Gordon Barlow

Without the Electoral College, and the Senate composition (two Senators per State, regardless of population), there would have been no "United States" back in 1789, and therefore no USA as we know it today. Check it out. Every Presidential election since 1789 has been decided by the Electoral College, and every State has elected its two Senators regardless of population. It's the rules of the game. One can't grumble about the rules of a game every time one's favourite doesn't win!

And, incidentally, just about every Congress electorate is a gerrymander and just about every member of Congress a corrupt rogue. That's the way the cookie crumbles.

scrubbedexpat091

Rules can change and adapt over-time.

I grumble about the electoral college regardless of who won. My stance on that system has never changed.

caretaker

Maybe the damage done to the Republican Party by Trump's administration will cause some rules to change and adapt. Stacking the Supreme Court is a nasty business as well.

scrubbedexpat091

Yes it is. Need a non-partisan court system, it should not have been designed in a way where politicians choose judges, and I would like term limits as well, say 10 years, no life-time appointment of judges.

Almost Canadian

Politicians should never be allowed to choose Judges and a mandatory retirement age would be a sensible thing too. The US appointment system sucks and there are much better ways of doing things and, as with most things, the US believes it's systems are great whereas the rest of the world shakes its head.

scrubbedexpat091

I made a typo error, I agree with you, but missed typing the word not which I have corrected in my original.

caretaker

And sure enough, Esper says he was ordered by Trump to stop the review board.
"Trump began to get involved in the Gallagher case in the spring after Bernard Kerik, a former business partner to his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, became an advocate for the family and made appearances in conservative media.
The SEAL also changed his defence team to include Marc Mukasey, a lawyer for the Trump real estate company."
https://www.ckom.com/rss/esper-says-...eview-board-3/

dbd33

Shard

Figured there was some kind of campaign motive. Tap into common patriotism.

dbd33

That's not patriotism. That's actively seeking to demoralize the armed forces to the benefit of an enemy.

Shard

Really? Perhaps the senior command of the military and all democracy seeking Americans. But I think for the average grunt, and the average MAGA hat afficionado, they will be quite impressed with his action.

dbd33

I do not accept that:

- democracy seeking Americans exclude servicemen and women
- serving members of the military are necessarily MAGA hat aficionados
- serving members of the military generally condone war crimes

Therefore I don't see the bulk of them as being quite impressed.

However, even if that were true, driving a wedge between the military commanders and those under their command is demoralizing the armed forces to the benefit of the enemy. With Trump all roads lead to Putin.

caretaker

Agreed, the men and women in uniform won't appreciate it but Russia Today will be all over this.

dave_j

I wonder.
In a land where all reason appears to have been sucked out of rational debate, who knows today how the average american will view these actions.
To those of us who can stand back a view the situation clearly, Trump is being outrageous but remember the fear that exists daily in a society where you send your kids to school and worry about them being slaughtered by a classmate, where you drive to work never knowing whether some stranger will dislike the way you park and blow your head off, where you are being told that illegal foreigners, especially muslims and latinos are queuing up to take it all from you and where the other political side wants to demolish the state as you know it.
In a land like this, Trump is seen by many to be defending the state and if it means bending a few rules then so be it.
To the average american, for whom the US must come second to no-one, he and she doesn't understand why a country that won WW1, WW2, the Cold War and is demonstrably defending 'Freedom' worldwide isn't being better treated by the world at large.
Trump's actions reflect a malaise in US society, one that's overtly militaristic, that's tired of conflict and disgusted with the disrespect they get from others.
Trump's mantra of America First is exemplified by his pardoning of Callagher and others and he may have his finger on the pulse of the nation.

caretaker

Bit of a generalisation I think, they aren't all stupid. The service men and women that show up at his pep talks on their bases are probably vetted out beforehand to make sure there aren't any dissenters.