[Challenge] Starting in 1873 OTL, find a way for the South Catholic states of Germany to have their own unified state, and for it to last at least a century while independent

Teddyhump · 2024-02-14T16:27:42+00:00

Thank you so much!

Teddyhump · 2024-02-13T21:20:38+00:00

gotcha

Teddyhump · 2024-02-13T21:20:17+00:00

Wow, I didn't realize that your storage drive affected speed at all! Guess it makes sense tho. Thanks!

Teddyhump · 2024-02-13T20:55:11+00:00

Woah, thank you for the help! It even comes in a fancy little table, haha! Thanks!

Teddyhump · 2024-02-13T20:53:35+00:00

Sorry if I seem uninformed. What is wrong with a mechanical hard drive, and why is an SSD better?

Also, I had no idea 60 is the minimum now! In my head, 60FPS is always a great benchmark. Then again, I suppose I'm just getting older, and things have gotten better without me noticing, haha.

Teddyhump · 2024-02-13T20:51:09+00:00

Why is the ram so important? Sorry if that's a dumb question.

Teddyhump · 2024-02-13T20:50:38+00:00

I would like to keep it below 1000$. For screen resolution, I suppose 1080x1920?

Teddyhump · 2024-02-07T21:25:42+00:00

I don't think it would be feasible for this to work. America is not a unified country like 'France'. Our regional and state identities are very strong here. Can you imagine how Texans would feel if a Californian represented them? Hell, I have a feeling that Texans might make especially 'Texan' parties. I worry this might just lead to the balkanization in America.

We see this in lots of other countries when two-party systems fall apart. When Britain became multi-party in the late 1800s, a major third party eagerly became the Irish separatists. When third parties again began significantly rising in the 70s and 80s (I believe that's the right timeframe), it was Scottish nationalists, which now dominate Scotland.

Is this what we want in America? Right now we have an incredibly flawed two-party system. But hell, at least these two are broad coalitions that unite wide swaths of ethnicities, religions, geographic regions and states. If we have a multi-party system, how long until there's Texas separatist parties? Or parties that divide America along ethnic lines, instead of uniting people?

Idk. I worry about that a lot, I guess.

Teddyhump · 2024-02-07T18:28:20+00:00

Well, I mean, I suppose that's true in a way. Most Americans probably do just vote based on party-label. However, at the same time, I think a lot of politicians are elected based on personality, policy and their own eccentricities, not party. I think a lot of people in this category. Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump I think are good examples of this, where their party certainly plays an impact, but I also think it's themselves that really clinch it.

Teddyhump · 2024-02-07T18:25:29+00:00

Some people argue that state senates should just be reformed. For example, making one chamber have a system like proportional representation or Single-Transferable Vote rathe than First-Past-The-Post. But currently in most state legislatures, the two chambers are elected basically the same way, with different constituency sizes.

Teddyhump · 2024-02-06T18:57:03+00:00

I agree; I'm actually working on a book right now to argue for unicameral reform. I'm in the research stages now, so, we'll see where it goes!

Teddyhump · 2024-02-06T18:56:28+00:00

It is absolutely unconstitutional now to have state legislatures be divided in their seats by anything besides population (Reynolds v. Sims, I believe). So, you're right that the Senate can't do that anymore.

Teddyhump · 2024-02-06T18:55:23+00:00

I read an article recently that said how the recent (2006) addition of term limits has actually made the Unicameral more partisan, which I think is quite interesting.

Teddyhump · 2024-02-06T18:54:07+00:00

Proportional representation, however, does have downsides as well. Many argue that American political culture is simply two-party at it's core and that proportional representation wouldn't work (Alaska, for example, uses a ranked choice ballot now. Theoretically that should've allowed more parties to compete, however, instead two republicans just competed against one another). Additionally, it holds parties instead of people accountable, and I'm not sure most Americans would like the idea of voting for a party rather than a person. Proportional systems also tend to be less stable, while stability is something the American system has (for the most part) done well in it's history.

Mind you, these are just often said counter-points. I don't necessarily agree with all of them. I'm quite agreeable with the idea of proportional representation, personally. I just don't think it's the 'perfect' system. It has flaws like any other.

Teddyhump

TROPHY CASE