Archive for January 12th, 2012

What happens if no presidential candidate gets 270 electoral votes?

January 12, 2012

Below is our original post from January 2012 … way before it’s time.

The facts are still the same, but the context has changed with Obama going head-to-head with Romney … and folks asking “What if they tie?”

Click here for an updated post specific to Obama-Romney

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What happens if no presidential candidate gets 270 electoral votes?
The Homa Files, January 2012

There are still rumbles that some candidate (think Ron Paul) might run as a 3rd party candidate.

The conventional pundit wisdom is that a 3rd party candidate who splits off from the GOP would simply siphon off GOP votes and seal Obama’s re-election.

I have another scenario to offer up.

What if Ron Paul ran on a 3rd party ticket and was able to win one or more swing states?

Sounds crazy, but think Wisconsin, Colorado and New Hampshire … ‘wildcard’ swing states with large college populations.

Keep in mind that Paul has enthusiastic support among college kids and young adults … partly driven by his staunch anti-war philosophies, his reverence for the Constitution  and his unshakable candor.

To that point, it’s being reported that — based on exit polls — Ron Paul won over  half of the votes of those under 30 in the New Hampshire contest.

Imagine that Paul wins enough electoral delegates to keep Obama or, say, Romney from reaching the magic number – 270 electoral votes.

What happens if no presidential candidate gets 270 electoral votes?

According to the Electoral College web site …

If no candidate receives a majority of electoral votes, the House of Representatives elects the President from the 3 Presidential candidates who received the most electoral votes. Each State delegation has one vote.

The Senate would elect the Vice President from the 2 Vice Presidential candidates with the most electoral votes, with each Senator casting one vote for Vice President.

So, the Congressional arm that Obama keeps ranting about could be the body that ultimately determines whether he’ll be living in DC or Chicago after the election.

Wouldn’t that ironic twist be fun to watch ?

Click here for an updated post specific to Obama-Romney

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Quick: How much tea do Americans drink?

January 12, 2012

No, it’s not a case interview question, but it could be. 

Answer: In 2010, 3 billion gallons of tea was consumed by 154 million folks in the U.S.  That’s about half of the U.S. population drinking a bit under a half-gallon per week per drinker..

Some other factoids from the Tea Association of the USA:

  • tIn 2010, the US imported more tea than the UK
  • Southerners and Northeasterners are the most likely tea drinkers.
  • The split is about 80-20 between black and green tea.
  • The split is about 85-15 between iced and hot.
  • So-called herbal teas aren’t really teas … they’re leaves, roots, bark and/or flowers.

Recent reports have touted tea’s health benefits, especially cardiac health:

“People who drink more tea do appear to have less risk of heart disease, and for those who have developed some cardiac event like a heart attack, those who are tea drinkers seem to have a lower incidence of a second event.”

Researchers suspect that natural components in tea, particularly a class of polyphenol antioxidants known as flavonoids, are responsible for tea’s health benefits

How much tea is needed for good health?

Researchers say 3 to 5  cups per day  is where you start to see benefits.

Tips for maximum health benefits:

  • Ready-to-drink and instant teas are diluted, so you’re not getting as strong a dose of flavonoids as you would from a cup of freshly brewed hot tea,.
  • For optimum flavonoids, drink tea soon after it’s brewed.
  • When you add sugar or buy it sweetened, you turn a zero-calorie beverage that’s great for hydrating the body and has half the caffeine of coffee into a drink loaded calories.

Excerpted from USAtoday.com, “Reading the tea leaves is easy: A brew can be beneficial”

Edit by KJM

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