Another way to steal the election

Over the last week or so I've been using YouTube as my evening music source. Whatever composer I run across (perhaps during the day) I search for and listen to. When one track is over I go on to whatever looks good. I listened to Edgar Bainton, and Granville Bantock recently. Tonight I'm listening to Steve Reich's Music for 18 Musicians. It is an hour long and extremely repetitive (fitting with the minimalist style), but it makes good sonic wallpaper while I catch up on my news reading and blog writing. I note this performance (featuring modern performance group 8th Blackbird) is sponsored by a company that makes drumsticks and marimba mallets. Appropriate because the piece features 6 marimbas and a vibraphone.

Now catching up on other articles from the past week.

Stephen Henderson wrote an editorial for last Sunday's Free Press about another way to reduce gun violence. He says we should come down harder on dealers who sell to those who shouldn't have guns. This is perhaps only 1% of dealers. In addition, when a gun is used in a crime that was obtained illegally, the victims should be encouraged to sue the dealer.



Newsweek has a good profile on VP Joe Biden. They explore the question of why Biden, famous for being loose with his mouth, still gets the important assignments, such as heading Obama's efforts on deciding what to do about gun violence.



Also in Newsweek is an opinion piece by Paul Begala, their progressive columnist. He looks at some of the factors that characterize a failed state (one that cannot provide for the needs, including safety, of its citizens). Begala finds that many of those factors characterize the current GOP in the House. Those factors include: Mounting demographic pressures (see the percentage of Latinos that voted for Obama). Delegitimization of the State (the whole point of the current GOP). Uneven economic development along group lines. Rise of factions among elites (Tea Party hates country club types, libertarians distrust Religious Right). Deterioration of public service (again, this appears to be the point of the GOP). Widespread human rights abuses (is Cheney concerned about being tried for war crimes?). Groups who would rather punish heretics than win converts or get something done.



I had heard a bit about this, but hadn't seen an explanation. According to Talking Points Memo, the GOP is working to gerrymander the Electoral College in the same manner it has gerrymandered the US House. Their tactic is targeted only for Dem leaning states, such as Michigan. What they want to do is change the winner-take-all at the state level to winner-take-all at the congressional district level. Michigan is gerrymandered in such a way that even though much more than 50% of the votes for representatives were for Democrats, the state sent 9 GOP and 5 Dems to the House. Under this proposed way of dividing Michigan's electoral votes, no matter how many votes went to the Dem Prez. candidate, the GOP would get 9 of 16 electoral votes (presumably there would be two statewide positions, going to Dems, the way the votes for the Senate go). So in states with a GOP majority of voters, all electoral votes go to the GOP. In states with Dem majority of voters, a majority of votes go to the GOP. If you’re a party of white guys make sure the non-white vote (or urban vote) doesn't count as much. And, yes, I can see that happening in Michigan where the GOP is extremely partisan and in control of both houses of the legislature and the governorship. These are the same people that gerrymandered the House districts.

The GOP has been just doing some "soul searching" about how to make themselves more palatable to Latinos. Stunts like this won't help their image -- but if the stunt succeeds, they won't care about their image. All the more reason to see them as a power intent on oppression.