“Rules Don’t Apply” brings back life and times of Howard Hughes by Sam Bauman

I‘m sure that this information would have helped voters, but it might help to quash arguments. Keep it hand for the next election.

The vote of the Elector College for president was held Monday. Surprises were not expected. Below is some information from the U.S. Federal Register that may answer the question of what are the qualifications for an elector.

“The U.S. Constitution contains very few provisions relating to the qualifications of electors. No one in an office of Trust or Profit under the United States shall be appointed an elector. The National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS) has compiled a brief summary of state laws about the procedures, which vary from state to state, for selecting slates of potential electors and for conducting the meeting of the electors. The document, Summary: State Laws Regarding Presidential Electors, can be downloaded from the NASS website. Each state’s Certificates of Ascertainment confirms the names of its appointed electors. A state’s certification of its electors is generally sufficient to establish the qualifications of electors, a two-part process.

“The first part of the process is controlled by the political parties in each state and varies. Generally, the parties either nominate slates of potential electors at party conventions or they chose them by a vote of the party’s central committee. This happens in each state for each party by whatever rules the state party and (sometimes) the national party have for the process. They may be state elected officials, state party leaders, or people in the state who have a personal or political affiliation with their party’s Presidential candidate.

“The second part of the process happens on Election Day. When the voters in each state cast votes for the presidential candidate of their choice they are voting to select their state’s electors.

“The winning presidential candidate’s slate of potential electors are appointed as the state’s electors — except in Nebraska and Maine, which have proportional distribution of the electors. In Nebraska and Maine, the state winner receives two electors and the winner of each congressional district (who may be the same as the overall winner or a different candidate) receives one elector. This system permits the electors from Nebraska and Maine to be awarded to more than one candidate.”

However, there’s no law that requires electors to vote according to the popular vote. In our history, more than 99 percent of electors have voted as pledge, according to U.S. Federal Register.

To read more visit: https://www.archives.gov/federal-register/electoral-college/electors.html

Movie “Rules Don’t Apply”

Rarely has a movie title been as factually correct as this one about Howard Hughes and how he lived his chaotic life. Not to say that all reported in the film is accurate, so we just have to accept the story as told. Those of older generations may remember a World War I movie called “Hell’s Angels,” produced and directed by the millionaire “at 19 Howard Hughes.” Part of that 1920s film is shown in scenes of “Rules Don’t Apply,” directed and starring Warren Beatty as Howard which is a biopic of Hughes.

If the film has moved on to the Stadium cinema on North Carson Street.

Hughes made several movies, including “Scarface” and his “Hell’s Angles” was nominated for an Oscar.

Here veteran actor Warren Beatty plays Hughes as well as directs. How factual it is remains an open question.

But it’s well worth watching as Hughes lives in Hollywood and brings women there for screen tests for future movie roles. Lily Collins is one of those girls and after her screen test engages in unprotected sex with Hughes. She flees and decides to keep the embryo.

Hughes, 6-foot-6 raw Texan, well played by Beatty, roughhouses through life becoming less and less sane. As most Nevadans know he wound up in a Las Vegas hotel that he bought so he could hide out there.

Lots of questions left open in the film, as when he borrows a C-47 and staggers around in the air with no conclusion.

Final scenes are of him in bed with a telephone strapped to his chest. Collins visits bringing their son who amuses Hughes. But Collins sees her boyfriend from the old days and they and the son walk off into a bright day.

Not a great film, but many of us who remember Hughes can enjoy. Yeah, the rules didn’t apply to Howard Hughes. And as the scenes from “Hell’s Angels” are shown as background, it’s easy to see how good a director he was.

Sam Bauman writes about senior affairs, among other things, for the Nevada Appeal.