The Government Shutdown Countdown Lowdown MEGATHREAD

[garbon]

Bloomberg.

Apparently a large portion of New York is now adopting the stance that it was dreadful to live under Bloomberg. Fucking posers!

[Syt]

Bloomberg.

Apparently a large portion of New York is now adopting the stance that it was dreadful to live under Bloomberg. Fucking posers!

Blood-Soaked Mayor Bloomberg Announces Homelessness No Longer A Problem In New York City

NEW YORK—Drenched in drying blood and limping slightly, New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg triumphantly stated this morning that the city's longstanding homeless problem had finally been solved. "Homelessness is over—it's not a problem anymore," a winded Bloomberg said to a City Hall press conference while gripping the lectern tightly to prevent his hands from shaking. "I fixed the problem. Problem solved." When asked by reporters if permanent housing had been provided for the city's 50,000 homeless, Bloomberg assured them the new lodgings were quite permanent.

[garbon]

But that's not really the point---Seedy's 2nd paragraph is the point:  if voters want to keep having the same person represent them, they should be able to do so.

But like I replied we generally put restrictions on most other political positions so why is Congress sacred?

[DGuller]

Aren't term limit generally put on executive positions?  Those usually have a lot more power that can be entrenched.  Legislators by their nature generally don't, although seniority rules have made some senators from small fiefdom states pretty powerful.

[The Brain]

Bloomberg.

Apparently a large portion of New York is now adopting the stance that it was dreadful to live under Bloomberg. Fucking posers!

Blood-Soaked Mayor Bloomberg Announces Homelessness No Longer A Problem In New York City

NEW YORK—Drenched in drying blood and limping slightly, New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg triumphantly stated this morning that the city's longstanding homeless problem had finally been solved. "Homelessness is over—it's not a problem anymore," a winded Bloomberg said to a City Hall press conference while gripping the lectern tightly to prevent his hands from shaking. "I fixed the problem. Problem solved." When asked by reporters if permanent housing had been provided for the city's 50,000 homeless, Bloomberg assured them the new lodgings were quite permanent.

We need him in Stockholm.

[Gups]

Genuine question. Why is gerrymandering tolerated in the States? Woudl it be possible to pass a federal law requiring that the district boundaries are determined by an independent commission.

[Viking]

The House in particular is ridiculous.  Since they're worried about being primaried/re-elected every other year, they're only actually doing their jobs half the time.  I've probably said this before, but it bears repeating.  10 year term for executive branch positions and the Senate, single term only.  5 year term for the House, limit two per customer.  There would be some real teeth in setting policy, and Americans might put a little more thought into who they're sending to DC and why if they know they're going to be stuck with the yobbos for a decade.

Interesting points, but I bet representatives would do their jobs better if they weren't allowed to design their own districts, more so than if they didn't have to worry about term limits.

They don't get to design their own districts. It it the state congresses that get to design their state's districts.

[Admiral Yi]

Genuine question. Why is gerrymandering tolerated in the States? Woudl it be possible to pass a federal law requiring that the district boundaries are determined by an independent commission.

I believe the Constitution grants states the power to decide the manner in which their elected officials will be selected.  The same reason we couldn't have national legislation on term limits.

[Gups]

In states where there is widespread gerrymandering, do the voters tolerate it? Is it just an accepted part of partisan politics?

[Eddie Teach]

In states where there is widespread gerrymandering, do the voters tolerate it? Is it just an accepted part of partisan politics?

Pretty much. The winning party in the state gets to decide things, so why weaken the party you support by sending a more divided contingent to congress?

[Admiral Yi]

I've read there are only 7 states (6 GOP controlled and 1 Dem controlled) that go nuts with the gerrymandering.  I've never lived in any of them so I can't say with any certainty, but my guess is that Joe Sixpack doesn't give it a second thought. 

Some of our posters are Texas residents, maybe they could tell you.

[Gups]

So (to the extent that its an issue) it;s not resolvable without amending the constitition?

I can only thank Hod that partisanship here (which is bad enough) hasn't quite reached the level where it blatantly trumps democracy.

[CountDeMoney]

They don't get to design their own districts. It it the state congresses that get to design their state's districts.

Right, and political parties have no say in the matter.

[Eddie Teach]

Clear as mud.

He's saying the freshman congressmen are more strident and intractable than the old-timers.

[OttoVonBismarck]

There's a few simple amendments I believe would do a lot to fix our system or at least get it on the right track, without necessarily being as drastic as a full on rewrite of the Constitution:

Amendment: (Modifying the U.S. House of Representatives & General Legislation) a) Members of the House are elected to four year terms.

b) In times of necessity, the President may dissolve the House of Representatives and new elections shall be held to fill their positions within 35 days. During these periods of interregnum, the Senate may pass legislation on its own, as is necessary, but such legislative acts will be temporary in nature and will expire when the new House members are sworn in. In such instances, the newly sworn in membership of the House will have terms that expire at the same time as the current President. 

c) Legislation passed by the House must be signed by the President to become law, but it is not required to be passed by the Senate. However, the Senate shall be given legislation passed by the House to review and amend. Non-budgetary bills that are not approved by the Senate will be delayed for one year, after which a motion by the House can forward the legislation to the President for passage without review of the Senate. Budgetary bills cannot be delayed by the Senate, but they will still be submitted to the Senate for review if the Senate wishes to express counsel or advice to the House.

d) Federal Border Commissions shall be created to draw U.S. House of Representatives districts. These commissions will be overseen by 5 commissioners who select a chief officer to run the commission's business. These commissioners shall be appointed to 16 year terms by the President and confirmed by the Senate. The Senate shall be responsible for regulating these commissions, however members appointed as commissioners must have formal training in the field of geography, cartography, statistics or a closely related field. Commissioners also must have never held elected office in the Federal Government. The mandate of the Border Commissions shall be to create districts that are of maximal geographic compactness, with the only exception being alterations designed to preserve unity of certain community structures (i.e. cities and such.)

Amendment: (Modifying the Presidency) a) The President may veto legislation, his veto may be overridden by 3/5ths vote of the House of Representatives.

b) The President shall be the person who, on election day receives a majority of the vote in a majority of the districts of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Amendment: (Further modifying the Senate) The Senate shall be made up of 250 members. Senators must be forty years of age to serve, and they shall serve in times of good behavior until they reach 80 years of age, when they will be required to retire. 150 Senators shall be chosen by the States by appointment of State governors (three per state), said States may regulate in what manner this appointment power is exercised and whether or not the respective State legislatures will have confirmation power over Senatorial nominations. Of the remaining 100 Senate seats, 25 shall be filled by Presidential appointment in times of vacancy, 25 shall be filled by selection by the House of Representatives in times of vacancy, 25 shall be filled by a selection of the (remaining) Senators in times of vacancy, 10 shall be selected by majority vote of the chief officials of Select Colleges & Universities as selected by the Senate, 15 shall be selected by the National Academies, with 5 being chosen by the National Academy of Science, 5 by the National Academy of Engineering, and 5 by the Institute of Medicine.