Who said that's important?

That your death should be meaningful.

Who gives a shit?

Surprise

Reading Murder at the Savoy, Sjowall and Wahloo, for perhaps the fourth time.

In a brilliant polar by two Cold War Swedish communists, the Swedish state security services are depicted as fascist clowns far more worried about communists than the CIA.

And it is cause for anger, contempt, or dismay that the Swedish government is in some measure deferential to the American government.

A Gedankenexperiment in districting

The US state of Absurdia has 1 million voters and comprises 5 US Congressional Districts.

The state government is in course of settling district lines for the US Congress, the state senate, and the state chamber of deputies.

Two plans are under consideration under which the districts of each type will contain, as nearly as mathematically possible, equal numbers of voters (in thousands).

Under both plans, each US Congressional district will be subdivided into 10 state senatorial districts, each in turn divided into 10 state house districts.

Both plans are such that all state senate and chamber districts preserve the ratios of party representation among voters that would exist, under that plan, in the US Congressional Districts within which they are located.

There are two political parties that together encompass all the voters of Absurdia, the Blues and the Greens.

475 thousand of the state's voters are Blues.

525 thousand are Greens.

The two plans under consideration were prepared by the two parties, one being the Blue Plan and the other the Green Plan.

The Blue Plan draws lines so that voters, by party, are located in the US Congressional Districts as follows (in thousands).

Districts

                                  1                      2                    3                      4                   5

Green Voters           200                   81                  81                    81                 82

Blue Voters                0                    119                119                  119                118

Results of this plan, assuming straight party ticket voting.

In the US senate, the Blues would have no seats and the Greens 2.

In the federal Congress, the Blues would have 4 seats and the Greens would have 1.

In the Electoral College, the Blues would have 0 Electors and the Greens 7 or, under the Maine rule, the Blues would have 4 Electors and the Greens 3.

In the state senate, the Blues would have 40 seats and the Greens would have 10.

In the state chamber, the Blues 400 seats and the Greens would have 100.

The Green Plan, as follows, is quite otherwise.

Districts

                                  1                      2                    3                      4                   5

Green Voters           105                   105                105                105                105

Blue Voters               95                    95                   95                  95                  95

Results of this plan, assuming straight party ticket voting.

In the US senate, the Blues would have 0 seats and the Greens 2.

In the federal Congress, the Blues would have 0 seats and the Greens would have 5.

In the Electoral College, the Blues would have 0 Electors and the Greens 7 or, under the Maine rule, the Blues would have 0 Electors and the Greens 7.

In the state senate, the Blues would have 0 seats and the Greens would have 50.

In the state chamber, the Blues would have 0 seats and the Greens would have 500.

One might want to sneak in some sort of proportional representation.

Note that the US Constitution does not require that representatives in the House be chosen by districts.

They could, like federal senators, be chosen in state-wide elections, under such rules that seats would be awarded to parties proportionate to their statewide votes, as nearly as mathematically possible.

In that event, there would be no US Congressional Districts in Absurdia, and its US House Delegation would comprise 2 Blues (47.5% of voters) and 3 Greens (52.5%).

If US senate seats were also allotted proportionately, both senators in each state running always in the same year, then in Absurdia each party would have one seat.

Cuz why?

"Cause why? " in The Reeves Tale, v 293, means "Why?"

The Canterbury Tales.

And this is a good thing?

Buchananites of all countries seem to be unanimous on wanting to destroy, and not merely remove their own countries from, the EU.

Even in America, they want to destroy the EU.

Why?

FARAGE: If Le Pen Wins, The EU Is Over

Department Q

Netflix has three Danish TV movies made of three of Jussi Adler-Olsen's novels.

They are excellent, not least because they lean toward the darkness.

In the novels, the curmudgeonly character Carl Morck seems too clownishly like Backstrom.

Not at all in these films.

Netflix has several fine foreign polars, subtitled in English.

Nice to see life can exist in countries that lack a divine mission to lead the world.

Putting an end to evil-doers and making the world safe for democracy, and all that.

To hear our politicians talk, the American people would have no idea what to make of politics, or even life, without American exceptionalism, our divine mission, and our unique status as the indispensable nation, the world's only superpower.

Or maybe it's just they who would have no idea.

An Epicurean Thanksgiving weekend

Thursday, just the wife and I.

A 12 pound Turkey roasted with a bag of very lightly seasoned stuffing inside it, the stuffing prepared beforehand with a little water and a quarter pound of butter melted in.

Gravy out of a jar.

24 ozs of canned yams prepared with nearly a quarter pound of butter and 2/3 cup of brown sugar and cinnamon to taste, sprinkled with crushed pecans.

Tasty.

Leftovers packed for the fridge, white and dark meat, and also stuffing, in separate baking dishes, moistened with stock made fresh from the neck and giblets (not the liver), covered with aluminum foil.

Leftover yams packed in a sealed plastic container.

Friday, again just we two.

Leftovers nuked.

Saturday, the big meal with the kids and grandchildren.

Meat and stuffing heated in the oven in those baking dishes.

Another can of yams prepared as above, to go with the leftovers, all of it heated in a big orange frying pan.

Hawaiian rolls and butter.

Instant mashed potatoes prepared with light mayonnaise, and nuked frozen niblets.

Shiraz and Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.

Giant Eagle pumpkin and apple pies.

Redi-Whip and crushed pecans applied.

The chardonnay was great with the meal.

The shiraz was splendid with the pies, and after.

Making good memories to enjoy when things are not so good, as Epicurus recommends.

Or any time.

Serves them right

We stopped watching The Walking Dead.

So did lots of others.

Despite near-record high ratings in the US for the resolution of the Negan cliffhanger in October, it's been reported that viewership on AMC has dropped sharply in the US from 17 million viewers to 11 million in four weeks.

They killed Abraham and Glenn to stay loyal to the comic books.

Not to the TV audience.

Over 2 %, says the Guardian

Hillary's lead.

Not much of a mandate if most of the voters are against you, eh?

Setting up a disaster

Nicolas Sarkozy crashes out of French Right-wing primaries as Thatcherite François Fillon comes spectacular first

So the French voters will now probably have to choose between the currently loathed Socialists, a Thatcherite destroyer, and Marine Le Pen.

Wow.

And that may increase her chances.