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patriotsnet · 3 years ago

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How Many Republicans Voted To Impeach Trump In The House

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How Many Republicans Voted To Impeach Trump In The House

The Problem With Existing Districts

Several House Republicans to vote to impeach President Trump

Although legislators should reflect the voters of their state, they often do not. In Maryland, for example, Republicans received 37 percent of the votes for the U.S. House of Representatives but won only 13 percent of the congressional seats. And in North Carolina, Democrats received 48 percent of the vote for the U.S. House of Representatives but won only 26 percent of the congressional seats.

Figure 1 shows how well legislatures reflect the voting patterns of the population for each state and at each level of governmentstate House, state Senate, and U.S. House of Representatives. The percentage displayed for each state is the degree to which districts disproportionately favor 1 of the 2 major political parties, calculated by comparing the total percentage of votes cast for Democratic and Republican candidates to the total percentage of elections won by Democratic and Republican candidates, and excluding both votes and wins for nonmajor-party candidates. Biases in favor of Democrats are highlighted in blue, and biases in favor of Republicans are highlighted in red. The data reveal substantial biases in favor of each party. Moreover, it shows that biased districts are widespreadabout two-thirds of all state House, state Senate, and U.S. House delegations are biased in favor of one party or the other by a rate of at least 5 percent.

Arguments For Expanding The Number Of House Members

Advocates for increasing the number of seats in the House say such a move would increase the quality of representation by reducing the number of constituents each lawmaker represents. Each House member now represents about 710,000 people.

The group ThirtyThousand.org argues that the framers of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights never intended for the population of each congressional district to exceed 50,000 or 60,000. The principle of proportionally equitable representation has been abandoned, the group argues.

Another argument for increasing the size of the House is that is would diminish the influence of lobbyists. That line of reasoning assumes that lawmakers would be more closely connected to their constituents and therefore less likely to listen to special interests.

‘a Win Is A Win’: Trump’s Defense Team Makes Remarks After Senate Votes To Acquit

Despite the acquittal, President Joe Biden said in a statement that “substance of the charge” against Trump is “not in dispute.”

“Even those opposed to the conviction, like Senate Minority Leader McConnell, believe Donald Trump was guilty of a ‘disgraceful dereliction of duty’ and ‘practically and morally responsible for provoking’ the violence unleashed on the Capitol,” Biden’s statement read in part.

The president added that “this sad chapter in our history has reminded us that democracy is fragile. That it must always be defended. That we must be ever vigilant. That violence and extremism has no place in America. And that each of us has a duty and responsibility as Americans, and especially as leaders, to defend the truth and to defeat the lies.”

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., called Saturday’s vote the largest and most bipartisan vote in any impeachment trial in history,” but noted it wasn’t enough to secure a conviction.

The trial “was about choosing country over Donald Trump, and 43 Republican members chose Trump. They chose Trump. It should be a weight on their conscience today, and it shall be a weight on their conscience in the future,” he said in a speech on the Senate floor.

With control of the Senate split 50-50, the House managers always had an uphill battle when it came to convincing enough Republicans to cross party lines and convict a former president who is still very popular with a large part of the GOP base.

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South Carolina Rep Tom Rice

Rices vote for impeachment stunned those familiar with the South Carolina lawmakers record as a staunch Trump defender, especially during his first impeachment.

I have backed this President through thick and thin for four years. I campaigned for him and voted for him twice, Rice said in a statement Wednesday evening. But, this utter failure is inexcusable.

Rice voted for motions to object to certifying Bidens Electoral College victories in Arizona and Pennsylvania last week, votes that came after security teams cleared the building of rioters and members returned from a secure location. Rice told local media he waited until the last minute to cast those votes because he was extremely disappointed in the president after the riots and that Trump needed to concede the election. He also said last week that he did not support impeaching the president or invoking the 25th Amendment to remove him from office.

Rice, a member of the Ways and Means Committee, has supported the Trump administrations position 94 percent of the time over the past four years. He represents a solidly Republican district in the Myrtle Beach area that Trump carried by 19 points in November. Rice, who has had little difficulty holding his seat since his first 2012 victory, won his race by 24 points in November.

The Daily 202: A Vote Of Conscience Five House Republicans Explain Why They Will Vote To Impeach Trump Today

with Mariana Alfaro

No matter how you look at her decision, Rep. Liz Cheney supporting the impeachment of President Trump took immense political courage. A new CBS-YouGov poll shows 55 percent of Americans favor impeachment, but just 15 percent of Republicans do. In November, the president carried her state with 70 percent of the vote. The leader of the Freedom Caucus and other Trump loyalists quickly called for Cheneys ouster as the No. 3 in House GOP leadership. The No. 1 and No. 2 on the leadership team oppose impeachment. The single article that has been introduced, for incitement of insurrection, already had the support of 218 House Democrats, enough to ensure its passage without her walking the plank. Even if no action is taken, Trump will be out of the White House in seven days.

Taken together, these factors make the statement Cheney issued Tuesday all the more remarkable. The 54-year-old has offered perhaps the most forceful and eloquent case of any lawmaker in either party for removing Trump from office over his behavior last week.

During a Monday evening conference call with Republicans, Cheney hinted at where she was heading. This is going to be a vote of conscience, the congresswoman told the members, according to two people who were on the private call.

Rep. Fred Upton complained that Trump showed no contrition when he spoke on Tuesday and described his speech from last weeks rally on the Ellipse as totally appropriate.

Also Check: How Many Republicans Are On The Supreme Court

Constitutionality Of Senate Trial Of Former President

The question of whether the Senate can hold a trial for and convict a former president is unsettled. Article II, Section 4 of the U.S. Constitution provides:

The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors. Article II, Section 4, of the U.S. Constitution

Article I, Section 3, of the Constitution, also states the following:

Judgment in Cases of Impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from Office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any Office of honor, Trust or Profit under the United States: but the Party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to Indictment, Trial, Judgment and Punishment, according to Law. Article I, Section 3, Clause 7, of the U.S. Constitution

J. Michael Luttig, who served on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit for 25 years, said that such a trial would be unconstitutional. He interpreted the language of Section 4 to refer to an official in office.

Luttig said, “The very concept of constitutional impeachment presupposes the impeachment, conviction and removal of a president who is, at the time of his impeachment, an incumbent in the office from which he is removed. Indeed, that was the purpose of the impeachment power, to remove from office a president or other ‘civil official’ before he could further harm the nation from the office he then occupies.”

House Votes To Impeach Trump

WASHINGTON: A bipartisan majority of lawmakers in the House of Representatives voted 232:197 Wednesday to impeach 45th US President, Donald Trump seven days from the end of his term, assuring he becomes the first US president to be impeached twice. Nancy Pelosi has officially confirmed Trumps second impeachment.

They supported impeachment on the single charge of “incitement of insurrection” for Trump’s role in whipping up a violent mob surpassed 217, the majority threshold out of 433 current House members. The GOP is on a path that splits in two very different directions. At least 10 Republicans joined the Democrats.

This vote marks an important change from the presidents first impeachment. In 2020, not a single House Republican voted for Trumps impeachment. The vote against him would pave the way for a Senate trial, probably after he leaves office.

The main question now is to what extent former Republican allies in the Senate will turn on their party’s figurehead. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is signaling he’s in favour of impeachment, but won’t agree to bring back Senate early for trial, GOP sources say.

However, impeachment alone is not enough to bar a president from seeking office again. After impeachment in the House, then convicted in a Senate trial, senators could then hold an additional vote on whether to explicitly bar him from running again. This vote would require just a simple majority in the chamber.

Recommended Reading: Who Are The Two Republicans Running For President

Michigan Rep Peter Meijer

The freshman Republican, who won a primary last summer in the 3rd District with the backing of House GOP leaders such as Kevin McCarthy, already is cutting an image for himself independent of his party after two weeks on the job. Its less surprising considering that former Rep. Justin Amash, the Republican-turned-independent-turned-Libertarian who split with Trump, held the seat before Meijer. Amash voted to impeach Trump in 2019.

The scion of the Meijer family, which founded the grocery store chain of the same name, is a veteran of the Iraq War. Trump won the 3rd District, which includes Grand Rapids and Battle Creek, with 51 percent of the vote. Meijer, who turned his campaign operation into a grocery delivery service in the early weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic, outperformed Trump in November, taking 53 percent of the vote.

Fred Upton Of Michigan

10 house Republicans voted to impeach Trump

Upton, who has served in Congress since 1993, announced in a statement Tuesday that he would also be supporting impeachment.

“Today the President characterized his inflammatory rhetoric at last Wednesday’s rally as ‘totally appropriate,’ and he expressed no regrets for last week’s violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol,” Upton said.

“This sends exactly the wrong signal to those of us who support the very core of our democratic principles and took a solemn oath to the Constitution,” he said. “I would have preferred a bipartisan, formal censure rather than a drawn-out impeachment process. I fear this will now interfere with important legislative business and a new Biden Administration. But it is time to say: Enough is enough.”

Also Check: How Many Republicans Are Against Trump

Impeachment Of Donald Trump 2019

Cabinet White House staff Transition team Policy positions

Donald Trump was impeached twice. This page covers the first impeachment. , which took place in 2021.

On February 5, 2020, President Donald Trump was acquitted of abuse of power by a vote of 52-48 and obstruction of Congress by a vote of 53-47.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi first announced the House would pursue an inquiry into Trump on September 24, 2019, following allegations that Trump requested the Ukrainian government investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden, in exchange for aid.

Trump denied the allegations and called the inquiry “the worst witch hunt in political history.”

Following weeks of public hearings, the House voted to impeach Trump on December 18, 2019, charging him with abuse of power by a vote of 230-197 and obstruction of Congress by a vote of 229-198. For a breakdown of the U.S. House votes by representative and party, .

The trial began on January 16, 2020, after seven impeachment managers from the U.S. House of Representatives presented the two articles of impeachment to the U.S. Senate.

Sen. Mitt Romney was the only Republican to vote guilty on the abuse of power charge, becoming the first senator in U.S. history to vote to convict a president from his own party in an impeachment trial. The vote on obstruction of Congress ran along party lines.

For an overview and timeline of the impeachment trial proceedings, .

See also: Impeachment of federal officials

How Many Senators Are Chosen

The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, elected by the people thereof, for six years; and each Senator shall have one vote. The electors in each State shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the State legislatures.

Read Also: How Many Republicans Voted Against Budget

House Votes To Impeach Trump But Senate Trial Unlikely Before Biden’s Inauguration

9. Rep. John Katko, New York’s 24th: Katko is a moderate from an evenly divided moderate district. A former federal prosecutor, he said of Trump: “It cannot be ignored that President Trump encouraged this insurrection.” He also noted that as the riot was happening, Trump “refused to call it off, putting countless lives in danger.”

10. Rep. David Valadao, California’s 21st: The Southern California congressman represents a majority-Latino district Biden won 54% to 44%. Valadao won election to this seat in 2012 before losing it in 2018 and winning it back in the fall. He’s the rare case of a member of Congress who touts his willingness to work with the other party. Of his vote for impeachment, he said: “President Trump was, without question, a driving force in the catastrophic events that took place on January 6.” He added, “His inciting rhetoric was un-American, abhorrent, and absolutely an impeachable offense.”

Here Are The 7 Rino Republicans Who Voted To Impeach President Trump

Write these names down, remember them.

They are not fit to continue serving in office in the Republican party.

Actually.I feel like we need a new party altogether.

I dont really want to be a Republican.

But I want nothing to do with the RINOs.

President Trump was acquitted today in a historic SECOND sham impeachment trial.

He soundly defeated the action, as the Democrat House Managers suddenly caved in a surprise turn of events after Trumps team put Nancy Pelosi on the witness list.

Very interesting!

The New York Times

ACQUITTED!

Watch:

Former U.S. President Trump declared not guilty at the post-presidency impeachment trial.

Senate vote was 57 Guilty & 43 Not Guilty. 67 was needed to impeach. Donald Trump can officially run for U.S. president in 2024 despite acts of treason & insurrection. #TrumpImpeachment

Here are the 7 RINO Republicans who voted with the Dems:

7 GOP senators voting guilty so far *updated*-Sen. Burr

Olivia Beavers

Never EVER vote for these people again!

Primary them, get them OUT!

BREAKING : Senate acquits Trump of impeachment charges, by a vote of 43-57, which is short of the two-thirds majority required for conviction.

From CBS:

Also Check: Why Republicans Do Not Like Obamacare

Incumbents Defeated In Primary Elections

The following table lists incumbents defeated in 2020 House primary elections or conventions.

Incumbents defeated in primaries

See also: Incumbents defeated in 2018 congressional elections

In the 2018 midterm elections, 378 U.S. House incumbents ran for re-election. This was the lowest number of U.S. House incumbents seeking re-election since 1992.

Thirty-four incumbentsâ9 percentâlost their re-election bids. That included two Democrats and 32 Republicans. This was the highest percentage of incumbents defeated since 2012, when 10.2 percent were not re-elected.

The following data for congressional re-election rates from 2000 to 2016 was reported in Vital Statistics, a joint research project of the Brookings Institution and the American Enterprise Institute. Find the original datasets and methodology here. Data for the 2018 election came from Ballotpedia.

Defeated U.S. House incumbents by party, 2000-2018 Year

97.8

Rep Dan Newhouse Washington

Rep. Dan Newhouse of Washingtons 4th Congressional District on Wednesday voted to impeach Trump shortly after announcing his decision to do so on the House floor.

These articles of impeachment are flawed, but I will not use process as an excuse for President Trumps actions, Newhouse said.

The president took an oath to defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. Last week there was a domestic threat at the door of the Capitol and he did nothing to stop it.

In a separate statement released the same day, Newhouse said Trump did not strongly condemn the attack nor did he call in reinforcements when our officers were overwhelmed. Our country needed a leader, and President Trump failed to fulfill his oath of office.

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Richard Burr North Carolina

Burr, who has said he will not seek re-election, had previously voted to dismiss the impeachment trial on constitutional grounds. Burr’s term expires in 2022.

“I have listened to the arguments presented by both sides and considered the facts. The facts are clear,” explained Burr in a statement.

“By what he did and by what he did not do, President Trump violated his oath of office to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States,” he explained, adding that he didn’t come to “this decision lightly.”

Comparison To The Senate

Rep. Adam Kinzinger on why he broke with Republicans and voted to impeach President Trump

As a check on the regional, popular, and rapidly changing politics of the House, the Senate has several distinct powers. For example, the advice and consent powers are a sole Senate privilege. The House, however, has the exclusive power to initiate bills for raising revenue, to impeach officials, and to choose the president if a presidential candidate fails to get a majority of the Electoral College votes. The Senate and House are further differentiated by term lengths and the number of districts represented: the Senate has longer terms of six years, fewer members , and larger constituencies per member. The Senate is referred to as the upper house, and the House of Representatives as the lower house.

Also Check: Who Are Richer Democrats Or Republicans

Gop Leader Mccarthy: Trump ‘bears Responsibility’ For Violence Won’t Vote To Impeach

Some ambitious Republican senators have never been as on board the Trump train as the more feverish GOP members in the House, and the former might be open to convicting Trump. But their ambition cuts two ways on the one hand, voting to ban Trump opens a lane to carry the Republican mantle in 2024 and be the party’s new standard-bearer, but, on the other, it has the potential to alienate many of the 74 million who voted for Trump, and whose votes they need.

It’s a long shot that Trump would ultimately be convicted, because 17 Republicans would need to join Democrats to get the two-thirds majority needed for a conviction. But it’s growing clearer that a majority of the Senate will vote to convict him, reflecting the number of Americans who are in favor of impeachment, disapproved of the job Trump has done and voted for his opponent in the 2020 presidential election.

Correction Jan. 14, 2021

A previous version of this story incorrectly said Rep. Peter Meijer is a West Point graduate. Meijer attended West Point, but he is a graduate of Columbia University.

Sending To The Senate

Once the House votes to impeach, the speaker of the House can send the article or articles over to the Senate immediately or she can wait a while. Many Democrats in Pelosis caucus have urged her to do so immediately.

The speaker met this week with the nine impeachment managers she appointed to argue the case and is also consulting the Senate, according to Colorado Rep. Diana DeGette, who is one of the managers. She says it hasnt been settled yet when the House will send them over.

Another of Pelosis managers, Pennsylvania Rep. Madeleine Dean, said Thursday that what we did in the House, in bringing forth a single article of impeachment with the urgency that we did, I think should indicate to you that we feel an urgency in our caucus to move forward.

Once the articles are sent over that is usually done with an official walk from the House to the Senate then the majority leader of the Senate must start the process of having a trial.

Recommended Reading: How Many Republicans Are There In The Senate

Rep Anthony Gonzalez Ohio

As House members cast their votes on the articles of impeachment, Rep. Anthony Gonzalez from Ohios 16th Congressional District, tweeted a statement asserting that Trump helped organize and incite a mob that attacked the United States Congress in an attempt to prevent us from completing our solemn duties as prescribed by the Congress.

When I consider the full scope of events leading up to January 6th including the presidents lack of response as the United States Capitol was under attack, I am compelled to support impeachment, he wrote.

Results Summary And Analysis

The Democratic Party won control of the House of Representatives in the 2018 midterm elections. The Democrats gained a net total of 41 seats from the total number of seats they had won in the 2016 elections. This was their largest gain of House seats in an election since the 1974 elections, when the Democrats gained 49 House seats. Democrats won the popular vote by more than 9.7Â million votes or 8.6%, the largest midterm margin for any party and the largest margin on record for a minority party.

According to the Associated Press statistical analysis, gerrymandering cost the Democrats an additional sixteen House seats from Republicans.

Voter turnout in this election was 50.3%, the highest turnout in a U.S. midterm election since 1914.

Note that the results summary does not include blank and over/under votes which were included in the official results or votes cast in the voided election in North Carolinas 9th congressional district.

Read Also: What Are The Basic Differences Between Democrats And Republicans

These House Republicans Voted To Impeach Donald Trump

President Donald Trump enjoyed total support from Republicans in the House of Representatives during his first impeachment in 2019but that was not the case on Wednesday when the chamber charged him with incitement of insurrection.

Ten conservative members of the House backed the resolution. Its passage makes Trump the first commander-in-chief in U.S. history to be impeached twice. Trump was impeached just a week before he is due to leave office.

House Democrats quickly drafted the impeachment article after a mob of Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6 to disrupt the certification of President-elect Joe Biden‘s win. Five people died in the riot, including one law enforcement officer.

Trump addressed his supporters, who gathered for a “Stop the Steal” rally, before the violence erupted. In his address, the president continued to make baseless accusations that the 2020 election was riddled with fraud and told the crowd that they would have to “fight much harder.”

Zero Republicans supported Trump’s impeachment in 2019 when he was charged with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress in relation to his dealings with Ukraine. But that changed this time around, as a handful of Republican members signaled they would support the impeachment article ahead of Wednesday’s vote, including Representative Liz Cheney of Wyoming.

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statetalks · 3 years ago

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How Many Republicans Voted To Impeach Trump In The House

The Problem With Existing Districts

Several House Republicans to vote to impeach President Trump

Arguments For Expanding The Number Of House Members

‘a Win Is A Win’: Trump’s Defense Team Makes Remarks After Senate Votes To Acquit

Despite the acquittal, President Joe Biden said in a statement that “substance of the charge” against Trump is “not in dispute.”

You May Like: Did Republicans And Democrats Switch Names

South Carolina Rep Tom Rice

Rices vote for impeachment stunned those familiar with the South Carolina lawmakers record as a staunch Trump defender, especially during his first impeachment.

I have backed this President through thick and thin for four years. I campaigned for him and voted for him twice, Rice said in a statement Wednesday evening. But, this utter failure is inexcusable.

The Daily 202: A Vote Of Conscience Five House Republicans Explain Why They Will Vote To Impeach Trump Today

with Mariana Alfaro

Rep. Fred Upton complained that Trump showed no contrition when he spoke on Tuesday and described his speech from last weeks rally on the Ellipse as totally appropriate.

Also Check: How Many Republicans Are On The Supreme Court

Constitutionality Of Senate Trial Of Former President

The question of whether the Senate can hold a trial for and convict a former president is unsettled. Article II, Section 4 of the U.S. Constitution provides:

Article I, Section 3, of the Constitution, also states the following:

House Votes To Impeach Trump

Recommended Reading: Who Are The Two Republicans Running For President

Michigan Rep Peter Meijer

Fred Upton Of Michigan

10 house Republicans voted to impeach Trump

Upton, who has served in Congress since 1993, announced in a statement Tuesday that he would also be supporting impeachment.

Also Check: How Many Republicans Are Against Trump

Impeachment Of Donald Trump 2019

Cabinet White House staff Transition team Policy positions

Donald Trump was impeached twice. This page covers the first impeachment. , which took place in 2021.

On February 5, 2020, President Donald Trump was acquitted of abuse of power by a vote of 52-48 and obstruction of Congress by a vote of 53-47.

Trump denied the allegations and called the inquiry “the worst witch hunt in political history.”

The trial began on January 16, 2020, after seven impeachment managers from the U.S. House of Representatives presented the two articles of impeachment to the U.S. Senate.

For an overview and timeline of the impeachment trial proceedings, .

See also: Impeachment of federal officials

How Many Senators Are Chosen

Read Also: How Many Republicans Voted Against Budget

House Votes To Impeach Trump But Senate Trial Unlikely Before Biden’s Inauguration

Here Are The 7 Rino Republicans Who Voted To Impeach President Trump

Write these names down, remember them.

They are not fit to continue serving in office in the Republican party.

Actually.I feel like we need a new party altogether.

I dont really want to be a Republican.

But I want nothing to do with the RINOs.

President Trump was acquitted today in a historic SECOND sham impeachment trial.

He soundly defeated the action, as the Democrat House Managers suddenly caved in a surprise turn of events after Trumps team put Nancy Pelosi on the witness list.

Very interesting!

The New York Times

ACQUITTED!

Watch:

Former U.S. President Trump declared not guilty at the post-presidency impeachment trial.

Senate vote was 57 Guilty & 43 Not Guilty. 67 was needed to impeach. Donald Trump can officially run for U.S. president in 2024 despite acts of treason & insurrection. #TrumpImpeachment

Here are the 7 RINO Republicans who voted with the Dems:

7 GOP senators voting guilty so far *updated*-Sen. Burr

Olivia Beavers

Never EVER vote for these people again!

Primary them, get them OUT!

BREAKING : Senate acquits Trump of impeachment charges, by a vote of 43-57, which is short of the two-thirds majority required for conviction.

From CBS:

Also Check: Why Republicans Do Not Like Obamacare

Incumbents Defeated In Primary Elections

The following table lists incumbents defeated in 2020 House primary elections or conventions.

Incumbents defeated in primaries

See also: Incumbents defeated in 2018 congressional elections

In the 2018 midterm elections, 378 U.S. House incumbents ran for re-election. This was the lowest number of U.S. House incumbents seeking re-election since 1992.

Defeated U.S. House incumbents by party, 2000-2018 Year

97.8

Rep Dan Newhouse Washington

Rep. Dan Newhouse of Washingtons 4th Congressional District on Wednesday voted to impeach Trump shortly after announcing his decision to do so on the House floor.

These articles of impeachment are flawed, but I will not use process as an excuse for President Trumps actions, Newhouse said.

The president took an oath to defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. Last week there was a domestic threat at the door of the Capitol and he did nothing to stop it.

You May Like: How Do Republicans Feel About Abortion

Richard Burr North Carolina

Burr, who has said he will not seek re-election, had previously voted to dismiss the impeachment trial on constitutional grounds. Burr’s term expires in 2022.

“I have listened to the arguments presented by both sides and considered the facts. The facts are clear,” explained Burr in a statement.

Comparison To The Senate

Rep. Adam Kinzinger on why he broke with Republicans and voted to impeach President Trump

Also Check: Who Are Richer Democrats Or Republicans

Gop Leader Mccarthy: Trump ‘bears Responsibility’ For Violence Won’t Vote To Impeach

Correction Jan. 14, 2021

A previous version of this story incorrectly said Rep. Peter Meijer is a West Point graduate. Meijer attended West Point, but he is a graduate of Columbia University.

Sending To The Senate

Once the articles are sent over that is usually done with an official walk from the House to the Senate then the majority leader of the Senate must start the process of having a trial.

Recommended Reading: How Many Republicans Are There In The Senate

Rep Anthony Gonzalez Ohio

Results Summary And Analysis

According to the Associated Press statistical analysis, gerrymandering cost the Democrats an additional sixteen House seats from Republicans.

Voter turnout in this election was 50.3%, the highest turnout in a U.S. midterm election since 1914.

Read Also: What Are The Basic Differences Between Democrats And Republicans

These House Republicans Voted To Impeach Donald Trump

source https://www.patriotsnet.com/how-many-republicans-voted-to-impeach-trump-in-the-house/

0 notes

districofcolumbiaprelawland-blog · 4 years ago

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What Will K-12 Education Look Like After The Coronavirus?

By Alessandra Ruano, George Washington University Class of 2021

July 21, 2020

In the spring of this year, the coronavirus pandemic interrupted education across the country, forcing schools to close for the remainder of the school year at every level. As the fall semester approaches, schools are scrambling to develop a plan for how to provide children with an education. Unlike universities, public schools are run by state and local governments and are therefore subject to their decisions about reopening. Making matters more complicated, the Trump administration is pushing for schools in every state to reopen despite their coronavirus numbers. In many states, the debate about when to reopen schools has become a fight between educators and the government. Whether schools reopen or remain closed for the foreseeable future, legal repercussions are inevitable.

The CDC has published guidelines schools should adhere to for a safe return to classes. These include the widespread use of masks and other face coverings, the limitation of contact between students, and daily screenings [1]. The issue of how and when to reopen has divided schools. Some are planning to open using a hybrid model, which would focus on limiting the mixing of classes. With cases still on the rise, however, many teachers have been unsatisfied with this strategy and have cited insufficient safety protocol. For example, it would be difficult to ensure that younger children are following guidelines at all times. After considering these risks, some school districts have already stated that they will not be opening in the fall. In Los Angeles County, the country’s largest school district, schools will remain closed until further notice [2].

The Trump administration has threatened to withhold funding from school districts refusing to physically reopen. Legally, however, it is unlikely that he would have any significant impact on local decisions. One reason for this is that Trump never laid out the conditions for funding in federal law, which would strengthen the legal arguments of state and local governments. In fact, some states have already sued the Department of Education [3]. Additionally, since education is largely left up to the states, governors may have a greater say in how schools proceed. This is reflected by the education budget; only about 8% of funding comes from the federal government. At the same time, a cut to this small fraction of the budget could be devastating, as it could lead to increased layoffs and fewer resources for students [4]. If the actions of states in disagreement with Trump are any indication, there is not much need for concern about school funding. Joining California’s largest school districts, New York’s Governor Andrew Cuomo put forth a detailed plan for reopening schools giving no sign that schools would physically reopen for the fall semester [5].

Many parents want schools to reopen because it would allow them to go back to work. An important consideration for the Trump administration is likely the rapidly approaching presidential election. Before the pandemic, economic policy played a major role in Trump’s appeal to his base, highlighting the importance of any decisions he makes regarding education. An estimated 16% of the American workforce relies on childcare programs such as public schooling to work, with higher percentages in lower-income states; Mississippi has the highest rate of dependence at over 20% of the workforce. These percentages increase even more when considering workers under 55, posing a problem for employers relying on younger workers to protect older employees who may be more vulnerable to the virus [6]. While the safety of reopening schools will depend partly on location, it is unlikely that the economy can truly recover without a return to the classroom. Thus, by putting pressure on schools, Trump is protecting his interests for November.

Although the federal government outranks state and local government, it is perhaps more important that teachers have the support of their respective states due to how education is funded and how each state’s workforce differs in need. In Florida, Governor Ron DeSantis has sided with the President despite the worst spike in coronavirus cases in the country, including Sunday’s increase of 15,300 cases, the greatest single-day increase since the pandemic began. The state recently announced that it would require all schools to open five days a week beginning in August. In spite of this, it is unclear whether the policy will be effective. Teachers in both Orange County and Miami-Dade County have resisted the mandate, referencing contracts protecting them from working in “unsafe conditions” [7]. The situation in Florida provides an interesting case study for how the reopening of schools might pan out. The concerns of teachers have certainly received increased national attention across the country in recent years, with events such as teachers’ strikes advocating for better salaries. As a result of the pandemic, teachers are once again in the public eye, this time resisting a policy that could potentially put their lives at risk.In a country that is often focused more on the question of the proper balance between national power and state power, local power, through teachers’ unions and school boards, has suddenly grown in importance.

For now, the recent statements by Trump and DeVos are merely threats, but with a month remaining before the school year starts, it is possible that they could lead to policy, especially in states with governors who want schools to reopen.While the debate about how to handle fall reopening plans is an imminent concern, it is also part of a larger national discussion about the role of the education system, and more specifically, teachers. Just as pressure from universities led to the repeal of student visa requirements earlier this week, pressure from K-12 educators could lead to greater attention to their interests, including what is and is not included in their job descriptions. Whether or not local coalitions will suffice in significantly influencing policy decisions may set a precedent regarding the role of local politics in national issues.

________________________________________________________________

1. CDC. “Considerations for K-12 Schools: Readiness and Planning Tool.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/downloads/community/School-Admin-K12-readiness-and-planning-tool.pdf.

2. Blume, Howard. “L.A. Unified Will Not Reopen Campuses for Start of School Year Amid Coronavirus Spike.” Los Angeles Times, July 13, 2020. https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-07-13/l-a-unified-will-not-reopen-campuses-start-of-school-year.

3. Rios, Edwin. “Trump and DeVos Say They’ll Withhold Money from Schools for Not Reopening. Can They?” Mother Jones, Mother Jones and the Foundation for National Progress, July 8, 2020.https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2020/07/trump-devos-schools-reopening/.

4. Lawder, David. “U.S. Public Schools, Focus of Debate on Reopening, are Unsung Economic Force.” Reuters, July 14, 2020. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-usa-schools-analys/us-public-schools-focus-of-debate-on-reopening-are-unsung-economic-force-idUSKCN24F2AZ.

5. Brown, Kristen V. “In Reopening U.S. Schools, Science Is Offering Few Clear Answers.” Bloomberg, July 14, 2020. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-07-14/in-reopening-u-s-schools-science-is-offering-few-clear-answers.

6. Bryant, Jake, Emma Dorn, Stephen Hall, and Frédéric Panier. “Safely Back to School After Coronavirus Closures.” McKinsey & Company, April 29, 2020. https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/social-sector/our-insights/safely-back-to-school-after-coronavirus-closures#.

7. Alsup, Dave and Scottie Andrew. “Florida Will Require Schools to Reopen in August Despite a Surge in Coronavirus Cases.” CNN, Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., July 7, 2020. https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/07/us/florida-schools-reopen-august-trnd/index.html.

Photo Credit: Bill McChesney

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needsmoresarcasm · 7 years ago

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strip that down on the charts

I don’t know if you’ve heard but Liam Payne released this song called “Strip That Down,” and like it’s totally smashing, or maybe it’s definitely a flop. Because, like, it peaked at #441 on Icelandic Hits Bi-Monthly and everyone knows that’s the chart that really matters. But it was also the most played song in the 9 o’clock hour on KISZ 104.7 in Kennebunkport, Maine, which is totally unheard of for a debut single released by an artist with four (... sometimes five?) vowels in their name. Or something.

AKA a post in which I attempt to break down how Strip That Down has been doing on the (mostly US) charts (and what those charts actually mean) because every time I run across another poorly argued stan war a little piece of my soul dies, and I’m already running dangerously low on soul.

So, how much success has Strip That Down had? The answer is, of course, it depends. On worldwide streaming services? Fucking excellent. On US digital sales for a One Direction member? Pretty dire. Overall as a debut single? As with any serious question asked to a magic 8-ball, too soon to tell. So, like, let’s just get into some charts.

The Hot 100 | Chart Run: 42 - 65 - 51 - 44 - 34 - 33

Billboard’s Hot 100 is the traditional measure of success for singles in the US, so let’s start there. The Hot 100 ranks songs using a formula that takes into accounts radio play, sales, and streaming, where 1 download = 1000 radio audience impressions = 75 on-demand streams (or 150 radio-like streams). Thus, doing well on the Hot 100 is a holistic measure of success. Two caveats here: a song may do well overall, but its peak on the Hot 100 may not reflect that if it doesn’t do well on everything all at once. So a song like Awolnation’s “Sail” peaked at #17, despite going 5x platinum, because it essentially peaked twice: once on alternative radio, and once on mainstream formats. Second, a song may be a non-factor to the world, but have an artificially high peak because of first-week sales. My guess is no one in the world could hum more than a line of Taylor Swift’s “Today Was A Fairytale,” but that song had the same peak as “I Knew You Were Trouble” thanks to (at-the-time) record-breaking first-week sales. TL;DR: Hot 100, good success barometer, but like, don’t pray at its altar. Or do if that’s your thing. idk, I’m not gonna judge, people pray to way weirder shit.

On to Strip That Down’s run. It’s currently at #34, its peak, after six weeks on the chart. After falling from its initial position of #42, it has been steadily rising for the last month. Of course, without context, these numbers are about as meaningful as tickets to a Lauryn Hill concert. So for some damn context, let’s compare Strip That Down’s run to three songs released essentially at the same time as it: Bad Liar, Crying in the Club, and Swish Swish.

Swish Swish has been a tragic circus car disasterfest, and so like, Strip That Down has at least hurdled that unfortunately low bar. It’s not quite doing as well as Bad Liar, Selena Gomez’s lead single, but is outpacing Crying in the Club, Camila Cabello’s lead single. Crying in the Club is probably the best comparison here, as a debut lead single from an artist after leaving a popular group. (Admittedly an imperfect comparison, as 1D was bigger than Fifth Harmony, but Camila’s name as a solo act is better known to US radio stations thanks to a host of features.) Of course, there may be even better comparisons. And, let’s be real, that’s what everyone is here for. And as much as I do not want to get into these comparisons, you kinda need to to get any objective sense of Strip That Down.

Again, the resounding conclusion here is that Strip That Down (goddamnit if this song had a less terrible acronym I would be saving so many characters) is... doing fine. Like, not a whole lot of surprises in any direction. It’s certainly not close to the Hot 100 success of Sign of the Times’s early run. But its run is somewhat different looking from the other 3 debuts. It has seen fairly steady growth almost immediately, whereas the other songs fell for a handful of weeks before climbing again. (The reason for this is pretty clear: sales, but we’ll get to that in a bit.) Strip That Down’s run looks most like Slow Hands, a song that’s like kiinda smashing at the moment. Overall, Strip That Down is doing fine on the Hot 100. If it falls off a cliff tomorrow, it would have had a seriously disappointing chart run. But like, otherwise, don’t lose any sleep over it, but also don’t be one of those people arguing in the comments on a Youtube video about how it’s a smash hit. If you’re arguing in the comments section of Youtube, you’ve already lost. Even if you’re right. Which, you’re not, because you’re arguing in the comments on Youtube.

[Sidebar: Strip That Down has been pretty rockin on the UK Singles Chart, which tracks streams + sales. Its run has been 3-3-4-4-4-6 so far. The UK charts turnover much quicker than US ones, so that kinda longevity is already quite good. Like, it’s sticking around for longer than any of One Direction’s singles did.]

Sales | Total Sales: 121,653 (US), 253,408 (UK)

Sales are sales are sales are sales. Not a whole lot to explain here. Early sales are driven by fanbases, and then continuing sales are driven by the “general public” - the inexplicable holy grail of stan war arguments. In the US, Strip That Down started with 52K sales, which was pretty underwhelming compared to the rest of the One Direction solo debuts. This Town sold about twice as much initially (121k in two weeks), Sign of the Times sold 3-4x more (200k in two weeks). Just Hold On sold about as much as Strip That Down. Of course, all of this leads us to the incredibly shocking conclusion that Harry has the largest fanbase, then Niall, then Liam and Louis. Now, if that’s news to you, let me catch you up on some other things: Donald Trump is President, Vine is dead, adjustable-rate mortgages are a trap, he could see dead people, Talkies are the next big thing, and there’s an entire continent west of Europe before India.

Since then, Strip That Down has been steadily growing. It has spent the last two weeks or so in the low twenties on iTunes. increasing at a rate commensurate with its exposure. A quick note here: Strip That Down has never been discounted to $0.69, and discounts actually do have a pretty significant effect on sales - 11 of the current top 20 songs are discounted. So... overall, relatively poor sales so far in the US. If it has a long chart life, its sales could end up being amazing, so the writing is hardly on the wall. If they like it, they will come. (... phrasing?)

And if you feel the need to see success everywhere you look, it’s doing really well sales-wise in the UK. So grip that fact with white knuckles and mention it any time you talk to anyone ever. Here’s a sample conversation:

PERSON: I can’t believe Sarah Huckabee Sanders unhinged her jaw and consumed Glenn Thrush on live TV!

YOU: STRIP THAT DOWN BY LIAM PAYNE WAS CERTIFIED SILVER IN THE UK FASTER THAN ANY OTHER SOLO DEBUT SINGLE FROM A FORMER BOYBAND MEMBER IN THE LAST TWO YEARS. #KING 🔥🔥🔥💯 💯 🔥🔥 👣🥑

PERSON: Wow! That information really changes my opinion of that song! That really makes me want to buy Liam Payne’s music! Thank you, kind stranger, for letting me know.

~end scene~

Airplay | Pop: #21, Rhythmic: #17, 31.234M A.I.

Radio play is interesting because it’s something fans have essentially no control over. Because no matter how many times you Twitter request a song to get in on WHYT The Hytz’s Top 7 @ 7, that’s just a drop in the radioplay bucket. Instead, it’s dominated by label support, artist familiarity, and general audience reaction. The most commonly referred to charts (on the interwebs) for radio airplay are Mediabase’s charts. (Billboard draws its numbers from BDS, not Mediabase, but in the grand scheme of things, the similarities in the tracking systems far outweigh the differences.) Mediabase keeps genre-specific charts, and charts songs based on the number of plays (spins) the song gets on those stations. Aside from spins, the other important number for radio is audience impressions (A.I.) which measures how many people heard a song. Because a spin on New York’s pop station Z100 at rush hour is going to reach more people than a spin on WSTW, Wilmington DE’s Hot Adult Contemporary station at 2AM.

The chart people care about for the purposes of stan-warring is the CHR/Pop chart, which is exactly what it says on the tin: the pop chart. And wow, what do you know, here too Strip That Down has been steadily rising since its release (chart run: 36 - 31 - 26 - 24 - 24 - 22). You’d be pretty hard pressed to argue that this is underperforming. You’d also be pretty hard pressed to argue that it’s overperforming. So don’t! No one wants to be hard pressed. Well, actually... Err, where was I? Oh right, here’s a chart.

Again, aside from Swish Swish, which, lol, the general trend for all these songs is pretty similar. Bad Liar/Sign of the Times both grew way faster with some pretty significant radio deals. Everything else kinda chugged along. Strip That Down has been seeing a pretty linear increase in spins, and if it’s going to really climb, that’s going to need to pick up. But radio is super top-heavy, in that the top 10 songs account for a huge percentage of total spins. Maybe the radio gods will deign to grace Strip That Down and it’ll sky rocket. Or maybe not and it’ll stall in the mid-teens and like, that’ll be fairly respectable.

In terms of overall audience, Strip That Down is the 58th most-heard song on radio, reaching 31.235 million/week. A majority of that is from pop stations, but a sizable chunk is also from CHR/Rhythmic stations, which are more hip-hop/r&b leaning. (And, a small slice is from Hot Adult Contemporary stations, a format that skews closer to pop rock, but generally plays every big pop hit.) Strip That Down has been seeing its biggest audience gains in the last couple days, so who knows. The world is its oyster.

Streaming | Spotify #23 (US), #9 (Worldwide), Youtube #57

Because it’s 2017 and millennials refuse to spend money on anything but avocado toast and actively staying unemployed, streaming exists. And tbh, I don’t really know shit about streaming patterns because the last time I followed music charts closely, Spotify wasn’t really a thing. And like every old person who used to know something, instead of doing the research and educating myself, I’m just gonna speculate wildly and hope no one notices when I pronounce Zendaya like it rhymes with papaya.

From my rigorous research, it looks like streaming turnover is definitely faster than radio turnover. And streaming in the US (at least on Spotify/Apple Music) trends more towards hip hop/rap. It also seems like streaming is basically its own beast, but not totally insulated from label influence. IDK how Spotify’s top hits playlists work, but like, my guess is there’s not no money to be had there.

What really matters is that Strip That Down is kinda killin’ it. It’s been gaining in the top 30 for US Spotify streams, and in the top 10 for worldwide Spotify streams for the last month. It’s definitely had the benefit of being on the most popular playlists, so that probably explains some of it. I don’t know what explains the rest of it. But like, idk, I guess the youths are digging it. Let’s visually illustrate this multiple times to place more emphasis on the streaming factor because such an emphasis would be advantageous to the perception of Strip That Down that most appeases my carnal desires.

Wow, for once the analysis isn’t “idk we’ll see how it does.” For streaming, Strip That Down has just straight up done well regardless of the context or comparison you’d like to make. It’s already a streaming success for who knows what reason.

Let’s end on that note. Please use this information for good and not evil. I don’t care if you like Liam or hate him or WHATEVER (that’s a lie, I do care if you hate Liam, because you’re a monster), but have some basic grasp of what the various chart numbers mean, please. Or if you must continue to engage in petty, misinformed arguments with rando strangers on the internet, do it in a place where there is zero chance of me stumbling upon it. (Those places don’t exist on the internet, because I will scrape into the deepest recesses of the web to find people saying nice things about Liam Payne. Because I am so bored.)

But, y’know, if your mental well-being depends on Liam’s songs performing well, then there’s definitely enough here for you to tell yourself that he’s #smashing #kingofpop #yourfavescouldnever #heynowyourearockstargetyourshowongetpaid.

#liam payne #strip that down #yall studying for a test for two months is real fucking boring #and leads to shit like this

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myflowerfriends · 5 years ago

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Final Blog Posts

Blog 7: Unsaturating the World

Figure 1: Saturation in boardwalk photo, https://www.adorama.com/alc/0008627/article/100-in-100-Dont-be-a-super-soaker-saturater

In photography, to saturate an image is to edit it so that all of the visible colors are intensified against the white; the right side of Figure 1 is saturated to bring out the vibrancy in the greens and blues. The lowest form of saturation is greyscale, where the photo loses all colors and becomes simple variations of white and blacks. I kept thinking of this term, saturation, while doing the readings for this week. It feels like humanity has taken hold of the saturation scale in Adobe Photoshop and is steadily turning the world greyer. This week’s post looks at the causes of biodiversity loss and extinction, particularly in chapters 9 and 10 of the textbook.

One of the first times I really felt a deep empathy for the environment was when I must have been about eight years old, and I was flipping through a magazine in my dad’s dental office. On the cover there was a polar bear, and on the inside there must have been an editor’s note that stressed how sad and absurd it was that the editor’s children might live to see a world where polar bears go extinct. It completely blew my mind. Polar bears going extinct?! But they’re such iconic animals!

Figure 2: Polar Bear on Time Magazine, 2006. Not sure if this was the exact magazine I was flipping through, but it carries the same energy. http://content.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,20060403,00.html

What I didn’t realize then was that every twenty-four hours, between 150-200 species of plant, insect, bird, and mammal go extinct.[1] And according to Miller and Simmons’ text, “20-50% [is the] percentage of the earth’s known species that could disappear this century primarily because of human activities.”[2] The guilt on the shoulders of humankind should be there, but it is not. There is hardly any action being taken to preserve these species, or at least ease their suffering—and hardly any action being done to do the same for our human sisters and brothers.

“Given the pace and scale of change, we can no longer exclude the possibility of reaching critical tipping points that could abruptly and irreversibly change living conditions on Earth.” [3]This quote comes from the World Wildlife Populations Down 50% in Last 40 Years video, which explains just what the title says. There are critical tipping points that are coming closer and closer to being reached each day, and very little being done to reduce the strain of these.

One way to remember the reasons that are causing this biodiversity loss is through HIPPCO: Habitat destruction, degradation, and fragmentation; Invasive (nonnative) species; Population growth and increasing use of resources; Pollution; Climate change; and Overexploitation. Habitat destruction is at this time the most common damaging action being taken, and is a difficult one to stop. It can be difficult to realize too; people in industrialized parts of the United States took great pity on the wildfires being burned in the Amazon Rainforest in late 2019, but were hypocritical to the land that was destroyed so that their city or suburb could be built.

This also reminds me of an interaction I saw on Instagram the other day. There was a post by National Geographic on how salmon are being overfished and losing their wild habitat. One of the top comments stated something along the lines of, “this is why we need to farm salmon! Stop fishing in the wild, it’s the only way to protect them!” And it made me think, because if the problem is that isolated—salmon in the wild are disappearing, so just eat the ones that are farmed—then that would work, maybe. But the issue with salmon, or any species, is that they do not exist in a vacuum. They are an integral part of ecosystems in their natural habitats; farming salmon would eliminate a lot of the benefits that salmon have in the wild.

I was just having a discussion with my brother about this too, and we started making a list of things: what if cows were wild? Would they look the same or had hundreds of years of domestication made them softer and bigger, as chickens have become? Farms make evolution work differently.

As do zoos. Is there any real chance of zoos integrating animals back into the wild? I support animal education, and I get that it’s easier to study animals in zoos than in the wild sometimes.

Figure 3: A photo I took in February, 2019 of the South African Lion and Safari Park website where they acknowledge that they do not feel comfortable with their own lion-petting exhibits but continue to have them for economic purposes. The website has since been renovated and this page was completely removed.

But zoos tend to really get me questioning their ethics. Are they necessary for people to understand why it’s necessary to protect them, or is watching high quality documentaries enough to give humans a change of heart? I had a huge fallout with some friends of mine while we were studying abroad in South Africa because they went to a Lion Park where lions are bred and adults are euthanized. I heard lots of, “but you connect with the animals! You learn to respect them for their conservation! They do scientific research there!” And then the question is, how different is using horses for entertainment? Is it not practically the same as breeding lions for human entertainment? This isn’t the section of the course dedicated to philosophy, but the unanswered questions remain, bring the choice back to whether we will keep the turning the world grey or work on brightening its diversity.

The Critical Thinking Question #5 on page 218 is a tough one: what would you do if a wild boar invaded and tore up your yard or garden?

Currently my dad is having an issue where these strange moth-type bugs build cocoons on the pine trees separating our house from our neighbors. They’re killing the pine trees, because when they make their cocoons, they eat the needles. My dad asked me, as an environmental studies major, what the best option would be: let the bugs take over the trees and once they turn brown, cut them down? Or use pesticides to kill the trees?

Critical Thinking Question # 5 on page 250 asks: Are you in favor of establishing more wilderness areas in the United States?

To that I say: YES TO MORE WILDERNESS AREAS!!!! More old growth forests means more biodiversity! Any disadvantages would just be hidden advantages; for example, less room for suburban sprawl would give more space for the earth to heal.Less private space allows for more public space, which can be used by humans, vegetations, and wildlife.

WC:1189

Question: It is interesting too, that some species are considered accidentally introduced/invasive. Are humans accidentally introduced to places, or do we make possible the ability to sustain life on any corner of the earth because we were designed to do that?

Blog 8: Eat or Be Eaten.

Aquatic Biodiversity Loss and Extinction

Figure 1: Lake Erie, 2015, https://www.nps.gov/piro/learn/nature/images/Waves-on-shore_1.jpg?maxwidth=1200&autorotate=false

Unless you have seen one of the Great Lakes with your own eyes, you cannot fathom what they are really like: vast, powerful bodies of water, with big waves and long stretches of sandy beaches; comparable to an ocean. I grew up living about a block away from Lake Erie, and when I was younger, I really hated my hometown. I wanted to live in a big city. My parents countered my arguments by emphasising how lucky we were to live in the Great Lakes Basin. It wasn’t until I attended a March for Science that I realised how important it was to protect the lakes — see me pictured below with my generic sign, and my friend Max holding a sign that my mom crafted; she’s the one taking the photo.

Figure 2: Cleveland’s March for Science Protest, 2017. Photo by author.

Part of my love of the Great Lakes, and of open bodies of water in general, comes from me living so close to them. But as Sylvia Earle is quoted in the beginning of chapter 12, “With every drop of water you drink, with every breath you take, you are connected to the sea, no matter where on Earth you live” (253).[1] Even if you live in a desert, every decision you make can in some way affect aquatic ecosystem services. Take, for example, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

Figure 3: Eastern Great Pacific Garbage Patch, 2019.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/scottsnowden/2019/05/30/300-mile-swim-through-the-great-pacific-garbage-patch-will-collect-data-on-plastic-pollution/#4b2a7f36489f

There are actually two large garbage patches with some connecting debris in-between them; the greater of these patches is just off the coast of California, and is about 600,000 square miles, and in some areas, several feet deep. It is an island floating on the surface of the water, made up of plastics and microplastics. Because plastic is not biodegradable, the Garbage Patch continues to grow, and many animals, such as the albatross pictured below, die due to ingestion of these plastics, which Chris Jordan documents hauntingly well in the film Albatross.[2]

Figure 4: Albatross Bodies with Plastic, 2018,

https://www.albatrossthefilm.com/ourstory

One thing that I think could have been better written about in this chapter is water distribution. I stumbled through this very briefly in my presentation while explaining biophilia and the damaging effects of trying to make Las Vegas into an oasis in the desert. I understand that this chapter is focused more on the biodiversity of aquatic ecosystems, but I still think that concept 11.5 of this chapter could go more in depth with the ownership rights of water sources, or perhaps the section on the Great Lakes in the previous section could explain how although the Great Lakes are the largest collective body of freshwater in the world, water diversions are pretty much limited to regions within the Great Lakes Basin, and why it is important that it stays that way.

Critical Thinking Question #2, p. 280:

Three Greatest Threats to Aquatic Biodiversity

1. Ocean Acidification

2. Plastic Pollution

3. Coastal Wetland and Watershed Protection

4. Overfishing (if there are fish left after the above 3 are increased!)

The list above is my answer to the Critical Thinking Question for this chapter. All of them are caused by humans on the land. The greatest threat according to me is that of ocean acidification, or the increasing amounts of heat and acidity in the oceans. This stems from increased Co2 in the atmosphere. One of the main factors contributing to that, is animal agriculture.

Soil, Agriculture, and Food

Figure 5: You Can Smell the Methane in This Photo, 2014

https://www.wilderutopia.com/health/cowspiracy-animal-agriculture-despoils-land-water-and-climate/

Chapter 12 in the textbook discusses the effect of food production on the environment. I act like I know a lot about this when people ask me why I’m a vegetarian, but this chapter was full of great information and details that I didn’t fully understand until now.

The issue with animal agriculture is not only that Co2 is basted into the atmosphere through gasses released form the animals and humans which eat them, and the clearing of land for the animals. With the depletion of biodiversity to allow animals grazing land, vital natural habitats for other species are lost, as shown in George Monbiot’s brief video on rewilding the countryside and rural areas.[3]

Truthfully, I expected the chapter to be much more focused on animal agriculture alone. But other forms of farming are nearly as bad, as pictured below.

Figure 6: Effects of Food Production of Any Sort

https://slideplayer.com/slide/6187595/

I’m also glad that the chapter covered a comparison of overnutrition and malnutrition. I found the quote: “We live in a world where, according to the WHO, about 795 million people face health problems because they do not get enough nutritious food to eat and at least another 2.1 billion (29% of the human population) have health problems stemming largely from eating too much sugar, fat, and salt.”[4] The greed of modern civilization never ceases to amaze me.

Critical Thinking Question #1 p. 320

Figure 7: Vertical Harvest of Jackson Hole, 2013.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2056017617/vertical-harvest-of-jh-a-growing-system-for-change

If I were a member of Growing Power Inc. and in charge of turning an abandoned shopping center into an organic farm, I would begin by getting a perfect team together; potentially including some of the students in this class (networking!). I’d do my best to dismantle the concrete and debris of the shopping center, and reuse whatever I was able to on the spot. As it is in the Case Study, my farm would be powered partly by solar electricity and solar hot water systems, and would be structured like a green house to keep the produce supported year round. As it is in Jackson Hole’s Vertical Harvest organic urban farm, my employee positions would first be open to disabled peoples who are working on communication skills, training in this center for jobs elsewhere.[5] We would be deeply integrated into the community, selling our produce locally and donating to food banks and soup kitchens whenever possible. That sounds too good to be true, but we’ll leave it at that.

Question, and I think about this every day: which is better for the environment, to be vegan and avoid animal products entirely but eat non-local tofu or other forms of meatless protein; or to eat only locally sourced food which would make animal products more of a staple to the diet?

WC: 1156

[1] Miller, G. Tyler, and Scott E. Spoolman. Living in the Environment. Chapter 11: Sustaining Aquatic Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. 19th ed. Boston, MA: Engage Learning, 2020.

[2] Jordan, Chris. Albatross. https://www.albatrossthefilm.com

[3] Smith, Peter. “George Monbiot on reqilding countryside and rural areas” YouTube, 2016. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1KW-0YbO3Q

[4] Miller, G. Tyler, and Scott E. Spoolman. Living in the Environment. Chapter 12: Food Production and the Environment, p. 286. 19th ed. Boston, MA: Engage Learning, 2020.

[5] “Vertical Harvest Jackson Hole,” Vertical Harvest, https://www.verticalharvestjackson.com/our-mission.

Blog 9: Fight the System by Appreciating Soil and Supporting Local Farmers !

Symphonies of the Soil

Figure 1: Cover Artwork, 2012, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2229397/

When I began watching this documentary, I braced myself for what I thought was going to be a long, boring hour-and-a-half. But by the end of it, I think it may have changed the trajectory of my summer plans.

The first half of the documentary is an almost meditative description of different types of soils found across planet earth, backed by an orchestral score. Ironically, one of the first phrases of the narrator is: “most of the planet is non-living.”[1]And it is. As my sister pointed out, even humans are mostly CHON: carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen. Yet plots of land are not 100% soil; half of it is the compounds that make up soil, and half of it consists of spaces for air, water, and microorganisms which use soil to survive.

Figure 2: Andy Foraging for Mushrooms in Washington, 2019, photo by author.

This point leads to another: you cannot grow good produce in a void. If you were to strip a type of soil down to its purest form and attempt at planting anything in it, it likely would not be successful. This seems to be the thesis of the second half of the documentary: farmers need to feed soil the natural ingredients it needs to be nutritional.

As I don’t have a very strong science background, some of this went over my head, such as the part about the lupines and nitrogen fixation. This summer, as long as the pandemic settles down, I hope to get an internship or job working in permaculture or vertical harvesting. It’s very odd to me that I can talk so much about the environment but know so little about it in a physical way. Although I try to shop mostly locally or from farmers markets, the development I grew up in didn’t allow gardens aside from flower beds, so I have had very little connection to soil or the ground I live on.

A critique I have of this film is that they paid very little attention to indigenous practices of cultivating soil, or hunter-gatherer ideas. They looked at how the harmful processes began, with civilizations in Europe flattening out the hillsides and beginning monocrop farming during the agricultural revolution, and they did discuss the Law of Return, but I thought there might be more references with how the soil had been used in previous human populations, and perhaps a discussion on primitivism. The discussion that was had in the film was more focused on finding a structured form of rewilding agriculturally, which I support, but still I thought the film could show the other side, and give more credit to the indigenous groups that have been pushing for this rewinding for centuries.

Figure 3: Stone Age Reenactment Group, http://www.jutulskinn.no/stone-age-gathering.

No matter how far you think society should dive into with a return to primitivism, the message of this video is clear: we can do a better job at how we farm, in order to produce healthier more sustainable products. It feels as though this shouldn’t be too difficult—but with the rigid constraints set forth by the corporations involved in the agricultural industry, farmers have very little say in how their crops get produced, and animals have become far removed from from the agricultural process, removing a great source of natural fertilizer as well. The next film explains that a bit more.

Food, Inc.

Figure 4: Food, Inc. Cover Image, 2008, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1286537/mediaviewer/rm3514966016.

Food, Inc. uses various segments to explain the systems put in place to produce food, and how rigid those constraints are within the law-and-order system of the United States of America. These segments range from showing statistics, interviews, and video clips of what the world of agriculture is really like.

I found the Polyface Farms clips to be fascinating, because it was so difficult to watch and listen to, but was still the best possible scenario for meat farming. The cattle fertilize and mow the variety of greens they eat; there are no shipments of corn that have to be made. As Joel says, “it’s all real solar dollars….we’re every bit as efficient, especially if you plug in all of the inefficiencies of the industrial system.” [2]

Figure 5: Joel at Polyface Farms, http://www.temeats.com/polyface-farms/.

I think this will be the hardest connection for people to make, especially because we need food to sustain ourselves. Someone can be addicted to nicotine and cut it out of their lives, or can choose to avoid it altogether. But they cannot simply ignore food. People can ignore bad food, but the temptation is always lingering as a possibility, and if you grew up like I did—eating processed foods for breakfast, lunch, and dinner until I was about sixteen and realized I needed to be healthier—breaking away from those habits can feel like the single most challenging thing to accomplish. And when fast food is the only option due to income levels, the cycle gets even more challenging to break.

Figure 6: Elk in Wyoming, https://content.osgnetworks.tv/petersenshunting/content/photos/bull-elk-bugling.jpg

I am reminded of an argument that put me on bad terms with my boss at my summer job as a waitress at a guest ranch near Jackson, Wyoming. Elk lived in the meadows just outside the property and were hunted and sold locally. One of our most popular items on the menu was elk tenderloin, and once I had a guest ask how local the elk we served was, a reasonable assumption as our website says that our kitchen sources locally and is as sustainable as possible, even though the menu does not specify what is or is not local. Upon speaking with the head chef I learned that the elk was actually shipped in, frozen, from Austria. The more getting-into-everybody-else’s-business that I did, the more I realized that the only ingredients we used that weren’t shipped in from Sysco were a weak amount of herbs from the farmers market. That guest was from Philadelphia and could have had fresher elk had he shipped it from Austria to Pennsylvania rather than Austria to Utah to Wyoming.

Along with that, our menu was incredibly meat-and-potatoes based, following exactly the prediction that humans are hard-wired to crave salt, fat, and sugar.

Something my mom makes fun of me for saying all the time is “it’s supply and demand!” as if all the problems in the world could be that simple. But in truth, they can be. And I hope that just as my generation has severely damaged the tobacco industry, the next generation can put an end to big corporations controlling the food industry, so that 30% of the United States’ land base will not be corn, and the choice between medication or buying vegetables will be unfathomable, and local food companies will overrule the 4 major meat companies in charge now.

A critique I have of Food, Inc. is that there is very little said about the dairy and fishing industries. I felt that there could have been an additional segment on those in the film—perhaps they aren’t as bad as the meat and corn industries, but I do not feel as though they are righteous enough to be counted out of this conversation.

I also am a bit confused by the Monsanto segment and hope to discuss that in our class time.

Question: Food, Inc. is very focused on the United States of America. What are food systems like in other parts of the world? Is there a correlation between colonized places having more fast-food?

WC: 1257

[1] Garcia, Deborah Koons, director. Symphony of the Soil. YouTube, 2012, www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDZVKMe2FTg.

[2] Kenner, Robert, et al. Food, Inc. 2008. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smk2xq2l3Ig

Blog 10: The Health of the Environment, The Health of Humans

Figure 1, COVID-19 illustration, https://www.statnews.com/2020/02/11/disease-caused-by-the-novel-coronavirus-has-name-covid-19/

This week’s focus is on hazards and waste on human health and the environment. Chapter 17 in the textbook begins with a discussion on diseases stimulated from biological and chemical hazards and how these can be linked with environmental causes. The chapter ends with a discussion on risks, and how decision making can affect the world around us.

One of the most frustrating, common, and powerful diseases is cancer. Cancer’s direct cause in an individual is unknown. The title of the article “Breast Cancer: prevention or Cure? Why Is Breast Cancer Awareness/Cure Run By Major Chemical Companies?” gives good insight to the confusion around cancer research. The article goes on to explain the intricacies behind cancer research and bring to light the distrust that many people rightfully have towards corporations that are in control of cancer funding and research. Again, I see these problems tying so deeply into capitalism: individuals finding ways for their own selves to be as successful as possible without working towards the greater good.

Ethics always comes in to play and is very noticeable in this chapter. If malaria is such a murderous disease, and malaria is spread by mosquitoes, how bad would it be to just completely wipe out the mosquito population? I admit that I will appreciate any bug that lands on me, or gently flick them off, unless they are a mosquito. I do not like the inconvenience of mosquito bites, and killing mosquitoes gives me a weird sort of satisfaction that I could not achieve from the death of any other living being. In my biology class last semester, we looked at a case study of several scientists who were considering wiping out mosquitoes entirely in areas of the world susceptible to malaria. After long debates, no conclusion was reached. It feels wrong to eliminate a species that is annoying to us—if this is possible, then who’s going to stop the wolves in the western United States from eating cattle on ranches encroaching on their wild territory? At the same time, this could be a heroic achievement and an extreme stress-reliever for humankind.

These things seem like such simple solutions: page 455 of the textbook lists some ways to avoid exposure to hormone disrupters. Yet the article of the man who eliminated plastic from his life yet still got microplastics from his milk which was stored in a mason jar but filtered through a plastic lining proves that even when trying desperately to follow that advice, it is still just about impossible to be rid of them completely.

Figure 2, Microplastics Diagram, https://www.java-biocolloid.com/event/the-threads-of-microplastics-in-food-8721

I recently read the chapter “The Indian Healer” out of The Indian Giver, a book by Jack Weatherford in which he goes through the various ways that Native American peoples have contributed to modern medical technology or found the basis for medications. Native American practices of healing should be can be used to encourage well-being in medical practices, so as to put into action ways that advance views on the interconnectedness of community, the environment, and medicine overall.

I can’t help but think of what it felt to be alive before the industrial period began. I generally do feel better when I have spent some time in fresh air—but any fresh air in this day and age still has toxins in and around it, and no food nor water is completely free of microplastics or

A quick critique I have about all the extra informational videos and articles is that although they are very interesting, they are quite outdated. In other classes I am not allowed to cite articles older than five years old, and all of these are from the mid 2000s. I understand needing to learn the history of how we perceive chemicals in the body, but there was no range for that either. I’m curious as to what research has been put out within the last few years—or months.

CTQ #7 on p. 468 asks to name some risks that I face and how to eliminate or reduce those risks. This causes me to check my privilege once again; even when I come across pollution, I will likely have access to the best healthcare to heal me from whatever risks may concern me. There are risks that I can avoid, but that I still choose; I have chosen to live in Manhattan, with all its pollution, instead of living in a pristine area out west. Yet perhaps my education in New York will allow me to strengthen my ties with academia so that I can preserve those lands out west.

Solid and Hazardous Waste

I also recently read Waste Seige: the Life of Infrastructure in Palestine by Sophia Stamatopoulou-Robbins, who’s covering the discussions behind environmental, economic, and social issues that in occupied Palestine. Through illegal occupation, Israeli settlers are forcing neo-capitalist practices in the area, leading to more forced consumption, leading to more waste in an area that cannot contain it, and does not have the finances nor the leadership to create more sustainable waste options, such as those shown in the textbook. Palestine has become a literal dumpsite, and the effects of the toxins in the various wastes infiltrating the area is murderous. There is an ironic “Polluter Pays Principle” in use, where the governmental organizations have Palestinians pay higher taxes because technically they are the ones who are polluting—it is their sewer systems overflowing, their land that has the burning dump sites, and their people who are being cheap, non-sustainable products. Ironically, the sewers are flooding because Israeli-settler waste flows directly into them as well; landfills in that region are almost all located in designated Palestinian areas; and the suffocation of the economic process in Palestine keeps their people from having any upward mobility.

Figure 3, Landfill in Palestine, https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium.MAGAZINE-israel-s-solution-for-expelled-bedouin-between-garbage-and-junkyard-1.6158225

CTQ #1 p. 600: List three products you use and make them cradle-to-cradle.

The past two years I have begun having an immense feeling of guilt if I purchase something that isn’t made sustainably, or that isn’t able to be recycled or composted. When I need to buy something new (key word: need), I spend a lot of time looking into which company I can trust. I get most of my products from Package Free Shop. But as I keep saying, it goes back to economics. I’m sure anyone who uses their shampoo and conditioner bars and natural face oils would prefer it over whatever drugstore brand they use currently, but that price difference is what makes it so unreachable. To circle back, this is highlighted in Chapter 17’s discussion on HIV: lifesaving drugs are expensive, and simply cost too much to be used widely both in less-developed countries and in impoverished areas of industrialized countries.

Question: With marijuana becoming a much more common recreational and medicinal drug, I would have appreciated an unbiased discussion of it in this chapter, instead of it being left out completely. Does smoking marijuana affect your lungs as badly as smoking tobacco? Are there any studies being done on dab pens, which include THC but don’t include nicotine like traditional vape pens?

WC: 1105

Blog 11: Water (cont.)

Had I been patient with blog 8, I may have realized that there would be a whole other blog dedicated to water, filling in the gaps that I felt were left out in the previous readings—chapter 20 really digs into the inefficiencies of Ohio water treatment. This is that blog post, looking at chapters 13 and 20 in the textbook.[4]

Figure 1. Water Dispersal, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_resources

Chapter 13: Water Resources

Water is stored in many ways in the earth’s surface, but only 0.024% of the earth’s water is readily available as a liquid freshwater. Due to climate change, areas that are dry are becoming drier, and areas that are oversaturated are becoming wetter and with saltwater, not freshwater. With that small percentage of water that is usable to humans, about 70% is used to irrigate cropland and raise livestock.

Industrialized nations in particular treat water as if it is free; Miller and Spoolman note that “we have no substitute for this vital form of natural capital” (325). Things that don’t seem to be made of water need large amounts of it in order to be produced, such as blue jeans and lettuce; producing a quarter-pound hamburger takes about 2,400 liters of freshwater. “About 66% of the freshwater used in the world and about 50% of the freshwater used in the United States is lost through evaporations, leaks, and inefficient use” (342). Water really is our most necessary resource, and we absolutely take it for granted.

The United States has lots of freshwater resources, particularly in the eastern states. The book reads, “the United States has more than enough renewable freshwater to meet its needs. However, it is unevenly distributed and much of it is contaminated by agricultural and industrial practices” (329). Freshwater shortages are becoming more common and will continue to expand as climate change increases. Aquifers are losing their water faster than the rain is refilling them—in some parts of the United States, four times as fast—and much of this water being taken out is going to waste. There are other frightening results that come from too much groundwater being pulled out of the earth, such as sinkholes, as pictured in Figure 2.

Figure 2. Sinkhole in Guatemala City, 2007. https://www.businessinsider.com/giant-sinkhole-photos-2014-9

There is an option of tapping deep aquifers that lie beneath the surface of the ocean, but this is dangerous in that they are nonrenewable on a human timeline, little is known about what effects doing this may have, no international treaties govern these areas yet, the costs are unknown, and the water is likely still contaminated with some salt, arsenic, and uranium.

Dams are also not an ideal way to increase water supplies, because even though they help humans in many ways, they can destroy the natural environment in many ways, which in turn brings destruction to humans after a matter of time. Desalination is another option, albeit a costly and perhaps inefficient one, though more research is being done in the search to find better desalination technology.

The 4 R’s of recycling (refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle) may be the best way to work with water. Refusing unnecessary amounts of water, and reducing one’s usage of necessary water, are two prime first steps to take when trying to heal water issues. Part of what will make this easier for people to remember to follow is if water is treated by society as a necessity, through higher prices of freshwater (and perhaps a Universal Basic Income – style user pays approach) and redirecting government subsidies to being more efficient. Simple household changes, such as installing low-flow toilets, fixing leaks as soon as they are noticed, and redesigning lawns and outdoor spaces with vegetation that suits the ecoregion can also help limit the amount of freshwater wasted. Vaster options can include incorporating infrastructures in communities that reuse greywater in areas that are able.

Water has no substitute. Sure, you can drink LaCroix or Coke Zero and treat that as your liquid intake for the day, but freshwater is at the base of those items. Without some form of h2o in our systems, humans would not survive for more than a few days.

Chapter 20: Water Pollution

The previous chapter had its focus on freshwater, and how to be efficient with it. This one focuses on what happens if that freshwater gets polluted. In some parts of the world, mercury, pathogens, metals, and other nutrients can kill people drinking the water if it is not treated properly. In some areas, this does not directly affect humans intake, but can affect humans lives in other ways—for example, all of northeast Ohio becoming a laughing stock when the Cuyahoga River caught on fire in the late 1960’s (see Figure 3).

Figure 3, Cuyahoga River fire recolored, June 1969. https://1960sdaysofrage.wordpress.com/2019/03/18/burn-on-big-river-cuyahoga-river-fires/

But in the textbook, Miller and Spoolman start this discussion of as saying that the Cuyahoga River fires were a success story. I rode my bike by the Cuyahoga River just the other day and it was not ablaze—there were fishermen and ducks in it. Still, most of the world’s major riverways are heavily polluted, with “80-90% of the raw sewage in most cities in less developed countries [is] discharged directly into waterways” (548). Yet there is hope that these rivers can heal, though it will take a tremendous amount of strength from the humans who have caused this incredible pollution in the first place.

Balance is another important factor into keeping water clean. No water, not even the “clean” water humans drink, is pure h20—that would kill us. We need small traces of other elements in it too. Too many nutrients, though, can lead to eutrophication, which is when a shallow body of water has too many nutrients, causing dense growths of organisms which decompose and suffocate the body of water, giving it a greenish-teal color.

Question: Why are some mountain lakes so brightly colored? Does it have to do with eutrophication, even if they are pristine?

WC: 1112

Blog 12: Future, No Future

Figure 1: Protestors rally against pipelines being put into Wet’suwet’en land in Canada

First off, I would like to disagree with Justin Trudeau’s statement made at the Houston Energy Conference in 2017 where he says that “No country would find 173 billion barrels of oil in the ground and just leave them there.” I would like to believe that I, and many people with unselfish morals dedicating their lives to environmental justice, would let those oil barrels STAY IN THE GROUND.

I was surprised that Trudeau was the one to say it, as when I was younger, I thought he could do no evil; I was quite a little liberal. But now I see his desire for economic greed showing through his attempted democracy, just as I thought the Paris Climate Agreement was exactly what the world needed, and now see that there’s a lot of flimsy rhetoric in there. But we’ll get to that in a minute. First, the reading:

Chapter eleven of Simon Lewis and Mark Maslin’s The Human Planet: How We Created the Anthropocenetells how there are three possible future for the world: continued consumer capitalist development, collapse, or a new mode of living. [5]

Continue

Figure 2: Consumerism, http://links.org.au/node/1972

I think it’s interesting that they even gave continued consumer capitalist development a chance—I feel as though they could have just grouped that with collapse. I recognize that not many people (ie. My family who I am quarantined with) think the way I do, so I am glad they gave the explanation. Business as usual cannot continue. We are heading for collapse.

I suppose in some kind of sense, you could say that it can continue. But that’s because what’s continuing isn’t really capitalism in the first place. The small changes are already being had. For example, our right-wing president is dishing out monetary stimulus checks to bolster the economy, which smells a lot like socialism to me (delicious).

Lewis and Maslin explain our current economic system as being driven by positive feedback loops which end in fundamental changes. The factors which underlid all human societies are changing faster and faster as time moves onwards—it is true exponential growth. It is consumers acting as though we have infinite resources even while living on a finite planet. It is contradictory. But even in it’s core, our current system is one of change.

Perhaps the change requires all cars to be electric, but the increase in demand for electric cars requires an increase in demand for the lithium mined in Bolivia. Maybe there is no realistic, futuristic plan to put in place that will efficiently and sustainably save the world. Maybe I just need to read up more on this. Lewis and Maslin do offer some good suggestions, though, including Universal Basic Income and Half-Earth.

A New Way of Life?

Figure 3: Half-Earth website screenshot, https://www.half-earthproject.org

Universal Basic Income (UBI) and the Half-Planet theory are the two most clearly stated pathways for success of our planet that we have studied thus far.

UBI: I know a lot of professors don’t like to talk about their politics, but I was trying to figure out where yours lie as someone who knows so much about the interweaving’s of politics and the environment. A few months ago you dropped that you were a big proponent of UBI, and I thought, “aha! so Andrew Yang is the one who will save the environment!” But my impression of Yang’s UBI felt more focused on Artificial intelligence—I really just didn’t know a lot about UBI in general. (side note: I am REALLY excited for it to be summer so I can stop having deadlines and start just immersing myself in the random topics I want to learn more about. This course gave me a lotta suggestions.) After reading about it in this chapter, I think that UBI is really promising. Lewis and Maslin state that, “[UBI] breaks the link between work and consumption; we could work less and consume less and still meet our needs…those working in the fossil fuel industry would have the security of income to retrain” (406). This sounds incredibly promising, but there are still questions involving culture (some people feel more “manly” working in a coal mine) and how this would play out with refugees and non-citizens residing in the United States, etc. Still, I think a solid attempt at integrating this into our economy would help the world in lots of ways.

Half Earth: I am very interested in the idea of giving half the earth to other species, and perhaps indigenous groups as well. Again, I look at the suburbs and think of how seemingly easy it would be to develop rewilding techniques. All it would take is one popular suburban mom changing her front lawn from monoculture bluegrass to being a large garden—or whatever a local environmental rewilding consultant would suggest—and the rest of the neighborhood would follow suit. Half-Earth may seem like an enormous task to take on, but I genuinely have faith that it is possible.

Collapse

Figure 4: Quarantine Meme That My Mom Thought Was Real, https://www.boredpanda.com/nature-healing-quarantine-jokes/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=organic

As an environmental studies and anthropology double-major, people would ask me where those two overlap. I even felt that I was choosing two very different subjects because I was so scatter brained—I’d study a little about the environment, a little about humans, and figure out what I was going to do with that somewhere along the way. I let myself feel belittled for choosing two of the “easiest” subjects—no intense economics, no organic chemistry to work through. Just a lot of thinking too much about things which some people may consider completely irrelevant, a task which I am very good at. So it made me feel a lot better when, I believe it was you Dr. Kindervater, who said: “These two scientists think there is time for economic and political changes to save human kind. Culturally, though, do we believe it?”

For a long time I really thought that collapse was the only path our planet was headed towards—that Jane Goodall was bullshitting us all with her Reasons For Hope, and that if Bernie Sanders didn’t become president and begin balancing out the wealth gap and making changes to environmental legislation, then we might as well all be dead now and let whatever remaining species reclaim the earth before we make them go extinct too. I guess, if you’re someone who prefers life over death, (and I suppose we are all those types of people as even if we want to kill ourselves, we haven’t done it yet!) the we might as well have hope for the future, and continue working towards the new path.

“With great power comes great responsibility” is a quote from Uncle Ben in the Spiderman series, which Peter Parker/Spiderman keeps close to his heart as he begins to realize his powers, and is constantly questioned with the choice to use them selfishly or for the greater good. With increased technology, humankind collectively has the power to transform the earth or destroy it. I hope that soon we recognize what is at stake with our planet, and learn how to efficiently reduce the destruction being caused. It might not bring dolphins into the heat ponds of Washington D.C., but it would certainly allow for a lot of other miracles to happen.

Question: My concern with UBI is, how can you make sure that people aren’t spending it irresponsibly? Would it be better to just raise the minimum wage, or expand the amount available for people to get food stamps and free healthcare? Would UBI allow people to get their basic needs met, or would it provide for spending money on sustainable/fair trade products?

WC: 1251

[1] Vidal, John. “UN Environment Program: 200 Species Go Extinct Every Day, Unlike Anything Since Dinosaurs Disappeared 65 Million Years Ago,” Huffpost May 2011. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/un-environment-programme-_n_684562

[2] Miller, G. Tyler, and Scott E. Spoolman. Living in the Environment. Chapter 23: Economics, Environment, and Sustainability. 19th ed. Boston, MA: Engage Learning, 2020.

[3] https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x26ybub

[4] Miller, G. Tyler, and Scott Spoolman. Living in the Environment . 19th ed. S.l.: Cengage Learning, 2018.

[5] Lewis, Simon L., and Mark A. Maslin. “Chapter 11: Can Homo Dominates Become Wise?” The Human Planet: How We Created the Anthropocene, Yale University Press, pp. 367–416.

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ronnykblair · 6 years ago

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Investment Banking vs Private Equity: Should You Start on the Buy-Side?

“All that glitters is not gold.”

(The Merchant of Venice, Act II, Sc. 7)

One of our most frequent queries is “investment banking vs private equity” – perhaps in second place only to “investment banking vs private equity vs hedge funds.”

The key questions are usually:

If you have the opportunity, does it make sense to start out in private equity, or at a hedge fund, rather than in investment banking?

Is there any point of staying in investment banking rather than moving to private equity or hedge funds?

We covered the second point in the article on investment banking exit opportunities, so we will focus on the first point here.

And we’ll start by looking at how these fields differ and the usual arguments for and against starting out on the buy-side:

Investment Banking vs Private Equity: The Differences

Just in case you haven’t already read the dozens of articles about this topic, the basic differences are:

Investment Banking: You are like a real estate agent, but for businesses rather than properties. You represent companies and help them buy, sell, or raise capital, and you earn a commission when they do so.

Private Equity: You are more like a real estate investor, buying homes and commercial properties, improving them, and then selling them again in a few years to earn a profit – but you do this with large companies rather than properties.

You can earn a lot of money if you’re successful in either field, but the ceiling is far higher in private equity for the same reason the ceiling is higher for real estate investors than it is for brokers: if an asset’s price increases by 2x, 5x, or 10x, the investors reap all the gains (see: more on private equity compensation here).

By contrast, if you’re a broker or an investment banker, you earn commissions that are a small percentage of the selling price, no matter how well or poorly the deal performs afterward.

Undergraduates often start in investment banking and then use the experience to move into other fields (“exit opportunities”), such as private equity, hedge funds, and corporate development, after a few years.

Buy-Side vs Sell-Side: The Usual Arguments, and What Has Changed Over Time

In the buy-side vs sell-side debate, people often argue that it makes more sense to start on the buy-side at a private equity firm or hedge fund for the following reasons:

The work is far more interesting and intellectually engaging – you’re investing and finding holes in companies’ business models rather than changing the font colors on slides or fixing printers.

The only point of investment banking is the exit opportunities – and if you can already access one of the best exits, why bother with IB first?

The lifestyle is better, and you get more free time on weekends since there is less pressure to do deals constantly.

The compensation ceiling is significantly higher, and you position yourself to become a top earner by starting in private equity and advancing over time.

Over the 10-15 years following the financial crisis, a few additional arguments have arisen:

More private equity firms have been recruiting undergrads and offering them internships and even full-time roles (and interviews are pretty similar to investment banking interviews, so not much additional prep time is required).

Recruiting at all levels starts much earlier, so you won’t have much time to “experiment” with different fields… what do you have to lose by going directly into PE?

The top banks have become less prestigious compared with tech companies, and compensation is similar, if not lower – so, why not just go directly into PE?

Buy-Side vs Sell-Side: Why You Should Be Careful About These Arguments

These points above are not wrong, but they are misleading because “the buy-side” and “private equity” and “hedge funds” are huge generalizations.

For example, suppose that you’ve interviewed around and won the following two buy-side offers right out of undergrad:

Opportunity #1: Analyst at Silver Lake, one of the top private equity funds in the world (over $40 billion AUM), where you’ll assist the post-IB Associates with deal execution.

Opportunity #2: Analyst at Dollar Dial Capital, a brand-new $100 million AUM private equity fund, where you’ll focus on “sourcing,” i.e., cold calling companies to drum up business.

Technically, these are both “private equity offers,” but anyone with a pulse would realize that opportunity #1 is in a completely different league than opportunity #2.

You could make a good case for accepting the Silver Lake offer over IB offers from top groups at bulge brackets and elite boutiques, but you’d be crazy to accept the Dollar Dial Capital offer over top BB and EB offers.

That’s the TL;DR argument against the notion that buy-side roles are universally better: some buy-side roles may be better, but there’s huge variability among different firms and roles.

But let’s go beyond that and look at each argument made above for investment banking vs private equity:

Investment Banking vs Private Equity: The Work Itself

Work in investment banking consists of three main tasks: pitching for deals, executing deals, and “random tasks” such as finding information, delivering packages, and helping MDs prepare for calls.

By contrast, work in private equity consists of screening for potential investments, executing deals to make those investments, managing portfolio companies, fundraising, and helping to sell portfolio companies (exit strategies).

There are fewer “random tasks,” and even when you work on a deal, you spend more time thinking critically about a company’s quality as an investment rather than the process around the deal and how to spin the company into seeming amazing.

For example, you’ll poke holes in the CIMs sent over by bankers, you’ll challenge management’s projections, you’ll do your own research by speaking with industry experts, and you’ll request data from bankers to back up their claims.

So, it’s an easy win for private equity in terms of “more interesting work,” right?

Well… not so fast.

One problem is that the description above corresponds to what post-investment-banking Associates at mid-sized-to-large firms do.

If you get hired straight out of undergrad, you come in as an Analyst, and you have far less autonomy.

No matter how brilliant you are, you are simply not prepared to manage entire deal processes if you just graduated from university.

You’ll miss problems that would be common sense to anyone who’s completed several deals, and you’ll lack “soft skills,” such as the ability to extract information from executives who don’t like you.

You’ll often be more of an assistant to the Associates, and if you’re at a smaller firm, you could end up doing a lot of “sourcing” to find companies.

Some people don’t mind this, but many others dislike it and just want to work on deals.

Also, there is still plenty of “selling” involved in the job – if you come up with a good idea, you’ll have to pitch it to the investment committee, lenders, and your firm’s Limited Partners.

And while you may try to “improve portfolio companies’ operations,” you tend to do so at a very high level; you won’t understand the company to the same extent as a founder or executive who is in the weeds all day.

So, the work in private equity is generally more interesting, but that’s not universally the case, and it comes with the caveats above about your title, role, and the firm size.

Investment Banking vs Private Equity: What’s the Point?

People often argue that the only point of working in IB is to win exit opportunities.

By contrast, you enter a field like private equity because you want to stay in it for the long term, advance up the ladder, and eventually become wealthy as a Partner or Managing Director.

So, why bother with banking if you don’t have to?

But there’s a simple counterargument here: you get more out of banking, at least at a large bank, than just the exit opportunities.

For example:

You gain access to a wide professional network since banks employ so many people; even the largest PE firms are smaller by an order of magnitude.

You get more training from repeated deal execution. It’s just like weight-lifting at the gym: reps, reps, reps, and more reps. You’ll look at a lot of deals in PE but pass on 99% of them quickly, so you’re less likely to close many deals.

Perhaps most importantly, you get the brand name of a large bank if you work there first. Everyone worldwide knows Goldman Sachs, but most people outside the finance industry have never heard of KKR or Blackstone, let alone top middle-market funds such as ABRY.

Also, you’ll still have access to more and better opportunities if you work in IB first and then go through the on-cycle private equity recruiting process.

Do these points matter?

If you’re 100% set on private equity for the long term, no, not really.

But if you’re not sure of your long-term goals, or you might want to work outside of finance in the future, starting at a large bank gives you more options.

Investment Banking vs Private Equity: Lifestyle

People also like to argue that the “lifestyle” in private equity is better, meaning that you work less than investment banking hours.

Therefore, you get more of a social life, and you can make plans and take weekend trips.

If you look at the “average” PE firm, this is true: you won’t be at the office as much as in investment banking, where 70-80+ hours per week are still the norm.

That said, it is not the case at the mega-funds (KKR, Blackstone, etc.), where hours can be even worse than in banking.

Also, regardless of the firm size, if you’re working on a deal that’s nearing its final stages, expect late-night and weekend scrambles and just as much stress as in IB deals.

The main advantage of private equity is that you don’t pitch for deals in the same way, which means you don’t waste time and effort creating pitch books and revising them 578 times.

Finally, keep in mind that “better hours” doesn’t mean a 40-hour workweek; it just means, for example, 55-65 work hours per week rather than 70-80.

Investment Banking vs Private Equity: Salary and Bonus Levels

The usual argument here is that since the upside in private equity is unlimited, the compensation ceiling is much higher.

This point is true at the senior levels, but it ignores how the floor and the average case compare to investment banking salaries and bonuses.

In banking, 1st Year Analysts tend to start with base salaries just under $100K, with total compensation rising to the ~$150K range depending on bonuses.

It moves closer to $200K for 3rd Year Analysts, and total compensation for Associates ranges from $250K to $400K, with total compensation for VPs in the $450K to $700K range, and MDs in the high-six-figure-to-low-seven-figure range.

People often see these figures and say, “Aha! Associates in private equity earn $300K+! You earn more money by working in private equity! It’s a big jump from IB Analyst pay!”

Here’s what’s wrong with this logic:

Yes, Associates at mega-funds earn that much. But Associates at middle-market and smaller firms earn far less – sometimes, total compensation is lower than that of IB Associates.

Analysts at all types of private equity firms earn significantly less than Associates, just as Analysts in IB earn significantly less than Associates. In fact, PE Analysts often earn less than IB Analysts! So, you might initially make less money if you start in private equity.

The real pay advantage in private equity comes from carried interest (“carry”), which usually becomes available only as you move up to the VP / Principal and the MD / Partner levels.

And if you don’t stay to see the long-term results of your deals over many years, you won’t receive the benefits of carry.

The bottom line is that yes, the pay ceiling is higher in private equity, and there are MDs and Partners who earn many times – sometimes hundreds of times – what MDs in banking earn.

But there isn’t necessarily that big a difference in junior-to-mid-level roles unless you happen to get carry and then participate in deals that perform very well.

And remember that it’s also (arguably) harder to get promoted to the mid and top levels in private equity – turnover is lower, more people want to stay in it for life, and the long-term incentive structure makes people reluctant to leave.

Investment Banking vs Private Equity: Exit Opportunities

The article on investment banking exit opportunities covered this one in-depth, but in short: investment banking can lead to a wide variety of exits, including private equity, venture capital, growth equity, hedge funds, asset management, corporate finance, corporate development, tech startups, and more.

By contrast, your options are a bit more limited coming from private equity just because PE firms themselves are less well-known outside finance.

For example, if you recruited at a Fortune 100 company after working at Goldman Sachs, you would get a bonus for the GS brand name; you might even win interviews just because of that.

But if you started at a top PE firm right out of undergrad, the Fortune 100 company might not even know the firm that well, or at all – so you wouldn’t get much of a brand bonus.

That said, private equity still offers good exit opportunities; they’re just not quite as broad as the ones offered by investment banking because of this branding issue.

I would also argue that private equity offers much better exit opportunities than hedge funds, where you could easily get pigeonholed if your fund follows a very specific strategy.

This is also why it tends to be easier to move from private equity to hedge funds than to do the reverse (plus, the lack of deal experience).

Investment Banking vs Private Equity: What to Do?

There are solid arguments on both sides of the “starting out in investment banking vs private equity” question.

But I’d say the real answer comes down to your certainty over your long-term goals and how good the firm and offer are.

I would recommend starting in a buy-side role right out of undergrad only if:

You are very certain that you want to stay in PE (or HF/AM) for the long term, and you’ve completed multiple internships to confirm this; and

You have an offer at a well-known, established firm – not a startup fund with $100 million in AUM; and

You will be working on real deals (or real investments on the HF/AM side) – not cold-calling companies all day or being a glorified assistant; and

You will be working at a firm where there’s a clear path to promotion as an Associate, not one where Analysts get shown the door after ~2 years.

If all those are true, sure, accept the buy-side offer.

But if not, proceed with caution in this ongoing investment banking vs private equity debate.

All that glitters is not gold – even if your offer seems quite shiny.

The post Investment Banking vs Private Equity: Should You Start on the Buy-Side? appeared first on Mergers & Inquisitions.

from ronnykblair digest https://www.mergersandinquisitions.com/investment-banking-vs-private-equity/

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patriotsnet · 3 years ago

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How Many Registered Republicans In Alabama

New Post has been published on https://www.patriotsnet.com/how-many-registered-republicans-in-alabama/

How Many Registered Republicans In Alabama

Most Democratic And Republicancounties In Alabama

In Battleground States, Newly Registered Democrats Are Outnumbering Newly Registered Republicans

Which Alabama counties have the most Democrats and which has the most Republicans?

It turns out even the Reddest of Red states has a drop of Blue.

24/7 Wall Street;recently used voting data and a review of current and historical representation in Congress to determine the political leanings counties across the country. That index was then used to determine the most Democratic – and most Republican – counties in each state.

Alabama is a solid Republican state but the analysis found pockets of Democratic support. For example, in 2012, 61 percent of Alabama voters opted for Republican candidate Mitt Romney, one of the highest shares the losing candidate received from any state. In Greene County, however, 85 percent of the voters cast their ballot for President Obama. What’s more, Greene County helped send a Democrat to the U.S. House of Representatives in each of the last five Congressional elections.

That’s enough to make Greene County the most Democratic county in Alabama.

And what about the most Republican County? There is a lot of competition for that title but the recognition goes to Blount county, according to;24/7 Wall Street. In 2012, more than 86 percent of voters cast their ballot for GOP nominee Romney, the highest share of any county in Alabama. Also, county residents are represented in the House by the 4th and 6th Congressional Districts, both of which are held by Republicans.

Welcome to Tuesday’s Wake Up Call. Let’s see what’s going on:

How Many Democrats How Many Republicans

I want to follow up on my last post regarding how variations in poll results are often due to differences in how pollsters construct their samples. The previous post talked primarily about whether pollsters were sampling likely or registered voters. Obama, I suggested, polled better among registered voters. ;Today I want to look at another decision pollsters must make: whether to weight their sample by party identification and, if so, what weights to use. We know that whether one considers oneself a Democrat or a Republican is the biggest single determinant of how someone will vote. Not surprisingly, people tend to vote for the candidate who shares their party identification. So a poll that includes 40% Democrats in its sample is likely to have more favorable results for Obama than one that includes 35% Democrats, all other things being equal. Ditto for McCain and variations in the number of Republicans sampled.

To see how this makes a difference, consider two ;respected national polls that came out yesterday. CBS/NY Times came out with their monthly national poll that has Obama up 49-44, with 6 undecided.

Rasmussen, meanwhile, has the race tied, 48-48% in its latest tracking poll.

I show you these numbers to give you an idea of what it means to weight by party.; But why does it matter? Compare the CBS weighting to what Rasmussen calculates when they weight by party.

Are You Surrounded By Democrats Or Republicans How Jersey Breaks Red And Blue In All 21 Counties

Here is a county-by-county breakdown of which political party rules in each of New Jerseys 21 counties and how much each party gained since this time last year.

New Jersey is a Democratic-leaning state, and its getting bluer by the month.

Democrats have registered voters at a faster pace than Republicans in the Garden State. But the GOP still maintains pockets of control in some counties.

Republicans are outnumbered by registered Democrats by nearly 1 million people , according to the latest statistics from the states Division of Elections. As of the end of September, New Jersey had 2,307,937 registered Democrats and 1,331,102 Republicans.

Over the past year, Democrats added more than double the number of registered voters compared to the GOP , according to the data.

However, registered Republicans outnumber Democrats in six of the states 21 counties, and there are a few other counties that are pretty evenly split. Also, Republicans out registered the number of new Democrats in six counties from this time last year, including in three counties where the number of Ds outweigh the Rs.

The largest number of New Jersey voters 2,378,040 to be exact have not formally claimed any party affiliation.

Twelve years ago, Democrats had a 290,000 vote plurality over registered Republicans statewide, said Ben Dworkin, director of Rowan Universitys Institute for Public Policy and Citizenship.

Also Check: Do Republicans Want To Cut Social Security And Medicare

Super Bowl Conservatives: Nfl Players Who Lean Right

While liberals might dominate the big screen, the sports world is another story. Unlike actors, almost every great quarterback favors Republicans.

Knowing how cozy last nights Superbowl quarterback Tom Brady is with President Donald Trump, you probably think Im talking about him.; After all, Brady has;publicly said;he and President Donald Trump have been friends for a long time , he has played golf with Trump many times, they have phoned each other many times, and he said in 2015 he hoped Trump would be elected president.

But Im NOT talking about Brady, not specifically. Im talking about the best quarterbacks in NFL history, an amazingly high percentage of whom are identifiably conservatives.

Who ranks among the Top 10 quarterbacks of all time?

Brady definitely does. So does Joe Montana, the best quarterback ever in the opinion of many experts until Brady and Peyton Manning came along. Brett Favre, who held most of the NFL career records before Manning broke them, is also considered among the top 10. So is Dan Marino, who held most of the career records before Favre broke them. You can also make a good argument for Fran Tarkenton, who held most of the career records before Marino broke them.

Ive just named nine of the approximately top 14 quarterbacks in NFL history. ALL of them are also openly Republican.

Future Political Leaders?

Listed alphabetically, the conservative quarterbacks are:

Joe Montana: Montana is a longtime GOP donor.

Family-Friendly Content

Post Office Republicans And The Goldwater Landslide

Following the end of the populist era, Republicans effectively competed in even fewer isolated hill counties, mostly in north Alabama. While the Reconstruction period saw their strongest voting base in the black belt counties, Republicans also relied on many north Alabama counties that had never been strong proponents of the instutition of slavery. They garnered support from a coalition of small farmers, blacks, labor, prohibitionists, labor, etc. Again, these were often voters primarily from counties across the northern width of the state like Lawrence, Blount, Cullman, Walker, Winston, and DeKalb counties. Many of these counties elected Republicans to local office or occasionally to the state legislature even as late as the 1920s. However, only;Winston County;reliably elected Republicans to almost all offices as the county had attempted to succeed from Alabama during the Civil War and has always been considered ancestrally Republican. During this period the Republican Party relied heavily on federal patronage with federal appointments during Republican administration in Washington for such offices as local Postmasters.

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Republican Party In Alabama

Jeff Frederick, University of North Carolina at PembrokeCivil WarAlabamaReconstructionslavesUnionistsDemocraticWorld War IIWilliam Hugh SmithgovernorDavid P. LewisGuy HuntDon SiegelmanThe Republican Party EmergessecessionMontgomeryBenjamin TurnerSelmaJames T. RapierJeremiah HaralsonDallas CountywaterwayrailroadKu Klux KlanRobert LindsayBourbonsPost-Reconstruction Republican PartyGreenbackersPopulistscoalBlack BeltBirminghamagricultureReuben KolbThomas Goode Jonessegregation1901 state constitutionAlabama Republicans and Presidential PoliticsNew DealDixiecratGeorge WallaceParty Realignment and Republican AscendancyJames D. MartinLister Hillcivil rightscottonWinton BlountJeremiah DentonFob JamesRichard ShelbyLurleen WallaceBob Riley’sRoy MooreRobert BentleyShelby CountyAdditional Resources

Number Of Registered Voters By State 2021

Voter registration is the requirement that a person eligible to vote registers on an electoral roll before that person is entitled or permitted to vote. Voter registration may be automatic or may require each eligible person to submit an application. Registration varies between jurisdictions.

Almost 92 million eligible Americans did not vote in the 2016 presidential election. Voter registration and participation are crucial for the nations democracy to function properly and for the US government to provide fair representation.

Low voter registration numbers and low voter turnout can be the result of several factors. To increase voter registration and participation, barriers to registering to vote, and barriers to voting must be eliminated, such as additional restrictions on identification forms and reforms to ensure all eligible ballots will be securely counted. Additionally, those alienated from the democratic process or discouraged from voting must feel that their voice is heard by their leaders and encouraged to participate in elections.

Some pro-voter policies that have shown to increase voter registration and participation are:

Automatic voter registration.

Read Also: Are There More Democrats Or Republicans In The Senate

A Group Of Friends And A Few Acquaintances Were Having A Politic Many Of You Guys Can Add It Up In One Minute So Please Tell Me:

Eric rauchway, professor of american history at the university of democrats seized upon a way of ingratiating themselves to western voters: There were nine new senators and a minimum of 89 new representatives , as well as one new delegate at the start of its first session. During this time, african americans were largely disenfranchised. Get more help from chegg. The us political parties, now called democrats and republicans, switched platform planks, ideologies, and members many although what happened is complex, in many cases there was no clean sudden shift, and some voter bases and factions never switched, you can see evidence of the. How many new democrats are there? Voter registration is the requirement that a person eligible to vote registers on an electoral roll before that person is entitled or permitted to vote. Voter registration and participation are crucial for the nations democracy to function properly and for the us government to provide fair representation. Republicans who worked with democrats were traitors in the war for seats in congress. Ive seen a lot where it says theyre a registered democrat . A group of friends and a few acquaintances were having a politic many of you guys can add it up in one minute, so please tell me: Republicans and democrats after the civil war. In the others, such as virginia, voters register without.

Alabama Republicans And The Populists

Are Alabama Voters Set On Roy Moore? | The View

By the late 1890s, a coalition between the Populist Party and the Republican Party often produced “fusion tickets”, that combined forces in several subsequent elections to win control of several of Alabama hill counties in this era. They were most dominant in Marshall, St. Clair, Shelby, and Chilton Counties. Between 1892 and 1932 Shelby County was usually closely contested under the leadership of A. P. Longshore. Marshall County elected Republican Thomas Kennamer in 1896 to the Alabama House of Representatives. DeKalb County voted in 1896 for GOP Presidential candidate William McKinley. Chilton County was decidedly Republican between 1900â1912, including electing Lewis W. Reynolds as a Republican Probate Judge in 1904 and again in 1916. S. J. Petree was elected as a Republican Probate Judge in Franklin County in 1910; C. C. Scheuing was elected Cullman County Sheriff in 1910; J. B. Sloan was elected as a Republican to the State Senate from a district made up of Blount, Cullman, and Winston Counties. In 1910, J. J. Curtis of Winston County became the first Republican Circuit Judge in Alabama since Reconstruction.

Read Also: What Republicans Voted For Impeachment In The House

Registration Surges Follow The Campaign Calendar

The election calendar also influences party registration trends, as key dates and campaign events drive interest in participation. For instance, a presidential primary or the registration deadline ahead of the general election can spark a flood of registrations. But sometimes this can create a disproportionate number of registrations from one party.

Consider the 2020 presidential primary. Democrats had a competitive race, which drove interest in voting in 2019 and early in 2020 among Democrats and voters who wanted to have a say in the partys nomination contest. Meanwhile, Trump was practically unopposed in the GOP nomination contest, so there wasnt the same motivation among Republican-leaning voters to register ahead of the primaries in the spring until we got closer to the general election.

Illinois: Error Registered A Possible 545 Noncitizen Voters

CHICAGO An error in Illinois new automatic voter registration system led to a possible 545 non-U.S. citizens being registered to vote, 15 of whom cast ballots, state officials publicly acknowledged this week.

Illinois Secretary of State Jesse Whites office, which oversees drivers licenses, said the data of 574 people who self-identified as non-citizens was erroneously forwarded to elections officials to be registered to vote. Election officials confirmed Tuesday that 545 of them were ultimately registered.

It was a computer error, White spokesman Dave Druker said Tuesday. We moved to correct it and contacted people involved.

As Illinois Republicans called for an immediate hearing over a serious breach of voter protections, election officials worked to determine how many of the registrations were indeed invalid. Over 150 registrations had been canceled, said State Board of Elections spokesman Matt Dietrich.

Dietrich said it was possible some people indicated that they werent citizens by mistake. When Illinois residents get standard drivers licenses, they have to confirm they meet the criteria to vote, certifying they are 18 and a U.S. citizen. Only those who meet the criteria are supposed to be sent to election officials for registration.

The 15 people cast 19 ballots in elections in 2018 and 2019.

It was not immediately unclear what would happen to the individuals.

Follow Sophia Tareen on Twitter: https://twitter.com/sophiatareen.

Recommended Reading: How Many Republicans Are Registered To Vote

Party Registration Is Often A Lagging Indicator

A voters party registration is a strong indicator of who theyll support, but its not a guarantee. In fact, many voters registered with one party have actually been voting for the other party in recent elections but havent necessarily switched their registration to reflect the party they actually support.

Take Pennsylvania, for example. The once-Democratic southwestern part has shifted sharply toward the GOP over the past couple of decades. However, party registration figures havent necessarily reflected that movement as much as you might expect. For instance, Greene County along the West Virginia border voted for Trump by 40 percentage points in 2016, yet preelection registration figures1 show that party identification is split almost evenly, with registered Republicans and Democrats each making up 45 percent of the countys voters.

Part of whats going on is that many older voters in that region are still registered as Democrats, even if they back Republicans for most federal offices. Conversely, the suburban counties around Philadelphia in the eastern part of the state used to form the base of the state Republican Party, but even though that area has moved toward the Democrats in recent elections, some Democratic-leaning voters havent changed their party registration. In other words, big shifts in party registration sometimes tell us something we already know, and arent a signal of a new shift in attitudes.

Polling Data Shows Republican Party Affiliation Is Down As Independents Leaning Toward The Democratic Party Surge

Democrats have a nine-percentage-point affiliation advantage over Republicans at the moment.

Resize icon

The GOP is losing its grip, according to the latest Gallup poll.;

The number of Americans identifying as Republicans or as independents who lean toward the GOP dropped to 40% in the first quarter of 2021, compared with the number of Democrats or independents leaning toward the Democratic party hitting 49%. And that nine-percentage-point lead is the greatest Democratic advantage that Gallup has measured since the fourth quarter of 2012, when former President Barack Obama was re-elected.;

Gallup routinely measures U.S. adults party identification and the political leanings of independents. The latest poll surveyed a random sample of 3,960 U.S. adults by phone between January and March of 2021. And while Democratic Party affiliation actually dropped by one point from the fourth quarter of 2020, to 30% where it has hovered for most of the past eight years the number of Americans identifying as independent rose to 44% from 38% last quarter. And this growing number of independents came at the expense of the Republican party, as 19% of independents said they lean Democrat, compared with 15% leaning Republican. Most of the remaining 11% of independents didnt swing either way.;

And several events have happened during those three months that could position the Democratic Party more favorably in voters eyes, the Gallup report noted.;

Opinion:

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Number Of Registered Voters In Illinois Exceeds 8 Million

Something about the 2016 election is striking a cord with the populace to make sure that theyre registered, said Ken Menzel, general counsel for the Illinois State Board of Elections.

With less than two weeks until Election Day, more Illinoisans are registered to vote since record keeping began in 1970.

Past Jumps In Party Affiliations

The bump in Democratic affiliation following Bidens inauguration mirrors that of former President Barack Obamas first term, Jones said.

That was really the high point that weve seen; kind of the 2006-2009 period, when really the majority of Americans either identified as Democrats outright or were independents but they leaned toward the party, he said.;Our data on this only goes back to the 90s, but its pretty much the only time we consistently had one party with the majority of Americans on their side.

Republican advantages, though rarer and more short-lived, followed the Gulf War in 1991 when George H.W. Bush was in office and the 9/11 terrorist attacks during President George W. Bushs term, according to Gallup. More people also reported GOP affiliation after the 1994, 2010 and 2014 midterm elections.

Whether the Republican Party can regain advantage during the 2022 midterm elections may rely on the successes of the Biden administration, according to Jones.

A lot of it is going to depend on how things go over the course of the year. If things get better with the coronavirus and the economy bounces back and a lot of people expect Biden can keep relatively strong approval ratings, then that will be better for the Democrats, Jones said.;But if things start to get worse unemployment goes up or coronavirus gets worse; then his approval is going to go down. Its going to make things a lot better for the Republican Party for the midterm next year.

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patriotsnet · 3 years ago

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How Many Republicans Voted To Impeach Trump In The House

New Post has been published on https://www.patriotsnet.com/how-many-republicans-voted-to-impeach-trump-in-the-house/

How Many Republicans Voted To Impeach Trump In The House

The Problem With Existing Districts

Several House Republicans to vote to impeach President Trump

Arguments For Expanding The Number Of House Members

‘a Win Is A Win’: Trump’s Defense Team Makes Remarks After Senate Votes To Acquit

Despite the acquittal, President Joe Biden said in a statement that “substance of the charge” against Trump is “not in dispute.”

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South Carolina Rep Tom Rice

Rices vote for impeachment stunned those familiar with the South Carolina lawmakers record as a staunch Trump defender, especially during his first impeachment.

I have backed this President through thick and thin for four years. I campaigned for him and voted for him twice, Rice said in a statement Wednesday evening. But, this utter failure is inexcusable.

The Daily 202: A Vote Of Conscience Five House Republicans Explain Why They Will Vote To Impeach Trump Today

with Mariana Alfaro

Rep. Fred Upton complained that Trump showed no contrition when he spoke on Tuesday and described his speech from last weeks rally on the Ellipse as totally appropriate.

Also Check: How Many Republicans Are On The Supreme Court

Constitutionality Of Senate Trial Of Former President

The question of whether the Senate can hold a trial for and convict a former president is unsettled. Article II, Section 4 of the U.S. Constitution provides:

Article I, Section 3, of the Constitution, also states the following:

House Votes To Impeach Trump

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Michigan Rep Peter Meijer

Fred Upton Of Michigan

10 house Republicans voted to impeach Trump

Upton, who has served in Congress since 1993, announced in a statement Tuesday that he would also be supporting impeachment.

Also Check: How Many Republicans Are Against Trump

Impeachment Of Donald Trump 2019

Cabinet White House staff Transition team Policy positions

Donald Trump was impeached twice. This page covers the first impeachment. , which took place in 2021.

On February 5, 2020, President Donald Trump was acquitted of abuse of power by a vote of 52-48 and obstruction of Congress by a vote of 53-47.

Trump denied the allegations and called the inquiry “the worst witch hunt in political history.”

The trial began on January 16, 2020, after seven impeachment managers from the U.S. House of Representatives presented the two articles of impeachment to the U.S. Senate.

For an overview and timeline of the impeachment trial proceedings, .

See also: Impeachment of federal officials

How Many Senators Are Chosen

Read Also: How Many Republicans Voted Against Budget

House Votes To Impeach Trump But Senate Trial Unlikely Before Biden’s Inauguration

Here Are The 7 Rino Republicans Who Voted To Impeach President Trump

Write these names down, remember them.

They are not fit to continue serving in office in the Republican party.

Actually.I feel like we need a new party altogether.

I dont really want to be a Republican.

But I want nothing to do with the RINOs.

President Trump was acquitted today in a historic SECOND sham impeachment trial.

He soundly defeated the action, as the Democrat House Managers suddenly caved in a surprise turn of events after Trumps team put Nancy Pelosi on the witness list.

Very interesting!

The New York Times

ACQUITTED!

Watch:

Former U.S. President Trump declared not guilty at the post-presidency impeachment trial.

Senate vote was 57 Guilty & 43 Not Guilty. 67 was needed to impeach. Donald Trump can officially run for U.S. president in 2024 despite acts of treason & insurrection. #TrumpImpeachment

Here are the 7 RINO Republicans who voted with the Dems:

7 GOP senators voting guilty so far *updated*-Sen. Burr

Olivia Beavers

Never EVER vote for these people again!

Primary them, get them OUT!

BREAKING : Senate acquits Trump of impeachment charges, by a vote of 43-57, which is short of the two-thirds majority required for conviction.

From CBS:

Also Check: Why Republicans Do Not Like Obamacare

Incumbents Defeated In Primary Elections

The following table lists incumbents defeated in 2020 House primary elections or conventions.

Incumbents defeated in primaries

See also: Incumbents defeated in 2018 congressional elections

In the 2018 midterm elections, 378 U.S. House incumbents ran for re-election. This was the lowest number of U.S. House incumbents seeking re-election since 1992.

Defeated U.S. House incumbents by party, 2000-2018 Year

97.8

Rep Dan Newhouse Washington

Rep. Dan Newhouse of Washingtons 4th Congressional District on Wednesday voted to impeach Trump shortly after announcing his decision to do so on the House floor.

These articles of impeachment are flawed, but I will not use process as an excuse for President Trumps actions, Newhouse said.

The president took an oath to defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. Last week there was a domestic threat at the door of the Capitol and he did nothing to stop it.

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Richard Burr North Carolina

Burr, who has said he will not seek re-election, had previously voted to dismiss the impeachment trial on constitutional grounds. Burr’s term expires in 2022.

“I have listened to the arguments presented by both sides and considered the facts. The facts are clear,” explained Burr in a statement.

Comparison To The Senate

Rep. Adam Kinzinger on why he broke with Republicans and voted to impeach President Trump

Also Check: Who Are Richer Democrats Or Republicans

Gop Leader Mccarthy: Trump ‘bears Responsibility’ For Violence Won’t Vote To Impeach

Correction Jan. 14, 2021

A previous version of this story incorrectly said Rep. Peter Meijer is a West Point graduate. Meijer attended West Point, but he is a graduate of Columbia University.

Sending To The Senate

Once the articles are sent over that is usually done with an official walk from the House to the Senate then the majority leader of the Senate must start the process of having a trial.

Recommended Reading: How Many Republicans Are There In The Senate

Rep Anthony Gonzalez Ohio

Results Summary And Analysis

According to the Associated Press statistical analysis, gerrymandering cost the Democrats an additional sixteen House seats from Republicans.

Voter turnout in this election was 50.3%, the highest turnout in a U.S. midterm election since 1914.

Read Also: What Are The Basic Differences Between Democrats And Republicans

These House Republicans Voted To Impeach Donald Trump

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