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Top-Two Election Reform Will Not Boost Voter Participation -- On Its Own
Top-Two Election Reform Will Not Boost Voter Participation -- On Its Own
On Friday, February 6, the Cook Political Report published an article on the impact the nonpartisan, top-two primary and independent redistricting have had on voter turnout. The author, Amy Walter, points out that with both reforms in place, voter turnout has not increased, and has in fact been on the decline. An article by Mark Barabak of the LA Times draws the same conclusion. These articles, however, assess California's primary without reference to the much bleaker situation occurring nation
09 Feb, 2015
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5 min read
 47 U.S. Representatives Co-Sponsor Bipartisan Industrial Hemp Farming Act
47 U.S. Representatives Co-Sponsor Bipartisan Industrial Hemp Farming Act
Vote Hemp, a major grassroots hemp advocacy group, on Thursday announced the introduction of complementary bills in the U.S. House and Senate, S. 134 and H.R. 525, titled the " Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2015," with support on both sides of the political aisle. The Act would remove federal restrictions on the cultivation of industrial hemp, the non-drug oilseed and fiber varieties of Cannabis. “With bi-partisan support in the Senate and House, we are eager to see 2015 be the year Congress
22 Jan, 2015
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3 min read
Pentagon Officials Send Mixed Signals on ISIS Threats to Military Families
Pentagon Officials Send Mixed Signals on ISIS Threats to Military Families
Several weeks ago, ISIS issued a threat against military members and their families, saying that their jihadist supporters would seek them out and kill them where they live. When asked about it during a recent Facebook town hall event, General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, denied such a threat existed despite publicized warnings from the Army and the FBI. The general went on to say that the U.S. military is bombing ISIS in the Middle East so that they can't attack Ameri
14 Jan, 2015
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6 min read
Satire and Mockery in a Free Society
Satire and Mockery in a Free Society
Malice never was his aim, He lash'd the vice but spar'd the name. No individual could resent, Where thousands equally were meant. His satyr points at no defect, But what all mortals may correct; For he abhorr'd that senseless tribe, Who call it humor when they jibe. --Jonathan Swift, “Verses on the Death of Dr. Swift” The English language has never produced a satirist equal to Jonathan Swift. It hasn’t even come close. Taken together, Swift’s major satires—Gulliver’s Travels, The Battle of the
11 Jan, 2015
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4 min read
Our Enemies’ Agenda of Anarchy
Our Enemies’ Agenda of Anarchy
“Anarchy—shall I say, is the worst of all governments? No: Anarchy is the absence of all government; it is the antipodes  of order; it is the acme of confusion; it is the result of unbridled license, the antipodes of true liberty. The Apostle Paul says truly: ‘For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.’ At first this is a startling statement. Even the monopoly of the one-man-power as in Russia , or the monopoly of the aristocracy as in other parts of Europe, or the
18 Dec, 2014
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7 min read
5 Key Issues The Lame Duck Congress Needs to Resolve in Final Two Months
5 Key Issues The Lame Duck Congress Needs to Resolve in Final Two Months
No one party is going to hold the majority for long. For all the rhetoric from the vice president, by the end of Election Day, the results were not that surprising. The Democrats were not going to keep control forever and the Republicans need to realize neither will they. Now that the midterms are over, the next tough pill to swallow are the next two months of watching and waiting to see what comes out of the 2014 lame duck Congress. These 5 areas will show how far the Republicans can reach acr
07 Nov, 2014
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4 min read
2014 California Legislature Election Results
2014 California Legislature Election Results
On Tuesday, Californians went to the polls to determine the legislative makeup of the world's 9th largest economy. Democrats held onto every statewide office, including the governorship, where Jerry Brown was re-elected to an unprecedented fourth term. However, down the ballot, Democrats were unable to hold onto key seats, like Sharon Quirk-Silva in Assembly District 65 and Jose Solorio in Senate District 34. Assembly Districts 16, 17 and 39 were too close to call Wednesday as mail-in and provi
05 Nov, 2014
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2 min read
The Fight for the Senate: Who Will Win Control?
The Fight for the Senate: Who Will Win Control?
The main talk of the 2014 election has been which political party will control the Senate after the votes have been counted. Democrats have been on defense throughout most of the country as President Obama's approval rating remains low. So with just a week to go before Election Day, how will the numbers fall? Here are my predictions. In this election cycle, Democrats have 38 seats that are safe or not up for re-election while Republicans have 42. So that is where my numbers start.Democrats are
28 Oct, 2014
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3 min read
In The End, Low Voter Turnout Comes Down to Competitiveness in Elections
In The End, Low Voter Turnout Comes Down to Competitiveness in Elections
No matter what political ideology a voter identifies with, every single election comes down to one thing: voter turnout. If voters don't go to the polls to cast ballots, their party affiliation, or lack thereof, doesn't matter. But which states have the worst turnouts and why?According to Nonprofit Vote, a group that works with nonprofit organizations to increase voting opportunities, in 2010, there were about 91 million votes cast across the country, which means that approximately 42 percent o
23 Oct, 2014
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4 min read
Looking to the Founders: The Vote of the Town Mouse and the Country Mouse
Looking to the Founders: The Vote of the Town Mouse and the Country Mouse
It seems almost crazy to bring up an Aesop's fable in a series about the Founding Father's legacy to America -- but the fable of The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse really exemplifies many of the problems the Founders faced when drafting a Constitution that served the whole United States, not just one aspect, demographic, or region. Examining this can give us very good insight into the modern political dilemma, and shows us that the Founders faced the same voting issues that the parties scanda
14 Oct, 2014
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8 min read