Category Archives: Voting

My own damned opinion., Voting

Another Civics lesson

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Today’s topic is the 25th Amendment

25th Amendment

The 25th Amendment, proposed by Congress and ratified by the states in the aftermath of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, provides the procedures for replacing the president or vice president in the event of death, removal, resignation, or incapacitation.

Section 1.

In case of the removal of the President from office or of his death or resignation, the Vice President shall become President.

Section 2.

Whenever there is a vacancy in the office of the Vice President, the President shall nominate a Vice President who shall take office upon confirmation by a majority vote of both Houses of Congress.

Section 3.

Whenever the President transmits to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration that he is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, and until he transmits to them a written declaration to the contrary, such powers and duties shall be discharged by the Vice President as Acting President.

Section 4.

Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President.

Thereafter, when the President transmits to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration that no inability exists, he shall resume the powers and duties of his office unless the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive department or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit within four days to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office.

Thereupon Congress shall decide the issue, assembling within forty-eight hours for that purpose if not in session. If the Congress, within twenty-one days after receipt of the latter written declaration, or, if Congress is not in session, within twenty-one days after Congress is required to assemble, determines by two-thirds vote of both Houses that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall continue to discharge the same as Acting President; otherwise, the President shall resume the powers and duties of his office.

When you read this, you will notice the serving President has a way to fight the impeachment by submitting documentation proving that he does have the capacity to continue in office. It then becomes the duty of the Vice President and two-thirds of Congress to refute the statement of capacity and vote for impeachment if their evidence supports the fact that the President is, in fact, not capable of discharging his duties.

With the current Congress, even if the opposition party gains a majority in the midterm election, they may not get enough votes from the minority party to fulfill the two-thirds requirement.

PLEASE VOTE IN THE MIDTERMS. Our democracy depends on everyone voting to change Congress to a more moderate organization and expelling the current regime before we find ourselves in a much larger battle for survival.

Thank you.

About me, Voting

Brain dead

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I have yet another concussion. All my friends have threatened to pool funds to buy me a helmet. It’s been 7 years since the last one when I ended up with 5 staples in my head as well as my first ambulance ride. The ambulance was probably declared a hazardous waste site after they tossed me into the emergency room. Can we spell projectile vomiting?

My brain is still glitching after for almost a month after the head smash. They did a CT scan and didn’t find anything. There may have been a few dust bunnies and I think on the copy in my online record that I saw had a “for rent” in there. Other than some residual dizziness,I’m doing ok. I did need to get new glasses, because we didn’t find them until they were rolled flat by either my car, or my friend’s truck. I hadn’t realized they had flown off my face into the driveway. I thought they had dropped into the grass.

This year I set up a bucket garden on the side of my house so I have to water frequently especially since it’s been so hot lately. Going out to water it after dark was the reason I fell. There are low spots from a rotting stump in the yard and I stepped in one on my way back inside, lost my balance, and rolled down a bit of a slope to bang my head on the driveway pavement.

A couple of neighbors were getting out of their car and saw me fall. They ran over to help me get up and into the house. I spent most of the last few weeks staying home and not going to the makerspace except for scheduled events I couldn’t pass off. Overall, the membership has been okay with me not being there.

I mentioned the heat, but magically, the temperature went lower once I struggled to get the window air conditioner out from behind the pile of belongings my son piled in front of the storage shelf in my garage. I had a friend actually lift the thing into my bedroom window. It’s still warm out, but the ceiling fans work well enough to keep me cool so I haven’t yet turned the ac on.

In other news, I worked the polls for our Primary election. It was my first time doing that. The polling place was a different ward than I vote in, but I had already done in-person absentee voting at the polling place set up in my local library branch. I worked an eight hour shift doing voter verification and reconciling the two copies of the voter books.

I made one numerical error in my book that we couldn’t validate. But overall, it was a good experience. I’ll do better next time. Since I listed my availability as “any polling location,” I’m not certain that I’ll be assigned there again. It was interesting how everything packed up into a wheeled cage. I didn’t stick around to see if the cage was picked up that evening. I had left my dinner in the cooler in back of my car and never got around to eating it until I got home.

It was what I call Garbage Salad.

I take all the leftover fresh vegetables from the weekly shop, chop them up, add a can of some kind of beans, chopped fresh herbs such as basil, parsley, marjoram, some chopped olives, leftover rice, quinoa, or couscous, and vinegar and oil dressing and that’s lunch for the next few days. Sometimes, I add cooked shrimp, chopped ham, chicken, or tuna instead of beans or sometimes even with the beans.

And that’s my current update.