More on gerrymandering

To make it a little easier to ponder the data in the video in that last blog, I've presented it in a somewhat different form below.  The gist of it is that gerrymandering has gotten completely out of control in much of the United States.  The net effect is that many, many Americans are being robbed of their right to fair representation.  This is certainly not something the Founding Fathers envisioned, and if allowed to continue, it can only do serious harm to our political system.  At the very least, it robs Congress of its credibility (which is shockingly low already).  The examples given below all happen to be Republican-controlled states, but I'm sure Democratic examples can be found as well.   It is very clear that the principle of one person, one vote has been grossly violated in each.  Since neither the Democrats nor the Republicans are likely to do anything to correct this problem, it will almost certainly be up to the courts.  Nonetheless, it needs to be corrected, and the sooner the better.

Ohio:  The popular vote for members of Congress were as follows: 
D:  2,307,973
R:  2,549,546
Thus, the Republicans had a slight edge.  However, the actual representation for the state is now
4 Democrats and 12 Republicans.  This means that it took 876,993 votes to elect a Democrat and only 212,462 to elect a Republican.  Each Republican vote counted 4.1 times each Democratic vote.  That is simply appalling.

Pennsylvania:
Popular vote:  D:  2,794,078 vs. R:  2,710,070 (Democrats with a slight edge.)

Elected:  5 Democrats vs. 13 Republicans
Here it took 2.7 Democratic votes to every 1 Republican vote to elect a Congressman (558,816 each vs. 208,467).

Michigan:

Popular vote:  D:  2,327,985 vs. R: 2,086,804 (Democrats with a clear majority.)
Elected:  5 Democrats vs. 9 Republicans; 465,597 votes required for each Democrat vs. 231,867 for each Republican.  The ratio here is 2.0:1.

Virginia:
Popular vote:  D:  1,806,025 vs. R:  1,876,761 (Slight majority for the Republicans)
Elected:  3 Democrats (requiring 602,008 each), 6 Republicans (requiring 312,794); ratio: 1.9:1

Wisconsin:
Popular vote:  D:  1,443,190 vs. R:  1,399,871 (Democrats with slight majority.)
Elected:  3 Democrats (requiring 481,063 each), 5 Republicans (requiring 279,974 each); ratio: 1.7:1.

State legislatures in these states are totally under Republican control.  

Our political system is broken . . .

Gerrymandering has got to go!  It's robbing Americans of their votes.

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The Shrinking Deficit . . .

Here's a look at how the budget deficit is shrinking:

http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2012/11/21/15343715-your-helpful-thanksgiving-charts-about-the-deficit

Purging the Crazies . . .

Here's a look at what is happening in the Republican party in the wake of the election:

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"Star Spangled Banner"

In Lakota . . .


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SO4Nc7-Dm6c&feature=share

House Anti-Science Committee . . .

And here's Rachel Maddow on the House Science Committee (and a great whiskey cocktail) . . .

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Best for the Economy?

Historically, the Democrats have been best for the economy:

http://bostonglobe.com/business/2012/11/01/stocks-story/imJJjC7EHDJwQJCtTB2b4O/story.html

Republican leaders on Romney . . .

Here's what other Republican leaders have to say on Romney's total lack of integrity:

Regarding taxes and deficits . . .

Here's an interesting look at the relationship between taxes and budget deficits, written by a conservative economist:


http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/22/would-romney-be-another-bill-clinton-or-another-george-w-bush/

Joss Whedon endorses Zomney . . .

Romney in a word . . .

Hypocrite - one who professes beliefs, feelings, or virtues that one does not hold or possess; falseness.

Trickle-down economics, Part II

The Congressional Research Service also finds that trickle-down economics doesn't work, or at least tries to:

http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2012/11/01/14859366-this-has-hues-of-a-banana-republic?lite

 http://tv.msnbc.com/2012/11/01/pressured-by-gop-agency-pulls-report-finding-tax-cuts-for-rich-dont-boost-growth/

and here's the study that was censored:

 http://graphics8.nytimes.com/news/business/0915taxesandeconomy.pdf

Weasel wording . . .

Read Romney's statement on FEMA carefully:

"As president, I will ensure FEMA has the funding it needs to fulfill its mission, while directing maximum resources to the first responders who work tirelessly to help those in need, because states and localities are in the best position to get aid to the individuals and communities affected by natural disasters."

It sounds to me as though he still intends to shift most of the responsibility to the states and cut funding for FEMA way back, even if he doesn't eliminate it entirely.

They just won't quit . . .

Here's a look at the latest lies from Romney and the GOP:

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Romney? Integrity? Antonyms?

Here's another commentary from Rachel Maddow on the total lack of integrity that we unfortunately find in Mitt Romney:

http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2012/10/19/14561528-chronicling-mitts-mendacity-vol-xxxix

Liar, Liar . . .

Here's Mitt, once again having a problem with the truth:

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This Week's Scandals:

From UP with Chris Hayes--

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Regarding Romney Compassion:

In my first blog, I commented on the lack of compassion that one finds among the GOP leadership.  Here's an article that takes a look at that as exemplified by Mitt Romney—

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/peter-s-goodman/mitt-romney-man-of-compas_b_1942425.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000003

Regarding the Tea Party

Why the Tea Party doesn't represent real Republicans . . .

Regarding Corporate Tax Evasion:

Who are the worst corporate tax evaders? Here's Bernie Sanders on that issue:

Latest on Senate Races

Here's a map from the Washington Post showing how Senate races are now going:

And More and More on Republican Lies

Just a collection of links to commentary on Republican lies:

http://www.addictinginfo.org/2012/09/02/20-historical-facts-that-republicans-distort-or-just-get-plain-wrong/

http://factcheck.org/2012/08/does-obamas-plan-gut-welfare-reform/#.UDfJm6y3U30.facebook

http://front.moveon.org/robert-reich-and-jared-bernstein-expose-mitt-romneys-main-campaign-lies/?rc=fb.fan

http://www.classwarfareexists.com/its-not-that-they-think-theyre-smart-its-that-they-think-youre-stupid/#axzz24Wi45cQN

http://www.esquire.com/blogs/politics/rnc-tampa-night-one-12158408

http://news.yahoo.com/fact-check-ryan-takes-factual-shortcuts-speech-070905927.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/30/fox-news-sally-kohn-paul-ryan_n_1842580.html

http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2012/09/03/13636706-ryan-plays-fast-and-loose-with-the-facts?lite

http://ed.msnbc.com/_news/2012/09/03/13642278-paul-ryan-suffers-amnesia-forgets-dubya-as-he-compares-obama-to-carter?lite

More on Republican lying

Here's a great report from Rachel Maddow on lying by the Romney campaign:

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Wealth, Power, & Sharing:

Let's face it.  Politics is all about power.  And Romney plus all his Super-PAC backers want the power to ensure that government policies favor them . . . not you.  They want policies that will increase their wealth and power.  Romney has already stated quite explicitly that he has no interest in working for half the American public.  We need a President willing to work for everyone. 

To be fair, Obama is also rich.  But not all the rich are focused so completely on themselves as Romney & company.  Many--like President Obama--understand quite clearly that for our society to be stable and healthy, wealth must be shared.  For a good example of some very wealthy people that understand this clearly, see http://finance.yahoo.com/news/forbes-photographs--titans-of-philanthropy.html

More on Republicans and Ignorance

http://voice4america.com/articles/2012/08/28/the-gops-anti-science-science-committee.html

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/texas-judge-warns-possible-civil-war-president-obama-230545603.html

http://www.examiner.com/article/gop-official-says-god-chooses-to-bless-raped-women-with-pregnancy

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=434957343212296&set=a.422284007812963.86634.422004901174207&type=1&theater

Regarding Liberal Bias:

People complain that academia and the press have a liberal bias.  That's true, but no one seems to be asking the important question:  "Why?"  Think about it a second.  Where do we find the largest concentration of our society's most intelligent and highly educated people, people who have undergone years of training to critically evaluate evidence and determine its meaning or significance?  In academia.  It seems to me that to dismiss their conclusions as simply a "liberal bias" is the height of foolishness.  Likewise, what group, outside of the members of government themselves, are best informed about what goes on in Washington and elsewhere?  The press.  It is their job to gather information and, once again, to evaluate it.  Neither group is naive.  Far from it.  So, if these two groups favor liberal ideas, shouldn't we take them very, very seriously?  These are the people who have the knowledge and intelligence to best assess the ideas offered by our politicians.  What do they gain by favoring poor ideas? 

And Rick Santorum makes it very clear that the GOP appeals to the ignorant!  http://takingnote.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/17/freedom-from-facts/

Regarding Trickle-Down Economics:

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/tax-cuts-rich-dont-spur-151649273.html

It surprises me that people keep insisting that lower taxes for the wealthy will create jobs.  That's simply not how the economy works.  New jobs arise from increasing demand for goods and services.  For demand to increase, those who might want the goods and services need money.  And by far the largest market for goods and services is among the middle and lower classes, particularly the middle class.  Therefore, if we really want to encourage job growth, we must do everything we can to ensure that the middle and lower classes have a good income.  Giving money to the richest members of society, who already have plenty to spend on the goods and services they want, will only promote them socking it away in places that tend to be far removed from job growth.

Regarding Republicans:

I used to divide my vote fairly evenly between Democrats and Republicans, but as the Republicans have moved to the right and adopted more extreme positions, I've found it harder to do.  The defeat of Richard Lugar in this spring's primary was the last straw.  Aside from their extreme views and unwillingness to compromise, the three things that bother me most about today's Republican leadership are 1)  they embrace and celebrate ignorance, showing what can only be seen as a contempt for science, for knowledge and learning, that is not only appalling but downright dangerous, 2)  they appear to be guided entirely by selfishness and lack of compassion, very much in keeping with the doctrines of Ayn Rand, and 3)  they seem to have wholeheartedly adopted Hitler's technique of the big lie (see Mein Kampf), i.e., if one tells a colossal falsehood often enough, most of the public will come to believe it (see Rachel Maddow's compilation at http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2012/09/07/13731433-chronicling-mitts-mendacity-vol-xxxiii?lite).  These are not nice people, and most of us will suffer if they gain control of the government.  Whatever the shortcomings of the Democrats, and they have plenty, they are dwarfed by those of the Republicans.