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Archive for “Presidential Election 2012” news
Does New PA Election Bill Really Qualify as “Vote Rigging?”
By Simon van Zuylen-Wood 2/25/2013
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Last week, 13 Pennsylvania Republican state senators introduced a bill that would change the way the state's electoral college votes are awarded. (You may have read about it when it was initially floated in December.) Instead of a winner-take-all system in which the presidential candidate with the most popular votes gets all 20 electoral college votes, as is in place now, the votes would be allocated using a combination of winner-take-all and proportional voting. 18 of the state's electoral votes would be awarded proportionally, and two would be allocated on a winner-take-all basis. In other words: Barack Obama would get
Nate Silver Picks “Argo” for Best Picture
By Simon van Zuylen-Wood 2/22/2013
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Using the results of previous awards handed out this year, Nate Silver has forecasted this year's Oscars. In the last two times he did this (predicting only the six major categories), he notched a 75% success rate. Especially because voters from earlier award shows (Screen Actor's Guild, for example) also vote in the Oscars, this method ends up mimicking the polling averages he compiled during the election. Without further ado, Nate's picks:
Best Picture: Argo
Best Director: Steven Spielberg, Lincoln
Best Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln
Best Actress: Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook
Best Supporting Actor: Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln
Best Supporting Actress: Anne Hathaway, Les Miz
How
“Legitimate Rape” Guy Ranked Most Conservative Guy in Washington
By Simon van Zuylen-Wood 2/20/2013
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Long before he postulated that pregnancies could not be caused by rape, due to the wondrous alchemical way female bodies can "shut that whole thing down," Congressman Todd Akin was well on his way to being Congress's most conservative person. In the National Journal's influential and meticulously calculated annual 'Who's the Reddest?' rankings, Akin scored first, with a 97%. Of the top 25, no Pennsylvania lawmakers made the cut. The full rankings will be released tomorrow. [National Journal]
Revised U.S. Map Erases Pennsylvania, Makes Philadelphia Its Own State
By Simon van Zuylen-Wood 2/15/2013
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NYC artist and urban planner Neil Freeman has divided the United States into 50, equally-sized states, each bearing a population of around 6,175,000. Under this formula, Philadelphia and part of South Jersey get their own state, called (ha!) "Philadelphia." Meanwhile, the rest of Pennsylvania would be dissolved into three separate states called Pocono, Susquehanna, and Allegheny. All of those states, in turn, would drift into other current states as well.
The map is in many ways more intuitive than the one we uses now. Likely building off work by authors like Colin Woodard, and others who have re-imagined the United States, the
Voter ID Won’t Take Effect for Pennsylvania Primary Election
By Simon van Zuylen-Wood 2/15/2013
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You won't need your ID this May 21st, for the statewide primary election, as the Corbett administration and the folks suing him reached an agreement to postpone the law's potential implementation. That said, who's up for election in this year's primary again? Oh yeah, that's right, not really anybody. Which might explain why Corbett and co. folded so easily. As was the case in November, "local election officials can ask to see identification" but "voters will be allowed to cast ballots as usual even if they lack those documents." [Patriot-News]
Rutgers Professor Wants to Run for President of Iran
By Simon van Zuylen-Wood 2/04/2013
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No, this isn't like some former senior lecturer at the University of Chicago Law School becoming the first black president of the United States. This would actually be unlikely. Hooshang Amirahmadi, a professor of public policy at Rutgers-New Brunswick, has thrown his hat in the ring for the 2013 Iranian Presidential Election. "Who can they find better than me as a peacemaker - someone who understands American language, Iranian language, American culture, Iranian culture, and can go back and forth?" he said. "I feel like I am the one." [Italics mine.]
Some likely roadblocks: 1. Popular Iranian presidential candidates don't typically
Political Operatives Mourn as Inventor of Etch-a-Sketch Dies
By Simon van Zuylen-Wood 2/04/2013
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Yesterday, Andre Cassagnes, the 86-year-old inventor of the Etch-A-Sketch, died in his home outside Paris. Of complications from learning that his invention did not ultimately help Mitt Romney win the presidency. The toy was already inducted into the Toy Hall of Fame in 1998, and can now rightfully take its place in the Political Toy Hall of Fame for its role in the 2012 presidential election.
Current inductees include: Lincoln Logs (Lincoln; Barack "You Didn't Built That" Obama), Slinky (John Edwards), Checkers (Richard Nixon), Monopoly (Herbert Hoover), Transformers (Mitt Romney, John Kerry), Bratz Dolls (Michele Bachmann), Troll Dolls (Dennis Kucinich), and Buzz
Presenting “Son of Romney: Will A Romney Runs for Office Again?”
By Simon van Zuylen-Wood 2/04/2013
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Heeeeeeeere's Romney! Not the one you're so sick of, but the one you're gonna be sick of: Taggggg! Massachusetts has an open Senate seat, vacated by new SOS John Kerry, and Republicans literally have no one viable in the pipeline to run, after Scott Brown and former Gov. Bill Weld said no thanks. Which means they're calling on 42 year-old Romney fils Tagg, who famously wanted to sock it to Barack Obama. Tagg, according to the Boston Herald, is considering it. Plus he just tweeted a cute pic of his sons--suspiciously, his first tweet in more than a month! [Boston
Uber-Gerrymandering PA Senator Gets the Colbert Treatment
By Simon van Zuylen-Wood 1/23/2013
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If you're a state senator profiled on the Colbert report, you know you've gone rogue. Well, Republican State Senator Dominic Pileggi, the guy who wants to allocate electoral college votes by congressional district (which would basically allow states that gerrymander to control national elections), got his 15 seconds last night. Jump to about the 3 minute mark, but watch the whole thing for a primer on why Pileggi might be proposing such legislation. Hint: If Pileggi's plan were enacted, PA would have gone for Romney. Video also here.
The Colbert Report
Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
The Word - Win, Lose, or
Video: Beyonce Sings National Anthem at Inauguration
By Simon van Zuylen-Wood 1/21/2013
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A lot happened at the Presidential Inauguration today, but we can all agree that the best video footage to emerge from the festivities was of Beyonce singing the national anthem. Actually it was Chuck Schumer droning on about something while everybody waited for the president, but I couldn't find the video. So here's B.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klW4zOU3NYY
As for what actually happened, the Onion has a pretty good rundown:
12:00 a.m.–11:59 p.m.: Secret Service freaking out
8:42 a.m.: First of many decisions by an onlooker to just go, right here, rather than lose his spot
9:58 a.m.: Half-shaved Obama tears down White House stairs after having slept
