Morgan County Fair 2014 Little Miss & Mister Contest Entry: Fill & Download for Free

Brad PittBrad Pitt and Maddox had a stable relationship until the two found themselves in disagreement while they were on a private plane traveling to Los Angeles in 2016. Pitt is said to have gotten physical after Maddox stepped in to defend his mother.Brad PittMaddox later moved to South Korea for college, and while he said the relationship hadn’t improved, he did mention he was open to reconciliation. Pitt and Maddox are rumored to have met in January when Maddox was home for the holidays, but the details of their encounter are unconfirmed.Demi MooreWhen Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore broke up back in 2013, Moore fought very openly with the end of her marriage. It was after this that she started to act erratically, which was too much for her daughter, Rumer Willis, to handle.Demi MooreAfter some time, Rumor Willis stepped away from her own mother while she worked through her personal issues for a while. Luckily they reconciled and seem to have mended their relationship since.Tom CruiseTom Cruise is not allowed to have a relationship with Suri, the daughter he had with ex-wife Katie Holmes, due to his affiliation with the Church of Scientology. The two haven’t been spotted together in over 6 years.Tom CruiseBecause Suri isn’t a Scientologist, Cruise is forbidden from having a relationship with her. The Mission: Impossible star still has a close relationship with his older children from his former marriage to Nicole Kidman because Isabella and Connor are both Scientologists.Billy Ray CyrusBilly Ray Cyrus was estranged from his daughter Miley Cyrus. Ray Cyrus once told GQ, “Damn show destroyed my whole family,” but he affirmed that he would take his family back and just wants everybody to be safe and happy.Billy Ray CyrusBilly expressed his concern for the well-being of his daughter and wished he could erase everything that happened in a second. At some point, Billy even defended Miley’s ex-boyfriend Patrick Schwarzenegger when he was accused of cheating.Michael DouglasMichael Douglas acknowledges that his parental shortcomings are a direct cause of some of his son Cameron’s flaws. That made Michael’s watching his son go to a federal prison possibly even more painful. Cameron pleaded guilty for possession, earning him a five-year sentence in 2010.Michael DouglasMichael chose to be positive about his son’s situation. However, he felt it was unjust for his son to spend several years in solitary confinement.Jon VoightShe is arguably one of Hollywood’s most attractive women with a great deal of success in the film industry. With movies such as the Tomb Raider series and recent releases like Maleficent, Angelina Jolie is truly at the top of her game. However, her family life isn’t as successful as her entertainment career.Jon VoightHer father, the world-renowned actor Jon Voight, deserted his family when Angelina was still a baby. From then on, their relationship has been far from perfect. She later went on to drop his name [Voight] from hers.Nicole KidmanTom Cruise married Nicole Kidman in 1990, just after his first union to Mimi Rogers ended. While with Kidman (1990–2001), the pair adopted two children and proceeded to raise them according to the Scientology doctrine. Isabella and Connor seemed set for a life of comfort, considering how high-profile both parents were.Nicole KidmanHowever, as celebrity families go, keeping it together is a tall order. Once Nicole Kidman left the church in 2001 and divorced Tom, everything fell apart. Their children opted to stay with Dad and in the process, stopped referring to Kidman as their mother. Whatever differences led to their divorce, it sure hurt the family ties.Martin SheenCharlie Sheen is well-known for his role in the hit comedy series Two and a Half Men, and like his dad before him, the youngest Sheen has made a career for himself in acting. Nevertheless, he had to stand up to addiction, more so as a kid.Martin SheenMartin Sheen never missed punishing the young Sheen for his unpredictable behavior, more so surrounding substance abuse. This has further contributed to widening the rift between the pair of actors.Laurence FishburneAnother surprising entry on this list is Laurence Fishburne and his daughter. Morpheus, as he is known in the celebrated Matrix Trilogy, is expected to be the model dad, wise and full of life’s experience. However, his daughter Montana Fishburne seems to be on a mission to discredit her father’s reputation.Laurence FishburneShe has been in adult films, arrested on charges of prostitution and assault, and even went on to work as a stripper. Her actions have damaged her relationship with her famous father as he distances himself from her antics.Anthony HopkinsAnthony Hopkins starred in BBC’s King Lear adaptation and in 2018, while promoting the film, admitted that he had been out of touch with his daughter. Abigail, Hopkins’ daughter, was abandoned by the actor while still an infant alongside her mother, Petronella Barker.Anthony HopkinsHopkins seems to have made peace with the fact that his relationship with Abigail would never be a rosy one. However, he holds no ill-will and even wishes his daughter the best.Kelly RutherfordKelly Rutherford’s kids, son Hermes and daughter Helena, have been living with her businessman ex-husband Daniel Giersch since 2012 in France. Since then, Rutherford has been fighting to get them returned to New York.Kelly RutherfordThis was after a judge in California ruled out that despite Giersch and Rutherford sharing custody, their children should continue living with Giersch. Unfortunately, Giersch’s visa was revoked, thus prohibiting him from returning to the U.S, making it much harder for Rutherford to get the kids back.Eric RobertsEric Roberts is Julia Roberts’ older brother, but you would probably recognize him from the 1985 film Runway Train and the show Brooklyn Nine-Nine. I know this might come as a surprise, but Emma Roberts is Eric’s daughter.Eric RobertsEric Roberts and Kelly Cunningham, Emma’s mother, never wed, and Eric left when Emma was just a baby. The pair had very little contact until the Scream Queens actress took on Hollywood. “We are now pals,” Eric affirmed this.Tamra JudgeTamra shares a daughter, Sidney, with her ex-husband Simon Barney. They also have two other kids, a son Spencer and a daughter Sophia. But over and over, Tamra and her daughter Sidney have had differences. Tamra Judge recently documented her real struggle with her daughter on The Real Housewives of Orange County.Tamra Judge And SidneyThis might have been the source of all problems between the two. Reportedly, Sidney doesn’t like the media attention at all, something her mother is quite comfortable with. A short term reconciliation between the two was ruined when Tamra posted a photo on Instagram of them together.Steven TylerParty animal Steven Tyler is famous for his role in the rock band Aerosmith. With his lifestyle, starting a family seemed like a distant dream, but come 1977, on the first day of July, Liv Tyler was born. She was the only child of model and Playmate Bebe Buell. Sadly, she never got to know her dad until she was eight.Steven TylerThe Armageddon and Lord of the Rings star had a strained relationship with the famous rocker when he relapsed into drug use. Today, the two maintain limited contact.Candy SpellingCandy Spelling is an American author, theater producer, TV personality, and philanthropist. She was married to fellow acclaimed media personality, Aaron Spelling. The two were married until the producer’s passing in 2006 when he left behind his vast estate to Candy Spelling. This $600 million fortune was initially meant to be shared among his wife and two kids.Candy SpellingHowever, Candy and daughter Tori hadn’t exactly been seeing eye to eye and this probably inspired Candy’s actions surrounding the wealth sharing. She gave each of her kids less than a million dollars each from Aaron’s immense wealth. It’s pretty hard to miss why these two are conflicting.Jackie ChanCelebrities receive their fame and acclaim from past achievements. Nevertheless, it is the messy stuff that happens behind the scenes that often draws the attention of everyone. For instance, who would’ve thought kung-Fu darling Jackie Chan would be on this list.Jackie ChanMr. Chan had an affair with former model Elaine Ng which resulted in the birth of his daughter Etta Ng out of wedlock. At the time, he was married to his current wife Joan Lin. Jackie Chan has never acknowledged Etta as his child, at least not in public.Curtis James Jackson “50 Cent”Mr. Jackson’s feud with his kid is probably the most amusing on this list. It all boiled down to a lack of respect from the son to his dad.Curtis James Jackson “50 Cent”Marquise, 50’s son, apparently refused to hold the door open the door for his dad. Because of this minor issue, 50 Cent disowned the boy and asked him never to contact him again. Talk about tough love.Woody AllenMia Farrow had a long-drawn battle with former partner, movie director Woody Allen. The two never formally consummated their partnership and went on to adopt kids, Dylan and Ronan Farrow. These two are estranged from their father Woody Allen over sexual abuse allegations.Woody AllenWhile she receives support from the two children, things are not as rosy with her other adopted children, Moses and daughter Soon-Yi Previn. The pair stand with their father against the sexual allegations leveled against him by Dylan.Gavin RossdaleGavin’s relationship with daughter Daisy Lowe began on a rocky start, to begin with, it seems he wasn’t aware of his daughter’s presence until 2003, just before marrying Gwen Stefani. His previous relationship with British Personality Pearl Lowe had resulted in Gavin’s daughter Daisy, but he wasn’t aware of it until she turned fourteen.Gavin RossdaleIt must be difficult to realize just how much has been kept from you after the end of a relationship. Gavin swore to keep his distance, seeing as the Lowes had opted to sideline him from their affairs.Warren BuffetWarren Buffet’s immense wealth gives him not only power but also a sort of celebrity status. Mr. Buffet’s life, like others on this list, is always under the media’s scrutiny. In 2006, Warren Buffet shocked the world as he announced he would be leaving his fortune not to any of his children, but rather to charity.Warren BuffetHis granddaughter, Nicole Buffet, however, is hardly pleased about the decision. She participated in a follow-up of Born Rich, a documentary on kids born into affluent families in an attempt to reprimand her grandad for his decision to leave her off the will.Brie LarsonThe beautiful Sacramento-born Brie Larson came to fame after her appearance in the critically acclaimed Room. However, not many people knew about her tumultuous childhood past. This was until 2016 when she revealed all on Ellen.Brie LarsonHer past family troubles helped her draw strength to reach where she is today. Brie’s parents divorced when she was just ten, and she hardly saw her dad from then on. At twenty-six, she had gone for an entire decade without setting eyes on him.Kelly RowlandKelly Rowland has, for years, wowed us with her glorious voice and hit songs during her time with Destiny’s Child, as well as her solo career. However, behind the success, all was not well at home. During her childhood, her mother left her father, Christopher Lovett, on grounds of alcoholism and violence due to PTSD which he suffered after having served in Vietnam.Kelly RowlandShe moved to Houston when she turned eight and began her music career from there. Kelly and her dad are estranged to this day.Tracy MorganThe entertaining Tracy Morgan has had us laughing for a long time now. The actor, comedian, and voice actor has starred in 30 Rock and Saturday Night Live, among other things. Tracy’s upbringing was normal up to the point when his father abandoned the family.Tracy JordanJimmy Morgan was a musician and a Vietnam veteran who struggled with addiction. This eventually caused him to leave the family. Tracy himself is not shy to admit his estrangement from much of his family including his mother.Lindsay LohanMichael isn’t a thoroughbred celebrity but came to be so after his daughter Lindsay Lohan’s acting success. It is The Parent Trap who introduced Michael to the limelight, after which he dominated tabloids with all manners of scandal. His drug use fueled his decline.Lindsay LohanHe has humiliated Lindsay several times, trying to profit from her fame and even showing up with cops at her door. Michael is hardly the ideal father and it is no wonder then that no one wants anything to do with him.EminemMarshall Mathers, or popularly known as Eminem, is probably the most notable celebrity with family issues. Eminem’s hit songs have mostly been full of lyrics exposing his mother as irresponsible. Eminem even admitted to having raised his brother, Nate, all on his own.EminemHowever, Debbie Mathers-Briggs fought back with a lawsuit claiming her son slandered her across several media outlets. Debbie asserts that Eminem’s lyrics in his hit-single ‘My name is…’ were made-up and demanded $10 million in compensation—talk about an opportunistic parent.AdeleAdele is another surprising entry on this list. The lovely English singer-songwriter has penned some of the most beautiful tracks to date. She was born to an English mother and her dad was from Wales. Marc Evans, her father, eventually left Adele and her mom, Penny Adkins, when Adele was only two.AdeleBecause of this, Adele never forgave Marc. During her Grammy acceptance speech, Adele proclaimed that she had lost all love for her dad.BeyoncéIn the world of music, very few singers can match Beyoncé’s talent, experience, and sheer work ethic. One of the reasons for her success, however, was her unrelenting father, Mathew Knowles. Their relationship throughout the years, as he managed Beyoncé’s music career, took a hit with tabloids picking up their story.BeyoncéIn 2011, the pair parted ways professionally but later on, reports lay blame on Mr. Knowles for allegedly skimming funds from Beyoncé. Things turned sour after he divorced Beyoncé’s mother after a 31-year marriage.Courtney LoveKurt Cobain’s partner, Courtney Love, has been frank about her struggles with substance abuse and even admitted how it affected her daughter, Frances Bean Cobain. After Kurt died in ’94, she was left alone to raise their daughter and failed spectacularly.Courtney LoveHer addiction got in the way of parenting and she openly confessed to using while pregnant with Frances. As a result, she lost custody of her daughter and the two have not patched things up since.Christina AguileraChristine Aguilera is a world-renown singer, actress, songwriter, and TV personality. The New York-born artist moved houses frequently because of her father’s military career.Christina AguileraHer dad, Aguilera points out, was abusive and violent towards the family, eventually leading to her parents’ divorce when she was only six. She then turned to her music career as a sort of escape from all the conflict surrounding her life.Michael JacksonMichael Jackson is another notable entry on this list. He is by far one of the most famous people on this planet and another musician whose parents took direct control over his music career. His father, Joe Jackson, did have a significant impact on his success. However, on the flip side, he was also known as an abusive dad.Michael JacksonThe failed blues musician reigned terror upon his household and one might be inclined to believe that he was the root of all of Michael’s later scandals. From physical to mental abuse, Joe Jackson was content with any, as long as it served his purpose.Demi LovatoThe “Daddy Issues” hit song maker hit the nail on the head with this tune. Since 2007, Demi Lovato and father Patrick Lovato have been at loggerheads. The two tried to reconcile their issues through the time but it seems Mr. Lovato wasn’t the ideal dad. The source of her estrangement from him was indeed himself and as Demi hinted, he always let down the only person who had faith in him.Demi LovatoAnd this proved to be his downfall. In 2013, Mr. Lovato died from cancer. A couple of Demi Lovato’s songs point to the strained relationship the father and daughter had. She released “For the Love of a Daughter” in the 2011 album Unbroken and “Father” in 2015’s Confident.Kendra WilkisonKendra Wilkison, an American TV personality and glamor model, has seen her fair share of family feuds. Her parents’ marriage hit the rocks early in her life when she was just eight. After the separation, her dad vanished from her life.Kendra WilkisonHer grandmother also died in 2004, leaving Kendra with one less family member. In 2014, she reunited with her mom but the union was to be short-lived and the two are still estranged.Leighton MeesterLeighton’s life started on the wrong foot from whichever angle you look at it from. Her mom, Constance Meester, was serving time when she was born for drug-related charges. After her release, they both had to live from hand-to-mouth. Leighton’s acting and modeling gigs helped bring some food to the table.Leighton MeesterHowever, her mother was rarely cooperative or responsible, as she was supposed to be. She spent money meant for Leighton’s brother on her personal needs and in 2012, Leighton won a court case against her, stating that she just wanted Constance out of her life.Vanessa MinnilloThe screen siren has hosted several high profile shows ranging from Entertainment Tonight and MTV’s Total Request Live as well as a myriad of reality shows. Born to a Filipino mother and an American serviceman, Vanessa and her family moved houses pretty much every year. She went to eight different schools in nine years.Vanessa MinnilloHer parents eventually separated in 1983 and finally cut ties three years later. Both remarried, Vanessa spent time with each parent and their new spouse. She, however, left her mom to join her father in the US, and the two are reported to be on bad terms because she did not bother to invite her mom to her wedding to Nick Lachey.Meg RyanIt is difficult to imagine someone having a fight with America’s sweetheart Meg Ryan and also a darling in Hollywood. Yet, Meg and her mother Susan are far from being the caring mother-daughter duo. Meg started her acting career in the 70s. She had a flourishing career and married a movie star.Meg RyanMeg did not invite her mum to their wedding. This is because of her public criticism of Quaid, after which she cut her out of her life. It is still uncertain whether there has been a reconciliation.The HudsonsActress Kate Hudson has been estranged from her dad, Bill Hudson, for decades and this culminated in her father disowning her. Bill had five other children but disowned two of them in a public interview with Daily Mail in 2015. Kate’s brother, Oliver, also faced the same fate as his sister.The HudsonsOliver’s revenge, however, was well worth it after posting a photo of himself, Kate, and Bill on Instagram. The caption read “Happy Abandonment Day” on Father’s Day.Heather GrahamParents often have a significant say in the type of career path we follow. Heather Graham’s parents were a religious bunch, and as is their upbringing, automatically opposed Heather’s participation in the film Boogie Nights.Heather GrahamHowever, it was the film that would eventually propel Heather to fame. She ultimately cut them out of her life ever since.Jennifer AnistonThe magnificent Friends actress doesn’t seem like the kind of person who has family issues. However, things were never smooth sailing between her and mother Nancy Aniston. An actress herself, Nancy authored a book detailing her relationship with Jennifer titled From Mother and Daughter to Friends: A Memoir.Jennifer AnistonBecause of this book, the two have been separated for nine years up until Jennifer’s divorce from Brad Pitt. They eventually reconciled their differences, and the younger Aniston even admitted that she was hopeful for the future. Nancy passed away in May 2016.Rosie O’DonnellRosie O’Donnell and her adopted daughter, Chelsea, have not been seeing eye-to-eye in recent years. The relationship between the two has been wrought with drama intermittently. Substance abuse has been the center of the conflict between the two, with Chelsea taking most of the blame.Rosie O’DonnellIn 2015, the 17-year old went missing and Rosie reported the matter only to find Chelsea at an alleged dealer’s home. Reconciliation followed, but as of 2017, their hostility was renewed as Chelsea married 31-year old Nicki Alliegro.Ryan O’NealThe O’Neals’ relationship with each other represents one of the worst cases of family disputes in this article. Theirs is marked by substance abuse and physical abuse, which soured the pair’s relationship even further. Tatum claims she received violent encounters with her father up until the time when she was pregnant.Ryan O’NealThe daughter, Tatum O’Neal, was the youngest person to grab an Oscar award in Hollywood and right off the bat you would expect her to be living one of the most comfortable and secure lives. However, the family unit is a bit different and up to today, the two have fruitlessly attempted to work on their relationship.Drew BarrymoreThe Barrymore name is synonymous with Hollywood and acting. Drew has also made a name for herself in the industry and has received a couple of accolades along the way including the Golden Globe, a BAFTA nomination and a Screen Actors Guild Award.Drew BarrymoreHer childhood was, however, far from perfect due to her substance abuse and constant clubbing at the time. It prompted her to author a book at 16 aptly titled Little Girl Lost. Following her rehabilitation at 13, Drew Barrymore successfully filed for emancipation from her parents at 15.Roseanne BarrRoseanne, an Emmy and Golden Globe award winner, began her career in showbiz doing standup comedy. This gradually progressed into acting and even a political career. She had a tumultuous youth when she was hit by a car causing her to be institutionalized at the Utah State Hospital for eight months at sixteen.Roseanne BarrAt 17, she had a child that she placed for adoption. When Roseanne turned 18, she moved out of her parents’ home. She has been estranged from her parents on the grounds of alleged physical abuse.Katie CassidyKatie Cassidy, daughter of actor David Cassidy, is famous for her role in Arrow as the ‘Black Canary.’ David’s relationship with Katie’s mother, actress Sherry Williams, was brief and that was pretty much the father-daughter relationship as well.Katie CassidyThe young actress was then raised by mom and stepdad Richard Benedon. Following his death, it was revealed that Katie Cassidy was not included in her biological father’s last will. This goes to show how much Mr. Cassidy thought of Katie.Ariana GrandeNot much is known about Ariana and her dad’s relationship. However, in her single Thank U Next, Ariana happens to sing with warmth towards her mother but not her dad.Ariana GrandeThis points to a rift between the two. Although the celebrated singer has rarely opened up about their relationship, she did state that it all started in 2013. Ariana is currently estranged from her dad.Ariel WinterModern Family has received critical acclaim, and this has mainly been attributed to the Winter’s family acting prowess. However, do not let their success fool you into thinking these guys have it all. Ariel, for one, had to deal with a lot of adult issues from a young age.Ariel WinterWhile 13, she was forced out of her mother, Chrisoula Workman’s, home over physical abuse allegations. This prompted her to seek emancipation from Chrisoula, and in May 2015, her wish was granted. She then took to social media to celebrate this new milestone in her life.Mackenzie PhilipsMackenzie Philips’ relationship with her dad is perhaps the most saddening on this list. It has been pockmarked with cases of sexual, mental, and physical abuse that stemmed from her father. After the sexual abuse, she confronted him after which he dismissed the incident as consensual ‘lovemaking.’Mackenzie PhilipsFor some reason, Mackenzie opted to tour with her dad’s band and this fueled her indulgence with drugs and incest with her dad. On his deathbed, she forgave her father but now took up drugs as the next course of action. Despite being born into a Hollywood family, Philips’ life has been far from glamorous.Gary ColemanAs far as family feuds go, Gary Coleman’s separation from his parents went in his favor. The Different Strokes star, despite having an illustrious childhood acting career, was left broke. This occurred after he made payments to his parents, advisers, and other associates.Gary ColemanColeman then proceeded to sue his parents for $1.3 million on the grounds of misappropriating his funds. Coleman scored a big win over his folks from the lawsuit.Nick CarterBest known for his role in the boyband Backstreet Boys, Nick’s relationship with his parents was strained from the beginning. He alleges that he started abusing alcohol from a very early age and eventually came to suffer from it. He was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy, and doctors advised him to make drastic lifestyle changes or face death.Nick CarterFollowing his sister’s death due to a substance overdose, the family lay blame on Nick because of his past drug use and fell apart soon after.Selena GomezSurprisingly, Selena Gomez is on this list partly because of her previous relationship with Justin Bieber. Remember how parents have a say in practically all aspects of our lives; celebrity parents are hardly left behind when it comes to parenting matters. Family sources indicate that Selena’s mom, Mandy Teefey, was hardly pleased with the news of her daughter and Justin seeking relationship assistance.Selena GomezThat is not all, however, as the two have been at it on social media with the pair unfollowing each other on Instagram. The root of all this conflict seems to be Selena’s decision to drop Mandy as her manager.Justin BieberTechnically, only Justin Bieber is the celebrity here. But even so, Justin Bieber’s relationship with mom Pattie Mallette has seen its fair share of ups and downs. Justin admitted that theirs was pretty much absent.Justin BieberHe went on to further concede his fear of the supposed shame he bore, mainly drawn from his scandals in the public limelight. Nevertheless, the two seemed to have reconciled their differences as Pattie Mallette gushed over her son while on vacation in the Maldives.Macaulay CulkinChristmas film favorite Macaulay Culkin is a critically acclaimed actor, more so when he was a child. The Home Alone movie series had holidaymakers glued to their screens throughout the festive season with Macaulay’s antics.Macaulay CulkinHowever, things weren’t always rosy back at the Culkin household. 1995 saw his parents’ divorce and contest custody of their seven children, especially now that Macaulay was already making inroads into Hollywood. The dad, however, was an alcoholic and violent adulterer, according to Patricia Brentrup, Macaulay’s mom. Kit Macaulay eventually disowned Macaulay as his son in the Daily Mail.Caitlyn JennerDrama and scandals have been at the center of the Kardashian family. Some people believe it is what brought them the fame that they enjoy so much today. Caitlyn, who once fathered the Kardashian offspring, is now estranged from the entire group. The first falling out occurred with the Kardashian matriarch Kris Jenner.Caitlyn JennerThis spread conflict onto her daughters and Caitlyn’s estranged son Brody. Brody confronted Caitlyn about his absence from his childhood life, but the senior Jenner declined to comment on the issue.Sherri ShepherdSherri Shepard’s estrangement debacle was one of the oddest at the time. Following her divorce to ex-husband Lamar Sally, Sherri wanted to overturn custody of their unborn child over to him.Sherri ShepherdThis was because since the two had planned for a surrogate to bear the child, Sherri was technically not the biological mother to the child. Therefore, she argued that the child ought to be with the dad, Mr. Sally. However, her grievances fell on deaf ears as the court declined to abide by her wishes.

Thing?Try several things.The Electoral College is still brokenI’ll be clear: the College is the single most insane system that I’ve ever come across.And I’ve dealt with some pretty insane systems in my time.I cannot, I just cannot, believe that we were terrified of an outcome where the lead candidate was 3,000,000 votes ahead. Secretary Hillary Clinton should have won the 2016 election under ANY other system, having a full 2,868,686 votes to levy against Donald Trump (I don’t have to call him ‘President’ anymore, thank God!).This isn’t always going to happen.The College isn’t always going to respect democracy.I would be saying this if the results were flipped the other way, too. If Trump had won the election this time around, the College would still be broken as a system. And even though President-Elect Biden won, there’s still the possibility of a faithless elector; very little penalty awaits such a stain on democracy should they feel strongly enough to disregard the will of the people! Sure, there’s a penalty, but if you’re prepared to pay that, if you’re happy to part with your money and time, then the College will not try to stop you.The British system of First Past the Post isn’t perfect by a long stretch. It tends to favour the winning party exponentially more than the proportionate votes should have. Here’s an example of how the Scottish votes have gone:I’m no fan of the blue wedge (that’s our Conservatives, not quite as extreme as the Grand Old Party but pretty damn right-wing by European standards!), but I couldn’t look you in the eye and tell you that the representation that First Past the Post offers to them as opposed to the yellow (Scottish National Party) is fair.And yet, the Electoral College, with its seats and faithless electors, surpasses the stupidity of First Past the Post in every conceivable way.Albert Camus once said of the absurd man’s actions:All systems of morality are based on the idea that an action has consequences that legitimize or cancel it. A mind imbued with the absurd merely judges that those consequences must be considered calmly. It is ready to pay up.I consider myself an absurdist at the best of times, and I accept that the absurd man (or woman or non-binary!) would have to acknowledge that they are bound up in consequentialism. But I consider Camus to be naïve here; I think that morality is more than just consequence assessment. It can be based on personal belief as well, which is essential to deciding whether or not a set of consequences do legitimise or cancel. The consequences linked to an act of eating a baby (pain, shrieking, emotional distress for onlookers) doesn’t dictate the morality of the act; my morality comes from my belief that pain, shrieking, and emotional distress as consequences should be minimised in favour of other consequences that I believe to be more appropriate.In this sense, law is in part an amoral system of rules and regulation. Law does not believe; its writers believe, but it does not. One’s external morality can influence law’s creation and application in legislatures and courts, and moral criticisms can sway new law into existence. But as an inert, dormant, untriggered force, directed solely at hypothetical consequences, law is amoral.Along those lines, should an elector have both a belief in the value of breaking their democratic word and an acceptance of the consequences that will befall them should they break that trust, they can be absurd in the absurd system. The Electoral College, as part of law, is indifferent to the injustices it creates; it holds no beliefs! The College won’t suddenly come to life and bitch-slap faithless electors and those engaged in gerrymandering! Therefore, those who hold beliefs must rein in the College and faithless electors, who otherwise find a perfectly absurd home in one another.The College is pure political pantomime which should have been rendered obsolete by the Internet and cars and transport and phones, but it was retained all the same. It’s past time to uproot it and replace it with a real, functioning democracy.The system respected democracy this time.It might not do so next time.Joe Biden is far from perfectThe kid gloves can come off now that he’s President-Elect Biden.We needed to get away from the Trump administration. President-Elect Biden wasn’t anywhere near close to my first choice, but the Democratic Party isn’t exactly known for sharp lurches to the left. So I got behind him as the lesser of the two evils on offer, and supported his campaign to overthrow Darth Cheeto.Now that we have President-Elect Biden, we have to be critical of him.His legendary mess of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act 1994 was one of Trump’s biggest guns with which to attack the new President-Elect, and it was one hell of a power move. The Act was dredged up as a point against his campaign, and the truth is that while the Act was part of a wider context of rising crime (not to mention the support from the black community to begin with, in that 58% of those polled supported the Act), it causes a great amount of upset in the current era.According to the website Vox:Biden reveled in the politics of the 1994 law, bragging after it passed that “the liberal wing of the Democratic Party” was now for “60 new death penalties,” “70 enhanced penalties,” “100,000 cops,” and “125,000 new state prison cells.”The law imposed tougher prison sentences at the federal level and encouraged states to do the same. It provided funds for states to build more prisons, aimed to fund 100,000 more cops, and backed grant programs that encouraged police officers to carry out more drug-related arrests — an escalation of the war on drugs.And Brookings:But one thing is clear: the 1994 bill interacted with—and reinforced—an existing and highly problematic piece of legislation: The Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986, which created huge disparities in sentencing between crack and powder cocaine. Under this bill, a person was sentenced to a five-year minimum sentence for five grams of crack cocaine, but it took 500 grams of powder cocaine to trigger the same sentence. Because crack is a cheaper alternative to powder cocaine, it is more prominent in low-income neighborhoods. These neighborhoods are more likely to be predominately Black and in urban areas that can be overpoliced more easily than suburban or rural areas. While the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010, enacted under the Obama-Biden administration, reduced the crack/powder cocaine disparity from 100:1 to 18:1, the damage had been done, and its effects continue to this day.Truly, astonishingly bad optics, mate!He has since apologised for his role in this movement to be “tough on crime”, proposing new legislation to decriminalise marijuana for instance, but there’s not a lot of way back from that record. It is enough to cast serious doubt on his judgement from several communities, and a close eye should be kept on him. It was enough to be “Not Trump” on the ballot, but now that he’s in power, this attitude will haunt President-Elect Biden for a lot his time in the White House.He also has a slight tendency towards corporate favouritism, as noted by the Jacobin:The most well-known case is Biden’s relationship with MBNA, a major credit card company based in his home state that was his largest single donor between 1989 and 2000. By sheer coincidence, Biden voted against a measure requiring credit card companies to warn consumers of the consequences of making only minimum payments and voted four times for an industry-supported bankruptcy bill that made it harder for financially strained borrowers to get protection from creditors. Another coincidence: MBNA hired Biden’s son, Hunter, as a lobbyist straight out of law school, and later hired him as a consultant from 2001 to 2005 — the same years Biden was helping to pass the bill.The “Hunter’s laptop” bullshit was a Republican ploy to discredit President-Elect Biden which thankfully failed, but he’s got more than a little bit of dirt on him through this. In a connected matter, he has a spotty history with bankruptcy issues, as noted by GQ on the dirt surrounding him on the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act, an Act that he had been pushing to get through for years and which led him to clash with Senator Elizabeth Warren ever since:Biden was one of the bill's major Democratic champions, and he fought for its passage from his position on the Senate Judiciary Committee. He had pushed for two earlier bankruptcy reform bills in 2000 and 2001, both of which failed. But in 2005, BAPCPA made it through, successfully erecting all kinds of roadblocks for Americans struggling with debt, and doing so just before the financial crisis of 2008.[…]As political writer Alexander Cockburn once wrote, "The first duty of any senator from Delaware is to do the bidding of the banks and large corporations which use the tiny state as a drop box and legal sanctuary. Biden has never failed his masters in this primary task. Find any bill that sticks it to the ordinary folk on behalf of the Money Power and you’ll likely detect Biden’s hand at work."And from Prospect:[Biden] voted against three amendments to ease bankruptcy requirements for consumers whose financial troubles stem from medical expenses. He voted against an amendment that would have helped seniors keep their homes. He voted against exempting servicemembers and widows of servicemembers killed in action from the law’s eligibility restrictions. He voted against an amendment to exempt women whose financial troubles stemmed from deadbeat husbands’ failure to pay child support or alimony. And Biden even voted against an amendment that would have ensured that children of debtors could still be given birthday and Christmas presents. Biden also voted against allowing debtors to pay their union dues during bankruptcy, potentially imperiling their employment and ability to achieve financial rehabilitation.[…]It’s not as if Joe Biden was opposed to all amendments to the legislation. He voted to enshrine a “millionaire’s loophole” that allows wealthy, well-counseled debtors to shield their assets from creditors by placing them in asset-protection trusts. Nor did he act to cut off the loophole that shields assets placed by wealthy families in “dynasty trusts,” such as are offered by Delaware.Most recently, we have to reckon with President-Elect Biden’s… slips of the tongue. “You ain’t black” being the most famous, though by no means the only one. He’s got his heart in the right place when it comes to race and LGBT+ relations (these days), but his rhetoric is curiously tone-deaf, which is risky in a time like this wherein the Black Lives Matter is ramping up its campaign to expose America’s racist core.And then, we have Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris.A historic win for women!A historic win for black people!I mean this wholeheartedly, I am pleased for her. Her stances on Medicare and providing access to college education for students from poorer backgrounds is highly commendable, as is her desire to abolish the death penalty.Except, we do have to remember her record as a prosecutor, which left her wide open to the likes of former Presidential candidate Representative Tulsi Gabbard’s critiques, as documented from the Rolling Stone magazine:Gabbard particularly zeroed in on Harris’s record on drug-related offenses: “She put over 1,500 people in jail for marijuana violations and then laughed about it when she was asked if she ever smoked marijuana,” Gabbard said, referring to an interview Harris gave to The Breakfast Club in which she joked about smoking pot in college.[…]Perhaps most damningly, in 2019 a Washington Free Beacon investigation found that between 2011 and 2016, while Harris was attorney general, at least 1,560 people were sent to California state prisons on marijuana-related offenses. Although the number of low-level marijuana offenders sent to state prison significantly declined after 2011, that was attributed to a state-wide initiative to curb state prison overcrowding and divert lower-level offenders to county jails.The claim is somewhat misleading given that Vice President-Elect Harris didn't prosecute all of those cases, and many factcheckers like APN note that Facebook memes added a racial element to the marijuana convictions that was never there initially. But it's a clear optics U-turn from prosecution to her current position on decriminalisation (another of her positions that I support).A lot of the criticisms of Vice President-Elect Harris leave out that she was not herself personally involved in a lot of the issues. She manned large offices with lawyers who made some of the gaffes that are now attributed to her, such as the 2014 incident when she was Attorney General wherein some of her lawyers argued that non-violent offenders should be forced to combat wildfires. It’s easy to conflate Vice-President Elect Harris’ actions with those of her underlings, but in this context she was not, so to speak, responsible for forcing offenders into forced labour in California.However, it’s harder to distance herself from her record on this next issue, in which 1,000 drug tests had to be dismissed under her tenure in the District Attorney’s office, as reported in the Sacramento Bee:The San Francisco drug lab was shut down after a lead technician, who testified on behalf of prosecutors on drug cases, was found to have systematically mishandled the drug samples seized from suspects, even consuming some herself.While the San Francisco Police Department was responsible for running the lab, not Harris’s district attorney office, a court ruled in 2010 that the district attorney’s office violated defendants’ constitutional rights by not disclosing what it knew about the tainted drug evidence.Vice-President Elect Harris also has a poor relationship with truancy laws. While she later expressed regret for the effects, the Lost Angeles Times details what happened:Harris took that advocacy statewide, sponsoring a 2010 law to make it a misdemeanor for parents whose young children miss more than 10% of school days a year without a valid excuse. Parents could be punished with a maximum $2,000 fine, up to a year in county jail or both. Violators of the law could defer judgment by participating in regular meetings with school officials and improving their children’s attendance.[…]Harris and her allies have said the law’s purpose was to prod school districts to provide resources to families of truant children, not to lock up parents. But the Huffington Post reported that several counties in California arrested, charged and sometimes jailed parents under the law backed by Harris.To some, she might appear to flip-flop on issues; it's not unusual for a Presidential candidate to do this, but it's ammunition against her for Trumpistas who are looking for anything they can find to catch her out. Her team’s denial of DNA testing for Kevin Cooper as Attorney General in 2004 is also a flip-flop strike against her; she now supports the testing, but is that too little, too late? There's yet more fuel for their hatred to be found, given that she's female and black. Vice President-Elect Harris is going to have a very interesting time between defending her record and fending off racism and sexism alike.Look, maybe the pair of them have grown naturally into their newfound positions. At least they’re better than Trump. But we cannot be blind to their records. They have to deliver the goods now, and the test of their commitment to the values they espoused on the political trail will be how they conduct themselves in office.And we should be honest with ourselves.Trumpistas like to paint them as radical liberals, but America as it stands has no left-wing party. It has left-wing politicians, such as Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, but there’s no unified left wing. President-Elect Biden and Vice President-Elect Harris are about as centre as it gets for the American system, which translates as still pretty bloody right wing on the rest of the world stage.Democrats as a party only look like the left wing because of what they’re compared to in the Republican Party, which is the gold-standard for the Western far-right:Also bear in mind that the Democratic Party was shifting leftwards while the then-President Obama was conducting mass surveillance via the National Security Agency and playing with drones, as noted in the Guardian:Barack Obama has claimed that drone and other airstrikes, his favored tactics of war, have killed between 64 and 116 civilians during his administration, a tally which was criticized as undercounted even before Friday’s announcement.[…]Yet the count is also incomplete, leaving out the civilian toll from drone strikes in Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq. Nor did the administration go into detail about where the strikes occur, citing what an official told reporters on Friday were “diplomatic sensitivities”, even as it presented the assessment as a significant advance in transparency. The Guardian has filed a freedom of information act request for records relating to the civilian-death assessment in the US bombing campaign in Iraq and Syria, where thus far the US military has concluded it has killed 36 civilians since summer 2015.The upper limit of the civilian death toll from drones stands at more than 800 people in Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia, according to the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, during the time period Obama’s drones tally covered.Don’t be fooled by the Trumpistas.These are not the progressive heroes that people like myself would be hoping for. My standard of leftism as a Scot would terrify most Americans, but we can agree that there have been poor shows from across the board. The new President-Elect duo are not angels: hell, no politician is! President-Elect Biden is going to be remembered for a while as “The man who beat Trump”, but that reputation isn’t going to last forever. His and Vice President-Elect Harris’ records will be coming into more focus now that the Presidency is theirs (that is, if Trump loses the SCOTUS case that he’s building).Learn this lesson; progressives have succeeded in getting rid of Trump. but they’ve appointed a neoliberal in his place. It’s better by far, and the Atlantic has some warm words for President-Elect Biden even against this backdrop:Biden didn’t extol neoliberalism in the language of a true believer and came to publicly regret his vote to ease banking rules. He wasn’t prone to abstractly celebrating the virtue of free markets. His analysis was always earthier, without hints of the technocratic tendency to trumpet the efficiency. He urged the party toward centrism, because it was the basis for electoral victory. “It’s where the American people are,” he told a journalist in 2001.Even so, there is plenty of reason to worry about the pair of them. Between the above and criticisms of President-Elect Biden’s odd history with interventionism—Overall, Biden’s reflexes are to provide little political assistance to countries in transition. That is a recipe for failed states, and failed states produce not only terrorists but also refugees, and they invite foreign intervention by neighboring states and aspiring hegemons.This half-in-half-out approach to military intervention also strips U.S. foreign policy of its moral element of making the world a better place. It is inadequate to the cause of advancing democracy and human rights.—wording courtesy of the Atlantic, there’s scope for this victory to go all wrong.If we haven’t learned this lesson already, we’ll learn it soon enough.Politics, for some, is a jokePoor, poor Kanye.The Presidency is to narcissists what a lamp is to a moth. They can’t resist the allure of power. And Kanye West, well-documented narcissist, flew into it.At a rally in July, he not only decried Harriet Tubman (an enslaved black woman who freed herself and other slaves and then became a suffrage activist), but broke down crying over abortion. I get it. I really do. The thought of abortion is a hard one for me to swallow, even as I accept that the woman’s decision is the final one. It’s not me who carries the kid, it’s not me who will have their life on the line upon complications. Hell, men couldn’t even suck it up and accept the negative side effects from male contraception, which we’ve been expecting women to endure through their pills for decades!I know why West is upset over abortion. Even as a liberal, I do understand it. I come from a religious background, so I have heard the anti-abortion arguments for long enough to hold sympathy without agreement. Indeed, I support limits on abortion based on time and science to determine foetal potential for pain and to curb any eugenics temptations. Ideally, I’d love to have a world wherein abortion was no longer necessary, in that we provide for people and give them the resources and health provisions to have a baby safely and carry it to term intact.But this isn’t a perfect world, and the act of carrying a baby and later birthing it is a supreme nine-month long labour for a woman. Many can’t even actually afford to look after the child, and the argument of “just give the kid to an orphanage” negates one simple fact: it fucking hurts to birth a kid. Comedian Carol Burnett once said that childbirth “is like taking your lower lip and forcing it over your head”; if a God designed that system for the reproduction of life, just because Eve ate one piece of fruit, and pre-programmed us to be horny, then He’s a sadistic monster.If that level of pain, not to mention the nine months of actually carrying the child to term, is not a woman’s choice to undertake, freely and gladly consented to, then we’re kidding ourselves that women have any equality to men. We give corpses more bodily autonomy when it comes to harvesting their organs than we give to women when we deny them the chance to abort their pregnancies in a humane manner (balancing scientific knowledge of pain and nervous system growth with the needs of the woman). Our entire existence is built on the extraordinary pain of women; I would not blame a single one of them if they all collectively said “enough”.Understanding West is different from agreeing with his views.But in his narcissism, he ran for President with no workable plan for his chosen issues. He appeared before the crowd, and his solution to abortion was this doozy:The maximum increase would be everybody that has a baby gets a million dollars or something in that range… If you had opportunity to be given a million dollars, just for being pregnant, would you have considered it? And then everybody would start having children, the greatest gift of life.America has 166,700,000 women.Let’s be generous to West and assume that maybe 1/3 will fall pregnant at some stage in their lives. Likely more will deliberately fall pregnant with the financial incentive in place, but we’ll be generous so as to not break the bank. That’s about 55,566,667 women. And each gets $1,000,000 for every pregnancy.55,566,667 * $1,000,000.You get from that $5.5566667e+13.If you’re playing at home, that’s $55,566,667,000,000.For comparison, US expenditure on the military in 2019 was $718,690,000,000.And that’s not even accounting for women having more than one kid.The takeaway is clear: the government would be financially crippled in a week. The sperm banks would be raided by women who wanted babies (read: $1,000,000: poverty will make most anyone take a crazy bet to survive), and then what happens to the baby? Will it be loved and cared for, or will it be tossed into the American hyper-capitalistic society without so much as a care in the world?Some will luck out.Some won’t.And that, my friends, is why ‘pro-life’ is only ‘pro-birth’, with no thought to what happens before, during, or after. Surprise, surprise; the narcissist hadn’t thought anything of his abortion-curbing plan through.And yet, despite this unworkable lunacy, he got a few voters!WHAT THE HELL?!The Presidency attracted Donald Trump in his egomania, and he ran it like a business at the expense of the human lives he was supposed to govern.The Presidency attracted Kanye West in his egomania, and he wanted to implement insane policies that would destroy the bank in his self-assured zeal.To counter this unqualified egomania that’s seeping into the election discourse, with even Dwayne Johnson “entertain[ing] the thought” (even if he’s not serious), things have to change. Even the phenomenon of unqualified individuals jesting about their chances, when married to a system that would do nothing to stop them if they made an effort to run, is very worrying to say the absolute least.What have we learned?Some people run on a narcissistic high.Some people vote for them as a stupid joke.Others are so disillusioned by the non-options from the major parties that they side with these jokesters and clowns; the same attitude got us Trump.And politics is fractured as a result of this joking around.Now, the current limits on who can become President are the following:Be a natural-born citizen of the United StatesBe at least 35 years oldHave been a resident of the United States for 14 yearsThese need tightened, and quickly.Celebrities can fundraise for political causes, but they cannot run for the Presidency without a minimum of experience in political office. At the very least, I’d be expecting to see a degree in a relevant field; this requirement can be interpreted widely, since anthropology is the study of humans one governs, history covers several areas of legal development through the ages, criminology and sociology would give incredible insights into the treatment of criminals and society. Experience and higher education can cancel one another out in some cases (say a candidate has thirty years of Senate experience but they didn’t go to university? Weigh it up on its merits!) but this current system of allowing simply anyone through the door needs to be reconsidered.And yes, I am biased in favour of the elite experts.Thank you, next.The age point needs to be looked at, too. All well and good to have a minimum at 35 years of age (I’d set it at 30 personally, but there you go), but what about the maximum? We had Trump and President-Elect Biden, 74 and 77 years of age respectively, in this election. Much was made over who would die first, who looked the most ill, who had what dementia or cognitive decline. As much as it saddens me to say this, such a policy would likely exclude 79-year-old Senator Bernie Sanders and 71-year-old Senator Warren, but we cannot have a repeat of this madness.Consistency is key here.This makes a problem for the re-election of older office-holders, but I don’t think this maximum should be breached. Say we set the limit at 70 years, and the minimum at 30? That gives a candidate forty years to get into the position of the President. That’s not overly restrictive in the slightest. To those crying that this is a burden on older people seeking the Presidency and is thus a restriction on freedom, I’m chill with that.Within forty years of four-year Presidencies, that’s (depending on the year you were born) ten opportunities to get into the hot seat.Ten opportunities.Most people don’t have the funds to get one opportunity.Besides, while there’s implicit bias against the less wealthy, there’s already explicitly worded discrimination against non-natural citizens. Gee, for the land of opportunity, it’s sure withholding the Presidency from a fairly sizeable chunk of the population, no? But this is a limitation that has been enshrined and accepted.A few more to strengthen the office wouldn’t hurt.We can disagree and be friends on some things, but not on everythingI’d like to tell you a story, if I may.I have this friend. We’ll call him Craig.Craig is gay. I am (at this stage in my life) an evangelical Christian (the kind who gives you Biblical literature as a Christmas present) and am in impressive denial over my bisexuality. We meet at university. We sit next to one another in the law lectures, and we get chatting. He’s quite awkward, but I like him a lot, and we get chatting.He and I go for coffees and hot chocolates. I don’t know that Craig is gay, and I don’t think to ask him anything about his sexuality. But we chat about gay issues sometimes, and a lot of my then-values come flooding out of my stupid horrible mouth.Craig doesn’t retaliate.He remains my friend throughout it.He doesn’t even tell me that he’s gay until later on in our friendship.But then I meet another friend. We’ll call her Jessie. She no longer speaks to me, so I can’t tell her how much of an impact she had on my life. We meet in my Spanish class. She’s a typical university SJW, the hipster-chic kind who’ll correct your speech if you don’t say “they” in just about every instance. Scotland has very few of those, thankfully. But I have to give it to her; she taught me a pretty important lesson.We get chatting about gay issues, and I do my best to flirt with the issue. “Oh, I don’t have the right to judge!”, I try, leaving out the part that I was on an anti-gay mailing list at the time from a ‘pro-marriage’ organisation. She presses and presses; she doesn’t give me an inch. I do the whole cool-as-a-cucumber approach, the suave Ben Shapiro rational veneer of oily semantics juggling, and she’s only getting angrier and angrier with me until I outright tell her that I don’t believe in gay marriage.She then takes her bag and her oversized glasses and leaves our table. I have the sheer, unmitigated cheek to tell her to have a nice life.That day, she is absent from Spanish class.She transferred classes to get away from me.I don’t blame her now, but I did back then. Touchy liberals, I think! I kept my cool, I didn’t storm off! I have won the argument, because I was civil and polite! I find Craig, not knowing that he was gay, and I COMPLAIN ABOUT HER TO HIM.Craig doesn’t retaliate.He remains my friend. God knows how.He helps me see what she was thinking and why.I don’t think that I would have broken out of my rut had it not been for Craig and Jessie. They were two of the best things to ever happen to me. Jessie helped me to see Craig’s perspective, and Craig allowed me to come to my senses in my own time by being there for me. In this, I even manage to come to terms with my bisexuality, and I realise that feeling this way about guys and girls is not an immoral thing. I owe them both a debt that I don’t think I can ever wholly repay.Craig was amazing about these issues when I talked to him, and when I began to lose my faith. Jessie doesn’t know that I made the change; she stayed away from me for as long as she was at university. I never saw her again. Again, who could blame her? I held values that ran contrary to her life! But here’s the thing; while Craig was the gentle, kind type who guided me away from hate, I first of all had to want to be guided. I only understood Craig’s perspective after Jessie had forcibly rejected my worldview and made me see how wrong it was to view some human beings as an underclass, no matter how nicely I smiled at them. For me to listen, I had to first see the harm that I was causing.Since then, I learned that another gay friend (his name for our purposes will be Stanley) had been afraid of coming out to me because he thought I would be homophobic. I can’t remember if I was still transitioning away from homophobia or if I was more or less totally accepting by that stage. Regardless of the stage I was at, though, Stanley was perhaps the tipping point in all of this. This was compounded with learning that another friend Morgan had gender dysphoria and was considering changing names to match their gender identity (“their” being used for anonymity).I had guidance from Craig, rage from Jessie, sadness from Stanley, and a realisation of just how many people were hiding from people like me from Morgan. Those four things brought me back from my hatred masked as kindness.Here’s the issue.Without those four together, I wouldn’t have changed.It’s beyond shameful, but that’s what it took.We have to be prepared to show all four. Like Jessie, we have to be prepared to fight tooth and nail for our rights, against the QAnons and the Confederates and the Neo-Nazis and the alt-right and UKIP and National Front and the Ku Klux Klan. Where one group isn’t targeting us, like the Klan is more interested in harassing people of colour than gay people, their fight is still our fight. We fight on behalf of our shared humanity. Like Stanley, we have to be open about how their hatred makes us feel in our calmer moments; it might not sway them, but it might sway those on the fence. Like Craig, we have to be there for those who come back from that edge, back to kindness. And like Morgan, we have to realise just how the people we love are suffering.Being nice isn’t enough anymore.Being respectful isn’t enough.Not on their own.Bigots have been globally legitimised under Trump, and they aren’t going down easily. Not even with their orange führer taken out of the picture.So when a Republican or such tells you to be nice to them, that you should be kind to them in the wake of this election result, that you need to let them process their feelings, it’s up to you whether you want to use the Craig, Jessie, Stanley, or Morgan mask to deal with them and the wider mess that Trump has left in the West.If you cannot help them, after having given it your best effort, then there’s nothing left for you to do. Others can give it a shot, but know your limits, and know what you need for your own safety. Know when to be a Craig and when to be a Jessie; being a Jessie all the time will anger everyone around you, but being a Craig will lead to a much slower burn which we don’t have a lot of time for in the current climate. And yet, both are needed in the equation, as a balance.We cannot be friends with people who dispute our existence and rights, who refuse to change their small minds with all the evidence in the world put before them. People are capable of changing, but they have to be exposed to both kindness from those they’re hurting and their fury alike. We can chat as Craigs once the other side is listening about the best way to further our rights to the benefit of all (there’s a genuine worry about letting male sexual predators who fake trans identities into women’s prisons!), but if one side is demanding that our entire corpus of rights should be on the table, we have to be able to put on our Jessie masks and demand that we be acknowledged in the first place.If you think there’s hope, like Craig thought there was hope for me, talk.If you don’t, then your first priority is to your own safety.According to the current figures, 70,686,229 Americans decided at the very least that the danger to our corpus of rights was not a deal-breaker. Be it through oily Shapiro semantics twisting (“Oh, we don’t just oppose same-sex… stuff, the rules are the same for unmarried couples too!”) or pure outright hatred (“FUCKING FAGGOT [I’m bi] N*****S NEED TO GO DIE, HELL YEAH FILTH!”), the effects are the same.Seems like Jessie might need to stick around for a bit.No demographic is immune from bigotryYou know how we always hear that strong women will save us?Or the gays and trans people?Or the people of colour, like some rainbow of good?There’s some truth in that (indeed, many are praising former-Representative Stacey Abrams, a black woman, for mobilising support in Georgia to oust Trump through her Fair Fight campaign), but don’t be wholly taken in by the numbers.Inexplicably, 28% of LGBT+ people voted for Donald Trump this year, DOUBLING from the 2016 election. September exit polls indicated that 45% of queer men were lining up to give Trump their vote. This is in the face of the man who tried to reject transgender people from the US military to save on pointless expenses, whose administration halted visas for the same-sex partners of diplomats and UN ambassadors (limiting access on the basis of marriage alone), who rolled back trans healthcare provisions in the Department of Health and Social Services.A lot of Trump’s attacks were launched against our trans guys and gals and non-binary pals, but some members of the overall umbrella community did not have their backs. They cared more about their taxes, or their comfort, or their voting habits, or for their ability to “pass” as straight and cisgender to their own advantage.As for women, 55% of white women polled sided with Mr “Grab Them by the Pussy”. That’s an increase of 2% from 2016. This is a massive problem for modern day feminism, wherein people say the right things and then vote in an uber-misogynist who seeks to remove the right of all women to receive a safe abortion should they need it. But since some women will never need that abortion, there’s a divide between the haves and the have-nots. Once again, what we see is a failure of empathy.The Latino and Black vote for Trump also rose by a few percent. HOW?! This is the man who has such a clear history of racism, you’d be hard-pressed to find anything good that he’s done! Now, to give them their dues, perhaps they were put off of President-Elect Biden thanks to the above-mentioned issues, but it’s literally a choice between that and an orange wannabe fascist who unashamedly despises you!It comes down to the degree of harm being wrought, both past and present. We have one candidate who, in the past, did many racist things (such as the aforementioned policing law) but then served under Barack Obama (who again, remember, I do not care hugely for save for on balance with the alternatives running under the Libertarian and the Republican banners) and ran to dethrone a tyrant in the present. On the other side, we have a bastard who called peaceful black protestors “sons of bitches” in recent, living memory, who calls African nations “shitholes”, and who repeatedly evades questions on white supremacy so that he would not be in danger of losing the Confederacy vote from his supremacist buddies. This is, of course, on top of all of the racist comments and actions he has perpetrated in the past.Trump, asked if he has concerns that he's using the language of white supremacists and many view his tweets as racist, says: "It doesn't concern me because many people agree with me." pic.twitter.com/C0ranRv6vg— Manu Raju (@mkraju) July 15, 2019You don’t get into bed with Steve Bannon and avoid such supremacist claims.One candidate did racist things and took his time to grow up, but he did grow up.The other did not grow up.It’s the lesser of two evils (see my section where I evaluate the new President-Elect and Vice President-Elect), but President-Elect Biden is the less bitter pill by far.Polled white men were in the majority of Trump’s supporters, coming in at 58%. As if there was any doubt that that would be the case. This dipped from last time, but it’s over half. If this is representative of America as a whole, white men and women left to their own devices would have voted in Donald Trump. As a white man who is bisexual, I feel significantly let down by the social demographics I belong to. I’m especially disappointed with the LGBT+ community; we are fragmented and divided, and over a quarter of us voted for a bigot who would have ruined so many lives, who would leave millions to the mercy of COVID-19 while withholding financial and health provisions. They are the torch-bearers for Trumpism, even without Trump present in the White House.He is a spectre who will forever haunt democracy, and they bear him.We bear him.I’m not happy about that.Frankly, I’m utterly ashamed of us.Still, let’s celebrate while we can. We can start by thanking Stacey Abrams.The Supreme Court is a political institutionOne could have argued that the SCOTUS wasn’t a political institution, even after Bush v Gore. They applied the law to the case and did what they could. I hold that their decision in that case was held back by a lack of imagination; take the dissenting words of Justice Stevens, who said the following of the case:…nothing prevents the majority, even if it properly found an equal protection violation, from ordering relief appropriate to remedy that violation without depriving Florida voters of their right to have their votes counted. As the majority notes, “[a] desire for speed is not a general excuse for ignoring equal protection guarantees.”In Justice Stevens’ view, the court had made a decision to find in Bush’s favour. One that was based on expediency, but a decision all the same.This encapsulates much of constitutional law, and a lot of administrative law too. How one interprets the highest laws of the land is a consciously-made choice, not merely a seeking of truth. In some cases, truth doesn’t exist before a judge makes their call on novel cases. What of gay marriage? SCOTUS had to decide that ‘dignity’ encompassed a person’s right to marry whoever they liked in terms of being equal! The Affordable Care Act? Justice Roberts had to decide to read the tax penalty as taxation to allow it to persist! Abortion had to be decided as a matter of privacy between doctor and patient, but on another day, the Justices could have easily overridden privacy by deciding that an unborn child constituted ‘life’ and that the SCOTUS (as part of the State) would be depriving ‘life’ against constitutional guarantees.That's the way the Polish Constitutional Court went with their analysis of the abortion debate, and even liberal bastion Justice Ginsburg was wary of the way Roe was decided (while still supporting a woman's right to abortion)!I fall on the side of protecting abortion rights and same-sex marriage. I’ve decided that that is how I’m going to read and interpret their relevant clauses. Others refuse, and decide to read it along their own biases and interpretations.You see how Supreme Courts work?They decide.They don’t just fact-find. They find facts, which lead to multiple possible (and legally plausible) outcomes and interpretations, and they apply the ones that they decide fit best. They hear out the counsel, and they deliberate on the strength of the arguments within the legal setting. The more novel the case, the more discretion is made open to the judges, the more politically contentious the topic (say, abortion when it was first brought to SCOTUS), the more a judgement becomes a decision-making exercise as opposed to fact-finding alone. This isn’t contract law, this isn’t private property: those fields are pretty fixed.But constitutional and administrative law?By virtue of being tied to politics and principles, they’re doomed to be in flux forever.And SCOTUS is, for all intents and purposes, a Constitutional Court.So let’s go back my opening line. One could argue that SCOTUS wasn’t a political institution, even after Bush v Gore, but it was a deciding institution. It decided on matters. Sometimes for good, and sometimes for ill. This whole nonsense that the SCOTUS doesn’t make law is absurd, no matter what an originalist would tell you; their members are brought in by the President’s nomination and their later confirmation, and a President is voted for by the people. They know that, should a chair vacate, it will then be filled by the President they have voted for.It’s political by default of its makeup.But after Bush, that political element was thrust into the limelight. No longer was it just deciding the law based on law that was already present. It was making political decisions. One could argue that even before then, Loving v Virginia and Brown v Board of Education of Topeka were politically-fuelled decisions based on concepts of the good which could be extrapolated from the legal language to suit the Justices’ needs. As the sides of the political aisle become more and more divided on human rights, such decisions become political statements. Even a person who declines to say anything on the case before them, who says that their hands are tied, has decided to say nothing: qui tacet consentire.Those who are silent are presumed to be in full agreement.That includes the originalist who says “I couldn’t possibly comment.”(For anyone who wants to review this topic in more detail, Philosophy Tube delivered an incredibly in-depth discussion on originalism and deciding vs fact-finding, which I include here for your convenience. Ignore the horse.)Enter Justice Amy Coney Barrett.Republican Party official Harmeet Dhillon had this to say on Fox:We're waiting for the United States Supreme Court - of which the President has nominated three justices - to step in and do something. And hopefully Amy Coney Barrett will come through and pick it up.If the SCOTUS wasn’t political before (and we’ve clearly established that it is a political institution anyway due to its very makeup), it sure as hell is now.I’m still hoping that Justice Barrett will have enough moral fibre to allow the people of America to have their say in the election. I think very little of her voting record and stances; I find her originalism blind and her reading of the law restrictive to the point of sheer malice. Her unwillingness to acknowledge climate change as a real and present danger when directly asked is particularly worrying. However, for all I know, she might be entirely innocent in any political discourse. Maybe Trump nominated her in the hopes that she would come through, without explicitly giving her orders.But the SCOTUS is currently Trump’s biggest weapon in his arse(nal). Justice Samuel Alito recently decided to enforce vote segregation orders by date in Pennsylvania. He went on a massive rant to the Federalist Society about gay rights and ‘political’ COVID-19 lockdowns. Whatever the outcome of the case that Trump’s lawyers bring, the Justices are getting ready to hear it out. They’re gearing up. And even if the case presented is a flimsy one, it’s gonna be a tempting option for six sitting arch-conservatives.SCOTUS is not neutral to law and Presidents.And it is very, very political.What comes next?You’ve been freed, do you know how hard it is to lead…?This is far from over.Trump is going to do all that he can to invalidate this result.His fanbase is already crying fraud.The courts are getting involved.America, you’re in for a rough few weeks, maybe even months. President-Elect Biden will come out of it hopefully unscathed, but to become complacent is to give ammo to the other side. Not that their heavily-armed goons need any more.And after that, President Biden takes power. He has to be held accountable. He no longer has the excuse of “I’m not Trump!”; he has to lead, and lead properly. That means policies, healthcare, bipartisan agreements, international affairs. He has to deal with a Britain whose Boris was gearing up to trade with a Trump administration, a Russia whose Putin was getting more and more testy with Trump, a China whose Xi Trump has tried to rattle and blatantly failed, a North Korea whose Kim was barely being held in check.Americans can’t even decide on the distinctions between capitalism and socialism without launching at one another’s throats these days.You’re without Trump.Awesome.Wow!Do you have a clue what happens now?How is the new administration going to handle domestic affairs? The Black Lives Matter movement, incensed by Trump and his tear gas, will be watching President-Elect Biden with steely eyes. The LGBT+ community have been living in great concern under Trump, so he will need to restore their faith in government. Women need assurances that their bodies are their own, and not merely incubation chambers for sperm and eggs. A deadly virus is still ripping through the States; stimulus packages are essential.This is one of the most politically fraught times of our lives. At a time when allies are a must, most of the world looks to the US with great suspicion. On the global stage, there’s no way to move forward without help and support from other countries.Phase One has to be settling the country at home and saving lives.Phase Two has to be the renewal of international affairs.Phase Three is maintaining that peace, if it’s even possible to achieve now.But it’s fine for me to just say all of this; President-Elect Biden actually has to do it.Let’s see how he does.But just remember one last thing: President-Elect Biden and Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris might not have won without Dr Jo Jorgensen of the Libertarian Party splitting the vote from disaffected Republicans.I got very angry during the more tense moments in the Georgia counting, during which Dr Jorgensen was holding the ~1% that President-Elect Biden needed to overtake Trump. I made an illogical post on Facebook lamenting this. I complained that she was stealing Biden’s votes, why couldn’t the Libertarians have thrown support his way, it’s their fault that Biden’s not the clear and decisive winner yet! It was a fairly childish move, but I was panicking, and logic wasn’t really my strong suit at the time. Like a good little nerd, writing things down helps me to keep calm when I’m stressed.Plus, I wanted to believe the best in our Libertarian friends, that they might have been tempted to vote for Biden too, that they had a shred of decency!However, a dear friend of mine provided me with solid evidence from Libertarian online hideouts (not that he is one, of course!) that the American Libertarians were furious with their own and Dr Jorgensen for splitting the votes away from Trump. In their eyes, Dr Jorgensen and her supporters were actually the reason that Biden could keep his lead, because those Republican Never-Trumpers actually had somewhere to go that allowed them to avoid their skewed perceptions of socialism and communism without throwing their support behind Trump himself. A worthless protest vote, in other words.Apparently 4chan had a meltdown over this?Here’s a selection of some of their spicy memes:Evidence must always take precedence over sentiments and optimism.And so, I had to concede the point to my friend.That opens up one more problem, though.Had it not been for that Libertarian split, Trump just might have won.I'm fairly certain that she had Biden-leaners along with her. Dr Jorgensen's open border policy, her rejection of Trump’s famous wall, and her vocal support for Black Lives Matter would have turned many Trumpistas away from her. But plenty of her other policies, such as free market healthcare, slashed taxes, and a strong advocacy for the Second Amendment, skewed to the right’s terror of socialised anything, welcoming in disaffected Republicans who didn’t like Trump but would have held their noses to vote for him had there been no third party alternative open to them.Without that ~1% buffer, Trump would have had a much better shot in a lot more of the swing states. Those where the vote ended up as 49.x% : 49.y%. Yes, many people wanted Trump to lose the election, well over half of the country wanted him out!But without Dr Jorgensen splitting the vote from both sides and taking 1,735,372 votes for herself, Trump would have had a much clearer path to winning the likes of Arizona, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Georgia. There was less than 1% of the in the balance in all four of those states, and she held it each time. We’ll never know for sure, but had enough of those votes gone to Trump, those four states alone would have afforded Trump an additional 57 electoral votes; that would have set Trump from the 214 he currently holds up to 271, with North Carolina (15) and Alaska (3) giving him another 18 votes once their voting is finished (which are looking ruby-red right now).Each of those states voted for Trump in 2016.And while Arizona may be exacting vengeance on Trump over his treatment of their beloved Senator John McCain, that's a loss that could have easily been softened through a coalition between those other historically red states.Many people argue against the idea that Dr Jorgensen lost Trump the election. They say that no Libertarian owes their vote to anyone. This is true, but there’s a simple empirical test; simply take away Dr Jorgensen from the equation, and then see what happened to the scores. Would more voters have abstained from voting? Would they have swallowed their pride and voted for President-Elect Biden?Or maybe enough nutters would have gone for Trump.Had every hard-right Libertarian voter followed their twisted internal logic and tactically voted for Trump over Dr Jorgensen (a candidate I respected while disagreeing with her on matters to do with civilian arms, taxation, and her excessive deference to free market economics), Trump would have walked away with 289 electoral votes.This is before we account for the fact that, had the Democrats chosen anyone other than boring old neoliberal President-Elect Biden as their Presidential candidate, had they gone with real progressives such as Senators Sanders and Warren, they would have lost the election in a landslide, even when opposing Donald J. Trump.Just food for thought.Maybe enough of her voters would have shuffled off to President-Elect Biden. Much of her platform would have been appealing to them; hell, if she’d loosened up on my aforementioned issues with her stances, I would have been sorely tempted if I were an American! But in a world of identity politics, with Republicans running wild in their hatred for any form of social provision, the Libertarian ballot might have called out to those who wanted a break from Trump while still harbouring traditional GOP support in their core.For all of the work done against him, faced with all of the tragic deaths from COVID-19 and beautiful voter re-enfranchisement from Fair Fight movements, Trump might have lost the 2020 election on a Libertarian miscalculation alone.That's a really sobering prospect.

It’s called ‘twin movies’ and it’s gone as far back as the early part of the last century.Jezebel (1938) & Gone with the Wind (1939)The role of Scarlett O’Hara was highly coveted and wanted by every actress in Hollywood, including Bette Davis who was one of the top leading ladies of the day. The role was eventually won by Vivien Leigh and to appease Davis, the first movie was reportedly created for her with a story line which was coincidentally very similar, that about feisty, Southern belles during the American civil war who lose the men they love due to their own stubborn pride. The only difference seems to be the films’ posters because while GWTW’s poster has both Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh in all their prominence, Jezebel’s poster had only Bette Davis’ picture on it.Young Mr. Lincoln (1939) & Abe Lincoln in Illinois (1940)Both movies are about Abraham Lincoln during his younger years when he was practising law. The first movie is mostly a fictional one while the second movie is based on a Pulitzer Prize winning play and nominated for a few Academy Awards. Despite being the more acclaimed one, Abe Lincoln in Illinois (1940). The second movie’s box office failure was one of the biggest financial disasters in RKO's history.The Trials of Oscar Wilde (1960) & Oscar Wilde (1960)Both movies are about Oscar Wilde and the trial which brought about his downfall.Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964) & Fail-Safe (1964)Both movies are about the dangers of nuclear war but while Fail-Safe boasts an acclaimed cast and director, Dr Strangelove has instead become legendary with its satirical depiction of something which was all too real during the Cold War.Harlow (1965) & Harlow (1965)Both movies are of course about Jean Harlow, who rose to fame in Hollywood in the 1930’s only to die an early death at the age of 26. Both movies also have the same title but one starred Caroll Baker and was produced by Embassy Pictures and Prometheus Enterprises Inc. while the second movie starred Carol Lynley and was produced by TheatroFilm.The Graduate (1967) & You're a Big Boy Now (1966)The first movie is a classic while the second is already all forgotten but both have similar plots of young men having romances with older women.Yours, Mine and Ours (1968) & With Six You Get Eggroll (1968)The first starred comic legend Lucille Ball and the second starred another legend, Doris Day, and both were about widowed parents marrying and combining their families.Leo the Last (1970) & The Landlord (1970)Both deal with issues of class and race and feature an upper-class white man who moves into a lower-class black neighborhood and gets involved with the residents.Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song (1971) & Shaft (1971)The second movie is more well known, especially with the soundtrack by Isaac Hayes and both movies are the earliest examples of the blaxploitation genre.Jesus Christ Superstar (1973) & Godspell (1973)Both movies are based on Broadway musicals based on the life of Jesus Christ but the first is the more successful one, having been adapted to stage countless times afterwards.The Gambler (1974) & California Split (1974)Both movies are about gamblers with addictions and shows them on a downward spiral as they struggle with their addictions.The Conversation (1974) & The Parallax View (1974)Both movies are directed by formidable directors of the day, Francis Ford Coppola and Alan J. Pakula respectively and both deal with paranoia and conspiracy theories.Cannonball! (1976) & The Gumball Rally (1976)Both movies are about illegal cross country races and the people participating in them, the first one being more well known than the second.Coming Home (1978) & The Deer Hunter (1978)The end of the Vietnam War saw many movies being made about it and these two movies told stories about how returning war veterans dealt with the aftermaths of the war they had participated in with some more tragic aftermaths.Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979) & Dracula (1979) & Love at First Bite (1979)All three were based on Bram Stoker’s Dracula novel but the last was a comedy while the first two were serious adaptions.The Amityville Horror (1979) & The Shining (1980)Although the second movie has a more legendary status, the first movie also set the standard for horror movies in Hollywood. Both are about a family moving into a building where the previous family of tenants had been murdered, and the father ultimately murdering his own family with an axe.Border Cop (1980) & The Border (1982)Both movies are about the trials and tribulations of being an officer of the US Border Patrol and some of the things that can happen to them. A third movie about the same topic starring Charles Bronson was made called Borderline (1980) but it had more of an action theme than the other two.An American Werewolf in London (1981) & Wolfen (1981) & The Howling (1981)The first one is the classic tale of werewolves and takes place in London and the second takes place in New York about a police officer investigating a series of killings committed by wolves and the third is about a town inhabited by werewolves.Porky's (1981) & The Last American Virgin (1982) & Screwballs (1983) & Losin' It (1983)All are sex comedies and revolve around a group of men trying to lose their virginity or on some sex related mission. The last one starred a very young Tom Cruise who would gain (professional) ground the same year with Risky Business (1983).First Blood (1982) & Some Kind of Hero (1982)Both movies dealt with Vietnam War veterans having trouble re-adjusting to life back in civilian reality and while the first is a serious action drama which cemented Sylvester Stallone’s rise to fame, the second is a dramedy starring Richard Pryror.Wild Style (1983) & Beat Street (1984)Both movies had varying plots but both revolved around the rise of hip hop music and culture. Both movies were probably made to cash in on the successes of Flashdance (1983) and Fame (1980), which were both about dance and music and both made a year/two years earlier.Country (1984) & Places in the Heart (1984) & The River (1984)All three movies were about the difficulties of living and managing a farm especially in the face of tragedy. All three had female leading roles by some of the era’s best Hollywood actresses - Jessica Lange, Sissy Spacek and Sally Field respectively.A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) & Dreamscape (1984)Both movies are about people entering the dreams of others and being able to kill them in real-life by killing them in their dreams but the first has become a horror classic and had an iconic horror figure in the form of Freddy Krueger. It was also Johnny Depp’s first credited movie while the second has largely been forgotten or unknown.Gremlins (1984) & Ghoulies (1984)The first has become a classic horror comedy movie and my guess is the second was made to cash in on the craze of small fantastical creatures creating mayhem and havoc on the public.Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985) & Commando (1985)The first was a sequel but both movies are essentially about a one man action machine fighting evil forces of the world. Both also starred the leading action heroes of the day who would go head to head at the box office with a lot of their respective movies.Day of the Dead (1985) & The Return of the Living Dead (1985)Both movies are about zombies unleashing their horror onto the world, either by accident or on purpose. The first was made by horror maestro George A. Romero and is part of the franchise which includes the horror zombie classic Night of the Living Dead (1968).Weird Science (1985) & Real Genius (1985) & My Science Project (1985)All three movies were about teenagers/nerds experimenting with science, some for their own selfish needs but who ultimately learn the dangers science and technology when used for bad instead of good.Back to the Future (1985) & Peggy Sue Got Married (1986)Both movies are about going back in time and meeting high school versions of their family members, played by the same actors. While the first is a classic, the second gets points by being directed by the great Francis Ford Coppola.Platoon (1986) & Full Metal Jacket (1987)Both are critically acclaimed movies and both are about the Vietnam War and the hell the soldiers go through while fighting it.The Lost Boys (1987) &, Fright Night (1985) *, Near Dark (1987) & Vamp (1986)All four movies are about teenagers battling vampires with the first two being more known than the others. Near Dark (1987) gets points for being the only one to be directed by a future Oscar winner, Kathryn Bigelow.Top Gun (1986) & Iron Eagle (1986)Both movies are about fighter pilots with attractive leading actors and the first one spearheaded Tom Cruise into massive mainstream success and only recently had a sequel. Iron Eagle had a rescue mission subplot and spawned three sequels, all co-starring Louis Gossett Jr.The Transformers: The Movie (1986) & GoBots: Battle of the Rock Lords (1986)While the first movie has gone on to box office fame and success in live action, it started out as an animated movie. Just like the first movie, the second is also based on a toy line about transforming robots and gains points for featuring the voice of Kojak actor Telly Savalas.An American Tail (1986) & The Great Mouse Detective (1986)Both are animated movies about mice with the second one gaining points for featuring the voice of legendary horror maestro Vincent Price. There is a whole blog dedicated to twin animated movies Twin Animated FilmsRoboCop (1987) & The Vindicator (1986)The first has become a science fiction classic and already remade while the second is largely unknown. Both are about an innocent man who is left mutilated and near-dead by villains and then is reconstructed into a cyborg, ultimately seeking revenge on the people responsible for his fate.The Secret of My Succe$s (1987) & Working Girl (1988)Both are set in New York City about people starting new jobs at entry level who then pretend to be executives, coming up with takeover ideas and getting the girl/guy that was initially "out of their league". The soundtrack to the second movie ‘Let The River Run’ also won Carly Simon an Oscar at the 1989 Academy Awards.Like Father Like Son (1987) & Big (1988) & Vice Versa (1988) & 18 Again! (1988)All four movies are about boys and adult men, some of them sons and fathers, switching their bodies and getting into mischief, adventure and fun with them. They also made a TV movie 14 Going on 30 (TV Movie 1988) with the same concept but the second one is the only which remains to be mentioned primarily for Tom Hanks.Dangerous Liaisons (1988) & Valmont (1989)Both movies are based on the novel Les Liaisons dangereuses by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos[1][1][1][1] with the first having more luscious filming settings and a brilliant Glenn Close as the villain.Turner & Hooch (1989) & K-9 (1989)There is absolute no difference in either movies as it’s essentially about a cop who gets assigned a dog as new partner. Of course, they first don’t get along but eventually they become best friends and even manage to take down a few drug dealers along the way.Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991) & Robin Hood (1991)Because the second one was released in the same year as the first, it did not receive a theatrical release so has been largely forgotten. It however had a better leading man who actually spoke English with a British accent as opposed to whatever Kevin Costner was trying. However, the first still gains points for having the great Alan Rickman as a villain.Point Break (1991) & Stone Cold (1991) & Beyond the Law (1993)Although only the first is known to most audiences, the other two were made to cash in on the plot of the first - crime action movie with lots of stunts where an undercover cop must infiltrate a criminal organization while having to cope with difficult superiors. The first gains points for having Keanu Reeves and amazing surfing and beach filming.1492: Conquest of Paradise (1992) & Christopher Columbus: The Discovery (1992)To mark the 500th year anniversary of Christopher Columbus’ exploration to the New World, two movies were released about the voyage he made. The first was directed by Ridley Scott with Frenchman Gérard Depardieu playing Columbus and a fantastic soundtrack provided by Vangelis. The second had Marlon Brando but also a very miscasted Tom Selleck as King Ferdinand and has largely remained off the radar when it comes to movies about Columbus.Little Big League (1994) & Rookie of the Year (1993)The first is about a boy who gains ownership of a baseball team. The second is about a boy who is gifted a powerful arm for pitching in baseball. It’s hardly a stretch.Kalifornia (1993) & Natural Born Killers (1994)Both are about a sadistic couple engaging in killing sprees across several states and all directly or loosely based on real murderer Charles Starkweather and both have Juliette Lewis as the lead actress. While the second is more critically acclaimed, having been directed by Oliver Stone and written by Quentin Tarantino, the first has Brad Pitt at the height of his career.Tombstone (1993) & Wyatt Earp (1994)While the first is an ensemble movie, both centred around the legendary gunman from the Wild West, Wyatt Earp. Dennis Quaid played Doc Holliday to perfection, just like Val Kilmer did but Costner insisted that the film concentrate on Wyatt Earp alone rather than the rest of the group so he went off to do the other movie which didn’t fare as well as the first. In time, the first movie has also been upheld as the superior one especially with its strong cast and 20 years after the fact, more details have emerged about the movie to cement its legendary status.[2][2][2][2]Terminal Velocity (1994) & Drop Zone (1994)Both are actions movies about skydiving with the first movie involving the Russian mafia and the second involving a hacker. Hardly a stretch though. A made for TV movie Cutaway (TV Movie 2000) about skydiving was also made to cash in on the popularity of the first two.Blown Away (1994) & Speed (1994)Both movies are about bombings by people who were once in law enforcement of some kind and how they are out for revenge for something the other did. The first movie starred Tommy Lee Jones and Jeff Bridges as former colleagues who share a complicated history together. Keanu Reeves’ and Sandra Bullock’s career. This time, it’s Dennis Hopper playing retired bomb squad member Howard Payne arming a bus with a bomb that will explode if it drops below 50 miles per hour.The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994) & To Wong Foo Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar (1995)The second movie was a remake of the first which was an Australian production about a trio of drag queens who make a cross country trip only to be stranded in a town in the middle of nowhere. While the first is critically acclaimed, the second gains points for having the great Robin Williams in the uncredited role of John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt.Street Fighter (1994) & Mortal Kombat (1995)Both were action adventure movies and based on game franchises. Both were also martial arts adventures but the second one was directed by Paul W.S. Anderson , who would later direct the Resident Evil (2002) but the first one had Jean-Claude Van Damme and Kylie Minogue in the cast.Babe (1995) & Gordy (1995)Both are about the comic misadventures of a talking pig who was orphaned after finding out that their parents were sent to a slaughterhouse. Most people don’t even know about Gordy (1995) (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0113199/) and perhaps it would have worked had it changed some plotlines i.e. how his parents died.Braveheart (1995) & Rob Roy (1995)Both are based on Scottish legends and while the first went on to win Oscars and box office success, it has since been inundated by the many inaccuracies depicted in the movie about the life of its title character, William Wallace[3][3][3][3]. The second movie is based on the legend of the Scottish equivalent of Robin Hood and starred a then little known Liam Neeson who has gone on to cinematic glory with his roles in the Taken movies.Showgirls (1995) & Striptease (1996)Both are erotic drama movies which centre around a lead female character who is also a stripper. Both movies were also critically panned but the first movie has since garnered success through home video market and the second movie made up for its lack of popularity in USA through the overseas market.The Jackal (1997) & The Assignment (1997)Both are action movies centering around the character called ‘The Jackal’. Although the first is better known being a Bruce Willis and Richard Gere movie, the second gets a higher rating on IMDB and has Donald Sutherland in it.Kundun (1997) & Seven Years in Tibet (1997)Both are fact-based dramas set in mid-20th century Tibet with the 14th Dalai Lama as the main character. While the first movie is devoid of any non Tibetan actors, the second is a Brad Pitt starring vehicle about the life of Heinrich Harrer, an Austrian mountain climber who became friends with the Dalai Lama at the time of China's takeover of Tibet.Dante's Peak (1997) & Volcano (1997)Troubled heroes manage to save the people they care about (and a few others) from a volcano that's erupting in their city. Both somehow prevent catastrophic damage to the city while really not doing a whole lot. Both movies also end with the volcano still being an active threat to erupt again.Prefontaine (1997) & Without Limits (1998)Both are biopics about the life of Olympic hopeful Steve Prefontaine who died in an accident before he made it to the 1972 Olympics.The Peacekeeper (1997) & The Peacemaker (1997)Both movies revolve around the race to stop arsenal nuclear weapons from being detonated in a terrorist attack. The first one is considered a B movie of sorts while the first did fairly well at the box office and had A list George Clooney and Nicole Kidman in the lead roles.54 (1998) & The Last Days of Disco (1998)Both movies centre around the waning disco era of the late 1970’s with the first movie about the social elite crowd of the famous Studio 54 in New York. The second movie is loosely based on director Whit Stillman's personal experiences in various Manhattan discos including Studio 54.Tale of the Mummy (1998) & The Mummy (1999)Both movies are about mummies coming back to life and terrorising people but the second is the more successful one, spawning two sequels and a recent remake by Tom Cruise.Dark City (1998) & The Matrix (1999) & eXistenZ (1999) & The Thirteenth Floor (1999)All four are science fiction movies centering around the plot of whether the world is real or an illusion. All except for *Dark City* involve virtual reality in a computer system.The Truman Show (1998) & Edtv (1999)While the first movie has a serious undertone, both explore the onset of reality television which has become ubiquitous in present time. Both movies were produced around the same time and were aware of the other’s existence but Edtv was marketed as a comedy and they were sure that nobody would go to see Jim Carrey in such a serious drama. One side effect that hurt Edtv was the huge summer 1998 success of "The Truman Show", which led Universal to insist that the promotions for Edtv make it look like more of a broad slapstick comedy than it actually was, and contributed to the film underachieving after its March 1999 release.Armageddon (1998) & Deep Impact (1998)The turn of the century saw a flurry of conspiracy theories and urban legends including the destruction of the planet in the form of a big rock collision. While the first movie was the more successful one, the second movie gains points for having Morgan Freeman as the US President.A Bug's Life (1998) & Antz (1998)Both movies revolve around an ant colony under some form of oppression, with a protagonist who just wants to be himself and not conform to societal norms. Antz came out a month earlier but it still feels like Antz is a total ripoff of A Bug's Life.Entrapment (1999) & The Thomas Crown Affair (1999)Both are heist movies with a beautiful leading actresses and a male thieves who steal expensive paintings by a famous artist. Both ladies would also get romantically involved with the leading men, the first of which caused a stir with the wide age gap between Sean Connery and Catherine Zeta Jones. Coincidentally, both male leads have also portrayed James Bond with Sean Connery being the first of course. The second movie gains points for its soundtrack of a cover of ‘Windmills Of Your Mind’ by Sting.End of Days (1999) & Stigmata (1999) & Lost Souls (2000)All three movies centre around a plot involving the Catholic Church with Gabriel Byrne starring in the first two, in the first as Satan and the second as a priest in which he recalled wearing the same Armani suit for both roles. While the second movie mostly dealt with the phenomenon of stigmata, *End of Days* and *Lost Souls *involved the theme of Satan taking possession of a man's body.The Haunting (1999) & House on Haunted Hill (1999)Both movies are about a group of strangers brought under false pretenses to spend a night in a haunted house. Both are based on original works from 1959 with similar names, the first movie being based on a novel ‘The Haunting of Hill House’ and the second being a remake of House on Haunted Hill (1959) starring Vincent Price. Catherine Zeta Jones appears for a second time on this list with her role in the first movie with Liam Neeson.Bicentennial Man (1999) & A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001)While the first movie is more a family centric one starring Robin Williams, the second is highly rated and critically acclaimed direced by Steven Spielberg. Both are science fiction films involving the theme of humanoid robots seeking transformation to be human.Mission to Mars (2000) & Red Planet (2000)Both are sci-fi movies set in the future about a mission to Mars that goes horribly wrong where people end up dying.Pearl Harbor (2001) & Captain Corelli's Mandolin (2001)While the first movie was supposed to be about the start of World War II in USA, both movies are essentially love stories set against the backdrop of the war. The first movie grossed more money but the second one gains points just for the cinematography alone.Stealing Harvard (2002) & Orange County (2002)Both movies are about the trials and tribulations of gaining entry into prestigious colleges Harvard and Stanford, respectively.Liberty Stands Still (2002) & Phone Booth (2002)Both movies revolve around people who answer a ringing phone in a public place and are held hostage there by a sniper who has an agenda. The second one was directed by Joel Schumacher and is more highly rated whereas the other one went largely unnoticed.Finding Nemo (2003) & Shark Tale (2004)Both animated movies are set in the ocean with a father son relationship subplot to the stories. Although the first is more successful, the second one gets points for being my young daughter’s favourite and features voices by Robert de Niro, Martin Scorsese, Will Smith, Renee Zelleweger, Angelina Jolie and others.Million Dollar Baby (2004) & Against the Ropes (2004)Both movies are about boxing and both have female leads. The first stars Hillary Swank and directed by Clint Eastwood while the second stars Meg Ryan about who had to fight sexism and prejudice to become the first female boxing promoter.Freddy vs. Jason (2003) & AVP: Alien vs. Predator (2004)Both movies feature horror icons from movies of the 1980’s returning to reign terror amongst the local population but this time, they’re also out to kill each other .Chasing Liberty (2004) & First Daughter (2004)Both are rom coms about the daughter of the USA President trying to live a normal life by ditching the Secret Service and dating a “regular” guy.The Cave (2005) & The Descent (2005)Both movies are about expeditions where the people are trapped in underwater caves and must battle terrifying creatures to get out alive. The second is more highly rated but the first stars a pre Games of Thrones Lena Headey.Red Eye (2005) & Flightplan (2005)Both movies are action thrillers set in an airplane and both have female leads. While the first revolves around an assassination plot, the second is about a woman trying to find her missing daughter whom nobody believes is missing or even exists.Madagascar (2005) & The Wild (2006)The first movie is my daughter’s favourite and I have had to watch it to death so the second one totally escaped me. There is no contest as to which is the better one as we have been gifted King Julien and his eternal rendition of ‘I Like To Move It Move It’ and the Penguins s ’just smile and wave boys’.Infamous (2006) & Capote (2005)Both movies are about Truman Capote but the second one was more successful, having nabbed Philip Seymour Hoffman an Oscar for his portrayal as Truman Capote during the time he wrote his novel Cold Blood.Happy Feet (2006) & Surf's Up (2007)"Happy Feet" was released eight months before "Surf's Up," so the idea is to their credit but both movies are about a penguin who is different from the others in his pack and trying to fit in to the group so it’s not a stretch.Flight 93 (TV Movie 2006) & United 93 (2006)Both movies are about the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York on September 11th.Beowulf (2007) & Beowulf & Grendel (2005)The movies are about a year apart but are both based on a Scandinavian legend of Beowulf, who battles the monster Grendel whose mother vows revenge after it is killed by Beowulf. The first movie has a star studded cast which included Anthony Hopkins and Angelina Jolie and the second is a mostly Icelandic production which had Stellan Skarsgard and Gerard Butler in the cast.The Prestige (2006) & The Illusionist (2006)Both movies are about 19th century illusionists with Christopher Nolan directing the first just a year before he embarked on the groundbreaking Dark Knight trilogy which starred Christopher Bale, who also starred in this movie. The second movie is more of a love story about an illusionist’s pursuit of the woman he loves.Taken (2008) - A retired CIA agent travels across Europe and relies on his old skills to save his estranged daughter, who has been kidnapped while on a trip to Paris.Stolen (2012) - A former thief frantically searches for his missing daughter, who has been kidnapped and locked in the trunk of a taxi.3 Days to Kill (2014) - A dying CIA agent trying to reconnect with his estranged daughter is offered an experimental drug that could save his life in exchange for one last assignment.The November Man (2014) - An ex-C.I.A. operative is brought back in on a very personal mission and finds himself pitted against his former pupil in a deadly game involving high level C.I.A. officials and the Russian President-elect.John Wick (2014) - An ex-hitman comes out of retirement to track down the gangsters that killed his dog and took everything from him.It’s safe to say that after the massive success of the first movie, studios were scrambling to cash in on the ‘lone gunman out on a mission’ plot but other than John Wick, the others have fallen short of expectations.Coco Before Chanel (2009) & Coco Chanel (TV Movie 2008) & Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky (2009)All three movies are about Coco Chanel, with the second (starring Audrey Tatou) centering on the years before she became successful with the third about her alleged affair with Russian-born composer, pianist, and conductor Igor Stravinsky in 1920, the same year she created Chanel No.5. The first movie concentrates on her older years and is portrayed by Shirley Maclaine and is spoken only in English whereas the other two movies are spoken in French, Chanel’s native language.Paul Blart: Mall Cop (2009) & Observe and Report (2009)Both films depict portly security guards who have a crush on the hot girl from the mall, then realize that they have to take matters into their own hands and save the mall. Even the romantic interest in both movies look similar - they could have at least let Jayma Mays keep her natural hair colour in the movie. (Left is Jayma Mays from Observe and Report and right is Anna Faris from Paul Blart: Mall Cop)Friends with Benefits (2011) & No Strings Attached (2011)Both are (supposed) rom coms as they deal with the millenial-found problem of having sex with your friends while keeping it strictly platonic. Of course, those things never work and both movies have the inevitable ‘falling in love at the end’ bit.Snow White and the Huntsman (2012) & Mirror Mirror (2012)While Charlize Theron delivered a fantastic portrayal of the evil Stepmother, Julia Roberts failed miserably in hers and in time, Snow White and the Huntsman (2012) has been upheld as the better movie although the second movie is the more faithful re-telling of the classic fairy tale.The World's End (2013) & This Is the End (2013)The first movie is the third and last of the Cornetto trilogy[4][4][4][4] so it’s definitely the original. As a favour to Simon Pegg, Seth Rogen changed the title of his movie to from "The End of the World" to ‘This is the End’ but the first one is definitely the better one.Death at a Funeral (2007), Death at a Funeral (2010), August: Osage County (2013) & This Is Where I Leave You (2014)All four movies revolve around a death of a family member and the ensuing chaos and upheaval as family members gather for the funeral. Some are comedic and some are dramatic but the basis plot line is the same.Road to Perdition (2002) & Run All Night (2015)Both movies are about longtime trusted hitmen (Tom Hanks and Liam Neeson respectively, who clashes with their bosses (Paul Newman and Ed Harris respectively_ when their sons make things personal (Daniel Craig and Boyd Holbrook) and target their own children (Tyler Hoechlin and Joel Kinnaman. As a result, a target is put out on them by professional assassins. Both films also conclude at a family cabin.Image source:-1992's Two Columbus Movies, Head-to-Headhttps://childtransitzone.com/5-pairs-of-characters-you-didnt-realize-were-the-same-guy/These Movie Pairs Were Total Twins And Even Came Out At The Same TimeTHERE ARE 2 NEW GHOSTBUSTERS :: 13 PAIRS OF IDENTICAL TWIN MOVIESThe Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert Movie Posterk-ratedMovie Duel: Street Fighter vs. Mortal KombatWhat Are 'Twin Films'? Examples Of Two Competing Films In Cinema - Page 30 of 32Alien vs Predator VS Freddy vs JasonEpisode 55: Braveheart (1995) and Rob Roy (1995)Competing Film ShowdownFootnotes[1] Les Liaisons dangereuses - Wikipedia[1] Les Liaisons dangereuses - Wikipedia[1] Les Liaisons dangereuses - Wikipedia[1] Les Liaisons dangereuses - Wikipedia[2] How 'Tombstone' Out-Dueled 'Wyatt Earp'[2] How 'Tombstone' Out-Dueled 'Wyatt Earp'[2] How 'Tombstone' Out-Dueled 'Wyatt Earp'[2] How 'Tombstone' Out-Dueled 'Wyatt Earp'[3] The Many Historical Facts The Movie 'Braveheart' Got Wrong... And One It Got Right[3] The Many Historical Facts The Movie 'Braveheart' Got Wrong... And One It Got Right[3] The Many Historical Facts The Movie 'Braveheart' Got Wrong... And One It Got Right[3] The Many Historical Facts The Movie 'Braveheart' Got Wrong... And One It Got Right[4] Three Flavours Cornetto trilogy - Wikipedia[4] Three Flavours Cornetto trilogy - Wikipedia[4] Three Flavours Cornetto trilogy - Wikipedia[4] Three Flavours Cornetto trilogy - Wikipedia