The NY Primary amongst other things...

[shadowkat]

1.)Feeling much better today, decided to eliminate a few new items from diet...and it worked. (ie. I'm no longer having green smoothies at breakfast, which have a higher natural sugar content, and no evening primrose or maca powder. I may be sensitive to something.)

2)Anyone still watching Castle? I don't watch Castle -- haven't since the first or second year.Anyhow...there was this weird blurb online about how Nathan Fillion and Stana Katic (who plays Beckett, Castle's love interest) hate each other in real life. (I can actually identify -- every workplace, if you stick around long enough, you will eventually either rub someone the wrong way or they will rub you the wrong way. The trick, I guess, is not to stay too long? Or to shrug it off? But imagine being an actor who has to do a romantic relationship with someone you can't stand? Ewww. No wonder these people are paid a lot.)

Anywho...here's the link. Apparently both Beckett and her friend the forensic specialist are being written out this year, assuming it gets renewed for a 9th season. (It's been on that long? I personally think television series should go for no more than 5 years, maybe 7.)

In other news? They apparently killed off the female lead of The Blacklist. My mother who is still watching it, was shocked. I gave up, too bloody violent. I can't watch television series with too much torture and violence and rape. Which is odd considering, I apparently have no difficulties with The 100...But, is it just me, or are television writers becoming increasingly bloodthirsty? What happened to the good old days when characters were written out to say...a new job or new state or a trip somewhere? Now -- it's, oh, I know, I'll kill the character off. That will show that stupid actor! And shock the audience. Bonus! (Note to writers...sad, not shocking. We live in anxious times, stop killing people. Although, admittedly, I do enjoy it at times -- since it shakes things up. But some shows have reached their quota. Grey's Anatomy, for example, is not permitted to kill off any more characters...five is more than enough. It's not a war drama or a crime drama, it's a medical drama. Who would have thought it would be dangerous to be a surgeon in a Seattle hospital??? Seriously???)

3) And to the bewilderment of the rest of the world, the Never-ending Political Satire Saga of the American Race for President continues...

Today was the NY Primary. And, before you ask, no, I didn't vote in the NY Primary. Green Party, remember? In NY, just in case you missed prior posts, you can't vote in the primary unless you are registered as a Democrat or a Republican, and only for the party that you are registered with. In other words, Democrats can't cross party lines to vote in the Republican primary and vice versa. Nor for that matter can the 1M + souls who are registered with other parties. I know that it may not seem like it, but the US actually does have other parties, Green, Independent, Libertarian, Families, etc. It's just we refuse to vote them into office. So, by default, we're a two-party system. I don't know why, some of the other parties candidates are actually a heck of a lot better than the Democrats and Republicans currently running.

There are allegedly over 160,000 registered Democrats in Brooklyn. But, according to various census takers posting on Facebook, 50,000 registered Democrats can't be accounted for. They don't know what happened to them. Did they die? Did they become inactive? Can they find their polling places? Did they just disappear?

Which brings up another problem, according to folks posting on FaceBook -- people can't locate their frigging polling location. Why? The board of elections changed the polling locations without notifying the voters. I don't know why they didn't notify the voters. I guess they assumed people would hunt it online? I remember the good old days when I got a notice in the mail.

Apparently there's a law that you are not permitted to bring any election paraphenial into the polling place. No buttons, pins, shirts, hats, etc. So ignore those twitter posts telling you to support Sanders with a t-shirt. You'll be booted out of the polling location and not permitted to vote.

A few confused souls went to the polling location and asked if they could vote in a primary that they weren't registered in. What follows is a true story that was related on the Kesington, Brooklyn, NY Facebook page:

At the polling location...

Volunteer: Which primary?
Male voter: Can I switch my affiliation from Democrat to Republican and vote in the Republican Primary?
Volunteer: Go ahead.
Female voter (who is next in line) - gives the volunteer her name.
Volunteer: Which primary?
Female voter: Aren't you only allowed to vote in the primary that you are registered in?
Volunteer: Ahh...
Second Volunteer: Yes. That's true.
1st Volunteer: Wait...oops. Do you remember the name of the man who was just before you?
Female voter: No.

Okay. This is going to be a really interesting election. The primary alone had record turnouts. The general election is going to be fun. I'm thinking we may need to overhaul our system after this.

Sort of glad that I couldn't vote in it.

Comments

[cactuswatcher.livejournal.com]

I quit watching Castle this past fall. They kept dwelling on story lines, that I really didn't like. Once they had Beckett and Castle separate (lazy writers) I was done... I wonder if they are bringing in someone new... I don't think it would be much of a show without Beckett... Wikipedia says they are leaving "due to budgeting." With that kind of budgeting they won't have a budget at all for long. ;o)

[heliopausa.livejournal.com]

May I ask an outsider's question? Can you register as a voter but not as a member of a party, without that being recorded as "registered as an Independent"?

[atpo-onm.livejournal.com]

It's a bit hard to fault The 100 for killing off people regularly since it is a post-apoc type show, but I was a bit peeved at them killing off (spoiler) two weeks ago. I think that was actually a bigger mistake than killing off (spoiler) several weeks ago. That one I saw coming, just as easily half the fans did.

Now the Blacklist... I'm betting that's going to turn out to be a ruse, to make all the people who wanted to hunt down and/or kill Elizabeth think she's dead, possibly even including Reddington. The question would then become, who set this up? Tom? Someone in the FBI?

If she really is gone from the show, I would be shocked. After all, she's the other primary lead, along with James Spader / Reddington. I'm hard pressed to think of the show continuing after such an event. It'd be like Cagney & Lacey, or Sherlock & Watson, and you kill one of them off. Then what?

We shall see.

[atpo-onm.livejournal.com]

OK, now I can't stop pondering this. Tsk.

If Elizabeth's death were to be faked, the doctor who was caring for her would have to be the agent. Let's assume for the hypothetical the baby has been delivered, and Liz appears to be OK. Then, she appears to have a complication and goes downhill quickly. They make a run for a hospital, Liz dies (apparently).

After the baby is delivered, Reddington realizes that the people after Liz are never going to stop, and she's even more vulnerable now than ever. He goes to the doctor (privately, of course), and asks, "Can you create a pretend crisis, and say Elizabeth must go to a hospital. Then on route, you drug her in a way to simulate death. No one knows this plan except you and me. Tell no one."

The doctor probably objects, Reddington threatens him in his usual casually deadly way, and so they execute the plan. Reddington fakes his grief, many people see it. Everyone thinks Liz is dead, the bad guys stop hunting her. She wakes up later, somewhere else. Maybe in some foreign country, with Tom and the baby?

Possible? Maybe?

Hmmm...

[dlgood.livejournal.com]

Probably depends on the locale - every state has different laws on this matter. That said, "Independent" isn't a party. So by default, if you say you are independent then you are not a member of a party.

[dlgood.livejournal.com]

Democrats can't cross party lines to vote in the Republican primary and vice versa. Nor for that matter can the 1M + souls who are registered with other parties.

Speaking as a Democrat, I prefer this. The last thing I want are a bunch of outsiders parachuting in and picking my party's candidate, with no particular commitment to the rest of my party, my slate, or my platform. And that's not even to count for the possibility of dirty tricks or shenanigans.

I know that it may not seem like it, but the US actually does have other parties, Green, Independent, Libertarian, Families, etc. It's just we refuse to vote them into office. So, by default, we're a two-party system.

We're a two party system largely because of the governing rules of Congress - and more specifically, the US House of Representatives. Much of which were established about 180 years ago. Where major successful third party movements in the US have sprung up - they have done so in regions that were largely ruled by a single party - and which eventually merged into the other main party. In the late 1900s, the populist party arose out west mostly in states that were dominated by Republicans - and they were co-opted into/merged with the national democratic party. Essentially going from a sectional party to becoming the Western/rural wing. As you are writing laws for a whole nation, you need 25% or more of Congress to be a real bloc that matters. You need large number of electoral seats in state houses. The odd unaffiliated third party or independent can win a seat hear or there - or run for Senate or Governor... but a real third party would need a national network infrastructure and that's incredibly hard to build and maintain... when you have a better opportunity to just work within an existing party structure.

Which is why, for example, the Dixiecrats switched from D to R rather than forming their own party. And why super-right wingers worked inside the Republican party to take it over and shift it's politics rather than forming a third party.

And also why Bernie's biggest failing in this election is that he's not going from district to district to campaign on behalf of candidates he likes in Democratic primaries in state and local elections. If by some miracle he won the White House, he's not doing the work to bring in friendly legislators with him. Which he'd sorely need.

[heliopausa.livejournal.com]

Thank you. :) So if you don't say anything, you're put down as "Independent"?

[dlgood.livejournal.com]

Again, every state has it's own rules for this. I don't know how others work. In my home state of Maryland, the voter registration form has the following:

9. Party (check one)
Democratic Party
Republican Party
Libertarian Party
Green Party
Unaffiliated (independent of any party)
Other – Specify ____________

The 100

[dlgood.livejournal.com]

I think it was the specific aspect of how (spoiler) was killed, more so than just that (spoiler) was killed that riled up fandom.

[shadowkat67.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'm wondering if it will make it to a 9th Season. OR more than that...

It's sort of hard to kill off part of a duo and keep the series going...Remington Steele tried to do the series for a year without Pierce Bronsan, and ratings dived. (Another scenario where the two leads hated each other.)

[shadowkat67.livejournal.com]

In NY, "Independent" is actually a party. I know, because that's why I chose the Green Party. The Independent Party during the Governor's race was running candidates that I didn't like. It's somewhere between Democrat and Republican...in its leanings. Not quite Libertarian or Tea Party. We have Tea Party in NY too.

The selections in NY when I voted last year or the year before in the Governor's race, were something like what is below:

1. Family
2. Libertarian
3. Independent
4. Green
5. Tea Party
6. Democrat
7. Republican
8. Other _____

I think it's similar in South Carolina and Kansas...but not positive.

RE: The 100

[shadowkat67.livejournal.com]

Okay, apparently two people were killed. I know about the first one -- who I more or less predicted a long time ago. The story thread was just obviously going in that direction. (Haven't seen it yet.) But I don't know about the second one, nor did I know there was a second one. Hmmm...I may need to binge watch this show a lot faster than I'd planned.

Don't spoil me on the second one!

[shadowkat67.livejournal.com]

I don't know, haven't seen it since S1. Although my mother got me curious about it -- so I might stream it on netflix.
She seems to think that Lizzie is definitely dead, and there is no way she could have survived - she told me in detail how she died and pretty much the entire plot line.

[shadowkat67.livejournal.com]

Speaking as a Democrat, I prefer this. The last thing I want are a bunch of outsiders parachuting in and picking my party's candidate, with no particular commitment to the rest of my party, my slate, or my platform. And that's not even to count for the possibility of dirty tricks or shenanigans.

One of my co-workers felt much the same way. And you both raise a good point, having someone who is a Republican cross party lines to screw up another party's candidacy doesn't make a lot of sense.

Personally? I tend to agree with you. The Sanders supporters are upset about it -- because they believe the independents would have gone for Sanders. (But there's no real way of knowing for certain. Polls aren't that reliable, I know because I've been polled and I'll often tell them whatever fits my mood to get read of the pollster. The dang things are long and annoying. I wasn't registered as Democrat, and I'd probably have voted for Hillary.)

Regarding the Third Party bit?

Well, there was the Independent Party - which I know, you don't really consider a party. But, several candidates ran on that ticket. Ross Perot. And a few others...who I can't remember. And the Tea Party broke off from the Republican Party on a state by state level, and successfully ran a few people. The Progressive Party broke off of the Democrats for a bit on a state level, not national, then with Sanders, are working to take over the Democrat Party.

But generally speaking, yeah, I agree. I just think it's more convoluted than that. Which is why everyone is confused.
It's almost as if the US is pretending to be multi-party, but in actuality is just two-party, but not really fooling anyone.
Sort of similar to pretending to be a Democracy, but is really a Republic, but not really fooling anyone.

And also why Bernie's biggest failing in this election is that he's not going from district to district to campaign on behalf of candidates he likes in Democratic primaries in state and local elections. If by some miracle he won the White House, he's not doing the work to bring in friendly legislators with him. Which he'd sorely need.

Ah. Thank you. Although apparently he helped Democrat Todd Kamisky win Skelos seat (http://nypost.com/2016/02/01/why-new-york-democrats-are-rallying-for-sanders-and-trump/) in a special election held during the primary. But I'm not sure that counts.

I honestly think that's Sanders biggest problem, he doesn't really have any supporters in Congress. It's not just Democrats he needs, but Progressives. And there aren't enough running.

Re: The 100

[dlgood.livejournal.com]

I won't. I do think the show is still doing interesting things.

[heliopausa.livejournal.com]

Thank you both - I'm getting a clearer idea of that part of things, anyhow! :)