Bring Back Roller Derby

 I have this idea for a sports function to put on opposite of NFL football....since we've all gotten to a point of hating it.

Bring back roller derby.

My suggestion would be....take the old dimensions......25 ft across and 60 ft long, in a oval shape.....double that somewhat....60 ft across and 150 ft long.

I'd add one-rope (ten-foot long) as a part of the derby.  I'd add a mini-bike with 10-Hp to sling-shot folks on the first two rounds around the derby. I'd add rubber matting for the derby gals/guys.  And I'd mandatory nicknames for all players (Wicked-Wanda, Fancy-Dancy, Hocus-Pocus, Cowboy Bob) 

In a matter of weeks, I think my style of roller derby would take off and consume a third of the NFL audience members.    

270 Isn't An Absolute Thing

 Is the 270 Electoral Vote number really the magic number, and is the 538 total Electoral College number a magic number?

Well....no.

Lets say you run an election, and two states (just random select Michigan (16 EC votes) and NY state (29 EC votes) screw up and can't confirm or certify their votes by 14 December.

Together, that amounts to 45 votes which officially don't exist.  If they don't exist, the total magic number is no longer 538....it's 493, and the winning number is now....246.5 (really 247).....instead of 270.

At this point, you might ask the silly question....just how many states might screw this entirely up?  Well....there's no way to forecast this.  It might be zero....one, or perhaps even a dozen states.  

Having three Trump-win states from 2016 fail?  Under this scenario, it brings it awful close to a Biden-win scenario.  

Having the Supreme Court get into the middle of this and order states or their Governors to comply or sign-off?  In the case of Michigan, I think their Governor would just say 'no' and refuse to comply.  Could the Supreme Court get into the middle of this to correct it?  More than likely....but you start to drag up questions over how this ever got so screwed up, and who ordered what to occur.

In some ways, you'd be inviting all of 2021 to be a huge discussion over election failure, and assign blame to individuals.

A method that the court might just say....Electoral College results be totally thrown out because of the reckless behavior, and just run the back-up method.  Well....that would go and trigger a massive anger by pro-Biden folks as being unfair.  

Could the court go and suggest the 14 December Electoral College end-point be thrown out and conducted on 3 January instead (just a random day)?  They probably could say they have this power.....although most would question it.

Wondering how this would play out after the election?  Speaker Pelosi, by 14 December, would be calling for a massive hearing, and attempting this before early January.  After early January, if the Republicans win in bulk, their new House Speaker would restart the entire process, and go into an entirely different direction. 

The FBI in the middle of this?  With no doubt.  

All of this leading to a massive f**ked-up situation where millions of Americans feel the system is built in a manner worse than what they have in Bolivia?  Probably so.  Some would even admit that things ran better in 1912's election than it did in 2020.  

The Second Race

 So you pick up the likely schedule of the Justice selection process, and look over the landscape.

The name announcement ought to occur by next Friday, and my humble guess is that McConnell will write down 12 October (Monday, three weeks prior to the election) to start this hearing business.  

This means that the debates (Joe and Donald)....will be looking less and less important. 15 and 22 October are the 2nd and 3rd debates.  I should note as well....the 15th will be held in Miami (if the Cuban gal is selected....this debate in Florida will center entirely on her abilities and Joe will be walking into a serious mess if he insults her in Florida).

Added to this....various Senators ought to be back in their home-states....fighting to be re-elected, and now?  They will have to split their time, and openly discuss their feelings in DC.  

The end-vote in the Senate?  I would humbly suggest that it'd happen around the last Thursday/Friday of October, before the election.

Odds of the person passing?  Fifty-fifty.  Three Republican Senators (Mitt is in this group) have said they won't support this selection until January.  The pressure on the Alabama Senator (Senator Jones, Democrat)?  It's enormous and would probably cancel-out all of his efforts against 'Tubby'.  There's probably four additional Senate races which will go fairly negative for Democratic Senators.

If they fail?  All of the drama in November and December, with a 8-member court....will be laid back on the three Republicans and their approach to chaos.

So here's the landscape....it ought to be an election about Biden versus Trump, and Trump has inserted an entirely different discussion....which will eat up tons of TV journalist time.  Thanks to RBG's frustration over controlling her replacement....she actually invented another angle to lessening Joe Biden's odds in the election.  

Timing and RBG

 In the Ruth Bader Ginsburg business....timing is everything, or nothing.

You go back to 2013/2014....approaching 80, and she already had health-related issues.  

President Obama had a majority Senate in his favor.  She could have easily drawn the curtain, said enough, and retired.  She didn't.

In November of 2014....everything in the Senate flipped.  Republicans controlled a clear majority. 

So come January of 2015, President Obama didn't have the slant in his favor on picks.  If she wanted a person of her legal views....it probably wasn't going to pass via the Senate....so she waited....figuring Hillary Clinton would win, and have some 'extra' control over the selection process. 

Well....November 2016 rolls around, and Hillary's 'boat' sailed in the opposite direction.  

For four years, and through marginalized health, RBG waited.  Her hopes?  To make it to January of 2021, and President Biden fixing this mess.

What'll happen now?  Among the possible names on the list....there's this conservative Cuban-American female judge from Florida.  It wouldn't surprise me if she was the name, and it'd turn into serious poison if the Democratic Senators slammed her in any fashion.  

As for RBG's wish to get the 'right' person?  She had that chance in 2013.  She could have retired and written books.....while President Obama would have selected his choice.