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Credit: kqed.org One of the few things that government in America should do is punish those who initiate force or fraud against others. The judicial system and our prisons are paid for with tax dollars and run like a government monopoly. While we demand that government be very tough on crime, Reagan Conservatives know that anything run by the government should be carefully watched. Government tends to grow and to expand its power driven by its own needs and wants. For too long conservatives ha

Photo: JillStein.org One of the enduring paradoxes of American politics is that, despite a campaign season that stretches nearly a year and gives candidates ample time to air their views, there are some issues that hardly ever get a moment in the spotlight. Climate change is a prime example. In the first televised debate between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney, the words “climate change” and “global warming” were never mentioned. Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein addresses the mainst

Credit: commons.wikimedia.org Shock waves reverberated through Sacramento with the recently announced closure of a Comcast call center and an iconic Campbell’s Soup plant that has employed lower middle-income people here since 1947. Campbell’s Soup employed 700 people who made as much as $20 an hour as members of the Teamsters Union. Comcast eliminated 300 call center jobs in the Natomas area just north of the Sacramento River, but unlike Campbell’s Soup, Comcast at least offered these workers

(Credit: BostonGlobe.com) Naturalized citizens are quickly becoming a major demographic in the upcoming election. This is largely thanks to thousands of initiatives nationwide that encourage eligible, naturalized US citizens to register to vote. The question then, is this: if new Americans are flooding the voter base, how does this effect the outcome of the election? At the National Immigrant Integration Conference in Baltimore last weekend, leaders of grassroots and national organizations cam

Photo: American Civil Liberties Union Rep. Corrine Brown is attempting to block a Florida early voting law which reduced the number of days available for early voting in the state from fourteen to eight. Judge Timothy Corrigan held a hearing on Wednesday addressing the lawsuit, which contends that the current law is discriminatory. Rep. Brown (D-Fla), the Duval County Democratic Party, and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference are behind the suit. "I don't know exactly what the ruling

Credit: bangstyle.com In just over seven weeks, voters will decide the fate of the three 2012 state marijuana initiatives to legalize possession and use of the plant for adults in Colorado, Oregon, and Washington State. As the polling data available for these measures continue to warrant optimism among those in favor of ending marijuana prohibition, it is no surprise that nine former heads of the Drug Enforcement Agency recently wrote a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder encouraging him to

Australia has recently used an Internet voting system as a means to allow interstate, disabled, and overseas voters to participate in elections. The program is similar to that we are familiar with in absentee voting programs that large percentages of Americans already take advantage of. The government of New South Wales contracted with an organization called Everyone Counts to develop a program that would allow these voting groups to participate. The organization is also known for implementing o

Credit: voterocky.org As Romney and Obama march toward November, all eyes are focused on the two parties and their battle for the White House. Many Americans are unaware of the struggle of third-party candidates such as Justice Party candidate Rocky Anderson to gain media attention and ballot access. Rocky Anderson's fight for ballot access depends on a web of laws governing elections. Although ballot access laws vary from state-to-state, naturally most of them favor candidates who can obtain

Credit: Tom Smart / Deseret News Presidential candidate Rocky Anderson has gained support across party lines in several states across the country. He is currently on the November ballot in several states. As a new political party, the Justice Party does not have as many followers as other third parties. This puts them at a disadvantage in terms of ballot access. According to the chairman of the Connecticut Independent Party, Mike Telesca, it is an uphill battle to be seen nationally as a third

Photo: sfcitizen.com The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, expected to be an important swing state in 2012, has made headlines all week for a controversial voter ID law backed by the state's Republicans. Critics are calling it a partisan ploy to restrict ballot access and fix the results of November's general election in favor of Republican candidates, including presumptive presidential nominee, Governor Mitt Romney. But on the same day that a judge ruled in favor of Pennsylvania's voter ID law, a