Search found 16381 matches

by Ken
Sun May 12, 2024 1:32 pm
Forum: Politics
Topic: Autocrat vs Institutionalist
Replies: 27
Views: 568

Re: Autocrat vs Institutionalist

By the way, I'm pretty sure the Autocrat/Institutionalist dichotomy is not playing a major role in the selection process of the electorate. Maybe I'm being a bit cynical, but it seems like the motivation for the average voter is more short-term in nature. More often than not people are voting for t...
by Ken
Sun May 12, 2024 1:26 pm
Forum: Politics
Topic: Autocrat vs Institutionalist
Replies: 27
Views: 568

Re: Autocrat vs Institutionalist

In 2020 the 5 closest states were Georgia Arizona Wisconsin Pennsylvania North Carolina None of those are particularly small or rural states. What the electoral college gives us is a system in which the voters in 5 swing states determine the election. And in 2020 those 5 states represented 14% of t...
by Ken
Sun May 12, 2024 1:06 pm
Forum: General Theology
Topic: Were they Christians? John 15:13
Replies: 6
Views: 154

Re: Were they Christians? John 15:13

John Jacob Astor IV was Episcopal to the extent that he was religious at all. The Astors were an absurdly rich Episcopal family from New York. His great grandfather also named John Jacob Astor made his fortune in the fur trade. He immigrated from Germany and was of the Reformed Church. But the Astor...
by Ken
Sun May 12, 2024 12:28 pm
Forum: Politics
Topic: Autocrat vs Institutionalist
Replies: 27
Views: 568

Re: Autocrat vs Institutionalist

Ken, I’m speaking of the present, not 200 years ago. Democrats frequently talk about how terrible the electoral college. America wouldn’t exist without the electoral college because smaller states (most of which weren’t slave states) wouldn’t have joined the Union. They wanted representation instea...
by Ken
Sat May 11, 2024 11:10 pm
Forum: Politics
Topic: Autocrat vs Institutionalist
Replies: 27
Views: 568

Re: Autocrat vs Institutionalist

Claiming the electoral college is “undemocratic” is obviously partisan. That’s why I say it’s actually a Democratic position. Again, your historical knowledge is lacking. The electoral college was implemented in part to prop up slavery which is the least democratic institution every invented. The w...
by Ken
Sat May 11, 2024 4:22 pm
Forum: Politics
Topic: Autocrat vs Institutionalist
Replies: 27
Views: 568

Re: Autocrat vs Institutionalist

We can have democratic institutions (universal suffrage, direct election of Senators, term limits on the presidency, etc.) And we can have undemocratic institutions (electoral college, 3/5ths compromise, filibuster rules, etc.) This looks suspiciously like Democratic institutions, not democratic in...
by Ken
Sat May 11, 2024 2:11 pm
Forum: Politics
Topic: Autocrat vs Institutionalist
Replies: 27
Views: 568

Re: Autocrat vs Institutionalist

I chose "Something Else," and if this is a copout, or too close to "Institutionalism," feel free to call me out. I choose "DEMOCTRATIC" - Leadership prioritizes 2-way democracy: strong, clear, frequent communication with all the people, mixed with more frequent governa...
by Ken
Sat May 11, 2024 1:28 pm
Forum: General Theology
Topic: The Israeli state?
Replies: 52
Views: 1313

Re: The Israeli state?

I think Israel has a right not to be invaded and swamped by hostile peoples wanting to take over and reduce Jews living there to dhimmi status like they were in the Middle Ages, or worse, murdered in a genocide. "From the river to the sea", the Arab slogan, is a call for genocide. We are ...
by Ken
Thu May 09, 2024 9:17 pm
Forum: Politics
Topic: Autocrat vs Institutionalist
Replies: 27
Views: 568

Re: Autocrat vs Institutionalist

I would like to see a government that is run by people with good character and real wisdom. Whatever system achieves this is the one that I am for. The system in which a majority of people also value those things and vote for them. I would argue that part of good character is being humble. And humi...
by Ken
Thu May 09, 2024 6:11 pm
Forum: Current Events
Topic: War in Gaza
Replies: 456
Views: 81636

Re: War in Gaza

Interesting and nuanced take on the "organization" of some of the campus protests, in Tablet today. These groups, Shideler says, typically operate in a decentralized manner, using successful tactics drawn from decades of anarchist organizing and spread through left-wing activist networks ...