Posts by Paul Williams
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Hard News: The Watching World, in reply to David Hood,
Well, the actions of the electors once they get to the electoral college are a matter of federal law (those states that have imposed laws that the delegates must vote the way they were supposed to once they get to the college are in what I understand is legally gray territory) and how many electors each state gets is determined by the combined number of house and senate seats (excepting special cases like Washington DC) so is a matter of federal law, but how a state determines it's delegates (both in terms of is it a winner takes all statewide, and in the exact details of who can vote (some states allow felons who have served their time and are no longer on probation to vote)) is a matter for each individual state.
David, thanks for this very helpful reply. I must say, perhaps simplistically, this level of complexity and variation appears likely to increase disenfranchisement.
FWIW, sometime ago I listened to a lecture given by Carne Ross in which he suggested our system of representative democracy was illegitimate and could be replaced with tech-enabled direct participation. I started off being cynical but, by the end, thought I needed to know more. It's available at the LSE site.
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Hard News: The Watching World, in reply to BenWilson,
I think the main problem the US faces in this respect is that it's got different systems in every state.
Having now lived in a federal system for a decade, I'm inclined to question their merits. Perhaps though, my experience in Australia doesn't translate to the US where the lives of individuals in different states must vary more. However, surely the election of federal office bearers should be managed through federal law? They are here.
Is this one of those con-federation v federation issues?
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Hard News: The Watching World, in reply to Hilary Stace,
Hilary, I've heard similar things said including by one of my colleagues. She's able to vote and wants to vote for Obama but has described endless barriers she's encountered to register since being made to register as a Democrat.
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Hard News: Media3: Whistleblower Season, in reply to Geoff Lealand,
Truth: an oxymoron, with a moron in charge,
ROLFnui!
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OnPoint: H4x0rs and You, in reply to Sacha,
And this is a worry. Public servants are increasingly putting their own political and employment interests ahead of their legal obligation to keep their work confidential and to observe political neutrality.
I'd really like it if Clifton elaborated on this point somewhat, particularly the "increasingly" element of the comment. As it stands it is a general and fairly gratuitous smear of tens of thousands of public servants.
I follow parliament reasonably closely, I'd argue this is a government comprising Minister's who're not big on detail. Parata, Key and Bennett particularly but let's not forget Collins or Nick Smith's indiscretions.
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The remix of Blue Monday, 'O' for awesome.
It might be sacrilegious, but the Kylie mix of Blue Monday and Can't Get You Out of My Head is pretty cool too (youtube audio here).
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OnPoint: H4x0rs and You, in reply to SteveH,
FletcherB, there's no hedgehogs in Oz? In ten years, I'd not noticed their absence. Funnily, I once gifted a copy of Hedgehog Howdedo to a friend's son. I wonder what they made of it?
SteveH, thanks for this. The Public Address community is a remarkable source of diverse information... information even contradicting what I assumed!
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Up Front: Staying In, in reply to Bart Janssen,
But for me, I can't feel I'm being honest with myself if I don't use my own name.
+1. But like others, I've got a incredibly common name.
Or bad reasons. Mine? I'm a bottom of the heap nobody and I dont think anyone really cares about what I say. Still, I try to make sense.
I suspect I know what you mean, however one of the near unique features of this blog/community is the uniformly high quality of contributions making it worthwhile reading every comment, your's included.
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OnPoint: H4x0rs and You, in reply to SteveH,
People have noted that certain simplified models of aerodynamics don’t work for bumblebees (and indeed many other insects).
<threadjack>And why is there no bumblebees in Australia, clearly they can't fly very far...</threadjack>
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Emma, a simple thanks seems a little inadequate as a response to this piece and many of your others also. I agree with the comments above, your writing and what you write about is fantastic and I appreciate the insight into how and why do you do it.