#vice president
A mockery was made of the national anthem all right.
But it wasn’t by the San Francisco 49ers.
Vice President Mike Pence turned the anthem into a prop Sunday, co-opting it for a stunt that served no other purpose than to sow division, further enrage the administration’s conservative base and try to cow NFL owners. That it likely deflected attention from yet more neo-Nazi protests in Charlottesville was all the better.
Please, though, tell me again how it’s the players who are so disrespectful.
Pence was so incensed by the sight of several 49ers kneeling during the anthem at Lucas Oil Stadium that he left immediately afterward. Not so incensed that he wasn’t right there with a carefully crafted statement to let the world know of his outrage, however.
Happy 126th birthday, President Dwight D. Eisenhower!
Born today in 1890 in Texas, Dwight D. Eisenhower graduated from West Point in 1915 with what became known as “the class the stars fell on,” because 59 members eventually became general officers. During World War I, he served in US Army camps around the United States despite his requests to fight abroad. After the war, he was promoted to major - a rank he held for 16 years.
In the early 1930s, Eisenhower was posted as chief military aide to General Douglas MacArthur and would accompany him to the Philippines for four years. After the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, Eisenhower created major war plans to defeat Japan and Germany, which led to his appointment as Supreme Allied Commander in Europe.
After the victorious end of World War II, Eisenhower returned to Washington, DC, to serve as Chief of Staff of the Army. As the 1948 presidential election approached, many politicians from both parties encouraged Eisenhower to run, but he could not be persuaded until the 1952 election. His simple and effective slogan “I Like Ike” and selection of Richard Nixon for Vice President helped him defeat his opponent by a landslide. Eisenhower was the last President born in the 19th century and the only general to serve as President in the 20th century.
Image courtesy Eisenhower Presidential Library.
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Please use this freely, a small campaign design contribution, for our 2022 new Philippine President and Vice President, Leni Robredo and Kiko Pangilinan. May they be grace to win!
History of the Winged Sea Lion: https://twitter.com/Aericangelo/status/1477787783871676417/?s=20
Incidentally 2022 is the 20th Anniversary of my getting started on the official design requirements for the coat-of-arms, seal, and flag of the President and Vice President of the Philippines, of which the Executive Order No. 310 is signed on 20 April 2004 https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/2004/04/20/executive-order-no-310/
In an interview with New York Times, Vice President Richard Nixon expresses his dissatisfaction with the show I Love Lucy, claiming it is breaking down pure traditional marriage in this Country by displaying an interracial marriage. He is quoted “Shame on the television networks for allowing America to be subjected to this race-mixing marriage between a fine upstanding hard-working Cuban gentleman like Ricky Ricardo and a dirty, despicable Irish conniver like Lucy.“
Not sure if anyone noticed, but I’ve been neglecting this blog lately. Too many fish in the barrel, not enough bullets. And others doing it much better, which is a good thing.
But I’m surprised there isn’t much discussion (that I’ve seen) on the post-Trump reform agenda. We could need one sooner than we think - or later than we fear. In any case, here’s my two cents. This list focuses on institutional/structural changes - hopefully these are acceptable to people of all ideological stripes who are interested in strengthening democratic self-government rather than narrow partisan interests. Many will need constitutional amendments, and some are more realistic than others. But we have to start somewhere.
Prosecutors and judges
1. The Attorney General becomes a non-political, non-partisan post. Yeah, you can still have a “Secretary of Justice” or whatever for policy issues, but prosecutions under federal law should be independent from political influence. Have the AG serve one, nonrenewable 10 year term, appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate, but cannot be removed except for gross incompetence/malfeasance. FBI reports to the AG.
2. AG appoints US attorneys for fixed, staggered terms, say 6-8 years. Again, cannot be removed without cause. AG can choose to appoint special prosecutors for special cases.
3. All written and verbal communications by officials in the executive or legislative branch with the AG, other federal prosecutors or the FBI are matters of public record.
4. Federal district and appellate judges serve for fixed terms, say 12 years. Supreme Court justices maybe 16 years.
Campaign finance
5. Sources and amounts of all donations to political candidates, causes or organizations greater than $1000 in a calendar year are matters of public record. This applies to any donation, in cash or kind, to anyone who seeks public office, and to any person or organization that communicates against others seeking public office, or advocates on an issue that is currently subject to political debate
The president
6. The president becomes fully subject to executive branch ethics rules.
7. The president must release complete financial info, including tax returns, assets and debts, and eliminate any financial conflicts of interest and all foreign sources of income by the time of his/her inauguration. If s/he fails to do so, this automatically triggers impeachment proceedings.
8. If the president is impeached and removed from office, the vice president serves in a caretaker role until new elections are held, no later than six months after the president leaves office.
The Senate
9. No more Senate filibuster. However, all matters of substance in the Senate must be approved by a majority of senators and by a majority of population represented by those senators as measured at the most recent census. A bill would become law if it passes the House by a majority, and both tallies in the Senate. Kamala Harris would have 37 million votes, Mike Rounds of South Dakota would have 814,000. Right-wingers will be happy to learn that Ted Cruz gets 25 million votes.
10. Senate vacancies are filled by prompt special elections, not gubernatorial appointment (this always bothered me).
Elections
11. No more electoral college. President chosen by nationwide popular vote.
12. No more party primaries, at any level. All elections have two rounds: if no one gets more than 50% in the first round, the top two candidates compete in the second. This would be a big culture shock at the presidential level, but I think we could make it work.
13. Congressional and state-legislative district lines to be set by independent commissions with equal representation of both major parties and representation by minor parties. Agreement of reps of both major parties on these commissions needed for final approval, and districts must meet broad federal guidelines (contiguity, racial balance etc).
14. You want voter ID? OK, anyone who shows up at a polling place (which opens two weeks before election day) with a valid photo ID that proves citizenship can vote and is automatically registered for the next eight years. So no chance for voter fraud (which is virtually nonexistent anyway) and no more convoluted requirements for advance registration. You can get a special voter ID based on address-based forms of identification (birth certificate + bank statement etc) from your local DMV or elections office, without a fee, up to two weeks before the election, also valid for 8 years.
15. Ballots are mailed to all registered voters four weeks before the election. Completed ballots can be mailed in or dropped off at a polling place at any time thereafter.
16. For those who wish to vote in person, voting machines must meet strict security and transparency guidelines, including published software and an auditable paper trail.
17. Every election will automatically be audited (ie a sample of precincts/counties will have their votes hand-counted); any irregularities will trigger a broader recount.
18. A county where officials are found to have harassed, intimidated or otherwise restricted voters will have its elections federally administered for the next ten years. A state that has three or more such counties will have all of its elections federally administered for the next ten years.
Miscellaneous
19. No more penny. WTF is worth two cents?
20. You want to sell health insurance across state lines? OK, health insurance can be sold across state lines, but the health insurance industry is now regulated at the federal rather than the state level. Actually all insurance should be regulated at the federal level.
21. No more debt limit. Come on, it’s a stupid idea.
22. If the appropriations bill for an authorized federal agency or department is not passed by the end of the fiscal year, the previous year’s appropriation is automatically renewed, with an inflation adjustment. So no more government shutdowns.
23. Members of Congress can be prosecuted for insider trading based on knowledge they acquire as part of their legislative activities.
24. The District of Columbia gets either the senators and representatives it would be entitled to if it were a state, or statehood.
25. Puerto Rico gets either statehood or (once its finances are straightened out) independence.
26. Civics classes made mandatory in all schools, public or private. These will cover how the government works, how citizenship works, how to critically read news coverage, how to judge the reliability of news sources, how to engage in public debate, and how to distinguish facts from opinions.
Anyway, that’s my agenda. What’s yours?
One last goodbye
Brothers❤️
“Blood makes you related,
but Loyalty makes you FAMILY.”
Smoking has never been soooo sexy
The evolution of Jackson Teller.
Like a fine wine, he gets better with age
Ohhhh Filip
“Kamala Harris”
History was made today January 20, 2021 as madame Vice President Kamala Harris becomes the
✔️FIRST WOMAM VICE-PRESIDENT
✔️FIRST BLACK WOMAN VICE-PRESIDENT
BREAKING: President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris sworn in
Joe Biden was just sworn in as the 46th president of the United States. Kamala Harris is now the first female, Black and South Asian vice president of the United States.
Credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images
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Ravi from VIXX was chosen as my student council’s president. And Leo (also from VIXX) was only vice president got sulky about it and I tried to comfort him about it. This all happened in my living room while Lee Hongki from FT ISLAND was playing tennis in there.
