13 years on what are your thoughts on the U.S. presidential election of 2000?

[Hauldren Collider]

I've thought the EC was created as a check on the people being retards and voting for a blatantly populist candidate. Electors could then vote against the wishes of the people for a more reasonable candidate. Now that so many states have laws that restrict their electors' choice, there's no need for the EC. The Senate is there to provide equal representation to all the states.

Originally, the electors weren't even elected, they were chosen by the state legislature. This is actually still legally possible under the constitution.

[giblets]

I would challenge that. Most borders are not arbitrary.

Presumably you've looked at a map of the United States. Why do you think most of the state boundaries are perfectly straight lines?

[Tupac Shakur]

Presumably you've looked at a map of the United States. Why do you think most of the state boundaries are perfectly straight lines?

Most state borders in the United States aren't perfectly straight lines. It's only when you get near the Mountain West that arbitrary straight line borders start to predominate.

[korn469]

While they may not be perfectly straight lines, it looks like all the states except Hawaii have at least one significant straight part. For comparisons sake, look at a map of Europe.

[Tupac Shakur]

Brazil or Argentina would be a better comparison, given that they're also large federal republics in the New World.

[Hauldren Collider]

While they may not be perfectly straight lines, it looks like all the states except Hawaii have at least one significant straight part. For comparisons sake, look at a map of Europe.

On the eastern seaboard, most of those straight line borders were based on the colonial charters given to the states, making them actual historical cultural boundaries since different religious and ethnic groups settled in those colonies based on the arbitrary lines.

This is even true to some extent in the West, particularly Utah.

[giblets]

Most state borders in the United States aren't perfectly straight lines. It's only when you get near the Mountain West that arbitrary straight line borders start to predominate.

In the east I'd say it's around half of the state borders that are arbitrarily drawn lines and don't follow any arbitrarily selected geographic features.

[Tupac Shakur]

In the east I'd say it's around half of the state borders that are arbitrarily drawn lines and don't follow any arbitrarily selected geographic features.

You obviously can't count and don't know your history.

On the eastern seaboard, most of those straight line borders were based on the colonial charters given to the states, making them actual historical cultural boundaries since different religious and ethnic groups settled in those colonies based on the arbitrary lines.

QFT

[giblets]

On the eastern seaboard, most of those straight line borders were based on the colonial charters given to the states, making them actual historical cultural boundaries since different religious and ethnic groups settled in those colonies based on the arbitrary lines.

This is even true to some extent in the West, particularly Utah.

The Mormon population doesn't stop suddenly at the Utah border.

[giblets]

You obviously can't count and don't know your history.



QFT

This has nothing to do with "counting" and "history" since I am only taking a glance at a map and making an observation.

[Tupac Shakur]

Damn, Wikipedia is amazing...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Territorial_evolution_of_the_United_States

[giblets]

Damn, Wikipedia is amazing...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Territo..._United_States

Thank you for a web page showing a bunch of borders (most of which are arbitrarily drawn lines) getting imposed one by one

[Tupac Shakur]

You should actually try reading about the history behind them before calling borders "arbitrary".

[Tupac Shakur]

I didn't even know about Connecticut's "Western Reserve".

Wikipedia

[giblets]

You should actually try reading about the history behind them before calling borders "arbitrary".

Since you've read so much about it you must be capable of providing a reasoned defense for why you think state boundaries aren't really arbitrary