All purpose news and politics thread part VI: This Is Not The Time For Posing

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Little detail about Kanye West running for president...

• In 2016, he was $53 million in debt.
• He goes to Russia for two weeks.
• He returns to the US and promptly meets with Donald Trump at Trump Tower.
• Kanye somehow in the middle of all his money woes bought an apartment for $15 million from a Russian linked to Oleg Deperkinska. Most recognize this sort of real estate deal is how Russian oligarchs launder money.
• Kanye gives insane, over-the-top public praise to Trump through the past few years.
• Perhaps in the most bizarre "chaos factor" attempt to help Trump win at the last minute, Kanye throws his hat into the ring against Trump, who has virtually no statistical percentage of the black vote to lose to the new challenger anyway, if anyone should flock to West. Biden, however, has that vote.

This is the exact sort of bulls*** that would get brainstormed at a Russian troll farm.

The kicker is that West probably wasn't smart enough or savvy enough to realize he was played like a fiddle by the Ivans.

[Mister Mets]

Supreme Court says states may require presidential electors to support popular-vote winner

The unanimous decision is that states can set requirements for their electors. So if states participate in the popular vote compact, it would be valid for them penalize any elector voting differently. But this also means that if Trump wins the electoral vote again, faithless electors can be penalized.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Hey, Tami! The New Jersey primary is tomorrow! Are you ready for it?

[Tami]

The unanimous decision is that states can set requirements for their electors. So if states participate in the popular vote compact, it would be valid for them penalize any elector voting differently. But this also means that if Trump wins the electoral vote again, faithless electors can be penalized.

No, it just means that if Biden gets 75% of a states popular vote, and trump gets 25%, and that State sends in 4 Electors, that the State has a right to insure that 3 of those electors vote for Biden and only 1 for Trump. All it does is keep Electors from going off the road and voting for whomever they want without regard for the popular vote results.

Who wins the electoral vote should reflect who wins the popular vote. Trump can't win the electoral vote unless he also wins the popular vote and the states. If Biden wins PA, the electorial voters can't turn around and give their votes to Trump.

[Tami]

Hey, Tami! The New Jersey primary is tomorrow! Are you ready for it?

I already voted by mail. I'm good (I hope), first time I ever voted by mail.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

I already voted by mail. I'm good (I hope), first time I ever voted by mail.

The Pennsylvania primary was in early June and I voted by mail, also for the first time. The whole process couldn't have been easier.

[Celgress]

It won't happen.

We shall see. Our politics are so crazy one should never say never.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

We shall see. Our politics are so crazy one should never say never.

I want to disagree with you, but I can't. In a perfect world, Donald Trump would never have made it past the first round of debates in 2016, never mind won the damn election and became president. Could Kanye West become the 2020 version of Jill Stein? perhaps, with the country's politics terminally screwed up, anything is possible.

[Ragged Maw]

Right on. Why can't we point out the wickedness of George Washington? Oh, it was the style of the time. Righto. There seems to be this view that among right-wingers that if everyone else was doing it then it's okay. It's like saying Robespierre and the Committee for Public Safety were glorious because they toppled the despotic King and the corrupt nobles and clergy (but don't look too critically at all the shitty things they also did.) And not to Godwin this, but it seems like a fair few people would've been goose-stepping in Berlin back in the day because that's what everyone else was doing. Why can't we point out the vicious racism that emboldened white men to fight for "freedom" but then enslave people who had different colour skin?

White supremacy is a helluva drug.

On Robespierre in particular, judging by how pics of guillotines are becoming popular among certain left-leaning (to put it mildly) message boards when the subject of rich people comes up, something tells me #RobespierreTriedHisBest or similar sentiment may be trending in some circles soon, if it hasn’t already.

[Dalak]

While this might not work out as easily in the US due to our varied hang-ups, this is an interesting read in regards to the homelessness issue.

Finland ends homelessness and provides shelter for all in need

“Housing First”, on the other hand, reverses the path: Homeless people get a flat – without any preconditions. Social workers help them with applications for social benefits and are available for counselling in general. In such a new, secure situation, it is easier for those affected to find a job and take care of their physical and mental health.

The result is impressive: 4 out of 5 homeless people will be able to keep their flat for a long time with “Housing First” and lead a more stable life.

------

Creating housing for people costs money. In the past 10 years, 270 million euros were spent on the construction, purchase and renovation of housing as part of the “Housing First” programme. However, Juha Kaakinen points out, this is far less than the cost of homelessness itself. Because when people are in emergency situations, emergencies are more frequent: Assaults, injuries, breakdowns. The police, health care and justice systems are more often called upon to step in – and this also costs money.
In comparison, “Housing First” is cheaper than accepting homelessness: Now, the state spends 15,000 euros less per year per homeless person than before.

[Mister Mets]

No, it just means that if Biden gets 75% of a states popular vote, and trump gets 25%, and that State sends in 4 Electors, that the State has a right to insure that 3 of those electors vote for Biden and only 1 for Trump. All it does is keep Electors from going off the road and voting for whomever they want without regard for the popular vote results.

Who wins the electoral vote should reflect who wins the popular vote. Trump can't win the electoral vote unless he also wins the popular vote and the states. If Biden wins PA, the electorial voters can't turn around and give their votes to Trump.

We may be talking past one another.

The unanimous decision allowing states to penalize faithless electors has implications for the popular vote compact, meaning that if that becomes a reality, the electors won't be able to back the winner in the state of it's a different candidate.

States rarely allocate votes proportionally, but if they want to, they could. Maine and Nebraska allocate electors to the winners of each congressional district, with two more going to the winner of the state. These are the only states that currently allow split decisions.

[InformationGeek]

He really has nothing better to do with his time than bitch, moan, and be racist and sexist.

[worstblogever]

He really has nothing better to do with his time than bitch, moan, and be racist and sexist.

A reminder, in 1983, Trump, and his fictional employee John Barron (who was also Donald), failed to buy the Cleveland Indians, submitting a ridiculous low-ball offer.

[InformationGeek]

A reminder, in 1983, Trump, and his fictional employee John Barron (who was also Donald), failed to buy the Cleveland Indians, submitting a ridiculous low-ball offer.

Man, will this year's update just be you finally catching up with last's update because its so hard to keep up at this point? I wouldn't blame you.

[PwrdOn]

On Robespierre in particular, judging by how pics of guillotines are becoming popular among certain left-leaning (to put it mildly) message boards when the subject of rich people comes up, something tells me #RobespierreTriedHisBest or similar sentiment may be trending in some circles soon, if it hasn’t already.

It is a testament to the professionalism of historians that a handful of aristocrats getting executed is labeled the "Terror" but the deaths of millions of innocent civilians in French imperial adventures is not even considered an event worthy of a name.