tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-349283912024-03-13T12:25:18.538-05:00Truncated thoughtsPolitics, religion, statistics, life and miscellanyzbicyclisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10850387889082662189noreply@blogger.comBlogger1660125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34928391.post-56697735515876408892023-03-28T11:52:00.000-05:002023-03-28T11:52:43.361-05:00Silicon Valley Bank and Moral Hazard<p> When Silicon Valley Bank imploded after a bank run, the FDIC stepped in. But the majority of SVB's deposits (over 80%) were above the $250k FDIC insurance limit, and would not be legally required to be covered.</p><p>The Biden administration quickly announced that these deposits would also be covered. This made sense. Without those funds, a lot of companies would not have been able to make payroll in the following weeks, which would have been hard on a lot of employees and local economies. There would have been more bank runs as companies scrambled to move their excess deposits out of any bank that didn't seem rock solid, or "too big to fail", which would have meant more smaller banks would fail.</p><p>But there is a risk of moral hazard, in which the government safety net encourages risky behavior. Put another way, capitalists get to keep all the gains, and socialize the losses.</p><p>The moral hazard doesn't really occur for the bank owners themselves, because their equity is wiped out.</p><p>The problem occurs with the depositors, who can search out the higher returns offered by banks which are desperate for deposits. This is what happened during the S&L crisis some decades ago: banks such as Corus Bank (Chicago area) were offering much higher CD rates as they went into their slow death spiral. I was happy to take advantage of this for my IRA investments. I was reading a lot of reports that Corus was in trouble, but I didn't care. My deposits, of course, were well below the FDIC maximum.</p><p>How to avoid this problem with large depositors? The FDIC should guarantee only the principal, not any interest (for example, any interest earned in the past two years). This would substantially lower the incentive for interest rate shopping by large depositors.</p><p>In order to try to control gaming the system (e.g. frequently moving funds from one bank to another, to restart the interest earned), the FDIC would not cover any interest earned in any FDIC institution during that same period. So, if Bank1 fails, your principal at Bank1 would be covered, less any interest earned at Bank2, Bank3, etc. during that same lookback period, if the money in Bank1 had been deposited during that lookback period. This, in fact, provides an incentive NOT to move money around.</p><p>This is simpler than it sounds. The main requirement is that financial institutions change their 1099 reporting to split out interest subject to FDIC coverage from interest not subject to FDIC coverage. This isn't complex. Fidelity, for example, already tells me how much interest is from US government bonds, how much is tax exempt, and how much is tax exempt by state, and so on. And when I check their fixed income information, I can see whether what I am about to buy is covered by FDIC insurance. </p><p><b>A bit of personal history</b></p><p>No, I'm not old enough to remember the bank runs of the early 1930s!</p><p>But my parents and grandparents had CDs in the 1960s from Southern Savings and Loan in Louisville, KY. It looked like a regular savings and loan, but it paid rates that were a bit more attractive. It failed. Turned out it was not FDIC insured; it may have been insured by a state fund that didn't have enough money; I was a kid and don't remember all the details. My family had moved from Kentucky by that time, but still had some money left there, perhaps in longer term CDs, or CDs that had be left to automatically renew since the interest rates were more attractive.</p><p>Eventually, years later, they got most of their money back in a series of payments. Evidently the savings and loan had assets that covered most of the deposits (probably 20 year mortgages that were gradually paid off). We were lucky enough not to need the money in a hurry.</p>zbicyclisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10850387889082662189noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34928391.post-26520587078420606322022-05-06T09:49:00.000-05:002022-05-06T09:49:29.536-05:00LGBTQIA+ and Swedenborg: It doesn’t have to be this way<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i><u><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">LGBTQIA+
and Swedenborg: It doesn’t have to be this way<o:p></o:p></span></u></i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">This is a slightly <a href="http://www.truncatedthoughts.com/2022/02/lgbtqia-and-swedenborg-it-doesnt-have.html" target="_blank">updated version of an earlier post</a>; no change in the basic argument but a bit more supporting evidence.</span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The purpose of this essay is to show that it is possible for
Swedenborgians to be more inclusive of LGBTQIA+ (henceforward LGBT) people than
in this February, 2022 statement by Bishop Peter Buss, Jr, the chief bishop of
the New Church branch of Swedenborgianism:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">Even with an emphasis on love and
understanding, the Church cannot embrace same-sex marriage – on earth or in
heaven. It cannot support a concept of gender fluidity. It cannot embrace
variety of sexual expression implied in a bisexual identity. It should be a
place where people can hear directly from the Word about the Lord’s vision of
marriage and receive encouragement to reach for their experience of it. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">Organizationally, the Church has a
responsibility to make policies about what the priesthood can and cannot do
around these matters, and what is expected of employees who have signed on to
represent the beliefs of the New Church in their professional and private
conduct. We must strive to align ourselves organizationally with what the Word
teaches, and where we find ourselves out of alignment to work diligently to
change. (page 23)<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Buss, Peter M. Jr.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>From the Bishop’s Office. Standing for Marriage in Today’s World, A
Church Perspective. New Church Life, Vol. MMXXII #1, January/February 2022,
15-24.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="https://newchurch.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/NCL_JanFeb_2022-web.pdf">NCL_JanFeb_2022-web.pdf
(newchurch.org)</a><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i><u>A Few Preliminaries<o:p></o:p></u></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I want to outline a few of the ways that an argument can be
made.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">First, there is deduction, where after stating some
premises, the conclusion necessarily follows. For example:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>All men
are mortal.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Socrates
is a man.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Therefore,
Socrates is mortal.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The validity of a deductive argument depends on the validity
of the premises, if there is no fallacious construction such as assuming the
consequent.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Second, there is induction, in which we generalize from the
observed facts. For example, if thousands of swans have been observed and every
swan observed has been white, then we might conclude that all swans are white.
Arguments by induction can be refuted by further evidence, e.g. finding a black
swan, or by showing that other conclusions are also consistent with the evidence.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Third, there are apologia, a formal defense of a position or
belief. In apologia, we start with the conclusion we want, and work backward to
explain or justify it. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">There is an easy slide into apologia. For example, in the investigation
of a crime, evidence may be gathered objectively, leading to an inductive
inference that a particular person is likely to be responsible. But, once we
get into court, the prosecution starts with a belief in guilt, the defense
starts with a belief in innocence, and both sides present evidence to justify
their positions.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Apologia are particularly common in religious writings. The
Wikipedia article on Christian apologetics cites writers such as Paul, Thomas
Aquinas, Duns Scotus, William of Ockham, Anselm of Canterbury, Blaise Pascal,
G. K. Chesterton, C. S. Lewis, G. E. M. Anscombe, and John Henry Newman (author
of <i>Apologia Pro Vita Sua</i>).<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Of course, much as the prosecution and defense at a trial
see things differently, different apologists will defend different positions.
This is captured in the popular idiom from Shakespeare that the devil can cite
scripture for his purpose.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">With these preliminaries laid out, I present the following
apologia defending an inclusive position for LGBT individuals.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i><u>Apologia<o:p></o:p></u></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We’ll start with the position that LGBT should be accepted
on an equal basis in a church or religious community. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">First, this should be the default – we should assume in
Christian charity that others should be accepted. The basis of this starting point
is Matthew 22:39, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Second, we can dispose of the Old Testament arguments by
noting that there are many things prohibited in the Torah that are permitted to
Christians (dietary restrictions and Jubilee years, for example) and also
things that were allowed in the Torah that we would not accept today (slavery
and polygamy, for example).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is a
lot of “pick and choose” in Christians’ attitude toward the laws of the Torah.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%;">There is, of course, the
story of Sodom. There is a much more extensive discussion of what Swedenborg
says about homosexuality in general and Sodom in particular by Lee and Annette
Woofenden here: </span><a href="https://leewoof.org/2015/02/06/what-does-emanuel-swedenborg-say-about-homosexuality/?fbclid=IwAR14CKTpQ7OKJocBFEMi0NBKo3ZwRbkUrVrRuA2J3GAnMqf9nXlPxRMEgJY"><span style="background: white; color: #3f11cc; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%;">What does Emanuel Swedenborg Say about
Homosexuality? | Spiritual Insights for Everyday Life (leewoof.org)</span></a><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> Among many other particulars, it notes
the parallelism between the story of Sodom (homosexual gang rape instead of
hospitality toward travelers) and Judges 19 (heterosexual gang rape instead of
hospitality toward travelers), both involving severe punishments (the
destruction of Sodom, and the near genocide of the tribe of Benjamin).
When we consider these stories together, it is the gang rape aspect that sticks
out, rather than the specific form of gang rape.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Third, we can dispose of the New Testament arguments (e.g. a
passage in a Pauline epistle) by noting that Swedenborg himself rejected all
the New Testament epistles from his biblical canon.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i><u>Conjugial Love<o:p></o:p></u></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But we cannot so easily dismiss conjugial love. An important
belief among Swedenborgians is in conjugial love – the importance of marriage
on earth, marriage in heaven, and the symbolism of the church betrothing
herself to her Lord as His bride and wife (Swedenborg’s <u>Conjugial Love</u>
293:6)<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">(1)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->But while a Christian marriage on earth (and,
for Swedenborgians, later in heaven) is an ideal state, it is not a required
state. There is no requirement that Swedenborgians marry. Swedenborg himself
never married. So, while the symbolism and correspondence is there, it need not
be born out in every single individual in a church community by heterosexual
marriage.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">(2)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->We might further note that dispensations of
charity have been given in this regard. Swedenborg states that remarriage after
divorce should not occur except in cases of adultery, but even among the male
New Church clergy there are several examples of second marriages and it seems
unlikely that all of these involve female adultery, although it is clear that
the specifics of these cases are none of my business. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">(3)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->We do not require that all correspondences be
taken literally, particularly in individual cases. Diseases, for example, are,
in Swedenborg’s view, connected to sin.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">a.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->“Diseases correspond to the cupidities and
passions of the disposition; these, too, are their origin; for, in general the
origins of diseases are intemperances, luxury of various kinds, merely corporeal
pleasures; and also envies, hatreds, revenges, lasciviousness and the like,
which destroy the interiors of man … and draw the man into disease, and thus
into death.” (5712; from Potts Concordance, volume 2, page 173)<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">b.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->So, how does evil cause disease in an individual,
in Swedenborg’s view? <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level3 lfo1; mso-text-indent-alt: -9.0pt; text-indent: -1.5in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span>i.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->“As death is from no other source than sin, and
sin is all that which is contrary to Divine order, therefore <u>evil closes the
very smallest and most invisible vessels</u>, of which are composed the next
larger ones, also invisible; for the vessels which are smallest of all and
wholly invisible are continued from man’s interiors. Hence comes the first and
inmost obstruction, and hence the first and inmost vitiation into the blood. <u>When
this vitiation increases, it causes disease, and finally death</u>. If,
however, man had lived a life of good, his interiors would be open into heaven,
and through heaven to the Lord; and so too would the very least and most
invisible little vessels (the traces of the first threads may be called little
vessels, on account of the correspondence). In consequence man would be without
disease, and would merely decline to extreme old age, even until he became
again a little child, but a wise one; and when the body could no longer
minister to his internal man or spirit, he would pass without disease out of
his earthly body into a body such as the angels have, thus out of the world
directly into heaven.” (Arcana Coelestia, 5726. <a href="https://swedenborg.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/swedenborg_foundation_arcana_coelestia_07.pdf">Arcana
Coelestia volume 7 (swedenborg.com)</a> ) <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">c.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->But even though “the first of charity is to … <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>shun evils because they are sins” (Charity<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-center; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">, by Emanuel Swedenborg, [1766], tr. by John Whitehead [1914]
at sacred-texts.com</span><span style="color: green;"> )</span>, Swdenborgians do
not shun those who are diseased, and are more likely to pray for them, and help
them, as acts of charity.”th”<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">d.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->While the disease in an individual person might
not be due to their personal sin, an individual who is diseased cannot be
reformed. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level3 lfo1; mso-text-indent-alt: -9.0pt; text-indent: -1.5in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span>i.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->“<u>The reason no one is reformed in a state of
disease of the body, is that reason is not then in a free state; for the state
of the mind depends on the state of the body. When the body is sick, the mind
also is sick; if not otherwise, still by removal from the world . . . When,
therefore, man is in a state of disease ... he is not in the world ... in which
state alone no one can be reformed</u> ; but he can be confirmed, if he was
reformed before he fell into disease. . . Wherefore, if they are not reformed
before the disease, after it, if they die, they become such as they were before
the disease ; wherefore it is vain to think that anyone can do repentance or
receive any faith in diseases.” (p. 142; op. cit. page 174)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">e.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->The correspondence between sin and disease is
different in the natural and spiritual world, and the laws that govern the
spiritual world are different. Therefore, does the correspondence between male
and female in the natural world have to be the same as it may be in the
spiritual world? No. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: 1.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level3 lfo1; mso-text-indent-alt: -9.0pt; text-indent: -1.5in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span>i.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->“While it is true that all disease arises from
evil and falsity, and thus from sin; and while it is also true that man may
bring disease upon himself through illicit lusts and pleasures of the body,
through intemperance and many other things; it is by no means true that each
man is responsible for bringing upon himself every disease he contracts. In the
spiritual world, which is governed by different laws than is the natural world,
man contracts those diseases which agree with his loves, for there [in the
spiritual world] external things agree and make one with internal things.” (Frederick
Schnarr, New Church Life, 1959 from SwedenborgStudy.com)<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">There is, of course, some truth to this view (e.g. you are
more likely to get lung cancer if you smoke), but by and large charitable
Swedenborgians are more likely to pray for a neighbor who has cancer, than to
contend that it must be due to their own sins, shun their likely evil, and
reject their full participation in the community.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We can understand that physical diseases may have a
correspondence to spiritual diseases without requiring that this correspondence
apply to specific individual cases.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">To summarize this argument: We do not reject the unmarried
person from full membership in the community, despite the importance of the
concept of conjugial love. We do not reject the cancer patient from full
membership in the community, despite the correspondence of physical diseases to
spiritual diseases. Neither should we reject LGBT individuals from full
membership in the community.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Mike Kruger<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Glenview, Illinois<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">February 2022 (updated May, 2022)<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This article can also be found at <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.truncatedthoughts.com/2022/02/lgbtqia-and-swedenborg-it-doesnt-have.html">Truncated
thoughts: LGBTQIA+ and Swedenborg: It doesn’t have to be this way</a><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It is worth noting that although I have been a Swedenborgian
for decades, I did not go through the New Church educational system or attend
its theology school. I have no doubt that there are those who did absorb
decades of New Church education would be able to provide point-by-point
apologia in opposition to this one. Whether I would find them convincing is an
empirical question.<o:p></o:p></p>zbicyclisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10850387889082662189noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34928391.post-9734099342194728812022-04-04T20:15:00.002-05:002022-04-04T20:15:53.475-05:00A Modest Proposal: Term Limits for the Supreme Court<p> In announcing her support for Jackson, Senator Murkowski (R-AK), said she was backing the nominee in part to reject “the corrosive politicization of the review process for Supreme Court nominees, which, on both sides of the aisle, is growing worse and more detached from reality by the year.”</p><br /><span data-lexical-text="true">Murkowski is completely right here. Did it start with Carswell? Bork? Thomas? Garland? Regardless of when this bipartisan shitshow started, it does get worse and worse. </span><br /><br /><span data-lexical-text="true">How to back off? Well, part of the problem is that the stakes are seen as so high. Judges can be on the Supreme Court for decades. So maybe that should change. Article III of the Constitution says judges "both of the supreme and inferior Courts, shall hold their Offices during good Behaviour, and shall, at stated Times, receive for their Services, a Compensation, which shall not be diminished during their Continuance in Office." So, you are appointed as a federal judge so long as you want to stay -- a federal judge, not necessarily a Supreme Court judge. We could limit terms on the Supreme Court to maybe 8 or 10 years, after which the judge would rotate to another court (Appeals, for example). </span><div><br /></div><div>I'm not a constitutional lawyer, but it would seem that Congress could legislate this. It wouldn't require a Constitutional amendment. And, it would be less politically controversial than changing the number of justices on SCOTUS (which Congress has done before, so it clearly has the power to do).<br /><div><span data-lexical-text="true"><br /></span></div><div><span data-lexical-text="true">This would lower the perceived political stakes substantially, and perhaps provide a way to cool off the type of corrosive confirmation hearings we've seen in recent years.</span></div></div>zbicyclisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10850387889082662189noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34928391.post-14245185960292530392022-03-20T09:41:00.003-05:002022-03-20T09:41:43.301-05:00We Don't See America As It Is<p><span style="font-size: medium;"> <span data-offset-key="96uki-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: inherit; white-space: pre-wrap;">A </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: inherit; white-space: pre-wrap;">possible</span><span data-offset-key="96uki-2-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: inherit; white-space: pre-wrap;"> contributor to not seeing the world as it is, is our tendency to (1) see minorities as larger than they are.</span></span></p><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="381ug" data-offset-key="2vi7r-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="2vi7r-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="2vi7r-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><br data-text="true" /></span></div></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="381ug" data-offset-key="ajmml-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="ajmml-0-0" style="font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="ajmml-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">"This holds for sexual minorities, including the proportion of gays and lesbians (estimate: 30%, true: 3%), bisexuals (estimate: 29%, true: 4%), and people who are transgender (estimate: 21%, true: 0.6%). </span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="381ug" data-offset-key="eigog-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="eigog-0-0" style="font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="eigog-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><br data-text="true" /></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="381ug" data-offset-key="e6jq6-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="e6jq6-0-0" style="font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="e6jq6-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">"It also applies to religious minorities, such as Muslim Americans (estimate: 27%, true: 1%) and Jewish Americans (estimate: 30%, true: 2%). And we find the same sorts of overestimates for racial and ethnic minorities, such as Native Americans (estimate: 27%, true: 1%), Asian Americans (estimate: 29%, true: 6%), and Black Americans (estimate: 41%, true: 12%)."</span></div></div></blockquote><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="381ug" data-offset-key="2c17i-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="2c17i-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="2c17i-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><br data-text="true" /></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="381ug" data-offset-key="72hkr-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="72hkr-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="72hkr-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">and (2) When we look at large groups, the proportion tends to be UNDERestimated.</span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="381ug" data-offset-key="1qep1-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="1qep1-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="1qep1-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><br data-text="true" /></span></div></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="381ug" data-offset-key="5q2vu-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="5q2vu-0-0" style="font-family: inherit; position: relative; text-align: left;"><span data-offset-key="5q2vu-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">"we find that people underestimate the proportion of American adults who are Christian (estimate: 58%, true: 70%) and the proportion who have at least a high school degree (estimate: 65%, true: 89%)."</span></div></div></blockquote><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="381ug" data-offset-key="5q2vu-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="5q2vu-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="5q2vu-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="5q2vu-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="5q2vu-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">Source: </span><a href="https://today.yougov.com/topics/politics/articles-reports/2022/03/15/americans-misestimate-small-subgroups-population">From millionaires to Muslims, small subgroups of the population seem much larger to many Americans | YouGov</a> </div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="5q2vu-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><br /></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="5q2vu-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;">Of course, since the work of Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky 50 years ago, it's been clear that people don't handle probabilities very well at all. Kahneman even won the Nobel Prize for this work (Tversky having already died). </div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="5q2vu-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><br /></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="5q2vu-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;">Part of this is contamination: a bunch of extremely bad estimates are being averaged in. But if we look at the median estimates (rather than the mean) we still see a distortion. For example:</div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="5q2vu-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><br /></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="5q2vu-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;">Actual % transgender: 0.6%</div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="5q2vu-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;">Mean survey estimate: 21%</div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="5q2vu-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;">Median survey estimate: 12%</div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="5q2vu-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><br /></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="5q2vu-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;">Actual % with HH income over $1 million: (less than 0.5%)</div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="5q2vu-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="5q2vu-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;">Mean survey estimate: 20%</div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="5q2vu-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;">Median survey estimate: 10%</div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="5q2vu-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><br /></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="5q2vu-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;">Actual % are Muslim: 1%</div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="5q2vu-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="5q2vu-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;">Mean survey estimate: 27%</div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="5q2vu-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;">Median survey estimate: 20%</div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="5q2vu-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><br /></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="5q2vu-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="5q2vu-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;">Actual % are Black: 12%</div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="5q2vu-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="5q2vu-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;">Mean survey estimate: 41`%</div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="5q2vu-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;">Median survey estimate: 40%</div></div></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="5q2vu-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><br /></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="5q2vu-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;">Some of this might be a failure to consider the definition. For example, are people parsing "transgender" to include the entire spectrum of LGBTQ+? Are people confusing an INCOME of $1,000,000 a year with a NET WORTH of $1,000,000? But it's harder to make this case for a category like "Muslim" or "Black".</div></div></div></div>zbicyclisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10850387889082662189noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34928391.post-81429323084853118172022-02-25T09:00:00.004-06:002022-05-06T09:51:28.274-05:00LGBTQIA+ and Swedenborg: It doesn’t have to be this way<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: red;">I have updated this essay slightly to add supporting evidence. The updated version is here: <a href="http://www.truncatedthoughts.com/2022/05/lgbtqia-and-swedenborg-it-doesnt-have.html">Truncated thoughts: LGBTQIA+ and Swedenborg: It doesn’t have to be this way</a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">The purpose of this essay is to show that it is possible for
Swedenborgians to be more inclusive of LGBTQIA+ (henceforward LGBT) people than
in this February, 2022 statement by Bishop Peter Buss, Jr, the chief bishop of
the New Church branch of Swedenborgianism:</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;">Even with an emphasis on love and
understanding, the Church cannot embrace same-sex marriage – on earth or in
heaven. It cannot support a concept of gender fluidity. It cannot embrace
variety of sexual expression implied in a bisexual identity. It should be a
place where people can hear directly from the Word about the Lord’s vision of
marriage and receive encouragement to reach for their experience of it. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;">Organizationally, the Church has a
responsibility to make policies about what the priesthood can and cannot do
around these matters, and what is expected of employees who have signed on to
represent the beliefs of the New Church in their professional and private
conduct. We must strive to align ourselves organizationally with what the Word
teaches, and where we find ourselves out of alignment to work diligently to
change. (page 23)<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Buss, Peter M. Jr.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>From the Bishop’s Office. Standing for Marriage in Today’s World, A
Church Perspective. New Church Life, Vol. MMXXII #1, January/February 2022,
15-24.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="https://newchurch.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/NCL_JanFeb_2022-web.pdf">NCL_JanFeb_2022-web.pdf
(newchurch.org)</a><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i><u>A Few Preliminaries<o:p></o:p></u></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I want to outline a few of the ways that an argument can be
made.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">First, there is deduction, where after stating some
premises, the conclusion necessarily follows. For example:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>All men
are mortal.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Socrates
is a man.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Therefore,
Socrates is mortal.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The validity of a deductive argument depends on the validity
of the premises, if there is no fallacious construction such as assuming the
consequent.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Second, there is induction, in which we generalize from the
observed facts. For example, if thousands of swans have been observed and every
swan observed has been white, then we might conclude that all swans are white.
Arguments by induction can be refuted by further evidence, e.g. finding a black
swan, or by showing that other conclusions are also consistent with the
evidence.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Third, there are apologia, a formal defense of a position or
belief. In apologia, we start with the conclusion we want, and work backward to
explain or justify it. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">There is an easy slide into apologia. For example, in the
investigation of a crime, evidence may be gathered objectively, leading to an
inductive inference that a particular person is likely to be responsible. But,
once we get into court, the prosecution starts with a belief in guilt, the
defense starts with a belief in innocence, and both sides present evidence to
justify their positions.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Apologia are particularly common in religious writings. The
Wikipedia article on Christian apologetics cites writers such as Paul, Thomas
Aquinas, Duns Scotus, William of Ockham, Anselm of Canterbury, Blaise Pascal,
G. K. Chesterton, C. S. Lewis, G. E. M. Anscombe, and John Henry Newman (author
of <i>Apologia Pro Vita Sua</i>).<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Of course, much as the prosecution and defense at a trial
see things differently, different apologists will defend different positions.
This is captured in the popular idiom from Shakespeare that the devil can cite
scripture for his purpose.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">With these preliminaries laid out, I present the following
apologia defending an inclusive position for LGBT individuals.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i><u>Apologia<o:p></o:p></u></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We’ll start with the position that LGBT should be accepted
on an equal basis in a church or religious community. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">First, this should be the default – we should assume in
Christian charity that others should be accepted. The basis of this starting
point is Matthew 22:39, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Second, we can dispose of the Old Testament arguments by noting
that there are many things prohibited in the Torah that are permitted to
Christians (dietary restrictions, and carrying debts beyond Jubilee years for example) and also things that were
allowed in the Torah that we would not accept today (slavery, and polygamy, for
example).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is a lot of “pick and
choose” in Christians’ attitude toward the laws of the Torah.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">There is, of course, the story of Sodom. There is a much more extensive discussion of what Swedenborg says about homosexuality in general and Sodom in particular by Lee and Annette Woofenden here: <a href="https://leewoof.org/2015/02/06/what-does-emanuel-swedenborg-say-about-homosexuality/?fbclid=IwAR14CKTpQ7OKJocBFEMi0NBKo3ZwRbkUrVrRuA2J3GAnMqf9nXlPxRMEgJY">What does Emanuel Swedenborg Say about Homosexuality? | Spiritual Insights for Everyday Life (leewoof.org)</a> Among many other particulars, it notes the parallelism between the story of Sodom (homosexual gang rape instead of hospitality toward travelers) and Judges 19 (heterosexual gang rape instead of hospitality toward travelers), both involving severe punishments (the destruction of Sodom, and the near genocide of the tribe of Benjamin). When we consider these stories together, it is the gang rape aspect that sticks out, rather than the specific form of gang rape.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Third, we can dispose of the New Testament arguments (e.g. a
passage in a Pauline epistle) by noting that Swedenborg himself rejected all
the New Testament epistles from his biblical canon.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i><u>Conjugial Love<o:p></o:p></u></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But we cannot so easily dismiss conjugial love. An important
belief among Swedenborgians is in conjugial love – the importance of marriage
on earth, marriage in heaven, and the symbolism of the church betrothing
herself to her Lord as His bride and wife (Swedenborg’s <u>Conjugial Love</u>
293:6)<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">(1)<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->But while a Christian marriage on earth (and,
for Swedenborgians, later in heaven) is an ideal state, it is not a required
state. There is no requirement that Swedenborgians marry. Swedenborg himself
never married. So, while the symbolism and correspondence is there, it need not
be born out in every single individual in a church community by heterosexual
marriage.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">(2)<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->We might further note that dispensations of
charity have been given in this regard. Swedenborg states that remarriage after
divorce should not occur except in cases of adultery, but even among the male
New Church clergy there are several examples of second marriages and it seems
unlikely that all of these involve female adultery, although it is clear that
the specifics of these cases are none of my business. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">(3)<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->We do not require that all correspondences be
taken literally, particularly in individual cases. Diseases, for example, are,
in Swedenborg’s view, connected to sin.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">a.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->“Diseases correspond to the cupidities and
passions of the disposition; these, too, are their origin; for, in general the
origins of diseases are intemperances, luxury of various kinds, merely corporeal
pleasures; and also envies, hatreds, revenges, lasciviousness and the like,
which destroy the interiors of man … and draw the man into disease, and thus
into death.” (5712; from Potts Concordance, volume 2, page 173)<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">b.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->“Hence it is that evil closes the smallest and
quite invisible vessels, of which the next greater ones, which are also
invisible, are composed; for the smallest and quite invisible vessels are
continued from man's interiors: hence the first and inmost obstruction, and
hence the first and inmost vitiation in the blood : this vitiation, when it
increases, causes disease, and at last death. But if man had lived the life of
good, his interiors would be open into Heaven, and through Heaven to the Lord,
thus also the smallest and invisible little vessels-vascula . . . Hence man
would be without disease, and would only decrease to the last of old age”
(5726; op. cit. page 173)<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: 1in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">c.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->“The reason no one is reformed in a state of
disease of the body, is that reason is not then in a free state; for the state
of the mind depends on the state of the body. When the body is sick, the mind
also is sick; if not otherwise, still by removal from the world . . . When,
therefore, man is in a state of disease ... he is not in the world ... in which
state alone no one can be reformed ; but he can be confirmed, if he was
reformed before he fell into disease. . . Wherefore, if they are not reformed
before the disease, after it, if they die, they become such as they were before
the disease ; wherefore it is vain to think that anyone can do repentance or
receive any faith in diseases.” (p. 142; op. cit. page 174)<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">There is, of course, some truth to this view (e.g. you are more
likely to get lung cancer if you smoke), but by and large charitable
Swedenborgians are more likely to pray for a neighbor who has cancer, than to
contend that it must be due to their own sins and reject their full participation in the community.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We can understand that physical diseases may have a correspondence
to spiritual diseases without requiring that this correspondence apply to
specific individual cases.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">To summarize this argument: We do not reject the unmarried
person from full membership in the community, despite the importance of the concept
of conjugial love. We do not reject the cancer patient from full membership in
the community, despite the correspondence of physical diseases to spiritual
diseases. Neither should we reject LGBT individuals from full membership in the
community.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Mike Kruger<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Glenview, Illinois<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">February 2022<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It is worth noting that although I have been a Swedenborgian
for decades, I did not go through the New Church educational system or attend
its theology school. I have no doubt that there are those who did absorb decades
of New Church education would be able to provide point-by-point apologia in
opposition to this one. Whether I would find them convincing is an empirical
question.<o:p></o:p></p>zbicyclisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10850387889082662189noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34928391.post-74599909702319616262021-09-22T17:49:00.000-05:002021-09-22T17:49:48.325-05:00Do higher taxes on the rich raise rents for the poor? No.<p> I was intrigued by this meme which is circulating on social media:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zxU48DibSMs/YUut6XN-OdI/AAAAAAAAKdY/XIUQBv8DPE0XmVdwkjGAGg8BXLLc6tSlwCLcBGAsYHQ/s595/242753937_10215965106039072_3813274497192140368_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="595" data-original-width="526" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zxU48DibSMs/YUut6XN-OdI/AAAAAAAAKdY/XIUQBv8DPE0XmVdwkjGAGg8BXLLc6tSlwCLcBGAsYHQ/w354-h400/242753937_10215965106039072_3813274497192140368_n.jpg" width="354" /></a></div><br /><p>This seemed pretty doubtful, but worth a look.</p><p>First, of course, we need to have operational definitions of the concepts, and operational definitions that will allow us to get data.</p><p>To measure "tax the rich" I'm using the highest marginal federal tax rate for the year. That has a pretty wide variation over time, so any pattern should be apparent.</p><p>To measure "rent on the poor" we'd need to determine what "poor" is, which is hard enough, but also get a measure of rent paid by poor people. So, instead, I'm using the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: Rent of Primary Residence in U.S., City Average. Because inflation makes this price index go up over time, we are comparing it to the CPI for Food at Home, so we're actually measuring the cost of rent relative to the cost of food. My argument here is that the cost of food will not be much affected by the relative tax rate. </p><p>Using data pulled from FRED (the wonderful data store maintained by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis) I have annual data from 1953 through 2018. </p><p>As you can see in this scatterplot, there's no pattern. There's a lot of variability in the marginal tax rate over these years, and a lot of variability in the cost of rent relative to the cost of food, but they aren't related to each other (R-square = .036)</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Q9jrlvBMWEY/YUuxEVOMNaI/AAAAAAAAKdg/e4gpyTlQ2J4EVkSmKCo9S8U0Q-ms7tRgwCLcBGAsYHQ/s946/Screenshot%2B2021-09-22%2B174046.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="687" data-original-width="946" height="464" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Q9jrlvBMWEY/YUuxEVOMNaI/AAAAAAAAKdg/e4gpyTlQ2J4EVkSmKCo9S8U0Q-ms7tRgwCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h464/Screenshot%2B2021-09-22%2B174046.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p>So, I think we can put this meme to rest. I am not surprised.</p><p>Now, clearly, some taxes will increase rents. Property taxes (which, as the name suggests, and taxes on property, not people) will raise rents when they are increased, because they raise the cost structure of the rental unit. But that's a different issue than taxing the rich.</p>zbicyclisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10850387889082662189noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34928391.post-7875315102621829982021-04-15T20:27:00.002-05:002021-04-15T20:27:35.182-05:00Luke Kruger-Howard's Book Takes on the Forces of Capitalism [or, who says there's no such thing as free comics?]<h4 style="text-align: left;"> </h4><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: inherit; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Luke Kruger-Howard has a new book. 110 pages. </span></b></span></h3><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: inherit; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Free, although donation encouraged. This is an experiment.</span></b></span></h3><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Luke Kruger-Howard (He/Him) is an Ignatz nominated cartoonist living in New Hampshire where he takes care of a toddler full-time. A graduate and former teacher at The Center for Cartoon Studies, Luke's work has popped up in numerous places - stuff like The New Yorker, The Nib, Slate, Best American Comics, the AV Club, Buzzfeed, Google and the like. Some of his comics include Talk Dirty To Me (AdHouse Books), Our Mother (Retrofit/Big Planet Comics), Trevor (self-published and Ignatz nominated), The Big Mystery Case (Self published), and a handful more. He has been spending a lot of time recently dreaming about ways artists might be able to better separate their art practices from capitalism. GOES BOOKS is an experiment in that vein. </span></div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">For more info about this project AND TO GET YOUR COPY: <a href="https://sites.google.com/view/goesbooks/home">Home (google.com)</a></div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">For more information about other works by Luke: <a href="http://www.andsothen.com/">And So Then</a> </div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">Interview in The Comics Journal: <a href="http://www.tcj.com/a-fair-bit-of-alchemy-a-qa-with-luke-howard/">“A Fair Bit of Alchemy”: A Q&A with Luke Howard | (tcj.com)</a></div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-D1xL9aV-nYY/YHjnXFFNIcI/AAAAAAAAJ1Q/zobkCV6wDBYxeGd4k-AKq9ZfyeNV4j8XwCLcBGAsYHQ/s754/Screenshot%2B2021-04-15%2B202317.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="617" data-original-width="754" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-D1xL9aV-nYY/YHjnXFFNIcI/AAAAAAAAJ1Q/zobkCV6wDBYxeGd4k-AKq9ZfyeNV4j8XwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Screenshot%2B2021-04-15%2B202317.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></div></div>zbicyclisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10850387889082662189noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34928391.post-5239507853443471412021-04-03T08:01:00.001-05:002021-04-03T08:02:16.886-05:00We Shift from Religious Polarization to Big Tech Polarization<p>Fewer than half of U.S. adults belong to a religious congregation, a new Gallup study shows. This is down from 70% in 1999. That figure fluctuated only a few percentage points over a period of 6 decades beginning in 1937 (the first time this question was surveyed) when 73% of U.S. adults said they belonged to a church, synagogue, or mosque.</p><p><a href="https://www.npr.org/2021/03/30/982671783/fewer-than-half-of-u-s-adults-belong-to-a-religious-congregation-new-poll-shows?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=npr&utm_term=nprnews&fbclid=IwAR23Ck61jKcX_5Q2t8zFjToVaZdYX3MFqpdnD_JmyraViyeJKFbyAs0sYMU">Under Half Of U.S. Adults Belong To A Religious Congregation, Survey Says : NPR</a> </p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Another Pew study (Feb 2019) showed 69% of US adults use Facebook (74% visit at least once per day), 73% use YouTube. </span><a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/05/16/facts-about-americans-and-facebook/">10 facts about Americans and Facebook | Pew Research Center</a></p><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="r66e" data-offset-key="bh4mc-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="bh4mc-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="bh4mc-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><br data-text="true" /></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="r66e" data-offset-key="1u4ob-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="1u4ob-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="1u4ob-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">One way to look at this is that we've shifted a locu s of polarization. Religious membership has long been a source of polarization and intolerance. Remember those lyrics from the insightful Tom Lehrer in National Brotherhood Week:</span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="r66e" data-offset-key="1sojj-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="1sojj-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="1sojj-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><br data-text="true" /></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="r66e" data-offset-key="ba117-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="ba117-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="ba117-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">"Oh the protestants hate the catholics</span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="r66e" data-offset-key="4sqsq-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="4sqsq-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="4sqsq-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">And the catholics hate the protestants</span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="r66e" data-offset-key="at337-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="at337-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="at337-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">And the hindus hate the muslims</span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="r66e" data-offset-key="8pk4a-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="8pk4a-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="8pk4a-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">And everybody hates the jews ..."</span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="r66e" data-offset-key="4mnlq-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="4mnlq-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="4mnlq-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><br data-text="true" /></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="r66e" data-offset-key="ad4b7-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="ad4b7-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="ad4b7-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">But we've replaced it with the individualized narrowcasting of social media where we get our information curated for us, and find it easy to demonize those on the other side and become righteously convinced that we are correct.</span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="r66e" data-offset-key="bl7jv-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="bl7jv-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="bl7jv-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><br data-text="true" /></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="r66e" data-offset-key="c6pv5-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="c6pv5-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="c6pv5-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">This polarization is different. Religious (and patriotic) convictions that you are right and they are evil resides in a shared orthodoxy -- and many of the adherents are sincere in their beliefs. Big Tech has no orthodoxy beyond the dollar.</span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="r66e" data-offset-key="6ffg3-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="6ffg3-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="6ffg3-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><br data-text="true" /></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="r66e" data-offset-key="31cs6-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="31cs6-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="31cs6-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">Religious orthodoxy, particularly when combined with the power of the state, has brought us a variety of evils, despite the "moral compass" of religion (or because?): Roman martyrs, the Crusades, endless religious wars, the partition of India (etc. etc.). </span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="r66e" data-offset-key="oj1u-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="oj1u-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="oj1u-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><br data-text="true" /></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="r66e" data-offset-key="46ji6-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="46ji6-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="46ji6-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">Will we do better as that "moral compass" of organized religion declines in importance, particularly as Big Tech provides its own form of customized-for-use newsfeed orthodoxy? An empirical question.</span></div></div>zbicyclisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10850387889082662189noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34928391.post-37024060449988508672020-11-01T22:08:00.001-06:002020-11-03T09:47:38.745-06:00Support page for FANS of Fr. Hugo's Family Food Challenge - tour of Haiti<p>This is the support page for FANS who are following the food challenge, but not directly participating by logging their exercise miles. The PARTICIPANT page is here: <a href="https://www.truncatedthoughts.com/2020/11/support-page-for-participants-in-fr.html">https://www.truncatedthoughts.com/2020/11/support-page-for-participants-in-fr.html </a></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">FAQ</h2><div><i>Q. What's this all about again?</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>A. </i><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">Fr. Hugo,
C.P.’s Family Food Challenge fulfills the most basic of food needs to
single-parent families in Haiti to build their strength for job seeking,
education for their children, and all the most basic needs of survival. And
those needs include genuine hope to counter the harsh challenges of Haitian
life. We help by becoming more aware of our own personal wellness while
providing literal nutrition to the most needy people in our hemisphere. To
participate, you will walk, run, or perform some other physical activity that
contributes to your team’s “virtual” tour Haiti. The tour has plenty to teach
and entertain. Watching your progress on the tour is 100% fun. All members
receive email postcards as milestones are reached. You can also sign up as a
fan, receiving the same postcards, and donate in support. With our help, Fr.
Hugo can deliver literal sustenance to Haitian people who a short time ago saw
no way out of shattered dreams and brutal barriers to security, health,
housing, employment, and education.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">Fr. Hugo, a Passionist priest, is a "friend of a friend" of those organizing this fundraiser, who attended a Passionist seminary for several years, but did not become priests.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">Fr. Rick Frechette, C.P., D.O. is a priest and physician who founded St. Damien's Hospital in Haiti. You'll find out about him, too.</span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.5in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div><i>Q. How do you become a fan?</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div>1. Make a donation to this effort.</div><div>Go to <a href="https://passionist.org/make-a-donation/ " target="_blank">https://passionist.org/make-a-donation/ </a> <div>In the dropdown box, should choose <i>Haiti – Fr Hugo’s Food Ministry</i> as a choice. </div></div><div><br /></div><div>2. Email mike.kruger@outlook.com, with "Haiti" as the subject. This will make sure you are updated with the milestone "postcards".</div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>Q. What does a fan get?</i></div><div><br /></div><div>A. As teams pass various milestones along their tour of Haiti, email postcards are generated with information about the area they are doing through, and about the work that's being done there.</div><div><br /></div><div>For participants, these are automatically generated as their team passes the milestone. For fans, we will send this same material out every few days -- so the email may include several postcards.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Q. Can I join as a participant later?</i></div><div><br /></div><div>A. Yes. See instructions <a href="https://www.dropbox.com/sh/rrrpsg02xn6j0ca/AADKz86SnMlMREYZxaxz8hpga?dl=0 " target="_blank">found here</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Q. Can I donate more than once?</i></div><div><br /></div><div>A. Of course!</div><div>Go to <a href="https://passionist.org/make-a-donation/ " target="_blank">https://passionist.org/make-a-donation/ </a> again.<div>In the dropdown box, should choose <i>Haiti – Fr Hugo’s Food Ministry</i> as a choice. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /></div><div><p class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 103.5pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-left: 103.5pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><br /></p><br /><p></p></div>zbicyclisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10850387889082662189noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34928391.post-33504987449418284022020-11-01T22:02:00.001-06:002020-11-03T09:57:05.013-06:00Support page for PARTICIPANTS in Fr. Hugo's Family Food Challenge - tour of Haiti<p> </p><p>This page has information for PARTICIPANTS (i.e. people who have enrolled in the My Virtual Mission and are entering their exercise). The information for FANS (who are just watching) is <b><a href="https://www.truncatedthoughts.com/2020/11/support-page-for-fans-of-fr-hugos.html">https://www.truncatedthoughts.com/2020/11/support-page-for-fans-of-fr-hugos.html</a></b></p><h2 style="text-align: left;"><b>How to get started</b></h2><div><b>All the information you will probably need is in this document: </b></div><div><b><a href="https://www.dropbox.com/sh/rrrpsg02xn6j0ca/AADKz86SnMlMREYZxaxz8hpga?dl=0 " target="_blank">https://www.dropbox.com/sh/rrrpsg02xn6j0ca/AADKz86SnMlMREYZxaxz8hpga?dl=0 </a></b></div><div><br /></div><div>This has sections on:</div><div><br /></div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">1.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Montserrat; mso-fareast-font-family: Montserrat;">Information
about your mission<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">2.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Montserrat; mso-fareast-font-family: Montserrat;">How to join
the mission<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">3.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Montserrat; mso-fareast-font-family: Montserrat;">How to
participate in the mission<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">4.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Montserrat; mso-fareast-font-family: Montserrat;">How to make
a donation<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">5.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Montserrat; mso-fareast-font-family: Montserrat;">How to
invite others<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">6.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Montserrat; mso-fareast-font-family: Montserrat;">Information
about the map<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">7.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Montserrat; mso-fareast-font-family: Montserrat;">Information
about the leaderboard<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">8.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Montserrat; mso-fareast-font-family: Montserrat;">How to
access help and support<a name="_ha5a9kggvb3t"></a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">9.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Montserrat; mso-fareast-font-family: Montserrat;">Activity
conversion chart (also below)</span></p></div><h2 style="text-align: left;"><b>What's on this page:</b></h2><div><b>Help! How to get (more) Help!</b></div><div><b>Activity Conversion Chart: How many miles is gardening worth?</b></div><div><b>Link to Fr. Rick Frechette's videos</b></div><div><b>FAQ</b></div><h2 style="text-align: left;"><b>Help! How to get Help!</b></h2><div><b>If all else fails, contact Mike.Kruger@outlook.com with your questions. </b></div><div><b>Please try to ask questions he knows the answer to. </b></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">Activity Conversion Chart</h2><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><u>"</u>What if I did something other than walk, run or cycle"?<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Use this activity conversion chart!<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Example: <i>If you worked in the garden for an hour, give yourself credit for 2.40 miles.</i></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Activity<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>miles in 1 hour</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Aerobics, low intensity<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> 3.84 </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Aerobics, high intensity<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> 5.46 </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Aerobics, step<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> 4.62 </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Badminton<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> 3.96 </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Ballet dancing<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> 3.60 </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Baseball<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> 3.90 </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Basketball<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> 3.90 </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Bowling<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> 2.16 </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Boxing<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> 6.66 </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Calisthenics<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> 3.18 </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Canoeing<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> 2.76 </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Cheerleading<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> 3.00 </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Circuit training (squats, lunges, pushups, burpees, situps, etc.)<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> 6.00 </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Climbing, indoor/outdoor<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> 8.10 </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Croquet<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> 2.28 </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">CrossFit<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> 7.50 </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Dancing<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> 3.30 </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Elliptical trainer<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> 6.12 </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Fencing<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> 5.46 </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Fishing<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> 2.76 </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Football/soccer<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> 6.00 </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><i>Gardening or yard work<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> 2.40 </i></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Golf (carrying clubs)<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> 3.30 </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Grocery shopping<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> 2.04 </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Gymnastics<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> 3.66 </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Handball<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> 10.44 </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">HIIT<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> 7.50 </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Hiking / orienteering<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> 6.96 </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Hockey, Field and Ice<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> 7.20 </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Horseback riding<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> 2.70 </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Housework<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> 2.16 </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Ice skating<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> 2.52 </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">In-line skating/Rollerblading<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> 5.70 </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Jumping to conclusions<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> 0.01 </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Jumping rope (skipping), fast<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> 9.00 </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Jumping rope (skipping), moderate<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> 7.50 </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Kayaking<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> 4.56 </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Kickboxing / MMA<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> 8.70 </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Lacrosse<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> 7.26 </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Martial Arts<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> 7.08 </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Mowing lawn<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> 3.60 </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Pickleball<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> 4.20 </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Pilates<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> 2.76 </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Punching bag<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> 5.40 </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Raking lawn/leaves<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> 3.66 </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Racquetball<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> 5.46 </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Refrigerator door opening<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> 0.001 </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Rowing<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> 4.44 </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Rowing machine<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> 6.36 </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Rugby<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> 9.12 </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Sailing, boat and board<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> 2.76 </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Shoveling snow<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> 4.38 </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Skateboarding<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> 3.06 </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Skiing, light/moderate<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> 3.30 </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Skiing, cross-country<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> 3.42 </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Sledding<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> 4.74 </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Snowboarding/snowshoeing<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> 5.46 </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Snowmobiling<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> 3.18 </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Softball<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> 4.56 </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Spinning<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> 6.00 </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Squash<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> 10.44 </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Stair climbing, machine<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> 6.00 </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Stair climbing down stairs<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> 2.16 </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Stair climbing up stairs<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> 5.46 </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Steps: about 2000 in 1 mile<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Surfing<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> 2.76 </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Swimming, Butterfly<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> 8.16 </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Swimming, freestyle/breaststroke<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> 5.46 </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Swimming, treading/leisure<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> 3.48 </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Table tennis<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> 3.60 </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Tae Bo<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> 7.50 </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Tai Chi<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> 1.20 </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Tennis<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> 6.00 </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Trampoline<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> 2.70 </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Volleyball<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> 2.76 </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Washing a car<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> 2.16 </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Water aerobics<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> 3.48 </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Water polo<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> 9.12 </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Water skiing<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> 4.38 </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Weight lifting, light<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> 2.04 </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Weight lifting, heavy<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> 5.22 </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Wrestling<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> 4.38 </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Yoga<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> 1.38 </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">Links to Fr. Rick Frechette's Videos</h2></div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=rick+frechette">https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=rick+frechette </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><h2 style="text-align: left;">FAQ</h2><i>Q. Why do I sometimes get more than one milestone postcard emails in a day, and other days get none?</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">A. It depends on when your team reaches the place on the route where the postcard email is generated. This depends on how fast your team makes progress. In addition, the milestones are closer together in Port-au-Prince than they are out in the countryside.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i>Q. Can I forward the postcards to others?</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">A. Yes! Please do! In this way, we might get more people to contribute.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i>Q. My smart device seems to miss my exercises, or it doublecounts my exercises.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">A. I've had this problem with Google Fit. Sometimes it will post entries a day late. If it misses an exercise, you can add it manually on your smartphone or laptop at myvirtualmission.com. If there are duplicate entries and you want to get rid of one, there's an X in the upper right you can use to delete an entry (circled in red below).</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-t77Y-XqnIsk/X5-DRoN9KKI/AAAAAAAAJb4/nMPilazVOzsS4HYilfWt5usMDuj23LPtQCLcBGAsYHQ/s484/Screenshot%2B2020-11-01%2B215419.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="158" data-original-width="484" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-t77Y-XqnIsk/X5-DRoN9KKI/AAAAAAAAJb4/nMPilazVOzsS4HYilfWt5usMDuj23LPtQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Screenshot%2B2020-11-01%2B215419.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div>zbicyclisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10850387889082662189noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34928391.post-21739919140891865962020-10-10T14:16:00.001-05:002020-10-10T14:16:10.371-05:00Questions for Dr. Laura Schlesinger<p>I didn't write this. The top part is by Michael Luscombe and the set of questions is from James M. Kauffman.</p><p>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- </p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: inherit; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In her radio show, Dr Laura Schlesinger said that, as an observant Orthodox Jew, homosexuality is an abomination according to Leviticus 18:22, and cannot be condoned under any circumstance. </span></span></p><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> The following response is an open letter to Dr. Laura, penned by a US resident, which was posted on the Internet. It's funny, as well as informative:</span></div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"> Dear Dr. Laura:</div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"> Thank you for doing so much to educate people regarding God's Law. I have learned a great deal from your show, and try to share that knowledge with as many people as I can. When someone tries to defend the homosexual lifestyle, for example, I simply remind them that Leviticus 18:22 clearly states it to be an abomination ... End of debate.</div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"> I do need some advice from you, however, regarding some other elements of God's Laws and how to follow them.</div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"> 1. Leviticus 25:44 states that I may possess slaves, both male and female, provided they are purchased from neighbouring nations. </div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"> A friend of mine claims that this applies to Mexicans, but not Canadians. Can you clarify? Why can't I own Canadians?</div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"> 2. I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in Exodus 21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her?</div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"> 3. I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in her period of Menstrual uncleanliness - Lev.15: 19-24. </div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"> The problem is how do I tell? I have tried asking, but most women take offence.</div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"> 4. When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a pleasing odour for the Lord - Lev.1:9. </div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"> The problem is my neighbours. They claim the odour is not pleasing to them. Should I smite them?</div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"> 5. I have a neighbour who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2 clearly states he should be put to death. </div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"> Am I morally obligated to kill him myself, or should I ask the police to do it?</div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"> 6. A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is an abomination, Lev. 11:10, it is a lesser abomination than homosexuality. I don't agree. Can you settle this? Are there 'degrees' of abomination?</div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"> 7. Lev. 21:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I have a defect in my sight. I have to admit that I wear reading glasses. Does my vision have to be 20/20, or is there some wiggle-room here?</div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"> 8. Most of my male friends get their hair trimmed, including the hair around their temples, even though this is expressly forbidden by Lev. 19:27. How should they die?</div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"> 9. I know from Lev. 11:6-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig makes me unclean, but may I still play football if I wear gloves?</div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"> 10. My uncle has a farm. He violates Lev.19:19 by planting two different crops in the same field, as does his wife by wearing garments made of two different kinds of thread (cotton/polyester blend). He also tends to curse and blaspheme a lot. Is it really necessary that we go to all the trouble of getting the whole town together to stone them? Lev.24:10-16. Couldn't we just burn them to death at a private family affair, like we do with people who sleep with their in-laws? (Lev. 20:14)</div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"> I know you have studied these things extensively and thus enjoy considerable expertise in such matters, so I'm confident you can help.</div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"> Thank you again for reminding us that God's word is eternal and unchanging.</div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"> Your adoring fan.</div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"> James M. Kauffman, Ed.D. Professor Emeritus, Dept. Of Curriculum, Instruction, and Special Education University of Virginia</div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"> (It would be a damn shame if we couldn't own a Canadian)</div></div>zbicyclisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10850387889082662189noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34928391.post-88019167952016258382020-09-30T16:05:00.001-05:002020-09-30T16:05:27.084-05:00How Doubt Gives Trump a Second Term<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">So, here’s a
nightmare scenario in which Trump gets a second term.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">It explains why Trump is spending so much energy emphasizing possible election fraud.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> Elections, even in the best of times, have a number of ballots that are spoiled,
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 5.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #414246; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Adams’ group
said that during the four most recent general elections, about 1.3 million
ballots were rejected upon receipt out of about 146 million ballots, which
works out to about 1 percent.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 2rem; margin-bottom: 5.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #414246; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Federal
data shows that rejected absentee ballots are a small subset. In 2016, about <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/whitehouse.gov/files/docs/PACEI-EAC-2016-Election-Administration-Voting-Survey.pdf" style="border-bottom: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; transition: all 0.1s ease-in-out 0s;"><span style="color: #2270fd; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">1% of absentee ballots were rejected</span></a>, most commonly for missing
or mismatched signatures, or for arriving after the deadline. Signature checks
are one of the ways election officials try to safeguard against absentee voter
fraud, but they can also trip up voters who simply forgot to sign their
ballots, or whose signatures have varied over time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><a href="https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2020/jun/09/j-christian-adams/misleading-claim-millions-absentee-ballots-end-mis/">https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2020/jun/09/j-christian-adams/misleading-claim-millions-absentee-ballots-end-mis/</a></span><span style="color: #414246; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">One percent’s
not a lot, but remember some states can be close, and it’s not a uniform 1%,
but clustered.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">So, (1) the
idea is to create enough doubt – even if that doubt is only in Bill Barr’s head.
Then Barr he heads to the Supreme Court, newly stacked with Trump appointees.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Or, (2) at
the state level, some states may just not certify a winner.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The official responsible for this varies by
state; often it’s the Secretary of State, but not always. But a count of
current governors shows 24 Democrats, 26 Republicans, so that’s a reasonable
proxy for the party identification of the person certifying the results. In a
close election, there’s a lot of room for deciding which ballots to accept.
[Recall that in Florida in 2000, if Gore had his rule for vote counting used,
Bush would have won. If Bush had his rule used, Gore would have won. In the
end, the Supreme Court decided 5-4 not to have further counting.] Or, there may
just be no certification in time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Would
partisanship prevail occasionally over principle? Well, remember even the sainted
President Lincoln was not above trading offices for votes (c.f. the movie “Lincoln”).
Trump is above nothing.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<h2>The House Divided<o:p></o:p></h2>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">So, what if there’s
enough doubt, or enough lack of certification, so there’s no candidate with the
majority of the electoral votes?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We go
to the 12<sup>th</sup> amendment.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">… </span><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">if no person have
such majority, then from the persons having the highest numbers not exceeding
three on the list of those voted for as President, the House of Representatives
shall choose immediately, by ballot, the President.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">By “choose
immediately”, this would be the current Congress, not the one elected to take
office in 2021, because the electors meet on the first Monday after the second
Wednesday in December, before the new Congress takes office.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">But this isn’t
your ordinary House vote:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">But
in choosing the President, the votes shall be taken by states, the
representation from <u>each state having one vote</u>; a quorum for this purpose shall
consist of a member or members from two-thirds of the states, and a majority of
all the states shall be necessary to a choice.</span><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Using this
rule, and the data from <a href="https://ballotpedia.org/List_of_current_members_of_the_U.S._Congress">https://ballotpedia.org/List_of_current_members_of_the_U.S._Congress</a>
,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I count 23
states with Democratic majorities in their House delegations, 26 with
Republican majorities, and one tie. (This assumes the Libertarian would caucus
Republican).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="border-collapse: collapse; mso-padding-alt: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184; width: 665px;">
<tbody><tr style="height: 15.0pt; mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0;">
<td nowrap="" style="background: #D9E1F2; border-bottom: solid #8EA9DB 1.0pt; border: none; height: 15.0pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid #8EA9DB .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 139.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="185">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Row Labels<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="background: #D9E1F2; border-bottom: solid #8EA9DB 1.0pt; border: none; height: 15.0pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid #8EA9DB .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 86.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="115">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Democratic Party<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="background: #D9E1F2; border-bottom: solid #8EA9DB 1.0pt; border: none; height: 15.0pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid #8EA9DB .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 83.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="111">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Libertarian Party<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="background: #D9E1F2; border-bottom: solid #8EA9DB 1.0pt; border: none; height: 15.0pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid #8EA9DB .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 84.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="112">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Republican Party<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="background: #D9E1F2; border-bottom: solid #8EA9DB 1.0pt; border: none; height: 15.0pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid #8EA9DB .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 59.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="79">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Grand Total<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Party<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 15.0pt; mso-yfti-irow: 1;">
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 139.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="185">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Alabama <o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 86.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="115">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">1<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 83.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="111"></td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 84.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="112">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">6<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 59.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="79">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">7<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Rep<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 15.0pt; mso-yfti-irow: 2;">
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 139.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="185">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Alaska At-large Distri<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 86.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="115"></td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 83.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="111"></td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 84.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="112">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">1<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 59.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="79">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">1<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Rep<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 15.0pt; mso-yfti-irow: 3;">
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 139.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="185">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Arizona <o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 86.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="115">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">5<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 83.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="111"></td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 84.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="112">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">4<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 59.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="79">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">9<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Dem<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 15.0pt; mso-yfti-irow: 4;">
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 139.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="185">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Arkansas <o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 86.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="115"></td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 83.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="111"></td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 84.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="112">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">4<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 59.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="79">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">4<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Rep<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 15.0pt; mso-yfti-irow: 5;">
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 139.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="185">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>California <o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 86.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="115">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">45<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 83.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="111"></td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 84.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="112">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">7<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 59.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="79">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">52<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Dem<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 15.0pt; mso-yfti-irow: 6;">
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 139.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="185">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Colorado <o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 86.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="115">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">4<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 83.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="111"></td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 84.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="112">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">3<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 59.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="79">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">7<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Dem<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 15.0pt; mso-yfti-irow: 7;">
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 139.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="185">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Connecticut <o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 86.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="115">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">5<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 83.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="111"></td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 84.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="112"></td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 59.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="79">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">5<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Dem<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 15.0pt; mso-yfti-irow: 8;">
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 139.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="185">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Delaware At-large Distri<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 86.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="115">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">1<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 83.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="111"></td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 84.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="112"></td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 59.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="79">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">1<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Dem<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 15.0pt; mso-yfti-irow: 9;">
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 139.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="185">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Florida <o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 86.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="115">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">13<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 83.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="111"></td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 84.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="112">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">14<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 59.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="79">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">27<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Rep<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 15.0pt; mso-yfti-irow: 10;">
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 139.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="185">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Georgia <o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 86.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="115">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">4<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 83.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="111"></td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 84.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="112">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">9<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 59.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="79">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">13<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Rep<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 15.0pt; mso-yfti-irow: 11;">
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 139.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="185">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hawaii <o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 86.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="115">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">2<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 83.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="111"></td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 84.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="112"></td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 59.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="79">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">2<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Dem<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 15.0pt; mso-yfti-irow: 12;">
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 139.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="185">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Idaho <o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 86.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="115"></td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 83.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="111"></td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 84.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="112">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">2<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 59.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="79">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">2<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Rep<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 15.0pt; mso-yfti-irow: 13;">
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 139.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="185">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Illinois <o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 86.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="115">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">13<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 83.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="111"></td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 84.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="112">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">5<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 59.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="79">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">18<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Dem<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 15.0pt; mso-yfti-irow: 14;">
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 139.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="185">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Indiana <o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 86.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="115">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">2<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 83.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="111"></td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 84.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="112">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">7<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 59.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="79">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">9<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Rep<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 15.0pt; mso-yfti-irow: 15;">
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 139.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="185">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Iowa <o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 86.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="115">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">3<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 83.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="111"></td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 84.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="112">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">1<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 59.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="79">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">4<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Dem<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 15.0pt; mso-yfti-irow: 16;">
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 139.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="185">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Kansas <o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 86.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="115">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">1<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 83.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="111"></td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 84.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="112">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">3<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 59.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="79">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">4<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Rep<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 15.0pt; mso-yfti-irow: 17;">
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 139.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="185">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Kentucky <o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 86.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="115">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">1<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 83.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="111"></td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 84.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="112">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">5<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 59.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="79">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">6<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Rep<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 15.0pt; mso-yfti-irow: 18;">
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 139.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="185">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Louisiana <o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 86.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="115">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">1<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 83.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="111"></td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 84.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="112">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">5<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 59.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="79">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">6<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Rep<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 15.0pt; mso-yfti-irow: 19;">
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 139.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="185">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maine <o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 86.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="115">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">2<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 83.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="111"></td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 84.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="112"></td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 59.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="79">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">2<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Dem<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 15.0pt; mso-yfti-irow: 20;">
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 139.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="185">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maryland <o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 86.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="115">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">7<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 83.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="111"></td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 84.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="112">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">1<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 59.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="79">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">8<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Dem<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 15.0pt; mso-yfti-irow: 21;">
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 139.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="185">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Massachusetts <o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 86.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="115">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">9<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 83.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="111"></td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 84.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="112"></td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 59.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="79">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">9<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Dem<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 15.0pt; mso-yfti-irow: 22;">
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 139.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="185">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Michigan <o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 86.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="115">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">7<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 83.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="111">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">1<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 84.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="112">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">6<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 59.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="79">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">14<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Tied<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 15.0pt; mso-yfti-irow: 23;">
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 139.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="185">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Minnesota <o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 86.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="115">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">5<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 83.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="111"></td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 84.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="112">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">3<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 59.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="79">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">8<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Dem<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 15.0pt; mso-yfti-irow: 24;">
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 139.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="185">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mississippi <o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 86.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="115">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">1<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 83.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="111"></td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 84.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="112">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">3<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 59.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="79">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">4<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Rep<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 15.0pt; mso-yfti-irow: 25;">
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 139.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="185">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Missouri <o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 86.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="115">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">2<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 83.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="111"></td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 84.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="112">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">6<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 59.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="79">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">8<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Rep<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 15.0pt; mso-yfti-irow: 26;">
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 139.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="185">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Montana At-large Distri<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 86.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="115"></td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 83.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="111"></td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 84.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="112">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">1<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 59.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="79">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">1<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Rep<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 15.0pt; mso-yfti-irow: 27;">
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 139.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="185">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nebraska <o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 86.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="115"></td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 83.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="111"></td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 84.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="112">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">3<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 59.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="79">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">3<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Rep<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 15.0pt; mso-yfti-irow: 28;">
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 139.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="185">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nevada <o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 86.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="115">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">3<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 83.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="111"></td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 84.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="112">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">1<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 59.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="79">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">4<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Dem<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 15.0pt; mso-yfti-irow: 29;">
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 139.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="185">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>New Hampshire <o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 86.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="115">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">2<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 83.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="111"></td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 84.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="112"></td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 59.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="79">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">2<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Dem<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 15.0pt; mso-yfti-irow: 30;">
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 139.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="185">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>New Jersey <o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 86.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="115">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">10<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 83.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="111"></td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 84.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="112">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">2<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 59.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="79">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">12<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Dem<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 15.0pt; mso-yfti-irow: 31;">
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 139.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="185">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>New Mexico <o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 86.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="115">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">3<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 83.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="111"></td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 84.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="112"></td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 59.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="79">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">3<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Dem<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 15.0pt; mso-yfti-irow: 32;">
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 139.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="185">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>New York <o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 86.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="115">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">21<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 83.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="111"></td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 84.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="112">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">6<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 59.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="79">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">27<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Dem<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 15.0pt; mso-yfti-irow: 33;">
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 139.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="185">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>North Carolina <o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 86.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="115">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">3<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 83.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="111"></td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 84.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="112">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">9<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 59.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="79">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">12<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Rep<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 15.0pt; mso-yfti-irow: 34;">
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 139.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="185">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>North Dakota At-large
Distri<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 86.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="115"></td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 83.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="111"></td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 84.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="112">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">1<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 59.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="79">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">1<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Rep<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 15.0pt; mso-yfti-irow: 35;">
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 139.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="185">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ohio <o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 86.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="115">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">4<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 83.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="111"></td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 84.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="112">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">12<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 59.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="79">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">16<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Rep<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 15.0pt; mso-yfti-irow: 36;">
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 139.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="185">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Oklahoma <o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 86.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="115">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">1<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 83.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="111"></td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 84.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="112">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">4<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 59.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="79">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">5<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Rep<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 15.0pt; mso-yfti-irow: 37;">
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 139.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="185">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Oregon <o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 86.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="115">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">4<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 83.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="111"></td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 84.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="112">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">1<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 59.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="79">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">5<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Dem<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 15.0pt; mso-yfti-irow: 38;">
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 139.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="185">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Pennsylvania <o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 86.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="115">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">9<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 83.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="111"></td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 84.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="112">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">9<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 59.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="79">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">18<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Tied<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 15.0pt; mso-yfti-irow: 39;">
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 139.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="185">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rhode Island <o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 86.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="115">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">2<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 83.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="111"></td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 84.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="112"></td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 59.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="79">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">2<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Dem<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 15.0pt; mso-yfti-irow: 40;">
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 139.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="185">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>South Carolina <o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 86.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="115">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">2<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 83.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="111"></td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 84.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="112">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">5<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 59.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="79">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">7<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Rep<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 15.0pt; mso-yfti-irow: 41;">
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 139.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="185">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>South Dakota At-large
Distri<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 86.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="115"></td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 83.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="111"></td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 84.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="112">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">1<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 59.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="79">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">1<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Rep<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 15.0pt; mso-yfti-irow: 42;">
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 139.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="185">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tennessee <o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 86.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="115">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">2<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 83.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="111"></td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 84.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="112">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">7<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 59.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="79">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">9<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Rep<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 15.0pt; mso-yfti-irow: 43;">
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 139.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="185">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Texas <o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 86.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="115">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">13<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 83.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="111"></td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 84.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="112">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">22<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 59.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="79">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">35<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Rep<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 15.0pt; mso-yfti-irow: 44;">
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 139.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="185">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Utah <o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 86.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="115">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">1<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 83.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="111"></td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 84.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="112">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">3<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 59.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="79">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">4<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Rep<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 15.0pt; mso-yfti-irow: 45;">
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 139.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="185">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Vermont At-large Distri<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 86.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="115">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">1<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 83.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="111"></td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 84.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="112"></td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 59.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="79">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">1<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Dem<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 15.0pt; mso-yfti-irow: 46;">
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 139.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="185">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Virginia <o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 86.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="115">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">7<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 83.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="111"></td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 84.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="112">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">4<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 59.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="79">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">11<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Dem<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 15.0pt; mso-yfti-irow: 47;">
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 139.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="185">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Washington <o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 86.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="115">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">7<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 83.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="111"></td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 84.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="112">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">3<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 59.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="79">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">10<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Dem<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 15.0pt; mso-yfti-irow: 48;">
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 139.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="185">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>West Virginia <o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 86.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="115"></td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 15.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 83.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="111"></td>
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<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">3<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Rep<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Wisconsin <o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">3<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">5<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">8<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Wyoming At-large Distri<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">1<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Rep<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<td nowrap="" style="background: #D9E1F2; border-top: solid #8EA9DB 1.0pt; border: none; height: 15.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #8EA9DB .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 139.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="185">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Grand Total<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
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<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><b><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">232<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
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<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><b><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">1<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
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<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><b><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">198<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
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<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><b><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">431<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">That’s 431
House members, since 4 seats are currently vacant. (California 50, Georgia 5,
North Carolina 11, Texas 4), but the vacant seats don’t affect the state majorities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, if it goes to the House, we have 4 more
years of Trump.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">So, to put
it briefly, Trump doesn’t need to get 270 electoral votes to get a second term.
All he needs to do is keep Biden from getting 270 certified electoral votes. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I'm not a constitutional lawyer, so if I'm wrong about this, please let me know in the comments.</span></p>zbicyclisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10850387889082662189noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34928391.post-12006356600498950042020-07-28T19:20:00.002-05:002020-07-28T19:20:45.902-05:00How will COVID-19 change the United States?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Here we are, creating more predictions -- more chances to be wrong.<br />
<br />
What are some trends that we will see, either created or accelerated by the pandemic?<br />
<br />
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
1. More outsourcing</h3>
<br />
If you can do your job from home for 5 months, maybe you can do your job from home forever. Or maybe you can move that home out of some expensive real estate market like the Bay Area, New York, or Chicago to some cheaper place with fast internet.<br />
<br />
Or, maybe they can move your job -- but not you -- abroad, and save money.<br />
<br />
The last big wave of outsourcing was spurred on in tech by the Y2K need for lots of re-engineering. But communication was always a problem. Understanding each others' accents over cheap VOIP lines was, and is, a problem. I hate calling my company's IT Support line, because it's going to be a mutual game of "could you repeat that?" -- or worse, with IT Support thinking they understand what you are saying, while they really don't.<br />
<br />
But now we have Zoom, and Microsoft Teams. The company uses both -- but oddly enough, when you call IT Support you still call over the phone, can't see them or share a screen, and the VOIP quality is still shit.<br />
<br />
<i>But I digress.</i> If I'm not coming into the office anyway (and my own company just announced the office is now closed at least through January 2, 2021) what's the difference if I'm in the close-in suburbs, or in Fargo, North Dakota, or in Bangalore, India? Labor costs -- that's the difference.<br />
<br />
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
2. Disappearance of independent restaurants</h3>
<br />
Unless you do a LOT of takeout, your small restaurant is probably doomed. There will be months ahead where you can't get the inside seating density to make a profit -- if you have a max of 50% seating on Friday and Saturday nights, how can you make it?<br />
<br />
Chains have several advantages.<br />
<br />
(a) As the Wall Street Journal noted (July 28, 2020): "<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Exchange; font-size: 17px;">Big chains have generally performed better than independent restaurants during the pandemic </span><a class="icon none" href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/coronavirus-divides-restaurants-into-those-with-or-without-drive-throughs-11585476001" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 30px 30px; color: #0274b6; font-family: Exchange; font-size: 17px; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">due to their drive-throughs</a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Exchange; font-size: 17px;"> and established takeout operations"</span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Exchange; font-size: 17px;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Exchange; font-size: 17px;">(b) Chains can feed at the relief fund trough more easily. They have established relationships with the banks administering the federal loan programs. They have lawyers, and lobbyists. So, they will proportionately take less of a financial hit -- and because of their size they are more likely to be able to weather the storm.</span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Exchange; font-size: 17px;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Exchange;"><span style="font-size: 17px;">(c) We'll eat fewer meals out. If you're working from home, you are much less likely to eat breakfast or lunch at a restaurant. Grocery store sales are way up during the pandemic. As we get used to cooking for ourselves again (and consider the cost savings), we'll likely go out to eat less, even if we can afford it -- and fewer of us will be able to afford it.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Exchange;"><span style="font-size: 17px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Exchange;"><span style="font-size: 17px;">So, be prepared for the local restaurant scene to look like a suburban street, with chain restaurant next to chain restaurant.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Exchange;"><span style="font-size: 17px;"><br /></span></span>
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Exchange;"><span style="font-size: 17px;">3. Department stores decline further</span></span></h3>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Exchange;"><span style="font-size: 17px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Exchange;"><span style="font-size: 17px;">OK, so now we're opening up department stores, with all the clothes they had in inventory last March, for the summer season, just as we're heading into back-to-school. Do they save these clothes for next spring (sitting on financing costs)? </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Exchange;"><span style="font-size: 17px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Exchange;"><span style="font-size: 17px;">And what does back-to-school mean if the first quarter (or more) is mostly remote learning?</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Exchange;"><span style="font-size: 17px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Exchange;"><span style="font-size: 17px;">The further decline in department stores will take many malls with them.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Exchange;"><span style="font-size: 17px;"><br /></span></span>
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Exchange;"><span style="font-size: 17px;">4. Ventilation systems will be the new advertised amenity</span></span></h3>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Exchange;"><span style="font-size: 17px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Exchange;"><span style="font-size: 17px;">What we know now is that being inside next to people who are talking or singing is infectious. Of course, that's also true of the common cold and the flu -- that's why these are more common in the winter. So, since we have to be inside part of the time, there will be a premium on getting good ventilation and filtering systems to lower the viral load, even after the pandemic is over.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Exchange;"><span style="font-size: 17px;"><br /></span></span>
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Exchange;"><span style="font-size: 17px;">5.Another pandemic</span></span></h3>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Exchange;"><span style="font-size: 17px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Exchange;"><span style="font-size: 17px;">Having seen what chaos can be caused in America by this pandemic, what are the odds the North Koreans aren't trying to manufacture another one? Or the Iranians? Or ...?</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Exchange;"><span style="font-size: 17px;"><br /></span></span>
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Exchange;"><span style="font-size: 17px;">6. Real estate weakness</span></span></h3>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Exchange;"><span style="font-size: 17px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Exchange;"><span style="font-size: 17px;">A huge number of people are in danger of eviction as I write this.One estimate is 23 million families by October. </span></span><a href="https://thehill.com/policy/finance/507161-as-many-as-23-million-families-could-face-eviction-by-october-due-to-pandemic">https://thehill.com/policy/finance/507161-as-many-as-23-million-families-could-face-eviction-by-october-due-to-pandemic</a> That's out of about 125 million households.<br />
<br />
Consider this from a landlord's point of view. You evict them, but who do you put in those units? You don't want another family with bad credit. So maybe you have to lower the rent so you can get a client with acceptable credit. If rents are lower, there's less incentive to build more units, so supply doesn't increase.<br />
<br />
Consider this from a renter's point of view. You're evicted because you can't pay rent. There's a good chance you'll end up homeless, or moving in with relatives or friends (or, homeless). That also creates empty units, and a downward pressure on rents. [good news for the home remodeling industry, bad news for new home construction]<br />
<br />
That's residential real estate. Commercial real estate is going to be weak, because if there are more people working from home, there's less office space needed. If there are fewer department stores, and fewer restaurants, there's less retail space needed. And what about those movie theaters in the age of streaming?<br />
<br />
One area that's likely to boom is real estate taxes. More unemployment? Less income tax revenue. Fewer restaurant meals and clothing sales? Less sales tax revenue. People driving less? Less gas tax revenue, and fewer new car sales taxes. So, what's a struggling local government to do? Increase the property tax.<br />
<br />
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
7. Peak sports?</h3>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The phrase "peak oil" means<span style="background-color: white; color: #494949; font-size: 14.4px;"> the theorized point in time when the maximum rate of extraction of petroleum is reached, after which it is expected to enter terminal decline. (Wikipedia)</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #494949; font-size: 14.4px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #494949; font-size: 14.4px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Have we reached <i>peak sports</i>? </span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #494949; font-size: 14.4px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #494949; font-size: 14.4px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It's key to remember that the huge fascination with professional sports is recent. The National League is the oldest big league, and that's 1876, not 1876 B.C. Pro football didn't get big until the late 1950s; ditto for basketball. </span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #494949; font-size: 14.4px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #494949; font-size: 14.4px;">The big money is even more recent. Bob Gibson had one of the greatest pitching seasons of all time in 1968. What was that worth? "T</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-size: 14px;">he $125,000 salary Gibson requested for 1969 was agreed to by team owner Gussie Busch and the Cardinals, setting a new franchise record for the highest single-season salary". (Wikipedia). Now we see top baseball players getting long term contracts worth over $300 million.</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In 2020, a lot of events were cancelled, or the seasons distorted beyond recognition. Will we care again the way we did before? Maybe not.</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I stopped watching football several years ago, because I felt I was supporting an activity that causes brain injury. I don't remember the exact year, but Lovie Smith still coached the Bears, and he was fired in 2012. <i>To my surprise, instead of watching other sports more, I watch them less.</i> I'll watch a big game now and them (like the Cubs in the World Series), but otherwise I'm not that interested.</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Will the same thing happen to professional sports when they return to a normal schedule? Will enough people have found other things more interesting, so that overall interest in sports declines?</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It's certainly happened to other individual sports before. Remember how big boxing used to be in the 1950s and 1960s? The Friday Night Fights on TV? Remember when professional bowling was big?</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It may already have begun pre-pandemic for some other sports: </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-size: 14px;">NASCAR seems to have been on a downward trajectory pre-COVID: "</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">The 2019 Daytona 500 </span><a class="css-1g7m0tk" href="https://racingnews.co/2019/11/26/2019-nascar-tv-ratings/" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #326891; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="">drew about 9 million viewers</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">. Yes, sports ratings as a whole are down, but NASCAR’s fall is alarming: Daytona 500 viewership from 2001 to 2009 </span><a class="css-1g7m0tk" href="https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/daytona-500-ratings-viewership-history/" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #326891; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="">ranged from 16 to 19 million</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">.</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 20px;">" </span><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/15/sports/autoracing/daytona-500-nascar.html">https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/15/sports/autoracing/daytona-500-nascar.html</a> </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">TV ratings for major golf tournaments are lower than they were several years ago. <a href="https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/major-golf-ratings-historical-masters-us-open-british-pga-championship-tiger-woods/">https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/major-golf-ratings-historical-masters-us-open-british-pga-championship-tiger-woods/</a></span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">So, perhaps 2019 was the year of "peak sports", and the vast overblown part of the economy that is professional (and major college) sports will be in for a decay. Or maybe not.</span></div>
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
8. Stuff I don't know</h3>
<br />
For sure, this is a partial list. I don't know:<br />
<br />
<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Who will win the election in November</li>
<li>Whether there will be any meaningful police reform, and, if there is, what form it will take.</li>
<li>Will we reimpose some or all of the environmental restrictions undone by Trump</li>
</ul>
</div>
zbicyclisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10850387889082662189noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34928391.post-19104505583341498882020-06-09T10:20:00.001-05:002020-06-09T10:20:25.441-05:00Defund Police, or Re-imagine Social Services<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
As I start this, it's June 9, 2020. The killing of George Floyd has sparked a movement to "Defund Police".<br />
<br />
It's a catchy, two word slogan. But I think Gov. Pritzker is right when he says "Define the Police" is a messaging obstacle to get police reforms. "Defund the Police" conjures up the idea that we will cut police budgets to $0, and maybe turn large segments of our cities over to gangs and the mafia. After all, it's fear of gangs that got us into this whole ineffective policing mess in the first place.<br />
<br />
<h2 style="text-align: left;">
What's a Social Service?</h2>
I think we need to take a step back and look at what services society provides, and how well society provides them. Yes, this includes the idea that in return for our taxes and our willingness to die for our country, our country might decide to provide services or facilitate them. We also should note who benefits from these services.<br />
<br />
Education benefits children, and also society as a whole by providing a better workforce and a more informed electorate.<br />
<br />
Individual health care benefits the individual. How it's provided ripples through society (e.g. employers using more part time people to minimize health care expenses). Here's an area that is not done well in America today, but that's another post.<br />
<br />
The Federal Reserve serves as an intermediary for checks, and tries to keep the economy working.<br />
<br />
The Postal Service delivers mail, even to places that are difficult to get to.<br />
<br />
Agricultural support programs try to stabilize farm commodity prices and keep farmers in business.<br />
<br />
The FAA regulates airline maintenance and safety features, to get those places up and back down safely. Airline travelers benefit.<br />
<br />
The FCC regulates the airwaves -- in particular, determining who is enabled to use what frequencies, so we don't just have a cacaphony.<br />
<br />
The Commerce Department attempts to promote American trade interests and keep foreign entities from taking unfair advantage of us.<br />
<br />
The prison system: the classic functions are rehabilitation (benefiting prisoner directly and society indirectly) and punishment (creating a sense that justice has been served for victims). But like many areas, there are secondary functions. The location of prisons provides employment in rural areas with few jobs. Prison labor, such as the legendary chain gangs, provides a low-cost work force.<br />
<br />
Social security keeps our elderly from starving.<br />
<br />
The road system allows us to get places, and allows goods to get to us.<br />
<br />
<h2 style="text-align: left;">
Rethinking</h2>
<br />
This is obviously just a partial list. There are many services that a well organized society provides to us.<br />
<br />
Equally obvious is that sometimes these services need to be re-thought.<br />
<br />
The health care system in this country is a fine example of this, and one that we haven't really come to a decent conclusion about.<br />
<br />
We re-thought the banking system when banks failed in the Great Depression and introduced federal deposit insurance.<br />
<br />
Throughout the period 1920-1970 we adjusted to the arrival of the automobile with a massively changed road system, from no national system at all to the interstate highway system.<br />
<br />
In the late 1970s, we re-thought fixed pricing for airplane seats, which resulted in both expanded and cheaper airplane travel.<br />
<br />
So, when social services aren't working, or when conditions around us change, we need to rethink what the service does and how it should be improved.<br />
<h2 style="text-align: left;">
Policing</h2>
<div>
Police, fire, and EMS departments are often grouped under the heading of public safety. That's a great heading, because it says that the primary purpose of these departments is the safety of the public.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
It's pretty obvious that these areas have evolved in my lifetime. There are fewer volunteer fire departments now. EMS units are decades old, but still were established in my lifetime; before that, you had to depend on spotty private ambulance services. While EMS and fire engine vehicles are housed in the same buildings and respond to the same calls, the training and skill sets of a fireman and an EMT are much different, and we don't really expect them to be all rolled into one person.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Police are responsible for keeping the public safe from one another in a myriad of ways: catching bad drivers before they kill us, arresting shoplifters to protect retailers, finding kidnappers, crowd control at large public events, investigating crimes. It's a long list.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
But there's increased failure at this. <a href="https://www.npr.org/local/309/2019/10/09/768552458/chicago-s-dismal-murder-solve-rate-even-worse-when-victims-are-black">https://www.npr.org/local/309/2019/10/09/768552458/chicago-s-dismal-murder-solve-rate-even-worse-when-victims-are-black</a> had these statistics:</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; float: none; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 1.70588; margin-bottom: 1.17647em; max-width: 680px; padding: 0px 15px; position: static; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline; width: auto;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Among the nation's largest cities, Chicago stands out for both its high murder rate and for the number of its murders that go unsolved. In recent years the police have been solving about 4 of every 10 murders in the city, but police data show the rate is even worse when the victim is African American.<br /> The data, obtained by WBEZ under Illinois' open-records law, show the city had 849 murders between the beginning of 2018 and this past July. When the victim was white, 47% of the cases were solved during those same 19 months. For Hispanics, the rate was about 33%. When the victim was African American, it was less than 22%.<br /> Community members, academics and police officials seem to agree on something: At the base of the department's failure to solve murders is a lack of trust.</span></div>
</div>
If people don't trust the police, they don't help. If people don't help, the police can't protect them by getting criminals prosecuted. If criminals aren't getting prosecuted, people won't help the police because they fear retaliation. Police, already used to seeing criminals as the enemy, may tend to tar untrusting, uncooperative citizens with that same brush.<br />
<br />
Policing is an inherently dangerous job where you get lied to a lot.<br />
<br />
Not much mystery to why the community would be hesitant to trust the Chicago police. Just to cite two: there's years of Burge torturing confessions. There's that Laquan McDonald video -- and the attempt at the highest levels of Chicago government to keep that video hidden.<br />
<br />
Of course, this isn't just a Chicago problem; similar problems arise in all large cities. And it's not a Democrat good versus Republican bad problem either, because in general large cities have had Democratic mayors for years. Chicago last had a Republican mayor in 1931!<br />
<br />
So, it's time to re-think policing as a social service. How can we keep all our communities safe?<br />
<br />
It would be wonderful if I could pontificate an answer here. But as a white suburban male retiree, I have a rather narrow perspective based on limited intimate knowledge of policing, the courts, the penal system, and what seems to me to be the byzantine array of social support programs, so I'm going to pass on that for now. Besides, this post is already too long.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
zbicyclisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10850387889082662189noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34928391.post-35940195566819508212020-04-06T17:59:00.003-05:002020-04-06T17:59:37.769-05:00Returning to "normal" after COVID-19<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="jc84" data-offset-key="cel6o-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #1c1e21; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">
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<span data-offset-key="cel6o-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">So, "when this is over" how rapidly will things "return to normal"?</span></div>
</div>
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<span data-offset-key="etn7i-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><br data-text="true" /></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="3lhmo-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">Some feel there is a lot of pent-up demand in the economy. I certainly feel that way about this week's spring bike trip moving indefinitely to the future. </span></div>
</div>
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<span data-offset-key="431o6-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><br data-text="true" /></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="7ght2-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">But some things are lost forever. I'm not going to be eating more restaurant meals to make up for the ones I missed [tonight's substitute: noodles with cottage cheese; a poor man's perogi].</span></div>
</div>
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<span data-offset-key="p70k-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><br data-text="true" /></span></div>
</div>
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<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="1jvcn-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;">
<span data-offset-key="1jvcn-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">Retail is going to be a mess. Let's take Macy's, for example, the largest department store group in the U.S. with 775 stores. They've laid off most of their 125,000 employees and closed their stores. Their stock has dropped so much they are no longer in the S&P 500. My Macy's bond, investment grade when I bought it some years ago, is now worth 67 cents on the dollar -- and it's now a relatively short term bond, since it matures in less than 2 years. This means nobody wants to loan them more money.</span></div>
</div>
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<span data-offset-key="au5s3-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><br data-text="true" /></span></div>
</div>
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<span data-offset-key="9cf5a-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">Will they re-open all 775 stores at once? They are more likely to start with the ones projected to be most profitable, especially since they have already been closing stores.</span></div>
</div>
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<span data-offset-key="73b99-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><br data-text="true" /></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="fuc89-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">Will those stores go back to business as usual? No. They are going to be awash in spring inventory when people are buying for summer. They aren't going to want to / be able to keep all that spring merchandise for next year, so they are going to heavily discount it. The same is true of sportswear, sporting goods, and other similar retailers.</span></div>
</div>
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<span data-offset-key="2tmqi-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><br data-text="true" /></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="8gbji-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">As Macy's goes, so goes mall traffic. </span></div>
</div>
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<span data-offset-key="93gcn-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">People also aren't going to have as much money to spend. If they are behind on their rent or mortgage payment, these required bills will cut down on clothing, restaurant, travel and other more discretionary purchases.</span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="93gcn-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="93gcn-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">Plus, it's not as though there will be some switch to turn things back to "normal". Restrictions are likely to be gradually lifted, and not necessarily in all places at the same time. </span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="93gcn-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="93gcn-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">I'd love to take an auto trip out to Yellowstone this summer, but the areas between here are there seem to be on a slower virus trajectory than New York, New Orleans and Chicago, so rural Wyoming may be no country for an old man.</span></div>
</div>
</div>
zbicyclisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10850387889082662189noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34928391.post-32752339723166616972019-10-28T21:30:00.000-05:002019-10-28T21:30:44.725-05:00Getting older<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I just finished reading an essay "<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/11/04/why-we-cant-tell-the-truth-about-aging" target="_blank">Why we can't tell the truth about aging</a>" by Arthur Krystal. Krystal gives brief reviews of a number of books on aging, and then gives some of his own thoughts. I don't want to discuss a discussion, but I want to add my own thoughts that his essay brought to mind.<br />
<br />
Retirement is great if you have your health, enough money, things to do, and enough friends and family. I'm lucky enough to have all four now.<br />
<br />
But the one thing that in the long run will not stay is good health, and we don't know how many years of good health we have. If we did, we would have a sort of reverse "how old you are" based on how many good years we have left: I might have ten, you might have 5, my wife might have 25.<br />
<br />
Statistics are of little help, because actuarial statistics are based on groups of people, and the predictions for individuals have such big error bounds that they are basically useless (until, of course, you have a very terminal disease and they recommend hospice -- I don't need that type of certainty).<br />
<br />
Of course, we live with uncertainty of various types all of our lives. This uncertainty around how many good years we have left is different though: it's a very final uncertainty (death being much more final than whether we will get a promotion at work). It's combined with the additional uncertainty of whether we will go quickly, or whether we will linger on for a long time in disability or dementia.<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
zbicyclisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10850387889082662189noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34928391.post-87473028992687895512019-09-29T18:01:00.000-05:002019-09-29T18:01:06.900-05:00More Democrat Scandals to Investigate<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: left;">
The news today that the "State Dept intensifies email probe of Hillary Clinton" (Washington Post, 9/29/2019) indicates that the Trump administration is looking into old Democrat scandals as a way to distract us from the impeachment inquiry.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
There are more to come:</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Democrat James Madison's wife, Dolly, developed a line of tasty cakes responsible for the obesity epidemic. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d1y822qhq55g6.cloudfront.net/default/_superImage/WHHAJournal310047.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="524" data-original-width="800" height="209" src="https://d1y822qhq55g6.cloudfront.net/default/_superImage/WHHAJournal310047.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Hawaii's annexation by the United States in 1898 was somewhat irregular. If it were ruled illegal, this would mean that even if Democrat Barack Obama was born in Hawaii, he still wouldn't be eligible to be president.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Democrat James Polk annexed the Republic of Texas in 1845, but didn't expel the Mexicans or provide appropriate border security. Open borders! Plus, in the 1848 Mexican War, he annexed New Mexico, a treasonous name if ever there was one.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
In 1860, Democrats ran TWO presidential candidates (Douglas in the north and Breckenridge in the south), a blatant attempt to deceive.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Democrat Woodrow Wilson promised to "keep us out of war", but didn't. What a liar! Congress should be investigating that!</div>
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<br /></div>
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zbicyclisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10850387889082662189noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34928391.post-32796130517341231622019-07-20T12:00:00.000-05:002019-07-20T12:00:27.096-05:00Cubs really do play in the "friendly confines"<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
The Cubs play in Wrigley Field, often known by the nickname "The Friendly Confines".<br />
<br />
Looking at today's statistics on win-loss (as of Friday July 19, 2019), that's certainly true.<br />
<br />
The Cubs have won 67% of their home games, but only 40% of their road games, a difference of 27 points -- a larger difference than any other team. The Dodgers are next with a difference of 22 points.<br />
<br />
Put another way, if only road games counted the Cubs would be tied for last in their division, instead of 2.5 games in first place.</div>
zbicyclisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10850387889082662189noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34928391.post-91459216955858045012019-07-06T15:55:00.002-05:002019-07-06T15:55:40.227-05:00Bitcoin hits the supermarkets<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="background-color: white; color: #1c1e21; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px;">
"When the taxi driver is talking about the stock market, you know it’s time to sell." (Wall Street maxim)</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #1c1e21; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-top: 6px;">
Well, what if they start selling Bitcoin in the supermarket? Seems like a similar signal.</div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_3EhW0lfGIw/XSEJlvoEI3I/AAAAAAAAHtA/fzlLZDrMe9oYNXq7bU6o0mvhDnhKRazHwCLcBGAs/s1600/2019-07-06%2B10.46.17.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_3EhW0lfGIw/XSEJlvoEI3I/AAAAAAAAHtA/fzlLZDrMe9oYNXq7bU6o0mvhDnhKRazHwCLcBGAs/s320/2019-07-06%2B10.46.17.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<div>
<span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px;">I've never understood the appeal of an unregulated currency mostly used to disguise illegal transactions or as a tool for speculators to fleece the sheep. And it's not just an idle game -- the BBC reports that <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-48853230" target="_blank">Bitcoin "mining" uses up about as much electricity as the country of Switzerland</a>, without producing either high quality cheese or chocolate. </span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px;">The only real use I can see for being able to buy Bitcoin from the Coinstar machine in my local Jewel supermarket is making it easier to ransom back my computer in case I'm hacked. </span></span></div>
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zbicyclisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10850387889082662189noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34928391.post-67479285346808499532019-05-13T11:10:00.000-05:002019-05-13T11:10:04.752-05:00Financial Rules of Thumb, revisited<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Eight years ago, I posted some financial rules of thumb here:<br />
<a href="http://www.truncatedthoughts.com/2011/01/financial-rules-of-thumb.html">http://www.truncatedthoughts.com/2011/01/financial-rules-of-thumb.html</a><br />
and ones for car buying here:<br />
<a href="http://www.truncatedthoughts.com/2013/04/financial-rule-of-thumb-cars.html">http://www.truncatedthoughts.com/2013/04/financial-rule-of-thumb-cars.html</a><br />
and ones for retirement withdrawals here:<br />
<a href="http://www.truncatedthoughts.com/2013/09/withdrawal-rate-confusion.html">http://www.truncatedthoughts.com/2013/09/withdrawal-rate-confusion.html</a><br />
<br />
I found some more -- really ones that overlap with the ones above --- in Patricia Mertz Esswein's article in the June 2019 <i>Kiplinger's Personal Finance</i>, "When to Swim Against the Tide". <a href="https://www.kiplinger.com/pdf/kip/index.php?file=KIP2019_06.pdf#Top">https://www.kiplinger.com/pdf/kip/index.php?file=KIP2019_06.pdf#Top</a> (gated)<br />
<br />
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
The 50/30/20 rule</h3>
<div>
This comes from Elizabeth Warren's 2005 book, <i>All Your Worth: The Ultimate Lifetime Money Plan</i>.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The idea is to spend <= 50% of your take-home pay on musts, 30% on discretionary, and 20% to savings. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Musts are loan payments, utilities, housing, insurance, transportation, child care, and other things you can't control.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The 20% savings is best handled by doing this automatically, e.g. by having it taken out of your paycheck (like a 401k or 403b) or automatically deducted from your checking account shortly after you get paid -- you can set this up with Vanguard or any similar financial firm.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
This leaves you 30% for clothes, travel, entertainment, and other things you don't strictly have to have. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
It's a good rule, but may be hard to do if you are just starting out or have been downsized and are in a job that doesn't pay as much as you were earning. Plus, you have to balance savings against paying off loans -- If your loans a higher interest rate than what you are likely to make on your investments, then it's probably best to pay off the loans more quickly.</div>
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
<br />You can afford a home that's 2-4 times your annual gross income</h3>
<div>
This is basically garbage. It's looking at the wrong thing: you need to look at what your monthly payment will be, which will vary by the interest rate, property taxes, insurance (homeowners and mortgage insurance if your lender requires it). Can you afford that monthly payment?</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Esswein notes the front-end ratio should be at or below 28% (principal, interest, taxes, insurance, any homeowners association costs) of gross income, and the back-end ratio (mortgage and other debt) should be less that 36%-50% of your gross income.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Note that the general recommendation for home maintenance costs is 1-2% of the market value of the housing.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
Life insurance at 8 to 10 times annual gross income</h3>
<div>
That's a lot of insurance. Others recommend 6 to 10 times. Everyone recommends term rather than whole life. This amount may make sense when you have small children, and if you died you'd want the surviving spouse to be able to raise the kids without strain. Personally, I never carried more than 4x -- but that's partly because my savings rate was high, so the savings would cover the slack. When the kids got older and college expenses were taken care of, I dropped life insurance and put that money into retirement savings.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
Save one-third of the college sticker price</h3>
<div>
The idea is that you'd pay for a third out of savings, a third out of current income, and borrow a third. That's fine if you can afford it, but this should be <i>after</i> you've done an adequate amount of retirement savings.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
You'll need 70-80% of your pre-retirement income to retire</h3>
<div>
That's very rough. As you get within 10 years of retirement, tote up your actual expenses, put them into rough categories, and see what expenses go away. Also, see what expenses will increase. If you plan on travelling more, allow for that.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
100% - your age should be in stocks.</h3>
<div>
As Kiplinger notes, this rule should be retired. People live longer now, and if your investments are too conservative you can run out of money.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
If we look at the approach taken by the large financial firms in their target retirement date funds, we can see that they aren't following this. I'm 69, so that would suggest I should have only 31% in stocks. But if we look at the target retirement date funds for 2015 (i.e. assuming you retire at 65 in 2015) we see far more in stocks: Vanguard is 41% in stocks. T Rowe Price is 44% (they also have a second 2015 Target fund with 38% in stocks). Fidelity has 48% in stocks. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
</div>
zbicyclisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10850387889082662189noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34928391.post-45236153112391893412019-05-04T16:31:00.000-05:002019-05-04T16:31:06.143-05:00Coyotes<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Nextdoor.com is a localized blog that allows you to interact with your neighbors. Most of the posts are asking for advice, e.g. who knows a good plumber.<br />
<br />
But there are a large number of posts about coyotes, as if anyone who sees a coyote feels the urge to inform everyone about it.<br />
<br />
Coyotes are wild animals, and nobody should try to give them a nice back rub, or fail to be cautious. <br />
<br />
That said, coyotes are all over the place -- an estimated 2,000 in DOWNTOWN Chicago alone <a href="https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-downtown-coyotes-met-0117-20150116-story.html" target="_blank">https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-downtown-coyotes-met-0117-20150116-story.html </a>and an estimated 4,000 in Cook County. <a href="https://news.wttw.com/2017/12/27/why-are-coyotes-thriving-chicago-area">https://news.wttw.com/2017/12/27/why-are-coyotes-thriving-chicago-area</a> <br />
<br />
There are only two recorded deaths from coyotes in the US and Canada, one in the 1980s and the other in 2009 <a href="https://www.humanesociety.org/resources/coyotes-people-encounters">https://www.humanesociety.org/resources/coyotes-people-encounters</a><br />
<br />
By contrast, 30-50 people die from dog bites each year <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fatal_dog_attacks_in_the_United_States%C2%A0" target="_blank">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fatal_dog_attacks_in_the_United_States </a><br />
<br />
Sure, leaving your toy dog out in the back yard at night isn't the best thing, since it might become a coyote snack. But let's have a sense of perspective. </div>
zbicyclisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10850387889082662189noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34928391.post-16167803863337153162019-03-23T19:30:00.001-05:002019-03-23T19:30:45.355-05:00Predicting the Mueller Report<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
As I write this, Mueller has turned over his report to the Attorney General, but we don't know what's in it.<br />
<br />
With the full expectation that not all these predictions will be correct, I nevertheless offer my predictions:<br />
<br />
1. There won't be an actual demonstration of "collusion" between the Trump campaign and Russia.<br />
<br />
The logic of this prediction is as follows:<br />
<br />
a. Bob Woodward, in interviews after his book was published, said he was looking for evidence of direct collusion, but didn't find anything definitive.<br />
<br />
b. The Trump Tower meeting was suggestive, but this may be more attempted collusion. If there was direct collusion, you would think Don Jr would be indicted, and Mueller has not recommended further indictments.<br />
<br />
c. As Cohen's testimony before Congress showed, Trump often didn't give direct orders to Cohen often to break the law, he was more likely to give vague "take care of it" orders that shield him from accusations he directly ordered something to be done.<br />
<br />
2. We know there were Russian attempts to influence the election (hence the indictments of several Russians), so we are likely to find out more.<br />
<br />
3. We may get some hints as to illegality in Trump's business relationships, but remember these were outside Mueller's charge, and more likely to be investigated by the Southern District of New York. But since they are off the point of Mueller's charge, the report probably won't have many juicy details.<br />
<br />
4. We already know Trump surrounded himself with scumbags, but we are likely to get a few more juicy details from those already indicted.<br />
<br />
5. We will likely get hints that the president teetered close to obstruction of justice, but that gets tricky with a sitting president (Mueller doesn't think that can be done) and also because these people also report to the president, who is supposed to be overseeing them and they serve at the pleasure of the president. <br />
<br />
In my opinion, indicting a sitting president for a judgment call crime (obstruction of justice) seems like a terrible precedent, even if it is Trump. There is a constitutional remedy (impeachment), there is an electoral remedy (not being re-elected) and an eventual criminal remedy (prosecution after he leaves office). </div>
zbicyclisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10850387889082662189noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34928391.post-33608173445933140552019-03-22T17:28:00.002-05:002019-03-23T19:33:27.555-05:00College Admissions, Level Playing Fields, Cheating, and Being Rich<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Let me start by stating my premise here:<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Every parent wants to help their child succeed.</b></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
In the wake of college admission bribery scandals, the Harvard admissions case in which Asians feel they are being discriminated against, and the rising levels of student loan debt, the temptation is to regard the system as corrupt and rigged, rather than look for the ways in which it needs to be fixed.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
1. Many people say that this shows there is not a level playing field. No, there's not. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
As your parents probably told you, life isn't fair. My premise above means that in their desire to help their children succeed, some parents will clean motel rooms 10 hours a day so their child can get enough to eat, and graduate high school and attend community college. Other parents will be able to hire tutors and pay full freight for an Ivy League education. Let's face it. Rich people have more money. Rich people have more money they can use to help their children.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
2. Getting into a top college isn't any guarantee of success. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: , "georgia" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif; font-size: 19px;">In 2014, the economists Stacy Dale and Alan Krueger published an </span><a class="css-1g7m0tk" href="https://www.nber.org/papers/w17159" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #326891; font-family: nyt-imperial, georgia, "times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="">analysis</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: , "georgia" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif; font-size: 19px;"> of the benefits of attending a highly selective college. They found that, after statistically controlling for students’ SAT scores, economic background and college ambitions, the long-term financial returns are “generally indistinguishable from zero.” Students who are poised to succeed tend to do so even if they don’t get into the Ivy League. </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: , "georgia" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif; font-size: 19px;">But there was a crucial exception. There were strong benefits for the subset of black and Hispanic students, and for those whose parents had few educational credentials.</span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: , "georgia" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 19px;"><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/15/upshot/elite-colleges-actual-value.html" target="_blank">https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/15/upshot/elite-colleges-actual-value.html </a></span></span></blockquote>
<div>
3. As the burden of college costs has shifted onto students paying for college with loans that extend for years afterwards, we have put a much bigger barrier to opportunity and social mobility than we have by letting rich people help their children.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
It used to be that many state universities were essentially free. This was true of the University of California system until the late 1960s, and in 1975 tuition and fees were $600/year. <a href="https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/what-happened-to-californias-free-tuition-a-history-of-fees-and-budget-issues/103-465128027">https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/what-happened-to-californias-free-tuition-a-history-of-fees-and-budget-issues/103-465128027</a> </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
In my case, I went to the University of Missouri at St. Louis, where my total tuition and fees were $1250 -- in total for my 3.5 years there. Was UMSL a fine institution? No, but it worked for me, living at home and working part time.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I went to graduate school at the University of Michigan -- which was and is a premier institution. But I had financial aid from the National Science Foundation and also worked some as a teaching assistant and a research assistant. So, I got all the way through for my PhD with no debt.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
You can't do that now; states have cut tuition support. The University of California is now about $12,000 a year. Even lowly UMSL is <a href="https://www.umsl.edu/cashiers/tuition-fees/index.html" target="_blank">$350 a credit hour</a> ($10,500/year, in-state)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
This is a much bigger problem for a level playing field. Starting off with a degree and a huge load of debt, or not being able to attend at all, is definitely not a level playing field. This is a much bigger problem than the rich having better access.<br />
<br />
4. Of course, some measures to help your child are legal (hiring tutors, for example) and others are not (bribery). I'm not trying to obscure that, only to say that given my premise that parents want to help their children succeed, rich kids will always have a leg up. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
</div>
zbicyclisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10850387889082662189noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34928391.post-84498247282623047822018-11-13T09:57:00.002-06:002018-11-13T09:57:41.355-06:00Is Trump the Most Honest President?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a class="author-name" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/marc-a-thiessen/">Marc A. Thiessen</a> started off an interesting discussion by contending that <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/trump-could-be-the-most-honest-president-in-modern-history/2018/10/11/67aefc5a-cd76-11e8-a3e6-44daa3d35ede_story.html?utm_term=.3bf4aaaf8c84" target="_blank">Trump could be the most honest president in history</a>.<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div data-elm-loc="2">
Don’t get me wrong, Trump lies all the time. He said
that he “enacted the biggest tax cuts and reforms in American history”
(actually they are the <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2017/12/15/politics/is-trumps-bill-largest-tax-cut-in-history-no/index.html" title="www.cnn.com">eighth largest</a>) and that “<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2018/09/07/president-trumps-repeated-claim-greatest-economy-history-our-country/?utm_term=.51310b1510f5" title="www.washingtonpost.com">our economy is the strongest it’s ever been in the history of our country</a>” (which may one day be true, but not yet). In part, it’s a New York thing — everything is the biggest and the best.</div>
<div data-elm-loc="2">
<br /></div>
<div data-elm-loc="3">
But
when it comes to the real barometer of presidential truthfulness —
keeping his promises — Trump is a paragon of honesty. For better or
worse, since taking office Trump has done exactly what he promised he
would.</div>
</blockquote>
Not surprisingly, <a class="author-name" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/paul-waldman/"> Paul Waldman</a>, another Washington Post columnist <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2018/10/17/trump-is-the-most-honest-president-in-modern-history-give-me-a-break/?utm_term=.97b7e3bf4eba" target="_blank">took issue with this</a>:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
what I really want to address is Thiessen’s claim
that Trump is perhaps “the most honest president in modern American
history” because of his unparalleled record of promise-keeping. Trump
has now endorsed this assessment, and it is a claim he will probably
continue to make for, well, the rest of his life. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<br />
It’s
a sweeping historical claim, and it would therefore require some
grounding in history. Are the promises made in presidential campaigns
usually kept or not? How did other presidents do at keeping their
promises? Did they keep more or fewer than Trump has so far? </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div data-elm-loc="7">
Remarkably,
Thiessen doesn’t seem to have asked any of these questions. The only
reference he makes to any previous president is to slap at Barack Obama
for the way he sold the Affordable Care Act. Instead, he offers a list
of things that Trump has done that he said he would do</div>
</blockquote>
But who keeps track of these things? In this internet age, there are people who seem to keep track of anything. From Waldman again:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
PolitiFact <a href="https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/obameter/">tracked</a>
533 promises Obama made, and judged that 48.4 percent were completely
kept, another 27.4 percent were partially kept through a compromise, and
24.2 percent were broken, though “broken” is defined rather
expansively. There are different kinds of broken promises: Some a
president never intends to keep (such as Trump’s promise to make Mexico
pay for a border wall), others he tries to keep but fails, usually
because he runs into opposition in Congress (such as Obama’s promise to
close Guantanamo), and others he makes a clear decision to break (such
as George H.W. Bush’s promise not to raise taxes). </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<br />
So according to PolitiFact, Obama kept about three-quarters of his promises in part or in full. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
And Trump? It has been <a href="https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/trumpometer/">tracking his promises too</a>,
and there the numbers are not quite as spectacular as Thiessen would
have it. Trump has kept 13.7 percent of his promises and partially kept
another 6.9 percent through compromise. Another 39.2 percent of the
promises are “in the works,” meaning they might happen or might not,
while 7.8 percent of the promises have been broken and 32.4 percent are
“stalled,” meaning that if nothing changes, by the time he is done,
those too will be “broken.” </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div data-elm-loc="13">
You can disagree
with PolitiFact’s judgment on what to include or what has happened, but
its record for being nonpartisan is pretty solid, and at the very least,
it provides a point of comparison, because it uses the same methods for
assessing each presidency.</div>
</blockquote>
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
And how were those promises kept?</h3>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Thiessen notes: "Trump vowed to pass historic tax reforms and signed the first major overhaul of the tax code in three decades." </div>
<div data-elm-loc="7" dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;">
</div>
Yes, that promise was kept. But the reforms are partly of historic interest because so much of the tax reductions went to those who were already rich, and because of the large amounts of deficit spending that will result from them -- deficit spending increases at a time when the economy is doing well, so we would expect to run lower deficits.<br />
<br />
Thiessen notes: "On trade, he kept his promise to <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2018/04/13/a-timeline-of-trumps-complicated-relationship-with-the-tpp/?utm_term=.6d64ab9b57b9" title="www.washingtonpost.com">withdraw</a> from the Trans-Pacific Partnership and <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/trump-imposes-steel-and-aluminum-tariffs-on-the-european-union-canada-and-mexico/2018/05/31/891bb452-64d3-11e8-a69c-b944de66d9e7_story.html?utm_term=.016a99960900" title="www.washingtonpost.com">impose </a>tariffs on steel and aluminum. He also committed to renegotiating NAFTA and the <a href="https://ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade-agreements/korus-fta" title="ustr.gov">U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement </a>— and recently <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/2018/10/01/cae5b7fa-c588-11e8-b1ed-1d2d65b86d0c_story.html?utm_term=.4fc336f4337f" title="www.washingtonpost.com">signed new deals</a> with Mexico, Canada and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/24/us/politics/south-korea-trump-trade-deal.html" title="www.nytimes.com">South Korea</a>.
He committed to imposing tariffs on China to force it to open its
markets and stop its theft of intellectual property — and is <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/trump-administration-slaps-tariffs-on-roughly-200-billion-more-in-chinese-goods--a-move-almost-certain-to-trigger-retaliation/2018/09/17/15ded2f0-b215-11e8-a20b-5f4f84429666_story.html?utm_term=.45134888b895" title="www.washingtonpost.com">following through</a> on that pledge. Whatever one thinks of Trump’s trade policies, he is doing exactly what he said."<br />
<br />
But Trump promised "<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/03/02/trump-trade-wars-are-good-and-easy-to-win.html" target="_blank">Trade wars are good, and easy to win</a>" -- i.e. he promised the process would be relatively painless to Americans. It seems likely that the current trade war with China will hurt both countries, with the winners likely to be the noncombattants.<br />
<br />
So, if this is keeping promises, we might have been better off without them being kept.<br />
<br />
<h2 style="text-align: left;">
Missing a few</h2>
<br />
Waldman offers up a long list of promises not kept that Thiessen didn't mention.<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<ul data-elm-loc="15">
<li>Repeal the Affordable Care Act and replace it with “<a href="https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/249697-trump-replace-obamacare-with-something-terrific">something terrific</a>.”</li>
<li>Provide Americans with “<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-vows-insurance-for-everybody-in-obamacare-replacement-plan/2017/01/15/5f2b1e18-db5d-11e6-ad42-f3375f271c9c_story.html">insurance for everybody</a>.”</li>
<li><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/10/us/politics/trump-prescription-drug-costs.html">Allow</a> Medicare to negotiate drug prices.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.politico.com/story/2018/08/28/donald-trump-mexico-pay-for-border-wall-799072">Build</a> a wall on the southern border and make Mexico pay for it.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/trumpometer/promise/1429/eliminate-carried-interest-loophole/">Eliminate</a> the “carried interest loophole” that benefits hedge fund managers.</li>
<li><a href="http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2018/05/trump-admits-infrastructure-promise-isnt-happening.html">Pass</a> a massive infrastructure plan.</li>
<li>Officially <a href="https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/trumpometer/promise/1412/declare-china-currency-manipulator/">declare</a> China a currency manipulator.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.cnn.com/2017/01/25/politics/donald-trump-waterboarding-torture/index.html">Bring back</a> the use of torture.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/trumpometer/promise/1419/sue-his-accusers-sexual-misconduct/">Sue</a> the women who accused him of sexual misconduct.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/trumpometer/promise/1421/release-his-tax-returns-after-audit-completed/">Release</a> his tax returns.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/10/09/trump-if-elected-ill-appoint-a-special-prosecutor-to-look-into-clintons-emails">Appoint</a> a special prosecutor to target Hillary Clinton.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/trumpometer/promise/1387/guarantee-6-week-paid-leave/">Provide</a> six weeks of paid leave to women who have children.</li>
<li><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/budget-director-trump-promise-eliminate-debt-hyperbole-94729b73f3d6/">Eliminate</a> the deficit and pay off the national debt.</li>
</ul>
Those are just a few of the promises Trump hasn’t kept — there are literally <a href="https://thinkprogress.org/trump-made-a-lot-of-promises-about-what-he-will-do-as-president-weve-documented-663-of-them-3d28f0131e7f">hundreds</a> more, depending on what you want to include. And that only covers specific policy promises, not things such as Trump <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2015/08/08/trump-ends-relationship-with-longtime-political-adviser-roger-stone">saying</a> “I’m going to surround myself only with the best and most serious people,”</blockquote>
Some of these are also best not kept, e.g. bringing back the use of torture.<br />
<br /></div>
zbicyclisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10850387889082662189noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34928391.post-76639148278676092682018-06-20T09:14:00.002-05:002018-06-20T09:14:41.429-05:00And more good news for Trump<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
First of all, just so we understand where I'm coming from, I'm not a Trump supporter.<br />
<br />
But I think it's important to understand Trumpism, which like many -isms has a core of appeal. (Mussolini made the trains run on time.) And when I'm talking about Trumpism, I'm not talking about the reflexive lying and the corruption, but issues more clearly related to policy.<br />
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The home page of today's New York Times (June 20, 2018) contains three helpful headlines.<br />
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<br />
<b>First, in most states more whites are dying than being born.</b><br />
<br />
The birth part is planned, and this population decline covers most Western countries. But it's not without angst. I'm a member of a small Protestant denomination that's clearly losing members -- the school has shrunk from over 100 students to less than 10 who are church members, and the services look increasingly geriatric. Earlier in life, I was in a seminary for a Catholic religious order. If I had stayed in, I'd still be one of the youngest members of the order, even though I'm past retirement age. Japan, which remains a closed ethnic society, is suffering the pains of a declining population.<br />
<br />
Not surprisingly, whites are a little distressed at their decline, although it seems to be phrased as a relative thing -- i.e. hostility at immigrants.<br />
<br />
Structurally, we're not set up at a country to be more family friendly. This would demand an even longer post, but beyond the obvious things (e.g. longer maternity leave), we have more student loan debt, higher housing prices, more expensive health care. All that debt load often means two working parents, with the logistic problems that creates and the high cost of day care. That makes having a large family very difficult. If we go back to the baby boomer childhood era (1956, say), the cost/debt burden is much, much lower and one income is more likely to be enough.<br />
<br />
<b>Second, the harsh policy of separating children from their parents may be working at lowering the rates of immigration. </b><br />
<br />
That's the point of Trump's anti-immigrant policies. So, to the Trump base, these measures seem to considered "necessary and not that cruel".<br />
<br />
<b>Third, applications for disability are down. </b><br />
<br />
The disability system has been a scandal for a long time, and its relation to the economic cycle clearly shows that something other than permanent disability is going on here. But the system really isn't set up at all to handle nuance.<br />
<br />
While there haven't been any structural changes to the system, the decline in applications is a good thing.<br />
<br />
<b>We're paying for decades of gridlock.</b><br />
<br />
America is paying the price for a generation of gridlock, going back to at least the 1990s: when health care reform failed. We let the housing boom go, because it made us feel rich even though it locked the young out of the market (or saddled them with big debts). We've failed to decide what we want our immigration policy to be, and set up appropriate enforcement. (Most people come for jobs; but the far right likes those cheap hotel maids and fights very tight employment verification.) Other countries have cheaper health care and at least as good of health outcomes. We haven't reformed the disability system (or, for that matter, the larger social security system). <br />
<br />
We have ideas, but because they inevitably come from one side or the other, they get shot down, rather than worked on and improved.<br />
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zbicyclisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10850387889082662189noreply@blogger.com0