Search query: michigan

1. Illinois Times runs op-ed saying open primaries and redistricting reform would help ease partisan gridlock in Washington. "Open primaries would help moderate the nation’s politics, as would bipartisan redistricting commissions capable of doing away with gerrymandered districts. Increasing voter participation and improving the integrity of our elections would also help. " The only problem is we are not defining what "moderate the nation's politics" actually means, and we have to distinguish

1. Op-ed in The Salt Lake Tribune says 2014 will be a year for independent voters in Utah. "Primary elections are pivotal in the democratic process and are often the most competitive. But in Utah, independents are compelled to affiliate with a party or accept an abridged ballot. We could stand pat and limit ourselves to voting on issues and ancillary races, but that is acquiescing to an abridged ballot – one largely devoid of candidates — for the simple reason that we would not join a pre-appro

The Roberts Court, which began in 2005 and has been altered by two replacements — Sonia Sotomayor in 2009 and Elena Kagan in 2010 — has been asked to clarify the precise nature of the church-state relationship on several matters. One topic the court addressed is whether religious symbols may be displayed on public property: * In 2009, the court handed down a 9-0 decision in Pleasant Grove City v. Summum allowing a town in Utah to keep its display of the Ten Commandments in a public park. The

David Crane, an adviser to former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, declared in 2010 that public pension crises nationwide represent “the largest single financial issue facing state and local governments." According to one estimate, state and municipal governments across the country have a total unfunded pension liability of $4.1 trillion. Several states are on the verge of insolvency, and some cities have notoriously declared bankruptcy because of unmanageable debt obligations, includ

In a Michigan race with a potentially embattled incumbent, two pro-business groups have recently thrown support to the challenger. This past week, Republican Justin Amash's challenger, Brian Ellis, received the endorsements of the Michigan Chamber of Commerce and the Michigan Farm Bureau. However, this came after the news that Justin Amash leads in a new poll. In its endorsement, a senior vice president of the Chamber of Commerce said: "Brian Ellis' 30-year business career includes running hi

It’s no secret that the Keystone issue is a political powder keg. Neither is it a secret that it’s a controversial topic pitting two traditional foes: environmentalists versus big oil. Very murky, however, is what benefit Keystone XL offers the United States.As in so many situations, in order to understand the present, we need to understand the past and Keystone has a bit of a checkered and rapidly evolving past. With blinding speed, progress on the Keystone project began in 2005 when it was pr

For the 46.5 million Americans living below the poverty line, 16 million of which are children, life has become a consistent struggle. This struggle does not simply begin and end with monetary concerns, but in fact surrounds both a physical and mental exertion of the individual.Using the national U.S. census and NCCP, researchers found that in 2013, the poverty line rested at $11,490, a number which equates an individual working full time while only making $5.00 – far below the national minimum

The Obama White House is seeking immunity for telecommunications companies that have complied with government orders to hand over customers' data. However, there may be more than meets the eye with the president's proposed reform.In a statement to legislators recently, the White House said it would support legislation that protects "'any person who complies in good faith with an order to produce records' from legal liability for complying with court orders for phone records to the government onc

Presidential politics are all about numbers, from campaign spending, third party interest funding, and electoral votes (EV). Battleground states, by definition, shift the winning side every 4 years or so, hence they are where both Democrats and Republicans fight the hardest for each vote. Florida has nearly as many registered Democrats as Republicans, a diverse Latino population, and pockets of densely populated urban areas. It is expensive to run a campaign in the Sunshine State and with 29 el

Recently, in the case Schuette v. Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action, the United States Supreme Court, by a 6-2 vote, upheld a Michigan ban on affirmative action. The ban stated that universities didn't have to consider race as a requirement for enrollment. Michigan isn't alone with a ban either as states like California, Washington, Oklahoma, New Hampshire, and others have done so, as well. In June 2013, the New York Times ran an article which graphed how minorities have fared in states wi