It still exists……..differences can be expressed, but with a lacing of respect…nice to read ….

WASHINGTON (AP) — George Clooney traded jokes with his father, veteran journalist Nick Clooney, before a screening Monday night of the actor’s 2005 film “Good Night and Good Luck.”

The 47-year-old actor wrote and directed the film about legendary journalist Edward R. Murrow, which his father is now using to teach journalism students at American University. Both Clooneys appeared at a screening of the film for students, alumni and others at the Newseum, a museum about the news.

Nick Clooney said it’s important to him that college students can learn from his son’s work.

“I don’t care for that,” George snapped back.

“Never cared for this kid! His sister’s great,” the elder Clooney quipped.

“I always wanted to be adopted, couldn’t find anyone,” the son said, drawing laughs.

The younger Clooney said he grew up hearing about Murrow, and their family took pride in how journalists held the government accountable during the paranoia of the 1950s communist threat. Clooney said he wanted to make a movie to let people hear some “really well-written words about the fourth estate again.”

It is the Electoral College, not the popular vote, that elects the next president of the United States. Here are some facts about the Electoral College:

* There are 538 members of the Electoral College, allotted to the 50 states and District of Columbia based on their representation in the U.S. Congress. The smallest states have three members, while the most populous state, California, has 55. Washington, D.C., which has no voting representation in Congress, has three, the same as the smallest state.

* It takes 270 electoral votes to win. The electors are pledged to one candidate or the other, but there is no federal law requiring them to vote that way. In the course of U.S. history, there have been several incidents in which so-called faithless electors voted for someone other than the candidate to whom they were pledged.

* In 48 states and Washington, D.C., the candidate who wins the popular vote wins all of a state’s electors. Nebraska and Maine have a proportional system of awarding them.

* Electors, who are picked by the respective political parties, make two selections — president and vice president. They may not vote for two candidates from their own state.

* Because a candidate could run up a big vote count in some states but lose others by narrow margins, the winner of the popular vote might not have the most electoral votes. The Electoral College has three times picked the candidate who lost the popular vote — Republicans Rutherford Hayes in 1876, Benjamin Harrison in 1888 and George W. Bush in 2000.

* The Electoral College meets in each state to cast its votes on a Monday early in December. The votes are then tallied in a joint session of Congress on January 6 of the following year.

* If no candidate receives a majority of the electoral votes, the House of Representatives chooses among the top three candidates, with each state having only one vote. If no vice presidential candidate receives a majority, the Senate decides between the top two candidates.

* The House has twice decided the outcome of the presidential race — in the 1800 and 1824 elections. The Senate decided the vice presidency once, in the 1836 election.

* This unique system was the result of a compromise by the writers of the U.S. Constitution in the 18th century between those who wanted direct popular election and those who wanted state legislatures to decide. One fear was that, at a time before U.S. political parties, the popular vote would be diluted by voting for an unwieldy amount of candidates.

(Writing by David Wiessler; editing by Stacey Joyce)

If religion is the opiate of the Poor, then why are Republicans so centered on this? The saying speaks to just one face of Religion, the perpetuation of Hope. The Poor has an abundance of this. But is this what the GOP is standing on? This confuses me.

Awhile ago a friend and author of mine wrote a book titled, “The Penalty of Hoping”. The point of this novel isn’t relevant here, just the title. Before it was published we had a longer than usual discussion about the title, whether it should instead be “The Penalty for Hoping”. The difference of a preposition can change the point of the story, he said. And it does suggest what Religion can perpetuate.

Hope is a passive yet strong event. It must be translated to action to be of any use. Yet the Poor possess an overabundance of this. There is a management mantra that an organization is only as strong as its weakest link. If the Dems or Republicans want to change this country for the better, in a sustained way, then the Poor have to be educated and motivated as a priority. And I don’t think there is an argument between the two parties that this is the key. Yet the primary difference between them is how this is done. The Devil is in the details. And depending on what you believe to be the better method, should help you decide on who should lead this country in the coming 4-8 years.

But know this, sustained giving to the Poor, without them giving back, is the Penalty for Hoping.

When is self-evolution to an above average thought level a bad thing? Well, when it becomes more a neurosis than a self awareness check.  Life is a balancing act. And all thought during life has a good side and bad. So don’t fret about blocking or tackling, and believe me, it is an “or” decision. Footballers never got that quite right, it’s not “and”, and that’s why there are penalties in football and life, the former simply being a metaphor for the latter.

And personal effects are just tools of life, nothing more and nothing less. So let’s not let one’s mind overthink that one either. They’re just enablers in a sense, tools to compete with. If they become more than that, take a time out and read a book. Ha!

The Older Grasshopper