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Nonprofit VOTE examined the impact of nonprofit organizations on voter behavior within seven states in an August 2013 study. It found that those contacted by a nonprofit organization -- in regards to the election -- turned out at 74 percent while 68 percent of all registered voters turned out. The data from the study suggests that nonprofit organizations fight an uphill battle when trying to increase turnout since their target audience has a historically low propensity to vote. However, nonpro

The partisan battles in North Carolina are extending their reach into the court system. Over the past year, the Republican controlled legislature, aided by a Republican governor, Pat McCrory, enacted a host of controversial legislation that banned gay marriage and put in place new abortion restrictions. Then last week, they passed new voting laws which MSNBC called "a truly abominable piece of anti-democratic legislation." The bill was purportedly to prevent fraud, although fraud has not been a

Call it the argumentum ad nazium, or maybe the dicto simplicihitler, but it has become one of the most common forms of argument in American political discourse, and it really needs to stop. I am speaking, of course, of comparing stuff to Hitler. Let me be perfectly clear about this: George W. Bush was not like Hitler. Mitch McConnell is not like Hitler. Nancy Pelosi is not like Hitler. And Barack Obama is not like Hitler. The contraception mandate is not Kristallnacht, sequestration is not the

One of the most memorable scenes on television last year came from the pen of writer Aaron Sorkin (The West Wing) and the lips of actor Jeff Daniels. In the opening minutes of a pilot episode for The Newsroom, three characters are paneled on a university stage, leading to a pivotal question from a bright-eyed college student. “What makes America the greatest country in the world?” After a few seconds of obnoxious pandering, news anchor Will McAvoy (Daniels) unleashes a tirade of frustrations a

Rule number one in effective communication is to establish the relevancy of the topic to the audience. Why should they care? How does it affect their quality of life? Truthful accounting might do just that. For one measure of the states’ quality of life, we turn to the recent work done by Ballotpedia, a “collaborative encyclopedia designed to connect people to politics.” The site focuses on providing a comprehensive and non-partisan analysis of numerous candidates and political efforts. The Lu

We’ve all seen that road before: The “Pothole Express.” It’s a violent massage for you and your car. Across the political spectrum, many Americans agree that the government is responsible for building and maintaining highways. All highways are not created equal, of course. The quality of the pavement and the efficiency of highway management vary from state to state. A variety of factors contribute to these results, but recent research by Truth in Accounting (TIA) suggests that a state’s overall

Two weeks after key parts of the Defense of Marriage Act were struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court, the American Civil Liberties Union announced it would pursue a lawsuit against Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Virginia, challenging their bans on same-sex marriage. "The ACLU has been a leader on this front since bringing our first marriage lawsuit in 1970 and we've been deeply involved in opening marriage up to same-sex couples in each of the 13 states plus the District of Columbia that now

President Obama signs healthcare reform in 2010 // Credit: Reid.senate.gov Can a state unilaterally suspend the operation of ObamaCare within its borders? Of course not. That measure would violate the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution. We fought a Civil War over that question. What if two states banded together to suspend the operation of ObamaCare within their common territory? Can they do that? The answer remains the same. No. But let's try this. Let's have those two states - and others

credit: Votecitizens.org Gerrymandering has become a prevalent hurdle to meaningful political participation across the country (with few exceptions, including California*). The duopoly at their finest: if you can’t win by playing fair—CHEAT. The third most important electoral reform—thy name is gerrymandering. Attention Democrats and Republicans these are Independents exhibiting open derision to your sleazy ways. Before we go on let’s review the first two important electoral reforms. The first

Friday, June 14th 2013 was flag day, a day which tends to go uncelebrated, and about which most people know very little. This post will be a brief detour from my continuing series on the different facets of the Kiera Wilmot Bottle Bomb story. It looks long, and it is, but most of it is pictures.  As you look through the various images included here, I hope you will contrast the actual origins of the U.S. flag, as it was originally adopted by the Founding Fathers, and contrast that with the nic