Time to clean out the aggregator —
ITEM: The thin-skinned soulless cretins who run the Mormon cult have issued a plea for the victims of their bigotry to stop protesting outside their temples. Perhaps their next theocratic indulgence will be trying to strip gays of their right to peaceable assembly. My California gay marriage archive here.
ITEM: It appears that Barack Obama has won the Electoral College vote for Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District, marking the first instance in modern times that either of the two states applying the District Method (Maine is the other state) has ever split its electoral vote. I have long called for nationwide adoption of the District Method as a superior alternative than a straight popular vote, and highlighted Nebraska here.
ITEM: The school district for Juneau, Alaska, has settled the last claims filed against it by Joseph Frederick, the former student behind the infamous “Bong Hits 4 Jesus” case Morse v. Frederick. While the Supreme Court (wrongly) ruled against Frederick based on his First Amendment claim, the Court did not hear concurrent claims based on the Alaska Constitution; the $45,000 payment to Frederick settles those remaining state law claims.
3 responses so far ↓
Link Brian Miller // Nov 9, 2008 at 9:52 pm
Awww, pity the poor LDS Church… they're going to be learning that it's not smart to pick on an insular minority that's bigger and more powerful than YOUR insular minority.
Suddenly, they're learning this whole "will of the majority" thing isn't so nice.
Link susan // Nov 10, 2008 at 4:19 pm
The congressional district method of awarding electoral votes (currently used in Maine and Nebraska) would not help make every vote matter. In NC, there are only 4 of the 13 congressional districts that would be close enough to get any attention. A smaller fraction of the county's population lives in competitive congressional districts (about 12%) that in the current battleground states (about 30%). Also, a second-place candidate could still win the White House without winning the national popular vote.
Link susan // Nov 10, 2008 at 4:19 pm
The National Popular Vote bill would guarantee the Presidency to the candidate who receives the most popular votes in all 50 states (and DC).
Every vote would be politically relevant and equal in presidential elections.
The bill would take effect only when enacted, in identical form, by states possessing a majority of the electoral votes—that is, enough electoral votes to elect a President (270 of 538). When the bill comes into effect, all the electoral votes from those states would be awarded to the presidential candidate who receives the most popular votes in all 50 states (and DC).
The bill is currently endorsed by 1,181 state legislators — 439 sponsors (in 47 states) and an additional 742 legislators who have cast recorded votes in favor of the bill.
The National Popular Vote bill has passed 21 state legislative chambers, including one house in Arkansas, Colorado, Maine, North Carolina, and Washington, and both houses in California, Hawaii, Illinois, New Jersey, Maryland, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Vermont. The bill has been enacted by Hawaii, Illinois, New Jersey, and Maryland. These four states possess 50 electoral votes — 19% of the 270 necessary to bring the law into effect.
See http://www.NationalPopularVote.com