Putting This Election 2016 Into Honest Perspective (What Has America Done?!)
Remember, that Trump guy did not win the Presidential race, he outright *lost* it by over 2.86 Million Direct Votes of the People against him. In total, 73.6 Million U.S. Citizens rejected Donald John Trump as the next desired President for the United States. He won by Electoral College only! The Electoral College is a system enacted in slavery days, and was designed to give Southern states – whose majority population was slaves who could not vote – a chance at winning national elections. This Electoral system is now being used in modern times to give unfair advantage to white voters, by usurping the effect of minority votes across this country. It disproportionately favors a select few number of states that are the majority decider in who is elected to the Presidency, regardless of what the Direct Vote (the “Popular Vote”) turns out to be.
Why does neither the Democrat or Republican party, the two dominant parties in the United States, do anything about the Electoral College (like get rid of it!)? The answer is blatantly obvious. It is because both are predominantly white in constituency, and both parties are about *winning* the election, first and foremost, with the expressed will of the People that they campaigned on coming in second. It will require American citizens en masse to uproot this system that rejects the expressed will of voting U.S. citizens! The only question, is when are the United States citizens going to get pissed off enough to truly say enough’s enough?! When will this happen?
That Trump guy lost the the Presidential race by Direct Vote – clearly – and has been rewarded the victory by Electoral College, regardless. The majority of voting U.S. citizens voted against that Trump guy’s nomination to the Presidency of the United States. And the Democrat and Republican parties – who were *both* #NeverTrump during the election – bowed down immediately to the Electoral results alone – and have been telling the American public to accept the Electoral College results and to now come together in unity around a racist, misogynist, xenophobic individual with clear business conflicts of interest as President. #NotMyPresident #TrumpProtests That Trump guy is a secretive and habitually lying autocrat in the making, whose only clear and apparent motivation in life is to enrich his name and his businesses. And what better way to do this than to have power and insight of a president?!
Now, add to this who that Trump guy has surrounded himself with. That Pence guy is a Christian fundamentalist that believes in and pushes pseudoscientific Creationism. If you don’t understand what this means, let me make it very clear. He believes the earth is 10,000 years old and was created by a imaginary god found in a sacred book of his religion, which he believes is actively involved in and controlling the affairs of this planet – thus, you don’t need to worry about climate change (all is the god’s plan), science has no evidence and is only a philosophical theory, thus, is to be rejected as capable of guidance, and Ken Ham’s cultic pseudoscience called Creationism should be taught in public schools along reputable and evidential sciences. Not to mention, being a Christian fundamentalist, that Pence guy has a history of attacking women right’s, supporting scientifically debuncted homosexual reparative therapy, and the constitutionally protected freedom of citizenry to not be legislated by Christian religious morals in public law.
If this wasn’t in itself enough of a national and constitutional problem, the two of them together, look at the other key individuals that the Trump guy has surrounded himself with. That Bannon guy is also a business man with secretive behaviors regarding his business activities, which will not be in Blind Trust anymore than that Trump guy’s businesses will, and that Bannon guy is a known and well documented racist white nationalist, with interests in literally segregating the United States of America into white America and that other America. Then, there is that Kushner guy, who also – like the Trump guy – is born into wealth through his daddy’s real estate businesses and by having the keys to that Trump guy’s business is financially in bed with that Trump guy deeply. Now, he is an Orthodox Jew, which means that he’s going to be very sympathetic to that Pence guy’s Christian fundamentalism and Creationism pseudoscience. So, the rich are about to get richer, the hopeful poor that voted for him are going to be sorely disappointed, and minorities of all types across this country are going suffer more from white nationalism and religion these next four years.
Understand, America, what you have actually done! You have given the less desirable business elite (the previously not as influential anti- Gates and Soros types), with a history of racism and religious bigotry, the top positions of the United States government. A nation that is supposed to be a democracy of the People (all the citizens together), that keeps religion separate from public governance. And, you’ve given the white nationalists and religious fundamentalists a seat at the presidential table that they’ve been salivating over for seventy years. By enough Americans voting for them, emboldened by the free expression of their racist views toward fellow citizens of the United States, both bigots and religious fundamentalists are in ideal power to establish racially motivated theocratic “law and order” upon all Americans through their election by Electoral College only. The majority of U.S. citizens who voted had enough sense to not vote for this, but we have yet to step up as a nation of people and demand fundamental change in how government is to be approached and decided in this country! What has happened here is nothing new.
Since the rise of the politically active Christian fundamentalist Right in America in 1945, our democracy as a nation governed “by the People” has been under direct assault legislatively. The more progressive we become nationally through the centuries of minorities in America fighting for liberty and justice, the more white America becomes defensive and attempts to turn back the clock – to a more golden white dominated age of American history. Adding to this white America’s refusal to act on #RestorativeJustice and #TruthandReconciliation, which will directly address white racism against minorities in the United States, we are now facing the possibility of a further move away from the anti-monarchy/anti-church three branches of government ‘Era of Enlightenment (Age of Reason)’ democracy of the People based in Deism, that the Founders established in 1776 – and a direct move toward white Judeo-Christian fundamentalist democratically-structured theocracy in the United States of America. If we truly do value the Constitution of the United States of America as citizens, then we cannot let this happen. We must become – every one of us – socially and politically involved in usurping this effort through educating the citizens of our communities, through constant legislative battles, and winning in court. American democracy itself is honestly at stake!
#election2016 #electoralcollege #BlackLivesMatter #NativeLivesMatter #LGBTQ #Equality #EmpoweringWomen #EverydaySexism
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2016 Election Results:
Direct Vote (Popular Vote), 8 Nov: Clinton, 65,844,610 – Trump, 62,979,636 – All Others*, 7,804,213
The People of the United States chose Hillary Clinton for President by 2,864,974 majority vote on 8 November 2016! (- as of final count, 20 December 2016) Over 73.6 million voters (73,648,823) out of 136.6 million (136,628,459) did not choose Donald Trump for the presidency. With President Barack Hussein Obama (an African-American) as the only candidate in United States history to receive the most Direct Votes for President from the citizens of the United States (65,915,795 votes for his second term election to President), Hillary Rodham Clinton (a European Woman) has now received in 2016 the second largest number of citizen’s votes for President in the entire history of U.S. Presidential elections (she was only 71,185 votes shy of tying President Obama’s historic vote record – the citizens of the United States clearly made their choice known in this election, and it was *not* that Trump guy)!
*All Others – Suppressed “third party” candidates that the U.S. citizens who were brave enough to vote for real change in the political environment of the United States dared to actually vote for (despite the Democrat and Republican parties’ insistence that this are wasted votes!).
Electoral College Vote, 19 Dec: (expected vote) Trump, 306 – Clinton, 232 (actual vote) Trump, 304 – Clinton, 227**
The ruling partisan political and governmental establishment chose that Trump guy as President-elect on 19 December 2016 (UNLESS THEY DON’T, and pass voting the LOSER into office to the Republican controlled HOUSE) , against the majority vote rule of the United States voting citizens. This action on the part of the Electoral College has demonstrated that the Electoral College has become nothing more than a partisan “rubber-stamp” system in the United States of America, and no longer reflects the intent of the Founders (which was to keep a candidate like Trump, who preys on populous notions and has no qualifications for the job of President, from becoming President, by voting for a candidate that has the necessary qualifications (even if its against the will of the People, who have been duped in their direct popular vote).
The protests need continue, battles in court need to be waged, and pressure put upon the ruling political parties to end the Electoral College, a system born of slavery days and used in modern times to give white votes an advantage over minority votes in the United States of America!
**-This is the highest number of what has become called “faithless electors” – for not voting for the established candidate of either the Republican or Democrat parties that have monopolized the political system of the United States – in U.S. history, with three electors in Washington voting for Colin L. Powell and one elector for Faith Spotted Eagle, one elector in Texas voting for Ron Paul and one for John Kasich, and one elector in Hawaii for Bernie Sanders – despite the tremendous pressure put upon all these electors by the ruling political parties of the United States to not vote for any other candidate or any other party other than the candidate of the party dominated the particular state. The “winner take all” electoral votes system of some states disenfranchises the voters who have cast their vote for the majority losing candidate of the these states, and the forcing electors to “pledge allegiance” to a particular candidate before the electoral vote of some states (who replace during the election any who defy their made pledge) is actually unconstitutional per the 12th Amendment.
Hopefully, next election 2020, there will be no electoral college to rob the citizen’s vote, and people will feel free to vote for more parties than the ruling two political parties that want to tell you how to vote!
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/133Eb4qQmOxNvtesw2hdVns073R68EZx4SfCnP4IGQf8/htmlview?sle=true#gid=19
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/12/19/us/elections/electoral-college-results.html?_r=0
#election2016 #notmypresident #trumpprotests #nationalpopularvote
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Following below is a 7 Dec 2016 addition to this post:
Why is THIS not a national holiday? December 6, 1865: The 13th Amendment ratification day. #BlackLivesMatter #TruthandReconciliation in the United States!
Here is an article written in 1865 on the Southern influence garnered upon the U.S. Government by establishing an Electoral College in the 1780’s: “In our country the bitter fruits of national injustice and oppression were apparent at an early day. From 1789 to 1861—a period of more than seventy years—the Southern lords of the lash, through the concessions made to them in the Constitution, were almost as much masters of the general Government as of the slaves on their plantations.”… a direct reference to the Electoral College system …”Their property in human flesh, under a vicious and anti-republican rule of representation, increased their political power to such an extent that, by acting always as a unit, and adroitly taking advantage of party divisions at the North, they were able, from the very beginning, to control the legislation of the country for the support and perpetuity of their hateful system…. and so watchful were the guardians of the system, and so imperious in their demands in its behoof, that they were always able to prevent the adoption by Congress of even constitutional measures that were likely to expose it to the slightest peril. Subserviency to the slave power became the fixed habit of politicians and parties at the North.… Nothing could better illustrate the power which slavery had acquired over the Government than the hesitation of an anti-slavery Congress to undertake this work of expurgation and reform.”
December 6, 1865: The 13th Amendment, Prohibiting Slavery, Is Ratified
https://www.thenation.com/article/december-6-1865-the-thirteenth-amendment-prohibiting-slavery-is-ratified/
“In our country the bitter fruits of national injustice and oppression were apparent at an early day.”
With Georgia’s ratification of the 13th Amendment on this day in 1865, slavery was finally declared incompatible with the ideals of the United States Constitution, and was prohibited. In August, as the measure, passed by Congress the previous January, made its way through the state legislatures for ratification, a month-old publication called The Nation commented on the meaning of emancipation for American democracy.
With the Civil War and passing of the 13th Amendment, that outlawed chattel slavery only, came the rise of the second form of slavery in the United States – state owned “convict leasing” programs that mass imprisoned African Americans and leased these prisoners to Southern industries. This to-prison-pipeline for black Americans has continued in one form or another all the way to the present day. #RestorativeJustice is due! #ElectoralCollege #NationalPopularVote
18 Comments
Joseph T Farkasdi · November 17, 2016 at 11:45 am
“American politics is much more polarized today than it was 25 or 50 years ago. … From its very first months, Obama’s presidency has been marked by essentially nothing but constitutional hardball. During the Bush years, Democratic senators sporadically employed a variety of unusual delaying tactics to stymie his agenda. In 2009, Mitch McConnell and Senate Republicans retaliated by using tons of them, constantly. Suddenly filibustering went from something a Senate minority could do to something it did on pretty much all motions.”
This is because of change. The odds of someone like Barack Obama, a black man and citizen of the United States becoming President, were extraordinarily low. We are in a period of change, world wide, as we move towards a global economy and governmental system. This results in fear of change, a desire to fight against this change – to thwart it in any way possible – to blame the change for the reason of individual and community suffering. It’s not the change, and this change is inevitable – especially, in a democracy. It will happen, despite the garnered attempts by groups who’ve historical held power and privilege to prevent it. This is the lesson of history. But, change is a very tumultuous and emotional process, often lending itself toward emotionally-ladened and violent populism for a time.
This emotionalism, tribalism, and nationalism is not rational. It’s often race based and religion based in its justification. But, it is all going to turn out alright over the long run, if we’re willing to take comfort in history. First, what we are seeing in America is popping up all over the world in different countries. Human history has a way of repeating itself in a spiral of slow progressive growth. Two steps forward and one step back. Historians will say that we are over due for this step back that is now happening, and I agree with my studies of history, thus far.
It is nice to believe that supporting and sharing rational examples and reasonable understanding will help to pull us through this. But, this is a populist emotional time, and way too many people aren’t listening to reason – only their judgmental emotions. It’s all okay, really. So long as we don’t wipe ourselves off the planet with a third World War, as a species we will come out of this even more unified.
This is a pushback by those who fear change. We are moving as a human species towards a one world government where nations are the equivalent of states. This scares humans, because it is new to our evolutionary historical path. Tribalism and nationalism of the past, and specifically the 20th Century, is out – but, to take the next step, the violent letting go of this past has to play out. It’s the way the human primate learns things, unfortunately. It would be nice if we could be just intellectual enough as a species to get past our emotionally-involved tendencies towards biased, often fearful, viewpoints.
As to the Middle East, we U.S. Americans are directly responsible for that mess. We started it, by stepping into there when the British Empire decided to leave the Middle East. Why did we step into the Middle East in the Seventies? Because, America did not want to sacrifice our oil-based economic lifestyle by going without, as we build alternative energy sources. For our efforts to secure the Middle East oil as an uninterrupted source for us and our European allies, who were more dependent upon it than we were, we literally destabilized the entire region. We chose war over diplomacy, we uprooted governments while disregarding religious sectarian relations between those people, and we got ourselves into a war (series of wars) that never ends.
The question has been during this election, “Did we learn our lesson?” The answer is apparently, no. The warmongering hawks are back in the mix to take their places in a future government that is focus on “self” (nationalism, and corporate enrichment). The Christian fundamentalist Right and White Nationalists are unfortunately in the mix, too (that final rally against change!), now that they have finally achieved reaching the highest offices of the land – that they’ve been politically and legally fighting for over the last seventy years. We are facing a second Civil War in this country (not necessarily by armed militias, but more by battle of education and legal battles versus enabling hate crimes), and we are facing a third World War due to all the Populism and Nationalism and Religious Extremism arising in the hearts of every nation.
This is history. All that will be has come before. So long as we continue to progress through it, the human species will survive and become better for it. Until we evolve into something better. As a species, we have our patterns, just like earth’s climate.
As to American democracy presently and the idea that American democracy is doomed because a presidential democracy does not work because it leads to political gridlock and entrenched legislative inaction, I would only partially agree. It doesn’t work for a reason – because of some additions added into it that were never intended by the Founders of the United State of America. Specifically, that of a ruling two-party partisan political system and the creation of the electoral college to usurp the direct voted will of the populous.
There is nothing wrong with the presidential system, other than the mistake of turning it into a political system of two ruling parties (1800’s). Since then, politics have been polarized in America, and I don’t know of a time in the two party system that it hasn’t been politically nasty and dirty. It’s only gotten worse, because of the shut-the-government-down rise of the Teapublicans, in response to a black man ascending to the Office of the Presidency. But, the breakdown of American democracy was already on its way, we’ll before this. Hence, the advantage in avoiding gridlock that comes with a parliamentary system. It is much harder for two parties to maintain a monopoly on power and to manipulate a citizen base in a multi-party parliamentary system. Much of the world has this system because of the presence and influence of the British Empire upon the world. Our presidential system is based on European political enlightenment of the 1700’s, thus it will be around – hopefully improved.
American democracy is doomed
http://www.vox.com/2015/3/2/8120063/american-democracy-doomed
America’s constitutional democracy is going to collapse. … If we’re very lucky, it will lead us to tackle the underlying problems and result in a better, more robust, political system. If we’re less lucky, well, then, something worse will happen.
#Populism #Nationalism #ElectoralCollege #BLM #NLM #LGBTQ
Joseph T Farkasdi · November 19, 2016 at 11:31 pm
For those having difficulty understanding die-hard Trump guy supporters (#NotMyPresident #TrumpProtests #UnpaidProtester), let this billboard in Mississippi do the teaching. It’s a “Make America Great Again” slogan over a picture of the “Bloody Sunday” Alabama civil rights conflict. The core supporters of that Trump guy do not see this billboard depiction as racist. Literally, they do not see this as racist! Why do they not see it? You have to understand their mind. In their mind, they are an ethnic minority, the white race, who is having “their” land robbed from them by having to live with and accommodate the presence of other races in the United States. When they see this billboard, what they see is white men taking back “their” country, by ridding America of non-whites. To call them racists, in their mind, is to be a racist – because, they don’t see themselves as racist, just loyal to and supportive of their white race in “their” white land.
It’s delusional, yes. It’s been fostered by the white-washing of American history of its racial sins, the pretending that #whiteprivilege doesn’t actually exist, the belief that this is a Christian nation based on Judeo-Christian morals, the delusion that equality exists between whites and people of color, and the teaching in homes of white people that minorities are the real supremacists just trying to get political and economic power over white people any way they can. This has been the message shared by the Christian Right and the Alt-Right, NPR and Fox News, for seventy years now. And it has take root throughout white America more so than white people in the United States realize.
That Trump guy’s America is the result of this highly political and socially vocal activity on their part. The results of this election and the present fall-out occurring are the inevitable result of this shift in white perspective in America. And, like with Ken Ham and his pseudoscience Creationism cult, they are all lead by very intelligent people – but people who facts are just plain wrong! Evidentially wrong. But, we fail when trying to reason with them and discuss with them about their view. Why? Because, they are emotionally invested and convinced of the validity of their truth, and they will only find wrong in what we have to present to them. It is us – the majority of thinking human primates – that are the ones who are misguided, not them.
So, if you were confused by present events unfolding – caught off guard by it – hopefully you now understand it better. Whether it is white Nationalism or white fundamentalist Christianity, it is religion – so, as a result, it is self-proofing and free of error! In their minds, at least. What is going to be needed of the rest of us, who see a slightly bigger picture of humankind, is a willingness to challenge these distorted views with demonstrable evidence – and allow the truth to attend to itself. The goal is not to try to un-indoctrinate the believers, for this does not work! The goal is to plant a seed, to passionately encourage education and skepticism, in all who witness and experience. The goal also includes being ready to battle it out in the legislative bodies, through social justice lobbying groups, and by winning in the courts of law. Alright, that’s enough for now.
Billboard raises eyebrows in Rankin County
http://www.wmcactionnews5.com/story/33739049/billboard-raises-eyebrows-in-rankin-county
PEARL, MS (Mississippi News Now) –
A billboard is turning heads, raising eyebrows and concern in Rankin County. It’s Highway 80 about a mile past the airport in Pearl.
It has President Elect Donald Trump’s campaign slogan “Make America Great Again” over a picture of the “Bloody Sunday” conflict on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama.
The billboard is being paid for by the super PAC “For Freedoms”. Their website claims the group uses art to inspire deeper political engagement.
#RestorativeJustice #TruthandReconciliation #EducateAmerica #BlackLivesMatter #NativeLivesMatter
Joseph T Farkasdi · November 22, 2016 at 12:48 pm
“Trump says any (business related) conflicts of interest were priced into your Vote. It’s all the media’s fault, of course.” But, of course!
Okay, since that Trump guy is talking about votes, the greater majority of U.S. voters voted *against* Trump as President. The citizens of the United States overwhelmingly said “No!” to conflict of interests, racism, misogyny, hate speech and bullying, unethical business practices, and xenophobia – by over 1.7 million votes!
#NotMyPresident Not in 2016, not in 2017-2020! #TrumpProtests #UnpaidProtestor It’s time to nationally support the #NationalPopularVote, and return the power to decide who’s president *back* to the People!
As of present final tally, 63,759,985 million U.S. citizens voted for Hillary Clinton for President. 62,005,118 million voted for that Trump guy. And 7,087,495 million U.S. citizens were brave enough to vote for real change in the political environment of the United States, by voting for suppressed third party candidates.
The Democrat and Republican parties and the U.S. Government, by default of being controlled by them, do not want the vestige of slavery days Electoral College to end – because it gives them the decision making final say on who is President, even if it’s against the will of the People. We are told immediately by Democrats and Republicans, after being denied our voted decision by the electoral proxy, that we should except the Electoral College result. Uh, no! That Trump guy is not who the U.S. citizens overwhelmingly voted for!
Trump Says Any Conflicts Of Interest Were Priced Into Your Vote
It’s all the media’s fault, of course.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/donald-trump-conflict-of-interest_us_5833b971e4b058ce7aacbb56
The evening tweet from the president-elect reads: “Prior to the election it was well known that I have interests in properties all over the world. Only the crooked media makes this a big deal!”
The declaration that he currently has global properties comes after promising that he would separate himself from his Trump Organization and hand the company off to his adult children Ivanka, Donald Jr. and Eric Trump in a so-called blind trust. He has so far done no such thing. In fact, his tweet is a statement in the present tense ― “I have interests in properties all over the world” ― that affirms his current ownership and management of his business empire.
This is what you get in a #trumppence2016 electoral college election of president. And it’s only just beginning, buyer’s remorse is already on its way for #election2016 – congratulations white America!
Joseph T Farkasdi · November 22, 2016 at 3:41 pm
Considering how the white conservative Republican party racially profiled and deliberately obstructed legislative duty in an attempt to turn President Barack Hussein Obama’s United States presidency into a failed presidency, President Barack Hussein Obama has no doubt demonstrated that he is one of our nation’s best presidents in history, if not the best! … But, even with this gesture on his part for social justice and change in America, white America needs to get onboard. We need #RestorativeJustice and #TruthandReconciliation in the United States of America. #BlackLivesMatter #NativeLivesMatter #LatinoLivesMatter
Barack Obama has now commuted the sentences of more than 1,000 people in prison for drug crimes
http://qz.com/844035/barack-obama-has-now-commuted-the-sentences-of-more-than-1000-people-in-prison-for-drug-crimes/
US president Barack Obama is moving quickly to make his last stamp on the criminal justice system before leaving office in January. He just reduced the sentences of 79 people in prison for non-violent drug crimes, bringing his total to more than 1,000 commutations.
Joseph T Farkasdi · November 23, 2016 at 2:21 am
“Thank you, my friends. Thank you. Thank you. We have lost. We have lost, and this is the last day of my political career, so I will say what must be said. We are standing at the edge of the abyss. Our political system, our society, our country itself are in greater danger than at any time in the last century and a half. The president-elect has made his intentions clear, and it would be immoral to pretend otherwise. We must band together right now to defend the laws, the institutions, and the ideals on which our country is based.”
Autocracy: Rules for Survival – written by Masha Gessen
http://www.nybooks.com/daily/2016/11/10/trump-election-autocracy-rules-for-survival/
“However well-intentioned, (the conciliatory speeches of Clinton and Obama) assumes that Trump is prepared to find common ground with his many opponents, respect the institutions of government, and repudiate almost everything he has stood for during the campaign. In short, it is treating him as a “normal” politician. There has until now been little evidence that he can be one.” …
“Believe the autocrat. Do not be taken in by small signs of normality. Institutions will not save you. Be outraged. Don’t make compromises. Remember the future.”
Speaking on the Electoral College election of Donald Trump, Masha Gessen is the author of several books on Russia, including ‘The Man Without a Face: The Unlikely Rise of Vladimir Putin.’ She knows experientially about living under autocratic rule. U.S. citizens might want to listen to her, closely. That Trump guy is a bonafide autocrat in the making – and we need to be paying close attention.
#election2016 #trumppence2016 #nevertrump #notmypresident #trumpprotests
Joseph T Farkasdi · November 23, 2016 at 10:17 pm
“This is not an argument that the election was rigged, nor that Trump’s win is somehow illegitimate. The president is chosen by the electoral college. The Senate is built to favor small states. Gerrymandering is legal. America does not decide national elections by simply tallying up votes. … More Americans voted for Hillary Clinton than for Donald Trump. More Americans voted for Democratic Senate candidates than for Republican Senate candidates. So why aren’t Democrats acting like it? Why aren’t they trying to force Republicans, the media, and the emergent Trump White House to act like it? … Democrats need to be an opposition party, not a minority party.”
Ouch! We Independents fully understand this, that’s why we won’t shut up when autocracy is moving into the White House! #NotMyPresident #TrumpProtests #UnpaidProtester all 2016, and all 2017-2020! That Trump guy will never get our support. Why? Because he *lost* the #election2016 direct vote by 2.1 million votes!
Democrats won the most votes in the election. They should act like it.
http://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2016/11/22/13708648/democrats-won-popular-vote
Democrats have confused the reality of being out of power with the idea of being in the minority. This lets the Trump administration and the Republican Party confuse the reality of being in power with the idea of having a mandate for their agenda.
#TrumpsAmerica #TrumpAdministration #TrumpPence2016
Joseph T Farkasdi · November 24, 2016 at 4:40 am
As a nation of citizens, we *do not* have to allow this presidency of Donald Trump to occur. He is *not* the president yet! And what we – the majority of U.S. citizens who voted and *did not* vote for him – can do to prevent his ascension to the presidency is to rally together and make our voices and signatures heard in the Senate and the House. If enough of the 71.5 million are willing to say “No! We do not accept the Electoral College outcome. It is immoral to elect Donald Trump as president, when the majority of Americans chose Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump by over 2 million votes!” the establishment will have to pause and listen! Donald Trump is #NotOurPresident. Not in 2016 – he *lost* the election by well *over* 2 million votes – and not in 2017, 2018, 2019, or 2020.
Electoral College Electors: Electoral College Make Hillary Clinton President On December 19
https://www.change.org/p/electoral-college-electors-electoral-college-make-hillary-clinton-president-on-december-19?source_location=movement
There is no reason Trump should be President.
Secretary Clinton WON THE POPULAR VOTE and should be President.
The only reason Trump “won” is because of the Electoral College.
But the Electoral College can actually give the White House to either candidate.
So why not use this most undemocratic of our institutions to ensure a democratic result?
Our Constitution says the Electors choose who is president.
#election2016 #trumpprotests #notmypresident #resisttrump #nationalpopularvote
Let’s put this into perspective: As of 23 Nov 2016, 71,577,574 voters (over 71 million) voted against Donald Trump for the presidency (includes Democrat and Third Party candidates). Only 62,312,162 voted for him. The Electoral College, regardless of how you are “expected” to vote, needs to listen to the citizens of the United States of America and vote Hillary Clinton into presidential office! She won the Direct Vote (Popular Vote) by over two million citizen votes (64,409,210). She is President-Elect by the voted will of the People of the United States. #NationalPopularVote #Election2016
Joseph T Farkasdi · November 27, 2016 at 2:19 pm
As of 28 Nov 2016, 71,827,636 voters (nearly 72 million) voted *against* Donald Trump for the presidency (includes Democrat and Third Party candidates). Only 62,409,389 million voted for him. The Electoral College, regardless of how you are “expected” to vote, needs to listen to the citizens of the United States of America and vote Hillary Clinton into presidential office! She won the Direct Vote (Popular Vote) by over 2.2 million citizen votes (64,637,503). She is President-Elect by the voted will of the People of the United States. #NationalPopularVote #Election2016 #TrumpProtests #NotMyPresident #useitorloseit
Electoral College Petition – About the Petition
https://electoralcollegepetition.com/about/
Donald Trump has not been elected president. The real election takes place December 19, when the 538 Electors cast their ballots – for anyone they want.
We are calling on “Conscientious Electors” to protect the Constitution from Donald Trump, and to support the national popular vote winner.
Almost 4.5 million Americans support this grassroots effort.
Sign the petition here: ….
#BlackLivesMatter #NativeLivesMatter #LatinoLivesMatter #LGBTQ #Equality #EmpoweringWomen #EverydaySexism
Joseph T Farkasdi · November 29, 2016 at 12:30 pm
So Donald Putin Mao Trump wants to make free speech illegal and, in its place, mandate national flag worship? At the price of imprisonment or revocation of citizenship? Who didn’t see this coming? Remember, he’s not president yet! The real vote (the Electoral College proxy vote) has not occurred yet. There is still time for the 72.14 million U.S. citizens who did not vote for this wanna-be autocrat clown to make their voices of opposition known to the Electoral College. This presidency against the voted will of the People, the citizens of this nation, does not have to happen! Wake up, and speak out. #NotMyPresident #TrumpProtests #UnpaidProtestor #election2016
“Nobody should be allowed to burn the American flag – if they do, there must be consequences – perhaps loss of citizenship or year in jail!” Trump wrote in a post to his social media account.
Trump calls for jailing, revoking citizenship of flag-burners
Laws prohibiting the burning or desecration of the American flag have been struck down by the Supreme Court.
http://www.politico.com/story/2016/11/trump-flag-burning-231920
Burning an American flag should be a crime, President-elect Donald Trump wrote on Twitter Tuesday morning, punishable by a forfeiture of U.S. citizenship or a year in jail.
Joseph T Farkasdi · November 29, 2016 at 1:01 pm
As a nation of citizens, we *do not* have to allow this presidency of Donald Trump to occur. It doesn’t have to happen! And he is *not* the president yet! And what we – the majority of U.S. citizens who voted and *did not* vote for him – can do to prevent his ascension to the presidency is to rally together and make our voices and signatures heard in the Senate and the House. If enough of the 72 million citizens who value democracy are willing to say “No! We do not accept the Electoral College outcome, for it is unethical and undemocratic to elect Donald Trump as president, when the majority of U.S. citizens chose Hillary Clinton as president over Donald Trump (by over 2.3 million votes)!” the establishment will have to pause and listen! Donald Trump is #NotOurPresident. Not in 2016 – he *lost* the election by 2.3 million votes – and not in 2017, 2018, 2019, or 2020.
Electoral College Petition – About the Petition
https://electoralcollegepetition.com/about/
Donald Trump has not been elected president. The real election takes place December 19, when the 538 Electors cast their ballots – for anyone they want.
We are calling on “Conscientious Electors” to protect the Constitution from Donald Trump, and to support the national popular vote winner.
Almost 4.5 million Americans support this grassroots effort.
Sign the petition here: ….
The Electoral College, created in the 1800’s to give slave states a voting advantage by counting slaves (even though they cannot vote), is now being used in this modern times to give white votes a majority advantage over minority votes (through effectively negating their direct votes by the rules established for electoral college). It’s time to get rid of the Electoral College, and here is how: http://www.nationalpopularvote.com/
#NotMyPresident #NationalPopularVote #TrumpProtests #election2016
Joseph T Farkasdi · November 30, 2016 at 4:46 pm
72.86 million U.S. citizens of 135.54 million who voted in #election2016* are upset. The majority of voters chose Hillary Clinton as President-elect, not Donald Trump. The Electoral College electors will not make their vote until Dec 19th. The People of the United States are making their voices known! There is still time to upset the Donald Trump apple cart. He did not win the general election! Join the fight, the electors need to be free to follow the will of the People.
(*as of 2 Dec 2016 final count)
Anti-Trump forces launch attack on Electoral College
The last-ditch effort to stop Donald Trump is gaining momentum.
http://www.politico.com/story/2016/11/donald-trump-electoral-college-231980
Anti-Trump forces are preparing an unprecedented assault on the Electoral College, marked by a wave of lawsuits and an intensive lobbying effort aimed at persuading 37 Republican electors to vote for a candidate other than Donald Trump.
It’s a bracing stress-test for an institution that Alexander Hamilton envisioned as a safeguard against popular whims (like a Trump candidacy), and a direct challenge to the role that the Electoral College has evolved to play in picking the president: constitutional rubber stamp.
#NotMyPresident – not in 2016, and not in 2017-2020! #TrumpProtests #BlackLivesMatter #NativeLivesMatter #LatinoLivesMatter #LGBTQ #EmpoweringWomen #Independents #Democrats #Republicans
Joseph T Farkasdi · December 7, 2016 at 11:40 am
“The process of the Electoral College affords a moral certainty, that the office of the President will never fall to the lot of any man who is not in an eminent degree endowed with the requisite qualifications.” – Alexander Hamilton, Federalist Paper #68
If the electors of the Electoral College fail to do their duty, by simply “rubber-stamping” the EC “expected vote” for Donald #Trump (who is clearly unqualified to be President!), against the voted will of the citizens of the United States (who voted in majority by 2.6 million votes for qualified #HillaryClinton), then it is time to remove the Electoral College – for they are no longer fulfilling their purpose as a “conscientious” check of the People’s decision.
United States citizens should be upset and should not support this wanna-be autocrat, if the electoral college defies its principle reason for continuing to exist, by partisan rubber-stamping him as President. #DonaldTrump is #NotOurPresident #NotMyPresident – not in 2016, and not in 2017-2020! #NeverTrump #election2016 #ElectoralCollege #NationalPopularVote
https://www.facebook.com/HamiltonElectors/photos/a.1674366076188524.1073741827.1673573109601154/1680134682278330/?type=1&theater
Hamilton Electors
“Bottom line: The Founding Fathers didn’t fully trust democracy, fearing mob rule, and so created a republic. They correctly worried that a pure democracy could result in the election of a demagogue (ahem), or a charismatic autocrat (ahem), or someone under foreign influence (ditto), hence the rule that a president must have been born in the United States. We know how seriously Trump takes the latter.
Most important among the founders’ criteria for a president was that he (or now she) be qualified. Thus, the electoral college was created as a braking system that would, if necessary, save the country from an individual such as, frankly, Trump. ” – The electoral college should be unfaithful –
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-electoral-college-should-be-unfaithful/2016/12/06/360f8f2c-bbfb-11e6-ac85-094a21c44abc_story.html?utm_term=.314bffebeb49 #NeverTrump
The Electoral College is also a vestige of slavery days. Though the above may be its “official” purpose, its unofficial purpose for being enacted was to ensure that Southern states could compete in national elections by being able to count their slaves (who are not citizens, but property, and cannot vote) to give their states additional electors that they would not have (based on population). It was Southern states – slave states – that pushed this Electoral College legislation in the 1780’s, after a terrible (for them) election defeat by Direct Vote.
“There was one difficulty however of a serious nature attending an immediate choice by the people. The right of suffrage was much more diffusive in the Northern than the Southern States; and the latter could have no influence in the election on the score of Negroes. The substitution of electors obviated this difficulty and seemed on the whole to be liable to the fewest objections.” – James Madison, 1787
Joseph T Farkasdi · December 9, 2016 at 1:07 pm
Yep, that #Trump guy really has the workers’ back alright! As he fills his proposed cabinet with anti-labor business and banking executives, retired Generals left and right, politically radicalized Christian Fundamentalists, and racist Alt-Right white nationalists. It amazes me how so easily this con man took over the minds of 62 million U.S. citizens in this country! Only to turn his back on them the moment he thought he’d won the General Election on Nov 8th. (Technically, he hasn’t won it yet, the Electoral College doesn’t vote until Dec 19th, and 2.7 million more people voted against that Trump guy, than voted for him.)
I have only one question for those now realizing that you’ve been had by a charismatic charlatan: Having buyer’s remorse yet? It’s not too late to change your vote! Tell the Electoral College to vote for anyone other than Trump on Dec 19th. #HeLiedToYou It’s not too late to get rid of him, he’s not actually President-elect yet! Lying to workers and attacking unions, good grief! Stocking his cabinet with the very people he promised to get rid of in Washington, good grief! He don’t care about you, folks! From day one, it’s been all about him, his name, and enriching his businesses, and he knew you’d be naïve enough to vote for him! #NeverTrump
BUT, there is still hope – and there is still time! Here’s how the Electoral College works, folks:
All it takes this Dec 19th election for President of the United States is for 37 Republican electors to choose any Republican other than #Trump and, not only have you honored the Hamilton intent of the Electoral College, you are also a “faithful” elector to your political party, as well. EC electors, let the Congress sort out who is going to be President this #election2016! Put the responsibility of electing an unqualified habitually lying and divisive self-oriented/serving Trump as President into the hands of the Republicans who helped create his candidacy.
Since the Electoral College actually chooses who is going to be President, and they are not required to follow the will of the People in their choice… And since the Republican and Democrat parties have been using the Electoral College for decades as their rubber-stamp to the White House, calling any electors who dare to make their own choice a “faithless elector”… Have the Republican controlled House of Representatives own the shame and history of electing that Trump guy, if they dare actually do it!
#ElectoralCollege #NeverTrump #NotOurPresident #NotMyPresident – not in 2016, and not in 2017-2020! #TrumpProtests
“In 11 days a group of 538 people will meet to pick the next President of the United States. Here are five things you should know about the Electoral College.
1 – You only thought you were voting for Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton (on Nov 8th): Although you marked your ballot for a presidential candidate, you were actually voting for a slate of electors who represent that candidate.
2 – The Electoral College is a “states rights” system: The two great compromises that won over small states to back the Constitution were the creation of the a bicameral legislature — where small and large states would have the same voice in the U.S. Senate — and the Electoral College. Because a state’s number of electors is equal to their number of Congressmen plus Senators the Electoral College gives slightly more weight to less populous states.
3 – Members of the Electoral College can be “unfaithful”: It is very rare, but there have been cases of electors not voting for the candidate they are pledged to. 29 states make it illegal to be an “unfaithful” elector, although the punishment is a small fine. (This is a modern departure from the original intent for elector behavior.)
4 – You’ve probably never heard of Wisconsin’s electors: If the names of Wisconsin’s electors are unfamiliar, it’s because the U.S. Constitution says current office-holders cannot serve in the Electoral College.
5 – There are four more dates to complete the process: December 28 is the deadline for all states to send their elector certificates to congress. The national Archivist holds the elector certificates, with duplicate copies that are also sent to the President of the United States Senate. On January 3rd the Archivist holds a mostly ceremonial meeting with the Secretary of the U.S. Senate and the Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives. They confirm that all of the elector certificates have been received. On January 6 the Congress meets in joint session to count the electoral votes and announce the new president. On January 20 at noon the new President of the United States is sworn-in on Inauguration Day.”
Electoral College explained
http://wsau.com/news/articles/2016/dec/08/electoral-college-explained/
At the time the Constitution was ratified, states were far more powerful than the federal government. It was the states, by ratifying the Constitution, that brought the federal government into being. (In 1787 no one thought of themselves as a citizen of the United States of America. You were a Pennsylvanian, a Virginian, a Marylander, etc.)
Joseph T Farkasdi · December 9, 2016 at 5:20 pm
“Congress proposed and the States ratified the Twelfth Amendment with the understanding that electors are ministerial agents who represent their parties’ nominees, rather than platonic guardians who exercise independent judgment” – Colorado GOP response to Baca and Nemanich’s lawsuit to allow certain states’ electors to vote freely, without regard to the votes made in the general election. …
Uh, WRONG, Colorado GOP. Have you even read the 12th Amendment? Here it is below for your perusal now:
“Amendment XII of the United States Constitution
The electors shall meet in their respective states and vote by ballot for President and Vice-President, one of whom, at least, shall not be an inhabitant of the same state with themselves; they shall name in their ballots the person voted for as President, and in distinct ballots the person voted for as Vice-President, and they shall make distinct lists of all persons voted for as President, and of all persons voted for as Vice-President, and of the number of votes for each, which lists they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of the government of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate;–The President of the Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the certificates and the votes shall then be counted;–the person having the greatest number of votes for President, shall be the President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of electors appointed; and if no person have such majority, then from the persons having the highest numbers not exceeding three on the list of those voted for as President, the House of Representatives shall choose immediately, by ballot, the President. But in choosing the President, the votes shall be taken by states, the representation from each state having one vote; a quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member or members from two-thirds of the states, and a majority of all the states shall be necessary to a choice. And if the House of Representatives shall not choose a President whenever the right of choice shall devolve upon them, before the fourth day of March next following, then the Vice-President shall act as President, as in the case of the death or other constitutional disability of the President. The person having the greatest number of votes as Vice-President, shall be the Vice-President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of electors appointed, and if no person have a majority, then from the two highest numbers on the list, the Senate shall choose the Vice-President; a quorum for the purpose shall consist of two-thirds of the whole number of Senators, and a majority of the whole number shall be necessary to a choice. But no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice-President of the United States.”
The Electoral College was not designed to be a political party rubber-stamp assembly, void of independent electoral choice. This Electoral College vote for who is to be the President of the United States come January 2017 will happen on December 19th. There is no obligation in the 12th Amendment to vote by political party, much less to vote for a specific candidate of a political party. As well, the only thing binding electors to voting a certain way or for a certain person is strictly at the state level laws, which should be challenged in court for their unfairness to the national United States election process.
U.S. Constitution – Cornell University Law School
https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/amendmentxii
#Trump #ElectoralCollege #NeverTrump #election2016 #NotOurPresident #NotMyPresident – not in 2016, and not in 2017-2020! He is unfit for this highest office of the land, intends to enrich himself with it at the expense of the people, had Russia assist him in gaining election victory, has flat out lied to the people who’ve naively voted for him, and is utterly unqualified for the position and a danger to the United States by assuming this position. Electoral College, we the People need you to be en masse faithless electors this Dec 19th election!
Joseph T Farkasdi · December 18, 2016 at 4:03 pm
When over 73.5 million U.S. voters deliberately refused Trump’s presidency by voting against him (and only 62.9 million voted for him), yes, the citizens of America have lost hope and are understandably unwilling to come to terms with what happened in this #election2016 and there is no rational reason to “unite” under a religious white nationalist #Trump presidency. #ElectoralCollege, it’s time to deny him with your vote on Monday. #NeverTrump – not in 2016, and not in 2017-2020!
If the #ElectoralCollege fails to reject Donald J Trump as President-elect and, instead, choose some other Republican candidate in his place, they’ll be joining a very long list of people who didn’t do their jobs these past eight years. And this list starts with the Republican Party and Reince Priebus. Do we really have to put racism and misogyny above the more important duty of governing the country?
In last-shot bid, thousands urge electoral college to block Trump at Monday vote
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/in-last-shot-bid-thousands-urge-electoral-college-to-block-trump-at-monday-vote/2016/12/17/125fa84a-c327-11e6-8422-eac61c0ef74d_story.html?utm_term=.f5385f43e150
Such is the life these days for many of the 538 men and women who are scheduled to meet Monday across the country to carry out what has traditionally been a perfunctory vote after most every presidential election.
The role of elector has intensified this year, in the wake of a bitter election in which Trump lost the popular vote to Democrat Hillary Clinton by a margin of nearly 3 million votes and the revelation of a secret CIA assessment that Russia interfered to help Trump get elected.
One of two possibilities will happen on Monday, Dec 19th. Enough Republican electors will reject voting for Trump and force the GOP-controlled House of Representatives to have to cast the votes, thus fulfilling their constitutional role as electors. Or, the Electoral College will prove to be nothing more than a rubber stamp for political parties and give Trump the election even though he lost the General Election by 2.83 million votes – and this will mark the end to the Electoral College system, and a return to the Direct Voting system in the United States of America. We are about to see which it will be. Exciting, isn’t it?! #ElectoralCollege #NeverTrump #NotOurPresident – not in 2016, and not in 2017-2020!
Joseph T Farkasdi · January 4, 2017 at 8:24 pm
Oh, yeah! It’s on! Patriots, download the guide and #Resist! That Trump guy is #NotOurPresident – not in 2016, and not in 2017-2020! As patriots, we “the People” of the United States have no reason to “unite” behind a con man only interested in enriching himself and his proposed Evangelical-Alt-Right #TrumpAdministration – the United States is better than this!
INDIVISIBLE
A practical guide For resisting the Trump agenda
https://www.indivisibleguide.com/
Former congressional staffers reveal best practices for making Congress listen.
Joseph T Farkasdi · January 6, 2017 at 12:50 am
This is a very important and thoughtful article, and I encourage you to read it.
“Two fundamental facts: for most people, instincts outperform reason, and social allegiance trumps truth. If we are to make America kind again, we have to base our strategies on the uncomfortable truth that progressive ideals cannot vanquish human nature. Instead we must co-opt human nature… The human-nature problem is this: if you differentiate by politically correct (PC) labels and humiliate people in the process, you invite hostility toward the out-group. And that brings us to the most dangerous fact of all: when it comes to treatment of an out-group, there are no rules… So, what can humanists, progressives, and other compassionate people do? Like the civil rights marchers (of the 1950s and ’60s), we must rise up to meet tribal fear, hostility, and hate with determined, courageous, humanistic love.”
““For most of human history, the main threat has been from other human beings,” political scientist John Hibbing explains, “and so we worry about the tribe over the hill or in-group violators.” The stronger those atavistic feelings are, the more a person tends towards conservatism.”
Make America Kind Again
https://thehumanist.com/magazine/january-february-2017/features/make-america-kind
Of course, I’m no political pundit. But in trying to make sense of an event in which nearly 62 million Americans voted for a crude, narcissistic swindler with fascistic pretensions, I do have one advantage that you may not: I live in Nebraska, where in Grant County Trump took 93 percent of the votes (a figure topped by only two small counties in Texas.) I’ve also had the opportunity recently to speak to a distinguished political scientist and have some recommendations to offer.
For starters, if you want to understand what happened on November 8, you have to put aside the Nazi-saluting, gun-toting brawler at the Trump rally—not because he’s unreal or irrelevant, but because he’s atypical. There aren’t 62 million of him—not yet, anyway. Instead, you have to contemplate Karen.
Let’s achieve #TruthandReconciliation in the United States! The sooner we end #tribalism in America, the sooner it really will be that #AllLivesMatter in the United States of America. In the time of the #Trump reaction, we can really flourish and make more progress – we can “co-opt human nature” – by showing that there really are no “out-groups” in this nation and in this world of human diversity. #Humanism #AHA
Joseph T Farkasdi · January 10, 2017 at 7:11 pm
“Russian intelligence monitored Donald Trump engaging in “perverted sexual acts” during his stay in a luxury Moscow hotel, according to an unconfirmed report about compromising material on the President-elect.”
America looks like a joke at this point. How easily manipulated almost half of the populace is by the Christian-Right and Alt-Right and Russian government. And how easily manipulated near all of the public is by partisan politics and affiliation. The United States is facing a serious wake up call. Will we be a democratic republic in four years? Or, will we be a weird combination of something else? Welcome to 2017 in the Un’united States of America. #election2016 #Trump #NotOurPresident – not in 2016, and not in 2017-2020!
Donald Trump engaged in ‘perverted sexual acts’ monitored by Russia intelligence, report says
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/russia-compromising-information-trump-report-article-1.2943045
A document published in full by BuzzFeed News on Tuesday said that during a 2013 trip to the Russian capital, Trump made Russian prostitutes defile a bed where President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama had stayed on a previous occasion.
The accusations are unconfirmed, though Trump did travel to Russia in 2013 when he hosted the Miss Universe pageant there. The Obamas traveled to Moscow in July 2009.
Another allegation says that Trump had participated in sex parties in St. Petersburg, but that witnesses were “bribed or coerced to disappear.”
The 35-page report, which said that the presidential suite of the Ritz Carlton Hotel in central Moscow was bugged by the FSB intelligence agency, also includes other accusations that Trump was coordinating with Russia.
It says that Russian officials, with the approval of President Vladimir Putin, have been “cultivating” Trump for five years, and that he received intelligence information on political opponents from them.
Whether true or not, this is a pattern, and this is effing embarrassing!
Lawmakers broach possible Trump campaign coordination with Russia
http://www.politico.com/story/2017/01/trump-russia-campaign-coordination-233439
Members of Congress made clear Tuesday they’re increasingly willing to broach a taboo topic: possible coordination between the Trump campaign and the Russian government.
Their emboldened approach comes amid a bombshell CNN report that intelligence officials last week presented Trump with alleged claims by Russian operatives that they have compromising information on the president-elect. According to CNN, Trump was also presented with allegations there was an “exchange of information” during the campaign between his surrogates and intermediaries for the Russian government.
It’s a subject lawmakers have largely avoided discussing since the presidential election, even as anti-Trump advocacy groups have sounded alarm bells about the president-elect.
But that changed Tuesday, during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on Russia’s meddling in November’s election.