Think of the American Union as a European Union on steroid's.

Ok. I'm thinking................
American Union? Then I come to think of a Civil War.,,
Oh. But the EU is not a country like the US:)

Yep here in Australia if you don't want to vote then you just pay $50 (plus $5 G.S.T.) for that privilege, simple, and voting registration happens here automatically on a person's 18th birthday. ;-)

Other than that how does your country stack up on the Democracy Index?

I can easily live with 9th spot and a "Full democracy" rating. :-)

"you just pay"

Thanks for the confirmation that their are Government's that penalize people who do not wish to be coerced into voting against their personal wishes not to.

Yes, we do stack up better than those Country's.

$55 isn't much to pay for that privilege, but providing a legitimate reason for not voting (such as illness) will easily get a person out of paying that even.

But thank you for confirming that you support having a flawed democracy.

There is no need for a Electoral College in any country but the USA. Why?

Because agricultural slave states didn't have enough voters to balance the industrial states.

The Constitution was written in 1778 before any part of the country was industrialised. Industrial revolution started in the UK about 1760 and got to the US later. The Cotton Gin 1793 and Interchangeable Parts 1801 were the principle early US contributions.

https://eml.berkeley.edu/~webfac/cromer/e211_f12/LindertWilliamson.pdf
Page 16

We find this contrast between the regional occupation mixes among free household heads in 1774:
                                                          among free household heads (%)
                                                New England     Middle colonies     Southern colonies
Farm operators                                  43.9            25.8                72.7
Professions, commerce, crafts                   11.0            32.5                14.3
No occupation given, some wealth                16.7            28.7                11.0
Menial laborers + those with zero wealth        28.4            13.0                 1.9

https://www.encyclopedia.com/international/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/preindustrial-manufacturing

In the period preceding this revolution, from the bubonic plague of 1348 to the 1770s, a sophisticated system of manufacturing had emerged in early modern Europe.

1778?
United States Constitution was born in September 1787. Someone has forgotten The Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union.

The USA is not a Country internally, as those in other Country's understand the concept. It is under the control of 50 semi-independent States.

Yes. We all know that. But the EU is 28 sovereign countries without any president that rule us all. That is very hard to understand to many Americans.

https://eml.berkeley.edu/~webfac/cromer/e211_f12/LindertWilliamson.pdf
Page 16

We find this contrast between the regional occupation mixes among free household heads in 1774:
                                                          among free household heads (%)
                                                New England     Middle colonies     Southern colonies
Farm operators                                  43.9            25.8                72.7
Professions, commerce, crafts                   11.0            32.5                14.3
No occupation given, some wealth                16.7            28.7                11.0
Menial laborers + those with zero wealth        28.4            13.0                 1.9

https://www.encyclopedia.com/international/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/preindustrial-manufacturing

In the period preceding this revolution, from the bubonic plague of 1348 to the 1770s, a sophisticated system of manufacturing had emerged in early modern Europe.

1778?
United States Constitution was born in September 1787. Someone has forgotten the Confederation of United States.

None of those professions are what we class as industrial.
Or else you would us to call the weavers cottages in England Factories.



You could call it "non-agrarian society, subsistence level domestic manufacturing"

edit] Before 1828 only property owning white males could register to vote, about 6% of the population.

Economic recovery won't be until 2023.

Consumer spending is the backbone of the American economy, making up roughly 68% of U.S. gross domestic product.

“Brick-and-mortar retail was struggling in the expanding economy,” said Jerry Nickelsburg, economist and director of the UCLA Anderson Forecast. “We expected it to take a hit in the next recession, which is now.”

Nickelsburg said he expects local businesses in the sector will not regain their prepandemic positions, even after a general economic recovery.

“There are going to be department stores and other brick-and-mortar that are closing stores permanently,” he said.

“Our expectation is that it will be into 2023 before we get back into the level of employment that we had before the recession,” he said. “That’s the time frame for incomes to come back, and those are the basis for consumer spending.”

Fantastically great news for King Donald. Its the economy stupid.

https://www.aljazeera.com/ajimpact/years-china-trump-elected-2020-polls-200616035610577.html

Despite trade-war pain, China reportedly sees chance to take geostrategic lead if President Trump wins re-election.

Donald Trump has argued frequently of late that China is rooting for Joe Biden come November's U.S. presidential election. In Beijing, however, officials have come around to support four more years of Trump.

Interviews with nine current and former Chinese officials point to a shift in sentiment in favor of the sitting president, even though he has spent much of the past four years blaming Beijing for everything from U.S. trade imbalances to Covid-19. The chief reason? A belief that the benefit of the erosion of America's postwar alliance network would outweigh any damage to China from continued trade disputes and geopolitical instability.

While the officials shared concerns that U.S.-China tensions would rise regardless of who was in the White House, they broke largely into camps of those who emphasized geopolitical gains and those who were concerned about trade ties. Biden, the former vice president, was viewed as a traditional Democrat who would seek to shore up the U.S.'s tattered multilateral relationships and tamp down trade frictions.

"If Biden is elected, I think this could be more dangerous for China, because he will work with allies to target China, whereas Trump is destroying U.S. alliances," said Zhou Xiaoming, a former Chinese trade negotiator and former deputy representative in Geneva. Four current officials echoed that sentiment, saying many in the Chinese government believed a Trump victory could help Beijing by weakening what they saw as Washington's greatest asset for checking China's widening influence.

The general assumption underlying their views was that little could be done to halt the slide in relations between the world's two biggest economies. Thus, China needed to accelerate efforts to develop high-end indigenous industries, expand into developing markets and look for opportunities to work with nations in Europe and Asia to counter any U.S. isolation efforts.

King Donald dancin in the aisles.

Last Tuesday in West Virginia, something remarkable happened: 10(!) sitting Republican state legislators -- including the state Senate president and a former House majority leader -- lost in primaries.

Oh no, surely not West Virginia. :-O

https://www.aljazeera.com/ajimpact/years-china-trump-elected-2020-polls-200616035610577.html

Despite trade-war pain, China reportedly sees chance to take geostrategic lead if President Trump wins re-election.

Donald Trump has argued frequently of late that China is rooting for Joe Biden come November's U.S. presidential election. In Beijing, however, officials have come around to support four more years of Trump...

... many in the Chinese government [believe] a Trump victory could help Beijing...

And the next question of influence comes with:

Who really controls the voting?


Note carefully what has already happened for just one example:

YouTube: 'Facebook Trumps Voting'...


We're a few months away from the next 'big vote' in the USA and already, really where are those nasty memes coming from?


All only in the USA?

Stay safe!
Martin

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See new freedom: Mageia Linux
Take a look for yourself: Linux Format
The Future is what We all make IT (GPLv3)

Some Russian views on Trump and America.
https://twitter.com/JuliaDavisNews/status/1273250553326448640

The theme of racially motivated unrest in the United States fills pro-Kremlin propagandists with joy and leaves them craving more. “The worse for them, the better for us,” said senior lawmaker. State media host grinned in response: “We’re enjoying it.”

Two Parliamentarians of Russia's State Duma proposed segregating black people on reservations. In an obvious nod to Trump, one of them said: “Negroes are getting in the way of making America great.” This grotesque idea was boosted by Russian state media.

LET’S GET THE POPCORN READY” – RUSSIAN TV COVERS US PROTESTS
https://euvsdisinfo.eu/lets-get-the-popcorn-ready-russian-tv-covers-us-protests/

No wonder v2.0 is trying to stop this book being released.

John Bolton: Trump sought Xi's help with re-election.

Trump was willing to halt criminal investigations as 'favor' to dictators, Bolton book says.

Trump asked China's President to help him win 2020 election, Bolton claims in excerpt of new book.

Obviously Putin wasn't giving enough help.

Maybe Trump should ask Kim Jong-un or perhaps Kim Yo-jong for help.
After all Trump have sent love letters to Kim. Trump doesn't do that if nothing is returned.
Oh. Return to sender.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PU5xxh5UX4U

Now we know why King Donald is suing to prevent it being published.

I wonder what the outcome will be.

America's current coronavirus situation ahead of Donald Trump's first campaign rally since restrictions were imposed.

Not to mention the cost.

Hmm...

In the meantime, prospective attendees of the Tulsa rally have been asked to register their intention to go to the event.
The online registration form ends: "By clicking register below, you are acknowledging that an inherent risk of exposure to COVID-19 exists in any public place where people are present.
"By attending the rally, you and any guests voluntarily assume all risks related to exposure to COVID-19 and agree not to hold Donald J Trump for President … liable for any illness or injury."

Well Oklahoma has relatively few corona cases compared to the other states. But why don't they have the rally outdoors? It's very much safer that way.

IMHO: Don't automatically believe the politically inspired "reporting" of either side's News [sic] Media.

Thank GOD, we have reliable Polls to give us the real picture....................[/sarcasm]

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"Sour Grapes make a bitter Whine." <(0)>