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Weekend Reads 4/6/19

Abolishing The Electoral College Used To Be A Bipartisan Position. Not Anymore.

But 50 years ago, moving on from the Electoral College had bipartisan support. In May 1968, 66 percent of American approved of the idea of amending the constitution to replace the Electoral College with a popular vote system, according to Gallup. And there was no partisan divide: 66 percent of Republicans and 64 percent of Democrats approved. Six months later, Republican Richard Nixon defeated Democrat Hubert Humphrey while only winning the popular vote by less than 1 percentage point, and a post-election Gallup survey found 80 percent of Americans approved of changing the electoral system.

Fight the Power?

The balance between the current economic advantage of fossil fuels compared to their public health effects is at the center of the energy debate in the black community. The complex relationship between African-Americans and the energy industry means black communities have a choice: fight the power and push back on big energy companies (which may be both big polluters and big financial contributors to their communities) or embrace them as partners who can help bring down climbing household energy costs.

The Democratic Party Is Radicalizing

Progressivism is wrecking the Democratic Party even as crude populism and ethnic nationalism have (for now) wrecked the Republican Party. Both are salvageable and both are worth saving, but that will require individuals who have identified with each party to fight to reclaim them; to show wisdom, decency, and courage in an age of extremism and intemperance.

Scientists say they have deposits formed hours after dino-killing impact

The Tanis deposit consists of about a meter of material that looks like it was deposited during two floods, with larger, heavier particles in the lower layers and finer, lighter materials above them. The bodies of animals and trees, along with flow marks in the deposit itself, are also consistent with a flood, being aligned with the prevailing current. There was just one thing odd about all of this: the lower layer seems to have been deposited as water was rushing inland from the ocean. The layer on top was built as it shifted back to the downstream direction.

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