Merkley Method Sets a Fire

Merkley Method Sets A Fire

By D. S. Mitchell

Paradise

Another day in paradise, truly. When you are fortunate enough to live on the Oregon coast you have reached Valhalla. Thank God, there’s only a few of us here. Many advantages for a writer. Quiet, incredible beauty and very little political discussion in my little corner of the United States.

Lifetime Of Writing

The foundation of Calamity News and Politics/Calamity Politics began the evening of November 8, 2016. I have been a writer since childhood. I have been writing the great American novel for the last decade. So, writing a blog, seemed a natural response to this devastating event.  November 8, 2016 as everyone knows was the night misogynist and white supremacist Donald Trump won the presidential election. I have never had such a visceral reaction to a U.S. presidential election in my life.

Physically sick

I became physically sick watching the returns flow in. Devastating to any progressive person. Truly, not just the progressive but, most citizens of the United States. If you are on Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, ACA, need VA services, if you are a person of color, if you want clean drink water to drink, or want clean air to breath, President Trump’s extreme right-wing agenda will most likely have a negative effect on your daily life, and the quality of that life.

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What Was the Value of Your 2016 Vote?

The Value Of Your 2016 Vote

D. S. Mitchell

On High Heat

My head just keeps spinning. In case no one has noticed the political discussion in the United States has become so heated between opposing factions that I am hearing of divorces and office fights over the 2016 election results. Really? So, just for fun, I played with some numbers and I thought I might light a political fire under my readers. It’s seat of the pants mathematics but, it seems that more than one person is operating by the seat of their pants. American politics at its most outrageous.

Upside Down

How much was your vote worth in 2016. You probably already figured out, not much; if you voted, for Hillary Clinton. Hillary WON the popular vote by 2,865,075.  Everyone knows that, right? Trump WON the Electoral College with 304 electoral votes.  That’s old news, right? Looking behind those numbers we discover that:  112,155 votes, cast in three states (Michigan 13,104, Wisconsin 27,257, and Pennsylvania 71,794) turned my world, and maybe yours, upside down.

Electoral College Math

WHEN IS 112,155 EQUAL TO 2,865,075?They are equal if you are using Electoral College math.  Every single one of those 112,155 “rust belt” votes, equaled 25.55 votes, cast elsewhere.   In other words, 1 vote in Pennsylvania is equal to 25.55 votes in Oregon.  In my opinion, absolute insanity.

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