Third-Party and Independent Presidential Candidates: The Need for a Runoff Mechanism

Consider what 2016 might have looked like if this better electoral system had been in place. Bloomberg then could have entered the race without risking being a spoiler. In a three-way race—Bloomberg, Clinton, and Trump—Bloomberg might have fizzled out, leaving a two-way race between Clinton and Trump. Since that is essentially how the election ended up anyway, the country would have been no worse off for having had a chance to consider Bloomberg as an alternative. But suppose, however, with Trump’s candidacy spinning out of control in a series of unacceptable comments (as it appeared to do in early August),11 the American electorate might have preferred a head-to-head matchup between Bloomberg and Clinton, rather than one between Trump and Clinton. Maybe Clinton would have beaten Bloomberg in that head-to-head matchup. That is fine; that is a democratic choice reflecting the preference of the electorate. But maybe Bloomberg would have beaten Clinton. We will never know, because the actual system in place was not designed to enable the American electorate to have that choice. In this respect, the existing system is deficient. It deprives the American electorate of an option it should have. The purpose of this Article is to offer a repair for this deficiency

An engine trade study for a supersonic STOVL fighter-attack aircraft, volume 1

The best main engine for an advanced STOVL aircraft flight demonstrator was studied. The STOVL aircraft uses ejectors powered by engine bypass flow together with vectored core exhaust to achieve vertical thrust capability. Bypass flow and core flow are exhausted through separate nozzles during wingborne flight. Six near term turbofan engines were examined for suitability for this aircraft concept. Fan pressure ratio, thrust split between bypass and core flow, and total thrust level were used to compare engines. One of the six candidate engines was selected for the flight demonstrator configuration. Propulsion related to this aircraft concept was studied. A preliminary candidate for the aircraft reaction control system for hover attitude control was selected. A mathematical model of transfer of bypass thrust from ejectors to aft directed nozzle during the transition to wingborne flight was developed. An equation to predict ejector secondary air flow rate and ram drag is derived. Additional topics discussed include: nozzle area control, ejector to engine inlet reingestion, bypass/core thrust split variation, and gyroscopic behavior during hover

Tax Code Section 527 Groups Not an End-Run Around McCain-Feingold

This article ... will analyze both the statutory and constitutional questions concerning whether 527organizations are ‘‘political committees’’ under FECA and thus subject to the $5,000 cap on the contributions they receive from each donor. The article will also consider whether other forms of tax-exempt organizations besides 527s—most notably so-called 501(c)(4) organizations—provide an alternative means of circumventing this$5,000 contribution limit

The heavy quark's self energy from moving NRQCD on the lattice

We present a calculation of the heavy quark's self energy in moving NRQCD to one-loop in perturbation theory. Results for the energy shift and external momentum renormalisation are discussed and compared with non-perturbative results. We show that the momentum renormalisation is small, which is the result of a remnant of re-parameterisation invariance on the lattice.Comment: Talk given at Lattice2004(heavy), Fermilab, June 21-26, 200