• 

  Nothing to do this weekend? The Trib-Star's 'BASH offers suggestions

  Community Theatre of Terre Haute’s main stage season finale opens this Friday, with the hit Broadway comedy “Social Security,” directed by Sonni Crawford.

• 

  ISU plans hearing on proposed tuition/fees increase

  Indiana State University will conduct a public hearing at 2 p.m. June 4 to receive input on a proposed 1.95 percent increase in student tuition and mandatory fees for the 2013-14 and 2014-15 academic years.

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January 9, 2013

READERS’ FORUM: Jan. 9, 2013

---- ---- The Tribune Star Wed Jan 09, 2013, 05:00 AM EST

Time to abolish Electoral College

   

What can a popular vote mean or any other vote mean when you get this cumbersome arrangement that can trump and nullify the results on election day?

I am targeting the Electoral College vote, which allows anonymous delegates to take control of elections and elect whomever they dang please.

This odious system has been with us for over two centuries, ever since the founding fathers came up with this wacky mess. It must have been that the framers of the constitution did not quite trust the ordinary voters to make the right decisions, and also to take control of the vote.

After all, the founding fathers were no angels themselves. They owned slaves, used their wealth to gain power, used that power to gain more wealth, and sought to extend their own family rule for generations ahead.

When an election is close, even as narrow as one vote, this wretched system allows committed delegates to vote any way they want to. We don’t even know their motives. This miserable set of rules allows a few anonymous characters (delegates) to nix millions of popular votes, turn things upside down, and vote the opposite direction.

I bring to mind a terrible misboggle, the 2000 election. Al Gore had a great number of popular votes over G.W. Bush, yet a murky and suspicious count in Florida tweaked the electoral votes to Bush. This has to be a national shame. Sure, Gore was no whiz of a statesman, but I am here defining the despicable method of selecting a president, not the character of the man.

Oh, by the way, we had eight miserable years to define Bush, yet the Electoral College wrought its stupidity.

It would be a landmark upgrade in American history if we just got rid of the Electoral College.

— Paul Jones

Terre Haute

 

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Copyright 2013 News From Terre Haute, Indiana. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Opinion

• RONN MOTT: Ernie Pyle

  I stepped back in time last week when I visited the Ernie Pyle World War II Museum in Dana.

  May 25, 2013  

• RONN MOTT: Pyle museum in Dana good way to study WWII

  I stepped back in time last week when I visited the Ernie Pyle World War II Museum in Dana.

  May 25, 2013  

• FLASHPOINT: Legislative session reflected Hoosier priorities

  The 2013 session of the Indiana General Assembly came to an end just a few weeks ago with the final passage of our state’s next two-year budget.

  May 25, 2013  

• The celebration season

  Spring has been a bit elusive at times in 2013, which is its nature.

  May 24, 2013  

• RONN MOTT: Frustration

  For those who know me well, they can say without contradiction I am not a patient man. But in this hustle and bustle world I’ve been a part of all my adult life, I’ve had to learn a little patience. On occasion, however, I find some experiences extremely frustrating.

  May 23, 2013 1 Photo  

• EDITORIAL: Noteworthy in the news: MVC tourney an event worth having

  It’s been a long time since the Missouri Valley Conference chose Indiana State University to host its post-season baseball tournament, but Terre Haute had never been more prepared for an event such as this.

  May 23, 2013  

• READERS' FORUM: May 23, 2013

  May 23, 2013  

• EDITORIAL: Cleaning up voter rolls

  It’s not a lot of money in the big scheme of things, but the $2 million designated in the recent session of the General Assembly will begin the messy but necessary process of cleaning up Indiana’s voter registration rolls.

  May 22, 2013  

• READERS' FORUM: May 22, 2013

  Rich history all along the river

  Great work by Duke employees

  May 22, 2013  

• RONN MOTT: Rabid Republicans

  The so-called news people at Fox News can hardly sit still long enough to report on the latest gossip or untruth about our sitting President. They can hardly contain themselves.

  May 21, 2013 1 Photo  

• READERS’ FORUM: May 21, 2013

  • Great response to annual golf outing

  • Doing your part on climate change

  May 21, 2013  

• LIZ CIANCONE: Smell of fresh air gave way to dryers

  Remember when clean clothes smelled like fresh air and sunshine rather than fabric softener and dryer sheets?

  May 20, 2013  

• READERS' FORUM: May 20, 2013

  The dangers of a little knowledge

  Students enjoyed Rose study trip

  May 20, 2013  

• Mark Bennett: High-profile mural connects historical dots from city to river

  At 96 feet wide and 2 stories tall, the power, impact and value of the Wabash will be evident.

  May 19, 2013 2 Photos  

• EDITORIAL: Waging the ‘readiness’ campaign

  Almost every Hoosier who starts college intends to finish. Unfortunately, those who arrive on campus unprepared in key academic areas are far less likely to fulfill that aspiration.

  May 19, 2013  

• READERS' FORUM: May 19, 2013

  • Flawed reasoning on gun checks

  • A hint of things yet to come?

  • Are the ‘makers’ doing the ‘taking’?

  • The ‘Obamination’ is finally revealed

  • Pondering effects of Obamacare

  • Fantasizing on the ‘Apocalypse’

  • Another view of Hinduism

  • Great experience for HCMS students

  May 19, 2013  

• FLASHPOINT: A legislative session of missed opportunities

  Given the nature of politicians, grand claims of accomplishments and overblown rhetoric about “historic” efforts are to be expected at the close of any legislative session.

  May 19, 2013  

• RONN MOTT: Mushrooms = Hoosier happiness

  Someone wrote or said a few years ago a statement that would define the word “Hoosier.” According to this urban legend, a Hoosier is somebody dribbling a basketball around the Indy 500 while eating a fried, morel mushroom. It did not define me, at the time.

  May 18, 2013  

• EDITORIAL: Insult to an independent press

  Distrust of government secrecy has been elevated to an exceptional level with the disclosure the Justice Department covertly examined two months of Associated Press phone records to determine who leaked details to the AP about a foiled terrorist plot.

  May 17, 2013  

• READERS' FORUM: May 17, 2013

  Hinduism doesn’t deserve ridicule — Shefali Purohit, Terre Haute

  May 17, 2013  

• RONN MOTT: Israel’s Air Force

  Recently the Israeli Air Force bombed and rocketed a convoy leaving Syria going to Lebanon with rockets that were going to be used to attack Israel. It did not get there. It was destroyed.

  May 16, 2013 1 Photo  

• EDITORIAL: Noteworthy in the news: Dashing finish for the Sycamores

  It’s always thrilling to see Indiana State University’s athletic teams do well in high-level competition, and two specific teams rose to impressive heights last weekend in the Missouri Valley Conference outdoor track and field championships.

  May 16, 2013  

• Readers' Forum: May 16, 2013

  Moving Deming folks sounds ‘nuts’

  May 16, 2013  

• Readers' Forum: May 15, 2013

  Participants rise to the challenge: I would like to write a letter congratulating all the Wabash Valley Roadrunners that competed in the One America Indianapolis Mini Marathon.

  May 15, 2013  

• RONN MOTT: Media merry-go-round

  Round and round it goes, where it stops nobody knows. That isn’t a unique phrase to this writer or to this era in time. But, when it comes to the musical chairs of broadcasting, it certainly applies.

  May 14, 2013 1 Photo  

• LIZ CIANCONE: Courts see a different appearance than cops

  Have you ever noticed the transformation between the arrest of an accused lawbreaker and the first appearance in court?

  May 14, 2013  

• READERS' FORUM: May 14, 2013

  ISTEP failure exposes flaws

  Community hasn’t changed its spirit

  Egregious threat to nation’s defense

  May 14, 2013  

• READERS' FORUM: May 13, 2013

  • Women’s group criticizes Bucshon

  • Let’s hope this doesn’t come true

  • Many get thanks for fest success

  May 13, 2013  

• MARK BENNETT: Life at face value: Mom’s simple advice still presents a valuable daily challenge

  Most moms don’t base their advice on scientific research.
  (Unless, of course, your mother is a scientific researcher. If so, carry a No. 2 pencil and take good notes.)

  May 12, 2013  

• EDITORIAL: Better monitoring needed to prevent local environmental messes

  The nasty, hazardous messes lurking in the community raise a bottom-line, red-flag question. Could these environmental problems have been monitored and, thus, prevented?

  May 12, 2013  

• More Opinion Headlines

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