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Carol H Tucker
Passionate about knowledge management and organizational development, expert in loan servicing, virtual world denizen and community facilitator, and a DISNEY fan
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Be warned:in this very rich environment where you can immerse yourself so completely, your emotions will become engaged -- and not everyone is cognizant of that. Among the many excellent features of SL, there is no auto-return on hearts, so be wary of where your's wanders...
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May you live in interesting times
Today is the 5th day of the 45th week, the 10th day of the 11th month, the 315th day of 2016, and:
- Area Code Day
- International Accounting Day
- International Tempranillo Day
- National Forget-Me-Not Day
- National Vanilla Cupcake Day
- NET Cancer Awareness Day
- Sesame Street Day -- the 1st broadcast was on this day in 1969
- USMC Day -- marking creation of the Corps as part of the US Navy in 1775
- Windows Day -- Microsoft released its Windows computer operating system on this date in 1983; Windows 3.1, the version that would become popular in offices across the nation, was released almost nine years later
- World Science Day for Peace and Development
- World Usability Day
AND it is the 2nd day after the US Presidential election. For the first time in my life, I actually cried when the results came in. For the first time in my life I am literally frightened, and unable to take a “we’ll see” stance. I watched Nixon, Reagan, and two Bushes take office and didn’t have this level of concern – but then again, they didn’t SAY the kind of horrible things that this candidate has either. I actually sought out a woman I know who voted for Trump and begged her to tell me something positive about him, tell me why she was so happy with the outcome. Her reply was simply that once he got into the Oval Office, he would understand that those kind of shenanigans wouldn’t fly anymore. Mind you, I didn’t like Hillary, didn’t like her back in when she was 1st Lady, didn’t trust her, didn’t believe in her – so I am not particularly upset that she lost, but I am just so frightened about this “whitelash” that I feel almost paralyzed. I am dismayed at the way the US looks to the world and worried that when his time to get voted out comes, he will refuse to leave. I am scared not just of his volatility, but about the unknown agendas of his “handlers” who control him [the story about his twitter account being taken away was NOT amusing, who ARE these people?]
Trump was right about one thing – the system IS rigged in favor of the rich and powerful and always has been. We forget that we live in a republic, not a democracy, neh? The Electoral College, with 583 electors [based on Congressional representation] needs to be revamped. Currently all states, except for Maine and Nebraska, have chosen electors on a "winner-take-all" basis since the 1880s – and that results in someone who only took 47.88% of the votes cast getting 56.88% of the electoral votes and becoming president-elect even when the popular vote is actually showing his opponent ahead by 202,340 votes.
But the real story of this election?
Why didn’t 46.23% of the population vote? According to the US Elections Project the total estimated eligible voting population is 231,556,622 people. The total estimated registered voters is 200,000,000 or 86.37% of those eligible. According to GOOGLE, updated Nov 10, 2016 9:29 AM EST, the total estimated number of ballots cast this election was 124,497,418 or 53.77% of those eligible to vote.
The main reasons I have heard for not voting:
- · Not convenient– this is the first election since the Supreme Court ruled against the Voting Rights Act in 2013, which led to the closing of over 800 polling places across the country in the name of budgetary constraints. Lines were long. Polls opened late and in some cases closed early.
- · Cannot vote or register -- stricter ID requirements for voters in multiple states have been enacted since 2013 as well
- · Couldn’t get off from work– not every state had early voting and not every state that did had weekend hours available. Especially if you are holding down two jobs, I can see where the scheduling could get dicey. My solution would be to make Election Day a paid federal holiday.
- · Didn’t feel like there was much of a choice
- · My vote doesn’t make a difference-- In multiple states, victories came down to fewer than 10,000 votes, which truly sheds light on just how valuable those missing votes might have been for either of the major party candidates. It's also a reminder of just how valuable your vote is in picking who runs this country — and how important it is everyone remembers to vote in 2018 and 2020.
So, in the end, about 26% of the population just chose the resident of the most powerful office in the country.
And now we all have to live with it.
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