There is an interesting (and potentially important) change occurring on the ballots of states with tight Senate races. Legalization of marijuana issues are appearing on the ballots in places like Alaska and Oregon and are expected to draw in younger voters. This could be the margin that the Democrats need to reduce their expected losses. However, the Democratic leadership has followed the lead of President Obama in opposing (or at least not supporting) legalization efforts. The result is that the Democrats could benefit from the ballot pull of pot but do not appear to be capitalizing on the prospect.
Brookings Institution expert John Hudak expects an influx of potential young Democratic votes. All that is required is a couple seats to stay blue for the Democrats to keep the Senate — though Joe Biden might have to become a full-time member of the Senate in casting votes on ties. The GOP is widely expected to make gains in both houses but the pot issue could be a game changer in a couple of states. The GOP is counting on Alaska and Oregon.
These type of wedge issues have worked for the GOP with the gay marriage ballot issues in the past. Hudak says however that the Democrats are missing this “real opportunity” to use pot at the polls.
They seem to be trying to have it both ways in a political version of Bill Clinton insisting that he tried marijuana but “I didn’t inhale.”
Swarthmoremom
The Republicans’ efforts in the Washington Legislature are not just a blip on the radar. The argument as the two state senators and presidential nominees as evidence of Washington being completely a blue state is insufficient to describe the politics of this state.
The formation of the state senate is not by county as the federal senate is by state. This was due to a court decision back in the 1960s(?) where the state was mandated to base the numbers of senators allocated based upon number of voters in the districts not by county which would allow better representation in rural areas in the same model as the federal senate was modeled to provide for high population states crowding out and dominating the government
Washington has 39 counties. Around 30 of them are historically republican, including the entirety of Eastern Washington.
King county, where Seattle is situated, has more state electoral districts within its borders than all of Eastern Washington.
Despite all of this there remains roughly an equal divide in state politics though democrats have more of a presence due to elections but to infer that republicans are not politically significant is lacking in providing an actual perspective of the state.
Paul, That’s my point. Blanche is a breathless, helpless woman. The faux feminists contend they are bold and independent but then play victim when anyone says boo to them, Blanche like.
Nick – now that makes sense. She was also a flirt if I remember the play correctly. It has been some time since I’ve either seen it or read it.
The real “Father of the Big Bang Theory” would have had to have been a Hindi, far from Belgium.
Actually, the “Big Bang” was “discovered” long, long ago. Ancient Indian/Hindu writings describe the origin of the universe as expansion from a tiny point of energy/light.
Wiki – “The later Puranic view asserts that the Universe is created, destroyed, and re-created in an eternally repetitive series of cycles. In Hindu cosmology, a universe endures for about 4,320,000,000 years—one day/Kalpa of Brahma, the creator, and is then destroyed by fire or water elements. At this point, Brahma rests for one night, just as long as the day. This process, named Pralaya (Cataclysm), repeats for 100 Brahma years (311 trillion, 40 billion human years) that represents Brahma’s lifespan. Brahma is the creator but not necessarily regarded as God in Hinduism because there are said to be many creations. Instead, he is regarded as a creation of the Supreme God or Brahman.
We are currently believed[12] to be in the 51st year of the present Brahma’s life and so about 158.7 trillion years have elapsed since the birth of Brahma. After Brahma’s “death”, it is necessary that another 100 Brahma years pass until he is reborn and the whole creation begins anew. This process is repeated again and again, forever.”
A child gets a supremely better education in a Catholic school than a public. I attended public k-8. Catholic high school and undergraduate. Public post graduate. NO comparison.
Elaine,
On “parochial schools”…
As a kid, I knew of only two religions: “Catholic” and “Public.” The only significant difference was that kids who were “Public” had to attend Catechism on Saturday while “Catholics” took the day off. 😉
Swarthmoremom and fiver,
I learned about evolution in parochial school. The Sisters of Notre Dame taught me about evolution and Darwin.
@fiver
True, but some people here seem to think scientific knowledge has been advanced by an army of dedicated Atheists. In fact, people of all religions have worked to discover how things work, and why. I do except the 6,000 year old Earth people, who seem to be pseudo-scientific quacks, or opportunists.
Squeeky Fromm
Girl Reporter
I learned about evolution in a Catholic school and, between beatings, they taught it well.
Catholics schools don’t teach creationism. Fundamentalist christian and some southern public schools teach it.
SWM – Catholic schools most certainly teach creationism, just not the 6000 year old world version. They teach the God created everything version, the Uncaused Cause.
Squeeky,
Interesting and apt comparison between the Big Bang and religion (yeah, I changed creationism to religion to avoid silliness). The Father of the Big Bang was actually a Belgian priest who eventually worked in the Vatican. While the priest’s mathematics led to the assumption of a singular point of origin, folks like Albert Einstein were extremely reluctant to reach that conclusion.
Fr. Georges Lemaître, SOJ and Edwin Hubble eventually convinced Einstein, and the scientific world, that Lemaître’s maths, and the Big Bang, were correct. Fascinating guy.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georges_Lema%C3%AEtre
fiver – having spent times with the Jesuits, it is SJ not SOJ after their name. The Benedictines are OSB, Order of St. Benedict. The Franciscans are OSF, etc.
“vi•a•bil•i•ty noun \ˌvī-ə-ˈbil-ət-ē\
plural vi•a•bil•i•ties
Definition of VIABILITY
: the quality or state of being viable: the ability to live, grow, and develop” Merriam-Websters
There is a growing percentage of the population that had better hope they don’t change the definition by adding the word “independently”
That’s what you get when unalienable no longer has meaning.
http://drrichswier.com/wp-content/uploads/Tense-600×473.jpg
Conservative love in action. My cup runneth over.
That’s the strangest jury instruction I’ve ever heard. Has it been given to any actual jurors? On any actual juries? By any actual courts? Anywhere? Ever?
Liberals argue that abortion is necessary because there’s no one to take care of all the unwanted children. But when it comes to all the illegal children crossing the border, well, that’s different.
No SWM, it is not a rarefied reference. But, we’re all intelligent. I do like the y’all. “I don’t want realism, I want magic.”
@swm
No, I relied on the kindness of strangers to tell me who she was. . . 🙂
Squeeky Fromm
Girl Reporter
@Samantha
No, but I will look it up and see what is going on there.
@Swm
What is wrong with Creationism, the belief that God created the Universe??? What do you to contrast with it??? Something called “The Big Bang” which is a “singularity”??? Know what a singularity is???
“According to the standard theory, our universe sprang into existence as “singularity” around 13.7 billion years ago. What is a “singularity” and where does it come from? Well, to be honest, we don’t know for sure. Singularities are zones which defy our current understanding of physics. They are thought to exist at the core of “black holes.” Black holes are areas of intense gravitational pressure. The pressure is thought to be so intense that finite matter is actually squished into infinite density (a mathematical concept which truly boggles the mind). These zones of infinite density are called “singularities.” Our universe is thought to have begun as an infinitesimally small, infinitely hot, infinitely dense, something – a singularity. Where did it come from? We don’t know. Why did it appear? We don’t know. ”
http://www.big-bang-theory.com/
I am not sure how a belief in a God created Universe is all that different from “well the laws of physics and time and space didn’t exist in the beginning.”
Squeeky Fromm
Girl Reporter
I was on an attempted murder jury.
The prosecution showed the evidence. Just the facts, ma’am.
The DEFENSE (i.e. liberal/collectivist/socialist/progressive/communist/democrat
/parasites/feminist/racialist/unionist/striking teacher/victims du jour/et. al., whatever) told fabricated, cockamamie tale after tale until I was dizzy from being baffled by b——-! A hotbed of lies, rationalizations and excuses.
In society, anyone with a rational, sensible, coherent, neutral, unbiased, normal, natural, orderly, sane idea, such as a prosecutor, is excommunicated as a irretrievably defective conservative. And the liberal nutcase, convoluted psychobabble from the defense table (figuratively speaking) cries, whines, complains, inundates, deluges, obfuscates and buries the truthful, accurate, right and correct.
It is the jury’s burden to be honest and moral as it separates the wheat from the chaff. How is that accomplished by well mannered people? Nice guys finish last.
P.S. This fractured behavior only seems to occur during certain periods since the 19th Amendment was ratified. It sure does seeeeeeeem that way. That could be a misssssperception. I really don’t know.
“Squeeky Fromm, Girl Reporter
@NickS
There will probably be some faux outrage. First, they will have to look up Blanche DuBois in Wiki. . .:) Really, Blanche DuBois is not that rarifed of a reference. Well. maybe it is to y’all.
https://i.chzbgr.com/maxW500/2439380224/h3D615488/