support. If road crews were integrated with military forces to complete projects - in no way would it take 4 months to complete simple route revisions.
Many who are shattered, chagrined and disgruntled at the result are committing to assisting immigrants through the legal channels to remain in the US in the interim. Contributions to Planned Parenthood are on the rise and the call to build trust, care and console each other to brace for what is to come is strong. The destructive behaviors, hate, racism and division of the past 16 months can't be undone, repaired or retracted. Those holes remain, but what we do with that knowledge can be our balm, our mantra, our pledge to support and uphold the Constitution of the United States against whose who might not hold that goal quite so much in priority to their own agendas.
Did you see how hard 8 years weathered and aged Obama? He's a relatively fit guy who gave up smoking to better be fit to serve on a daily basis. How is Mr. Cheeto going to weather the stress of the oval office? Judging BMI and skin tone alone, the outlook doesn't bode well. So essentially we are one blocked artery away from a Pence presidency, and that, my friends is truly a whole nother story.
If interested in researching the move to disband the electoral college:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/11/9/1594792/-The-surprisingly-realistic-path-to-eliminating-the-Electoral-College-by-2020
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