Trump - 4 more years of this at least...

[TheDemonLord]

The whole system is past its use by date. By 2030 it's predicted that 30% of the population will elect 70% of the Senate seats. That's without any of the gerrymandering that takes place in Congressional districts.

Well, that 30% will be situated in 70% of the land area of the US.

And look - we can have a discussion abstracted from modern events about the pros and cons of the Electoral college.

The issue I have is that the Founding Fathers were very explicit in their reasoning why it was necessary. They correctly predicted that populous states would have a greater sway and specifically did not want this.

Yes, you can also raise that Slavery was a concern (let us not gloss over it).

To say the whole system is past its use by date when it is doing exactly what it was intended to do is wrong. We can argue as to whether or not what it was intended to do is correct, but as it stands it is working as designed.

With some people making the argument that State level electoral colleges (in line with the founding fathers vision) are necessary.

[TheDemonLord]

I'm looking forward to seeing what RFK Jr achieves.

I will be honest, I am not onboard with many of RFK Jrs ideas per se....

However - the man does seem to truly believe in what he says, which is always an admirable quality - and my view is this:

I doubt he can make Americas overall health any worse - so worst case scenario, he works with Trump to implement some of his policies and ideas, they dont work, Americans are still just as fat and unhealthy as before - nothing really lost.

But....

If even one of his ideas is correct and it does work how he thinks it will and the overall health of America improves... Man, what an opportunity.

So from that basis, despite being skeptical of some of his claims - I am keen to see them tried in practice because I dont think it can get worse and I see a possibility (slim though it may be) for improvement.

[sugilite:Me]

they would likely insist that each state had their own electoral college, to ensure that one city in a state did not determine the election.

Lets spread the problem statewide - genius!

And remember - I liked Tulsi Gabbard when she was still a Democrat (which is when this line was uttered) - I had my quibbles (not a fan of her Green Policies personally).

She be the Dem version of a RINO, so a DINO then. She a bad hombre bro, bad hombre. In all the movies, traitors usually get knocked off, or at the very least voted off the island because they cannot be trusted by either side - and this is trumps worlds worst reality show.

[TheDemonLord]

Lets spread the problem statewide - genius!

That presumes it is a problem - And California burning at the moment suggests that maybe if a few big cities didnt control the State, then maybe some of the issues would not be happening.

She be the Dem version of a RINO, so a DINO then. She a bad hombre bro, bad hombre. In all the movies, traitors usually get knocked off, or at the very least voted off the island because they cannot be trusted by either side - and this is trumps worlds worst reality show.

I mean, I know she is a Bad-ass...

However, this DINO business is interesting. The same could be said of Trump, Elon, RFK etc. all were former Democrats. I have said this many times prior - but many of Trumps policies would not look out of place on a 1990s era Democrat platform.

Are they DINOs - apparently the term favored in Democratic circles is a Blue Dog Democrat.

The decline of membership of the Blue Dog Caucus (from where it gets its name), especially over the last 10 years really suggests that the people who would traditionally form the conservative wing of the Democrat party have moved to the Republicans.

TL;DR - I think this is another case of the Democrat party shifting so far to the left that it has alienated people.

[sugilite:Me]

The whole conservatives bashing LA dems and blaming them for the fires is political grandstanding at it's worst. No surprises there from the party of scum bags, particularly trump and musk. It was funny watching the life stream musk randomly started whilst interviewing a senior fire department official, then when his wanky theory was debunked to his face, musk abruptly ended the stream with a gormless fuckit look on his face. Musk has pretty much turned 100% wanker now.

And man, the past dems (Dinos) you mention, looks like they got rid of the worst of the worst lol
On the other hand, the RINOs number are many, and most of them that be deemed to be so were actually the good ones with principles. Their main crime, they don't suck off the parties DICKtator.

[TheDemonLord]

The whole conservatives bashing LA dems and blaming them for the fires is political grandstanding at it's worst.

Is it though - There are at least 3 different factors that are a direct result of Democrat Policy that one can point to:

- Shrinking Fire service
- Water Policy
- Not doing back-burning and other techniques to mitigate the risk of Fires

Pointing out that certain policies, that are 'great' when nothing bad happens and make people feel good, have dire consequences when the proverbial hits the fan - are now affecting the people that voted for them is not, IMO Political grandstanding.

It is pointing out that actions have consequences.

And man, the past dems (Dinos) you mention, looks like they got rid of the worst of the worst lol
On the other hand, the RINOs number are many, and most of them that be deemed to be so were actually the good ones with principles. Their main crime, they don't suck off the parties DICKtator.

I dont think they were Dinos though - I think they are the result of a radical shift in political positions from the Democrats, since Obama.

The RINOs, on the other hand, few Republicans are shedding tears at their depature.

[sugilite:Me]

What republicans are you talking about? They are extinct replaced by maga, with chief convicted scumbag at the top.

As ever with trump, the pendulum is starting to swing the other way now.

Welcome back judge Engoron

[1/32 man]

Is it though - There are at least 3 different factors that are a direct result of Democrat Policy that one can point to:

- Shrinking Fire service
- Water Policy
- Not doing back-burning and other techniques to mitigate the risk of Fires

Dont forget the fourth one.....raking the forests, they never did that.

[pete376403]

Dont forget the fourth one.....raking the forests, they never did that.

The federal government owns 58% of the Calif forests. The state owns 3 percent, and the remainder is in private ownership. Did the government and the private owners rake theirs? https://www.gov.ca.gov/2020/08/13/ca...nd-rangelands/

[pete376403]

Dont forget the fourth one.....raking the forests, they never did that.

The federal government owns 58% of the Calif forests. The state owns 3 percent, and the remainder is in private ownership. Did the government and the private owners rake theirs? https://www.gov.ca.gov/2020/08/13/ca...nd-rangelands/

[pritch]

Dont forget the fourth one.....raking the forests, they never did that.

Ah yes, raking the forests. Alas raking the forest wouldn't have done much to alleviate the Pallisades fire. The one that destroyed so many houses. The fire started within the residential area itself, and not in the margin where rural meets residential.

Also it is very apparent after many floods in this country that forests here are not raked. Does anybody anywhere actually rake forest floors?

There is a lot of misinformation about, well Trump has involved himself so there would be. There was mention of smelt. Having spent some time chasing trout I'm something of a fan of smelt, they are a valuable food item for trout and presumably for salmon. The smelt though are apparently hundreds of miles from Los Angeles.

The drop in water pressure was explained by fire officials as being due to the high number of hoses in operation. I think one said a single hose can pump a thousand gallons a minute. Now think dozens of hoses, that's a lot of water.

Essentially the Republicans will blame anything except what is actually causing the problem: climate change.

[TheDemonLord]

The federal government owns 58% of the Calif forests. The state owns 3 percent, and the remainder is in private ownership. Did the government and the private owners rake theirs? https://www.gov.ca.gov/2020/08/13/ca...nd-rangelands/

Who is in charge of the Federal Government at the moment....

[TheDemonLord]

This has been doing the rounds:

Firefighting is mostly white and male. A California program aims to change that

DIE working as intended, yet again.

[pete376403]

Who is in charge of the Federal Government at the moment....

At the time that article was published, it was trump

"The Great American Outdoors Act, signed by President Trump on August 4, will provide critical funding for the Forest Service’s work in California."

[TheDemonLord]

At the time that article was published, it was trump

"The Great American Outdoors Act, signed by President Trump on August 4, will provide critical funding for the Forest Service’s work in California."

Is Trump the President now (Four more days!)

Or is it Biden.

Could it be that this was something good that Trump did that Biden screwed up completely and has had a causal impact on the Fires.

I do not know - but it is not outside the realm of possibility.