voting
Postmortems of voting woes, disenfranchisement, and how countries around the world elect government officials.
A Look at the Last Nine Years Under National
I was raised in New Zealand and lived there most of my life. Looking in on this election from overseas, I think it'd be a great time to recap what National has done for our country over the past nine years—the good, the bad, and the plain ugly.
By Archie Swenson7 years ago in The Swamp
America at War
Have you noticed that all of the wars that America has been dragged into by our power hungry and heartless leaders seem to go on and on for decades? We never hear of any talks or negotiations or any desire to resolve the conflicts in the middle east and abroad. Afganistan, Iraq, Syria, Isreal, Palestine to name a few. Isreal and Palestine have been bombing each other for more than half a Millennium. We give them equipment to bomb the Palestinians and other countries give to Palestine to kill the Isrealis.
By Donald Morris7 years ago in The Swamp
We Are Living In Scary Times!!
Well, here we are. Well into the new millennium. Y2K didn't destroy us all and the second coming has been canceled due to invalidity. But if there is a good and evil it does not seem to discriminate on Party lines. But our incomprehensible Commander and Chief is so ridiculous, is such an awful person and compulsive liar. How is it that the most important job in our country is held by such a man AND we don't get to hold him accountable. All the PROVEN lies and the hate attacks to so many people. There should be a code of ethics and morality and decency that comes with that position. Donald J. Trump is making a mockery of this High Office and has no sympathy for his own people. The other countries are laughing at us because this buffoon was SELECTED into office (not elected). Americans spent a billion dollar on campaign contributions to two Clowns making a fool of themselves in front of the world. We are a laughing stock of the world for the RIDICULOUS display of politics that we have put on. I as an intelligent American am appalled by it and am ashamed for our country and the real heart of America, its people. The worst thing about it for me is that after all they money and the big disgusting circus we had to endure our vote didn't even count! Clinton won by over 3 million votes? What's the point of having an election if the "Electoral College" gets to choose who the President is??? I will bet there are some Americans who don't even know what the Electoral College is. Well here it is in a nutshell...
By Donald Morris7 years ago in The Swamp
On Why Democrats are the Greater Problem for Progressives
The virtually identical governance structures within our duopoly, i.e., the Democratic and Republican parties, pose virtually identical civic dangers. The results of their policies are virtually indistinguishable notwithstanding their differing rhetoric and propaganda which fools the gullible into thinking otherwise. That is especially true given the collusion of the mainstream “disinformation” media. Their main difference is that one is hypocritical and cynical while the other is just blatantly wrong; very, very wrong, at least from a progressive perspective. It brings to mind the defense of a politician accused of wrong doing arguing that she was not corrupt, merely inept; in either case, of course, that’s hardly a solace to the people affected (see, e.g., the campaigns and administrations of Bill and Hillary Clinton, George W. Bush, Barrack Obama and most recently, Donald J. Trump).wrong doing arguing that she was not corrupt, merely inept; in either case, of course, that’s hardly a solace to the people affected (see, e.g., the campaigns and administrations of Bill and Hillary Clinton, George W. Bush, Barrack Obama and most recently, Donald J. Trump).
By Guillermo Calvo7 years ago in The Swamp
Why Can Democrats Take Heart After Losing Four Special Congressional Elections in a Row?
Much has been made of the Democratic loss in the special House election held for Georgia's 6th District near Atlanta. It has been the most expensive campaign for a U.S. House seat in, like, forever; upwards of $50 million US. The reason so much was spent (most from sources outside of GA) is that Jon Ossoff, the Democratic candidate, was not supposed to have a chance of winning this district; no Democrat has for the last 40 years. Further, this district has produced two of the most conservative legislators that Congress has seen, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Rep. Tom Price (now charged with dismantling the Affordable Care Act a.k.a Obamacare) as Secretary of Health and Human Services in the Trump administration. Yet win it he almost did in the guerrilla primary in a field of 16+ candidates with 48.1% of the vote. (If he had received 50.001%, he would have won in the 1st round.) The closest runner-up, Karen Handel, a conservative out of the Price mold, received just 19.8%.
By Scott Belford7 years ago in The Swamp
What Would George Washington Think?
I had a dream. There I was on the set of my my own talk show, and in the guest chair was the original president. George Washington hit his peak when you could send a first-class letter using a three-cent stamp with his face on it. The polls show that Washington hasn't stood the test of time. Gone from the charts and from our hearts, in his time he was number one at everything. Real groundbreaking stuff. Washington, whose sales are slumping, is still one of only four Americans to make it onto the side of Mount Rushmore.
By Frank White7 years ago in The Swamp
The End of the US Constitution
Reading that title what first comes to mind? Do you think I am anti-American? Do you immediately assume I am a rebelling millennial? Do you assume I don't know any better? Or perhaps you are intrigued? You have come across something you have thought about, but never dreamed of speaking aloud?
By Brian Paredes7 years ago in The Swamp