Politics
Stop pretending the U.S. is a democracy
The United States is not a democracy. More than 300 million Americans have no effective representation in Congress.
Most people understand that the electoral college is a farce, giving us two presidents in this century who took office despite losing the popular vote. In most places on the globe, that result would be seen as a seizure of power by a dictator.
But less widely understood is that Congress is an even larger farce. The U.S. House of Representative can lay some claim to be a truly representative body if you discount the distortions of gerrymandering. But the Senate, where any legislation must also be approved, has no such pretense. Every state has the same power, regardless of population.
Thus, voters in Wyoming, the least populous state, with about 577,000 people, have the same political power as the voters in any of the more populous states. If you live in Texas or California, only the first 577,000 people have the same power as those in Wyoming; the rest have no effective representation. So, just do the math to see the national implications. Multiply 577,000 by 50 to give you the population truly represented in the Senate: 28,850,000. The remaining 302,600,000 people (U.S. population of 331,450,000 minus 28,850,000) have no effective voice in the Senate.
Now admittedly, sometimes legislation is passed because the interests of the smaller states and the larger states are the same. Or sometimes the senators from big states will bribe senators from little states with pork barrel projects to pass legislation. Or sometimes Congress will move on an issue because the alternative is revolution, such as with the Great Depression. But all in all, representation is a joke. And any claim that the U.S. is a democracy is also a joke.
Nor is the U.S. a genuine republic, as some conservatives will claim. Even in a republic, laws are made by representatives chosen by the people, not by a process that distorts and seriously limits such representation.
The United States is not a democracy. More than 300 million Americans have no effective representation in Congress.
Most people understand that the electoral college is a farce, giving us two presidents in this century who took office despite losing the popular vote. In most places on the globe, that result would be seen as a seizure of power by a dictator.
But less widely understood is that Congress is an even larger farce. The U.S. House of Representative can lay some claim to be a truly representative body if you discount the distortions of gerrymandering. But the Senate, where any legislation must also be approved, has no such pretense. Every state has the same power, regardless of population.
Thus, voters in Wyoming, the least populous state, with about 577,000 people, have the same political power as the voters in any of the more populous states. If you live in Texas or California, only the first 577,000 people have the same power as those in Wyoming; the rest have no effective representation. So, just do the math to see the national implications. Multiply 577,000 by 50 to give you the population truly represented in the Senate: 28,850,000. The remaining 302,600,000 people (U.S. population of 331,450,000 minus 28,850,000) have no effective voice in the Senate.
Now admittedly, sometimes legislation is passed because the interests of the smaller states and the larger states are the same. Or sometimes the senators from big states will bribe senators from little states with pork barrel projects to pass legislation. Or sometimes Congress will move on an issue because the alternative is revolution, such as with the Great Depression. But all in all, representation is a joke. And any claim that the U.S. is a democracy is also a joke.
Nor is the U.S. a genuine republic, as some conservatives will claim. Even in a republic, laws are made by representatives chosen by the people, not by a process that distorts and seriously limits such representation.
Majority rule: The thermonuclear option
Eliminating the filibuster in the U.S. Senate to permit legislation to pass by a simple majority is sometimes called “the nuclear option.” That is insufficient. If you’re really interested in ending the tyranny of the minority, go for the thermonuclear option.
The plan assumes a Democratic President and a unified Democratic majority in both the House and Senate, with members willing to sacrifice their own seats as necessary.
Start with the Democratic Senate packing an expanded U.S. Supreme Court with new members nominated by the President who will interpret the U.S. Constitution to allow Congress to expel states from the Union. It doesn’t matter if that is the “wrong” interpretation. There is no higher court to overrule their decision. Congress then expels all states except for those with Democratic governors and legislatures, which presumably would also have a majority Democratic representation in Congress.
The new, much smaller Congress then proposes constitutional amendments that would replace the electoral college with a popular vote and eliminate the Senate, leaving only a House whose representation is based solely on population; and provides for Congress (the House of Representatives) to draw all congressional districts, determine voter eligibility and other rules for the election of members of Congress and the President and Vice President. All powers previously reserved to the Senate would be conferred to the House.
The amendments are sent to the Democratic-controlled states where they are quickly approved. The non-Democratic states are readmitted to the Union only if their legislatures pass binding resolutions stating they will submit to the revised constitution.
Eliminating the filibuster in the U.S. Senate to permit legislation to pass by a simple majority is sometimes called “the nuclear option.” That is insufficient. If you’re really interested in ending the tyranny of the minority, go for the thermonuclear option.
The plan assumes a Democratic President and a unified Democratic majority in both the House and Senate, with members willing to sacrifice their own seats as necessary.
Start with the Democratic Senate packing an expanded U.S. Supreme Court with new members nominated by the President who will interpret the U.S. Constitution to allow Congress to expel states from the Union. It doesn’t matter if that is the “wrong” interpretation. There is no higher court to overrule their decision. Congress then expels all states except for those with Democratic governors and legislatures, which presumably would also have a majority Democratic representation in Congress.
The new, much smaller Congress then proposes constitutional amendments that would replace the electoral college with a popular vote and eliminate the Senate, leaving only a House whose representation is based solely on population; and provides for Congress (the House of Representatives) to draw all congressional districts, determine voter eligibility and other rules for the election of members of Congress and the President and Vice President. All powers previously reserved to the Senate would be conferred to the House.
The amendments are sent to the Democratic-controlled states where they are quickly approved. The non-Democratic states are readmitted to the Union only if their legislatures pass binding resolutions stating they will submit to the revised constitution.
Mussolini, Trump, and the Wolf Goddess
In my dream on December 5, 2023, Benito Mussolini enters a bathroom, followed by a woman, Dr. Helen Magnus from the science fiction TV show Sanctuary. A furtive man dressed in black pushes something on a smart phone, which sets off a bomb in the bathroom. Mussolini returns to his own time in Italy, with an injury to his foot from the bombing. He later dies when a wolf rips his throat.
Given that some people compare Trump to Mussolini, perhaps the dream predicted an unsuccessful assassination attempt followed by a successful one. Returning to “his own time in Italy” suggests Trump gets closer to death the closer he follows Mussolini’s original imperial agenda. The foot injury suggests that Trump would lose his “footing” and become more reckless in his actions.
A bomb is a weapon associated with anarchy, symbolic of the nihilistic assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania. Given that a wolf is a natural predator, the next assassination attempt will likely be by a professional killer such as an agent of a foreign government or the CIA.
In the dream, Magnus may be a wolf goddess such as the Greek Leto or the Celtic Morrigan. In the show Sanctuary, one of Magnus’s associates is a werewolf.
In my dream on December 5, 2023, Benito Mussolini enters a bathroom, followed by a woman, Dr. Helen Magnus from the science fiction TV show Sanctuary. A furtive man dressed in black pushes something on a smart phone, which sets off a bomb in the bathroom. Mussolini returns to his own time in Italy, with an injury to his foot from the bombing. He later dies when a wolf rips his throat.
Given that some people compare Trump to Mussolini, perhaps the dream predicted an unsuccessful assassination attempt followed by a successful one. Returning to “his own time in Italy” suggests Trump gets closer to death the closer he follows Mussolini’s original imperial agenda. The foot injury suggests that Trump would lose his “footing” and become more reckless in his actions.
A bomb is a weapon associated with anarchy, symbolic of the nihilistic assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania. Given that a wolf is a natural predator, the next assassination attempt will likely be by a professional killer such as an agent of a foreign government or the CIA.
In the dream, Magnus may be a wolf goddess such as the Greek Leto or the Celtic Morrigan. In the show Sanctuary, one of Magnus’s associates is a werewolf.
Dr. Helen Magnus
Next: Film
Images: U.S. flags covering the National Mall, Lipton sale, CC BY-SA 3; Amanda Tapping as Dr. Helen Magnus, The Beedie Group, fair use