SACRAMENTO — Before this year’s presidential election slips into gloomy history, we should pause to slam our moldy, undemocratic vote-counting system called the electoral college. If Donald Trump had to win, it’s good that he prevailed in both the archaic electoral college and the national popular vote. The popular vote should always settle who is elected president. Name one other office in America that’s not decided by who gets the most votes — from state governor down to first-grade class president. But the national popular vote doesn’t count for squat in a U.S. presidential election. All that counts is our ancient electoral college system, rooted in the Founders’ appeasement of Southern slave states. It’s beneficial, however, that Trump apparently also won the popular vote. Because now we should be able to hold a rational conversation about the evils of the electoral college without being tagged as poor-loser partisans whining that the Democrat lost despite having been favored by most American voters. There are two bad things about our electoral college system: Big states, little states, it doesn’t matter. If they’re blue or red, their voters are relegated to the cheap seats as distant spectators to the main event being fought in a few purple swing states. The blues and reds are taken for granted and snubbed The candidates don’t hear from California voters about the acute water troubles in our state. But they’re lobbied about manufacturing declines in Michigan and Pennsylvania. It’s an old cliche and true: Squeaky wheels get the government grease. It’s not the electoral college, per se, that’s the culprit. It’s how the electoral votes are awarded by the states. They’re parceled out on a winner-take-all basis. If a candidate carries a state by one vote or 1 million, it’s irrelevant. All the state’s electoral votes go to the popular vote winner. Two small states — Nebraska and Maine — are exceptions. They partially award electoral votes based on who wins in congressional districts. That makes more sense than strict winner-take-all. In California, at least 5.9 million people voted for Republican Trump. They might as well have used their ballots for fireplace kindling. All 54 of the state’s electoral votes will be awarded to Democrat Kamala Harris, who received roughly 9.1 million votes. (When the final count is in, the vote totals will increase slightly.) Same thing in Texas, only vice versa. There, 4.8 million people voted for Harris. But all 40 electoral votes are going to Trump, who was supported by 6.4 million people. Republican voters were effectively disenfranchised in California, as Democrats were in Texas. Polling has shown that the overwhelming majority of Americans — including Californians — want to junk the electoral college system and elect the president by popular vote. A September survey by the Pew Research Center found that 63% of Americans prefer that the presidency be decided by the national popular vote. Conservative Republicans, however, like the status quo — no doubt because two GOP candidates in recent years have won the presidency while losing the popular vote: Trump in 2016 and George W. Bush in 2000. But junking the electoral college entirely won’t happen any time soon because it’s politically impossible. It would require a constitutional amendment. And that would need a two-thirds vote by each house of Congress — both about to be controlled by the GOP — plus ratification by three-fourths of state legislatures. Red state politicians won’t sign off because Republican candidates benefit from the current nonsense. Neither would purple states because they enjoy all the attention and campaign bucks as “battlegrounds.” But there’s a way to reform the system and still retain the electoral college. Just change how the electoral votes are awarded. Parcel them out in proportion to each candidate’s popular vote in the state. In California, Harris got roughly 59% of the vote and Trump 38%. Minority candidates picked up 3%, but I’d shift their tiny amount to the major contenders for electoral vote purposes. Harris would wind up with 33 and Trump with 21. In Texas, Trump would win 23 electoral votes and Harris 17. A proportional allocation system “would make sure that every vote counts and lessen the likelihood that the candidate who loses the popular vote will become president,” UC Berkeley law school dean Erwin Chemerinsky wrote in a recent Sacramento Bee op-ed. Besides Trump and Bush, three presidents were elected in the 1880s while losing the popular vote: John Quincy Adams, Rutherford B. Hayes and Benjamin Harrison. “The electoral college was based on the framers’ distrust of majority rule and was a tremendous boost to slave states’ political power,” Chemerinsky told me. The South fretted about the North’s larger population and the Yankees’ political clout. So the founders compromised. Slaves wouldn’t be allowed to vote, but they could count as three-fifths of a person for the purpose of apportioning members of the House of Representatives based on population. That strengthened the South in the electoral college because a state’s number of electors is based mostly on the size of its House delegation. But every state also gets an elector for each senator. And each state is entitled to two, regardless of its size — an allotment designed to dilute the power of big states. I didn’t do all the math, but it’s a safe assumption that Trump still would have won the electoral college vote under a proportional allocation system. Chemerinsky, a constitutional scholar, believes the reform could be passed by Congress without amending the Constitution. But first, Americans would need to insist that they elect the president, not the states.1. Using Fuel-Burning Appliances Indoors: Fuel-burning appliances such as gas stoves, fireplaces, furnaces, and space heaters can produce carbon monoxide if not properly vented. Using these appliances in enclosed or poorly ventilated spaces can lead to a buildup of CO gas, increasing the risk of poisoning.
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Rookie Bucky Irving relishes opportunity to help Buccaneers any way he can against skidding Raiders TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Bucky Irving isn’t choosy. Fred Goodall, The Associated Press Dec 5, 2024 3:29 PM Dec 5, 2024 3:35 PM Share by Email Share on Facebook Share on X Share on LinkedIn Print Share via Text Message Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield runs against the Carolina Panthers during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Jacob Kupferman) TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Bucky Irving isn’t choosy. The rookie running back relishes any opportunity he gets to contribute to the success of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who have rebounded from a tough stretch to climb back into a tie for first place in the NFC South. Irving leads NFL rookies in rushing with 732 yards, averaging 5.5 yards per carry while sharing the workload with starter Rachaad White and third-stringer Sean Tucker, who have combined to ease some of the burden on quarterback Baker Mayfield. A fourth-round draft pick out of Oregon, Irving is coming off rushing for a season-best 152 yards and a touchdown in last week’s 26-23 overtime win over the Carolina Panthers. He had another 33 yards receiving, giving him a rookie-leading 1,017 total yards from scrimmage through 12 games. The Bucs (6-6) on Sunday host the Las Vegas Raiders (2-10), who have an outstanding newcomer of their own with Brock Bowers on the verge of breaking the league's record for catches by a rookie tight end. Bowers leads all players, regardless of position, with 84 receptions. He's fourth with 884 yards receiving and second behind Irving among rookies with 895 total yards from scrimmage. “I don’t really like taking all the credit. It’s those guys up front,” Irving said, deferring to Tampa Bay’s improved offensive line. “I think I have to do something special for those guys for Christmas because they’re getting the job done.” The Bucs are eighth in the NFL in rushing at 137.2 yards per game. They’ve gained 100-plus yards on the ground in nine of 12 games after only doing it nine times in 34 games over the past two seasons. Irving, whose ability to make defenders miss and accelerate in the open field, has provided a spark to an offense that sputtered without injured wide receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin during a four-game losing streak. It doesn’t seem to bother the rookie that he still sits behind White on the depth chart. The starter had a 38-yard run in overtime to set up the winning field goal last week. Coach Todd Bowles continues to stress that the Bucs, tied with Atlanta for the NFC South lead, need both Irving and White to be successful. “In our room, all our success is one,” said Irving, who in the past two weeks became the first rookie since Miles Sanders in 2019 to string together consecutive games with 150-plus yards from scrimmage. “If I’m having success,’’ Irving added, “everybody in the room is having success.” Bracing for a challenge Tampa Bay’s porous secondary figures to be tested by Bowers, the first tight end to lead the league in catches after Week 13 since Todd Christenson in 1986. The first-round draft pick out of Georgia needs three receptions to break Sam LaPorta’s season record (86 in 2023) for catches by a tight end. He’s 116 yards away from joining Mike Ditka (1,076 in 1961) and Kyle Pitts (1,026 in 2021) as the only rookie tight ends to finish with 1,000-plus yards receiving. “I thought he was one of the best tight ends coming out in a long time – not just this draft, but in a long time,” Bowles said. “He’s living up to expectations. He can play wideout, he can play tight end, he can do some fullback, he can run jet sweeps,” the Bucs coach added. “They do a lot of things with him and he’s a very talented guy.” Getting ready for Baker The last time the Raiders went against Mayfield was two seasons ago when he came off a plane to play for the Los Angeles Rams. Despite having minimal time with the playbook and just one brief practice, Mayfield rallied the Rams to a 17-16 victory on a 23-yard touchdown pass with 10 seconds left. Raiders coach Antonio Pierce was the team’s linebackers coach at the time. “He plays the game kind of like Brett Favre, who I played against in (the) league,” Pierce said. “He’s very fiery. He’ll do whatever it takes to make a play. The play’s never dead with him. You’ve got to keep your eyes on him and then stay in coverage, so that’ll be a challenge.” Return to action Raiders quarterback Aidan O’Connell didn’t look as though he had missed nearly six weeks because of a broken thumb when he almost led Las Vegas to a victory at Kansas City last week. He completed 23 of 35 passes for 340 yards and two touchdowns in the Raiders’ 19-17 loss to the Chiefs. But O’Connell had a hard time looking at the positives given how close the Raiders came to beating the two-time defending Super Bowl champions. “Definitely some good plays, but it just stinks more than anything,” O’Connell said. “It was just a really hard loss. Even sometimes when you have a game right after, it’s easier to move on. But we had a longer week this week and so kind of really got to sit in it and it’s no fun.” ___ AP Sports Writer Mark Anderson in Las Vegas contributed to this report. ___ NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl Fred Goodall, The Associated Press See a typo/mistake? Have a story/tip? This has been shared 0 times 0 Shares Share by Email Share on Facebook Share on X Share on LinkedIn Print Share via Text Message Get your daily Victoria news briefing Email Sign Up More Football (NFL) Surging Eagles host improving Bryce Young, Panthers Dec 5, 2024 4:02 PM The Bears look for an interim coach bump when they visit the struggling 49ers Dec 5, 2024 3:56 PM NFL Inactive Report Dec 5, 2024 3:53 PM
Austin Ekeler was concussed late in the Commanders' loss and taken to hospital for evaluation
Uttar Pradesh Assembly Bypolls: BJP win shows it succeeded in getting OBC and SC voters back into its foldRookie Bucky Irving relishes opportunity to help Buccaneers any way he can against skidding RaidersKnown as "Baby Doc," Duvalier ruled Haiti with an iron fist before being ousted in 1986. He lived in exile in France for 25 years before returning to Haiti in 2011. Despite facing charges of corruption and human rights abuses, Duvalier managed to evade significant punishment and lived out the rest of his days in relative obscurity before passing away in 2014.