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In the midst of social turmoil and civil unrest, on top of an ongoing pandemic, the news didn’t spare much time to talk about 9 primary elections held Tuesday -- primaries that, according to vote at home advocates, prove absentee ballots work. Four states -- Indiana, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island -- postponed their primary elections to June 2 to allow voters an extended opportunity to request absentee ballots, while DC, Iowa, Montana, New Mexico, and South Dakota largely increased th

This article first appeared on The Fulcrum Shouted down as a "spoiler" for three weeks after announcing he was getting ready to run for president as a Libertarian, Justin Amash has abandoned the idea of a third-party candidacy. The coronavirus pandemic's hindrance on his prospects was the reason offered last weekend by the Republican-turned-independent conservative congressman from Michigan. But many will fairly conclude he was bowing to the withering attacks he received. We all purport to wa

There is one indisputable truth about California’s nonpartisan, top-two open primary: It has completely shaken up the political landscape in the Golden State. Leading top-two researchers Christian Grose, professor at USC, and Dr. Charles Munger, Jr. of Stanford University, discussed in detail how transformative nonpartisan primaries have been in California during a recent Zoom conference call hosted by Open Primaries and the USC Schwarzenegger Institute. ‍ Munger and Grose have published se

This Story First Appeared on California Globe The recovery rate of the coronavirus remains at 98%. Flattening the curve is already behind us, so why is the state still on lockdown? California hospitals are not and never were, overrun with coronavirus victims, and are in fact, laying off staff throughout the country. Listening to California Gov. Gavin Newsom one would think that most of the 40 million Californians are still at risk of dropping dead of the virus. The “data” and “science” Newsom

Rep. Justin Amash (I-MI) is (probably) running for president. Amash has toyed with the idea for over a year: Describing himself as an ideal third-party candidate at libertarian conferences and posting cryptic tweets about Americans “deserving another option." But as the months dragged on—the Libertarian party held primary after primary, debate after debate—and Amash remained an onlooker. Speculation began that his flirtation with a national campaign was a ploy to boost fundraising for his camp

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES) Act of 2020 (H.R. 748) was by far the most gargantuan emergency economic stimulus package ever passed by Congress. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, addressing the 2008 Financial Crisis and the ensuing Great Recession, was "only" $787 billion at the time of passage. (That number later crept up-- as Washington outlays are wont to do-- to $831 billion.) By contrast, the CARES Act passed as a staggering $2 trillion

Lithuania is used to maintaining national security and defense by relying on NATO allies in many ways. Such an approach helps the country save money and receive political preferences within the Alliance. Thus, the NATO enhanced Forward Presence Battlegroup, as well as U.S. soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 9th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division are the main contributors to the Lithuanian defense today. U.S. soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 9th Cavalry Regime

Originally published on The Fulcrum. Due to the coronavirus, many states that have held their presidential primaries on schedule this year experienced a decrease in turnout, chaos and confusion. As we know, the integrity and inclusiveness of our elections depends on a well-run election system — which is exactly why Maricopa County saw an increase in turnout when Arizonans cast their ballots three weeks ago. On every Election Day, Americans eagerly tune into the news the moment the polls close,

In case you hadn’t heard, COVID-19 has disrupted the economy perhaps more than any other singular event in history. Here are three metrics to get a sense of the damage. 1. Goldman Sachs originally forecast a 24% contraction in United States GDP during the second quarter, then revised its calamitous projection up to 34%. That’s a worse contraction in productivity than the U.S. experienced over three years of the Great Depression from 1930 to 1933 (-29%). 2. U.S. Non-farm payrolls officially p

Originally published on The Fulcrum. Advocates of open government are sounding the alarm that local, state and federal officials are too quickly sacrificing public access to the cause of public health during the coronavirus pandemic. "This is the worst time to be putting up obstacles to access," said Daniel Bevarly, executive director of the National Freedom of Information Coalition, a group of state and national organizations promoting access to the meetings and records of government. Bevar