Guard Dog

The best part Shady is you didn't feel the need to take a shower after voting.

Is it Thursday yet? Yes. Yes it is! Now I can play Stellaris again

Having read the letter George HW Bush left for Bill Clinton it occurs to me that the quality of people we are elevating to the highest offices has fallen off somewhat of late. Oh there are still intelligent men and women of good character running for office. But they never seem to get past the Primaries these days. I guess that says something about us as a people. Well, don;t blame me, I'm not voting for this bulls--t.

The Giants looked pretty good this week Enoch. I've cancelled my NFL Sunday ticket. The only games I cared about were the Bucs and I can catch that on my XM Radio. And the truth is I'm liking the NFL less and less these days. I really can't put my finger on why though. I've gotten more enjoyment out of following the MLB pennant races and payoffs an the start of the NHL. Of course any sport is more enjoyable when "your team" is doing good.

I can tell you exactly who won: The Cubs.

Sorry Pidesco but in this country restricting personal freedoms is what the left is all about. As one famous left of center politician once said (in a joking but not really joking way) "We didn't go through all this trouble to get elected so you people can just do what you want".

When cheering for those in power, is it the only time when it you feel like you are part of something larger than you? Making history? Finding meaning or purpose? Just curious. I support a certain ideology like we all do. And what an ideology it is! Suppression of free speech and independent thought. Confiscation of private property. Mandatory gender-reassignment surgery for male misogynists! That will show them! And if it doesn't at least the earnest SJW's dating prospects will have improved! I kid of course! In all seriousness though Bruce you are railing against bad acts in a race where there is nothing but bad actors. You just have to learn to say f--k it.

Someone tweet this to Trump. There are a few more laughs to be had on this one. Aaahhhh. It is a relief knowing no matter who wins this race you're f----d so you can just not give a s--t and laugh at it.

This campaign is just the gift that keeps giving! https://www.conservativeoutfitters.com/blogs/news/hillarys-campaign-bus-caught-on-camera-dumping-human-waste-video Wow, usually a candidate waits to start s------g on us AFTER they get elected. Kudos to Team Clinton for not procrastinating! And yes, this one is for real. The DNC has already apologized: http://www.cbs46.com/story/33418363/witness-clinton-forward-together-tour-bus-dumps-human-waste-into-storm-drain

BTW the links to the Enquirer are for entertainment purposes only. You all know me better than that! I figured the line about the twilight zone and the laugh emoji made that clear.

You know that door? The one that leads to the twilight zone? It's open baby! Step on through: http://www.nationalenquirer.com/celebrity/hillary-clinton-lesbian-sex-claims-vince-foster-fixer/

He may pull out a surprise but the electoral math is against him. It just sucks to the end of the earth that the price of getting rid of Trump is four years of Hillary f-----g Clinton.

Definitely an odd mix of topics

What Shady said. Stellaris has a big content patch and a DLC coming out. I can't start as new game until then. I'd have to start over afterwards.

Short article but worth a look: http://www.unionleader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20161016%2FOPINION01%2F161019455&template=mobileart

It's a vicious circle actually. To get candidates elected to Congress you need party visibility and money to support the candidates. To get that you need Presidential candidates. A Presidential run is hard and prohibitively expensive. That leaves little left to support Congressional candidates. If you have any.

But this electoral college discussion is purely academic. We are stuck with it for good or ill.

We are not a democracy. We are a representative republic. And the electoral college, while it is a throwback to a time when it took days to get from one side of the country to the other it still serves a purpose today. Without it New York, California, Texas, Florida, and Pennsylvania could decide the election by themselves. States like North Dakota, Wyoming, Alaska and the other low population states would be left out of Presidential politics altogether. Their concerns will be ignored forever. On a practical level it would require one of two things. A Constitutional Amendment. That probably will not happen. Or a Constitutional Convention. I seriously doubt the country would even survive that. So we are stuck with it. @Shady I'm not so sure that's true. There is still a scenario where Johnson can win this thing. And it only happens BECAUSE of the Electoral College. Thanks for stating it clearly, but I understand that perfectly and that's exactly my point. The country of "don't tread on me", personal freedoms and the government is not to be trusted puts states rights above individual rights. And by the way, those states still end up controlling Presidential election outcomes. I'd be more inclined to agree with a popular vote if the population were more evenly distributed. Politics tends to become somewhat monolithic regionally speaking. I don't know why that happens but it does. The thing is the EC does more to protect individual rights than a straight up popular vote ever would. Take the rural and western areas of the country (east of the Pacific States). Property rights, public land access, and Gun Control are big issues. HUGE issues in fact. But in the metro areas of the northeast and SoCal few people even own the apartments they live in. Parks and public land issues are a very different thing and to them gun control means less crime (true or not it's what they think). Is it entirely fair for their will to be rammed down the throat of people whose lives are so different they are almost a different nationality? Should the folks out west just accept that knowing every four years they will have no say in the executive leadership of the country and those who do have no knowledge of or value for their concerns?

Bautista is leading off tonight for the Jays. With Trevor Bauer vs Marcus Stroman I'd give the pitching edge to Cleveland tonight.

We are not a democracy. We are a representative republic. And the electoral college, while it is a throwback to a time when it took days to get from one side of the country to the other it still serves a purpose today. Without it New York, California, Texas, Florida, and Pennsylvania could decide the election by themselves. States like North Dakota, Wyoming, Alaska and the other low population states would be left out of Presidential politics altogether. Their concerns will be ignored forever. On a practical level it would require one of two things. A Constitutional Amendment. That probably will not happen. Or a Constitutional Convention. I seriously doubt the country would even survive that. So we are stuck with it. @Shady I'm not so sure that's true. There is still a scenario where Johnson can win this thing. And it only happens BECAUSE of the Electoral College.

You were the one telling me I'm wasting my vote by voting for Gary Johnson! Don't tell me you're changing your mind. You probably should though. Aside from immigration there is more than a little libertarian in you. By the way, you are wrong about the election challenge. The chairman of the RNC Thurston Morton did proceed with a few challenges but this was done without Nixon's sanction. I read a great book about this a few years ago: A New World to be Won: John Kennedy, Richard Nixon, and the Tumultuous Year of 1960 by G Scott Thomas I also said a lot of other things you apparently paid no attention to or forgot. You can't change the two party system just by voting for a third candidate, all you're doing is defeating whatever major party you're closest to. The election laws (actually the Constitution) needs to be changed to allow for a greater number of viable parties. This is unlikely, but in theory can be achieved if enough people realize the trouble we're in and start a mass movement to change the election system. Of course with my new position that neither candidate is acceptable, it doesn't matter who you vote for or vote at all. As far as Nixon, it's your book vs the article I linked, I don't know enough to argue. I disagree. The ONLY way a third party can make the jump to major party status is to get votes. Get over 5% of the votes and they get automatic ballot access AND access to Federal campaign funding in the next election. No 3rd party has done that... ever. At least not since that was set up in 1996. That would be huge considering the money and manpower the LP consumed on ballot access. THAT will make a difference. You live in one of the reddest states in the Union. No matter who you vote for Trump is going to win your state. You voting for Trump will nether help him nor hurt Clinton. But if you voted for Gary Johnson, Jill Stein, or Darrell Castle you vote might actually change the country in 2020 because for those three it's not about winning states or electoral votes. It now only about how many votes they can get. No matter the state the number actually matters. And this goes for all US voters. Unless you live in one of the swing states where this election will be decided (Florida, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Colorado, or Nevada) your Presidential vote will not change the outcome from your state. It's already a done deal. Voting for one of the 3rd Party Candidates, particularly Johnson or Stein since they have a real shot at the magic number, might be the only "productive" vote you can cast. If you do live in a swing state then your vote might matter. Just do what you think is right.

Is it Thursday yet? No? Damn!

You were the one telling me I'm wasting my vote by voting for Gary Johnson! Don't tell me you're changing your mind. You probably should though. Aside from immigration there is more than a little libertarian in you. By the way, you are wrong about the election challenge. The chairman of the RNC Thurston Morton did proceed with a few challenges but this was done without Nixon's sanction. I read a great book about this a few years ago: A New World to be Won: John Kennedy, Richard Nixon, and the Tumultuous Year of 1960 by G Scott Thomas