Mars

News junkie, tennis player, oenophile, leisure specialist.

[Victor Shi @Victorshi2020]

Let’s get this straight: Of the 9 Republican candidates for Speaker SEVEN are proven election deniers & all of them are insane in their own ways. None of them are normal. They are all deeply unserious & dangerous. We stand with Hakeem Jeffries for Speaker until the end.

[DCCC @dccc]

Please – don't scroll past this personal request from Leader Hakeem Jeffries. He's counting on you to join House Democrats in the fight against MAGA Republicans. Will you rush a donation to the DCCC TODAY to help flip the House?

[JDRandom - RandomWhiteGuy @TheReelRandom]

Trump using racist language right out of the white supremacist playbook. "Peekaboo" is used by whites to describe a person of color flying higher than the whites think they should.

[Citizens for Ethics @CREWcrew]

Buckle up: A Leonard Leo group is starting to lobby on “issues related to government oversight and reform.”

Something tells us it won't be lobbying on the side of money in politics transparency or judicial ethics reform. https://t.co/3NHYOJEW0a

[Republican Accountability @AccountableGOP]

Donald Trump is unwell.

[Just saying @kangaroos991]

What do you see?

[Ruben Gallego @RubenGallego]

Kari Lake just announced she’s running for Senate in Arizona. Can you rush a donation and help us have the resources to fight back?

[The Associated Press @AP]

Al-Shifa Hospital, a sanctuary amidst the rubble in Gaza City, is now wrestling with a looming crisis — power cuts that could cut short numerous lives.

[Occupy Democrats @OccupyDemocrats]

BREAKING: In a devastating speech, iconic actor Robert De Niro rips Donald Trump to shreds, declaring that Trump is “not a bad man,” but “an evil one” who is a “wanna be tough guy” and has “no morals or ethics.”

But Robert De Niro didn’t stop there…

De Niro continued:

“Trump has no sense of right or wrong. No regard for anyone but himself — not the people he was supposed to lead and protect, not the people he does business with, not the people who follow him, blindly and loyally, not even the people who consider themselves his “friends.” He has contempt for all of them.

The repercussions of his turbulent presidency divided America and rattled New York City beyond imagination.  Remember how we were jolted by crisis in early 2020, as a virus swept the world.

We lived with Donald Trump’s bombastic behavior every day on the national stage, and we suffered as we saw our neighbors piling up in body bags.

The man who was supposed to protect this country put it in peril, because of his recklessness and impulsiveness. It was like an abusive father ruling the family by fear and violent behavior.  That was the consequence of New York’s warning getting ignored. Next time, we know it will be worse.

Make no mistake: the twice-impeached, 4-time indicted Donald Trump is still a fool. But we can’t let our fellow Americans write him off like one. Evil thrives in the shadow of dismissive mockery, which is why we must take the danger of Donald Trump very seriously.

So, today I issue another warning.

From this place where Abraham Lincoln spoke — right here in the beating heart of New York — to the rest of America:

This is our last chance.

Democracy won’t survive the return of a wannabe dictator.

And it won’t overcome evil if we are divided.

So what do we do about it?  We have to take today into tomorrow – take it outside these walls.   We have to reach out to the half of our country who have ignored the hazards of Trump and, for whatever reason, support elevating him back into the White House.  They’re not stupid, and we must not condemn them for making a stupid choice.  Our future doesn’t just depend on us. It depends on them.

Let’s reach out to Trump’s followers with respect.  Let’s not talk about “democracy.” 

“Democracy” may be our holy grail, but to others it is just a word, a concept, and in their embrace of Trump, they’ve already turned their backs on it.  Let’s talk about right and wrong.  Let’s talk about humanity.  Let’s talk about kindness.  Security for our world.  Safety for our families.  Decency.  Let’s welcome them back.  We won’t get them all, but we can get enough to end the nightmare of Trump.”

Well said, Robert De Niro!

Please retweet and ❤️ to thank Robert De Niro for calling out Donald Trump — and consider joining the growing exodus to Tribel, a woke new Twitter competitor that banned Trump for life and is exploding in popularity because Elon Musk banned Tribel’s Twitter account — but he forgot to ban this link to download the new Tribel app: https://t.co/HnJzSKjCwX

[#TuckFrump @realTuckFrumper]

Ex-Wrestlers At School Where Jim Jordan Coached Say He Shouldn’t Be Speaker https://t.co/DmUEOmzHac

[Erik Halvorsen @erikhalvorsen18]

True

[Mehdi Hasan @mehdirhasan]

Gaza, in the words of an ex-Israeli intel chief, is an "open-air prison."

"Hell on earth," per the UN Secretary-General.

2.2. million people. 50% kids. 50% in poverty. 90% without access to clean drinking water.

I shared some important background & context on @MSNBC tonight:

[The Intellectualist @highbrow_nobrow]

🚨We Can End the Electoral College by Congressional Reapportionment - It doesn't require an amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

The Electoral College has long been a focal point of criticism by many who believe that it undermines American democracy in favor of minority tyranny.

Amidst discussions of reforming it, there lies a pragmatic yet underexplored approach—#reapportiondemocracy

Reapportioning the seats in the House of Representatives.

The static count of 435 House seats, unchanged since 1911, stands juxtaposed against the dynamic growth of the American population over the century.

This disparity nudges the narrative towards the concept of reapportionment, an avenue to potentially neutralize the effect of the Electoral College and amplify a more diverse range of voices.

Let's delve into three hypothetical scenarios of reapportionment—a proportional-to-population increase, medium, and moderate moderate—exploring their potential impacts on the 2020 Presidential Election and the composition of the 2022 Congress.

Scenario 1: Proportional-to-Population Reapportionment (see math simplification below)

Aligning the seat apportionment with population growth could further harmonize the electoral system. Under this scenario, California's electoral votes could soar to 70, and Texas's to 49.

This could potentially lead to the Democratic Party's consolidation of the presidency and Congress in the short term, while strengthening the democratic fabric by making it far more representative in the long term. By scaling reapportionment to changes in the US population, we can permanently neuter the Electoral College, fostering a direct reflection of the nation's demographic evolution in its governance structures.

Scenario 2: Medium Reapportionment (677 Seats)

A medium approach could significantly reshape the electoral landscape.

In this scenario, California could see its electoral votes rise to 63, while Texas could have 45. This reshuffling of the deck could provide a platform for a broader spectrum of voices to be heard, enriching the democratic dialogue.

Scenario 3: Moderate Reapportionment (550 Seats)

A moderate increase in House seats could subtly shift the electoral map. For instance, populous states like California and Texas might see an increase in their electoral votes, with California going from 55 to 59 and Texas from 38 to 41.

This shift offers a potential path to neutralize the disproportionate influence of certain states within the Electoral College, thereby bringing a fresh breeze of diverse perspectives to the halls of Congress.

Short-term Impact on the Presidency and Congress
In the short term, reapportionment favoring populous states may benefit the Democratic Party, given its strong urban base.

The presidency and the House might trend strongly Democrat, compelling the Republicans to reform or adjust their strategies to regain competitive ground. This could also create a political vacuum, potentially giving rise to new parties or coalitions.

Over time, as parties adapt to the new electoral landscape, a new equilibrium might be established, but the initial phase could see a pronounced shift in the political and partisan dynamics at both the presidential and congressional levels.

Long-term Impact

In the long term, a more representative Congress and a rebalanced Electoral College might lead to a healthier political discourse and competition, potentially fostering a more dynamic and responsive two-party system or even enabling the emergence of third parties.

As parties adapt to the new electoral landscape, they might become more inclusive and policy-focused to appeal to a broader electorate. Additionally, a continuously evolving reapportionment process aligned with population changes could ensure that the American political system remains reflective of its demographic diversity, promoting a more balanced and representative democracy.

The U.S. Senate

Reapportionment would not affect the Senate as each state, regardless of its population, is allocated two Senate seats as mandated by the U.S. Constitution.

The idea behind reapportionment is to adjust the number of seats in the House of Representatives based on population changes, which in turn affects the Electoral College since a state's electoral votes are the sum of its Senate and House seats.

The Senate's structure is fixed and would remain unchanged unless amended in the Constitution.

Retweet and share this article with the hashtag #reapportiondemocracy, and let's collectively explore this avenue to a better democracy.

[Ben Jacobs @Bencjacobs]

What is underrated about McCarthy's ouster is how little Fox had to do with it. This was the post-Fox conservative media ecosystem that provided whatever air cover that Gaetz had

[𝖕𝖚𝖘𝖘𝖞 𝖗𝖎𝖔𝖙💦 @pussyrrriot]

Putin equals death, humiliation, torture, a knife in the back, imprisonment, darkness, eternal winter, stagnation, new Dark Ages for Russia.

I used to be proud of being russian, now i’m ashamed. I’m eternally saddened that we were not effective enough, that we did not get rid of Putin before it’s too late.

My homeland is stolen from me and I don’t have an identity anymore, but, unlike many other friends of mine, I still have the privilege of being alive.

[NoelCaslerComedy @caslernoel]

One of McCarthy’s last acts as Speaker was to deny President Zelensky’s request to address US Congress. Today Putin bombed a grocery store & cafe killing 50+. GOP is still cashing Russian checks. If you’re still voting Republican you’re on the wrong side of history. Stop it.

[Mehdi Hasan @mehdirhasan]

@JoeNBC: "Are we free to say this is approaching a fascist sort of ideology?"
@mehdirhasan: "It's not approaching, we're beyond it... he's straight up channeling Hitler... we have to call it what it is otherwise we're doing an injustice to our viewers."

[Venture Capital @kelly2277]

💰Melania Trump and Baron Trump are entities! Reminder that Melania was trying to renegotiate her prenup and Barron’s Trust Fund..,

[President Biden Archived @POTUS46Archive]

I’m proud to welcome General Charles Brown to his new position as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

General Brown is a true patriot, and I look forward to working with him to ensure that we can continue to deter and defeat any potential threat to the American people.