Will of the people my ass.
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A jarring new report from The Atlantic claims that the Trump campaign is discussing potential strategies to circumvent the results of the 2020 election, should Joe Biden defeat Donald Trump, by first alleging the existence of rampant fraud and then appointing electors in battleground states where Republicans maintain a legislative majority, whom Trump would ask to bypass the state’s popular vote and instead to choose electors loyal to the GOP and the sitting president.
Emphasis mine. And that would be the end of the electoral college as we know it.
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henceforth the basis for winning would be which state legislatures does each party control
they could still have primaries, but there’d be no reason to have a popular vote for president anymore
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This action would head to the Supreme Court rather quickly and regardless of the new justice being sworn in and a Nostradumbass toadie…I do not think it would get an a-ok from the current lot. I feel like that second action would get defeated resoundingly.
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Just leave the union why don’t they. Cut bait and go.
See how long they survive without Blue state economic support and the aftermath of a population exodus.
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Except SCOTUS just declared that the states couldn’t punish faithless electors last session.
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Well, I think that was a different situation; having said that, fair point to be mindful of.
Additionally, state governments will potentially find themselves in a serious mess if the above were to happen. Sure the governor is a Republican and controls this or that…they may find themselves voted out rather quickly. Let’s not forget that these people want to keep their jobs too and they may fear the electorate more than the party or Nostradumbass.
Either way it is going to be a mess.
A good piece on that:
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That case seemed to be more about state power to punish electors for not following instructions.
The real election is in December, when the electors vote. The states always had the power to appoint anybody they wanted—and to tell them how to vote, apparently, according to that case.
It’ll be interesting to see what Elena Kagan has to say about it if this gets to the Supreme Court again.
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Have no idea WTF is going on with the Oracle-Walmart TikTok deal? Don’t sweat it, here’s our latest rundown
[…]
So while Oracle will get the cloud contract, Walmart the merch, and the public market ownership, there is no way that TikTok’s core technology will move outside China. If the US government decides to insist on the algorithm shifting to US interests, it will fail.
And so all you need to understand the deal from this point on is that literally everything else you hear will be calibrated to appease an audience of one: Donald Trump. And that is what happens when you put a narcissist in the White House.
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It’s just another video app, isn’t it?
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But one with a huge user base. I’m sure it’s based on all sorts of clever proprietary load balancing and such.
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No, the core technology is privacy obliterating data pilfering.
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i think the issue is that the states – depending on their own laws – can send multiple set of electors if they want to. there’s not really a clear mechanism for determining who the correct electors are.
it’s happened once before, where basically congress had to make things up:
then, there was a law created to figure it out – but the law is very unclear ( the has never been invoked i think, except once with hawaii in 1960 or something like that )
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To the marketing department: how about-
Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee. Or make a tasty sandwich with the “chicken of the sea.”
So versatile. Bumble Bee tuna.
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Oh, snap! Sweet burn by the congresswoman! 
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Braking point: Tesla has had quite enough of Trump’s ‘unlawful’ tariffs on Chinese-made parts, sues Uncle Sam
Tesla has sued the US government, seeking to not only end what it described as President Trump’s “unlawful” tariffs on Chinese-made components but also a refund on all duties paid – plus interest.
Elon Musk’s automaker wants to import into America certain components built in the Middle Kingdom for its electric vehicles, and by the looks of it, is sick of paying tariffs slapped on the equipment by Uncle Sam as a result of the ongoing trade war between the White House and Beijing.
As such, Tesla this week sued [PDF] Robert Lighthizer, the US Trade Representative, and Mark Morgan, acting commissioner of the US Customs and Border Protection, accusing them of “unlawful imposition and collection of certain duties on [Tesla’s] imported merchandise from the People’s Republic of China.” The lawsuit, which demands the tariffs be declared null and void as well as its money back, was filed in the US Court of International Trade in New York.
Not pulling any punches, Musk’s legal eagles claimed in their filing the tariffs were put in place “in excess of statutory authority” and were “arbitrary, capricious, and an abuse of discretion.”
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