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In Athens of antiquity, the inventors of democracy set up a law that required every person to vote. Anyone found not voting would be publicly marked and labeled an idiot; someone who thought their own personal needs trumped those of the society around them, wrote Isaac DeVille. I begin here by asserting that the one certain measure of any democratic society is the measurement of those who vote and those who don't. That said, looking at the general elections in San Diego and California last yea

There is an ongoing lawsuit attempting to close Montana’s open primary system. This lawsuit is being joined by the Montana Republican Party. State Republicans support closing their primaries because they argue Democrats and other nonmembers have been influencing their elections for years. "One example given during the state GOP’s meeting to make the case for joining the lawsuit was a vote in the state House of Representatives ... in which some Republicans supported an amendment to House procedu

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

Earlier this month, the White House released a statement outlining "the America’s College Promise proposal to make two years of community college free for responsible students,". The free community college proposal, which would see "students earn the first half of a bachelor’s degree," brings up an important question: will college students who would normally go straight into 4-year colleges start attending community college for their first two years if President Obama's plan is put into action

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

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

Polls suggest young voters’ preferences, in regards to both candidates and policies, have become more socially liberal in the past 15 years. Millennials: The Politically Unclaimed Generation, a report released in July by Reason-Rupe, a Libertarian public policy think-tank, found that “a majority of millennials, 53 percent, would support a candidate who described him or herself as socially liberal and economically conservative.” Only 48 percent of young adults between the ages of 18-29 voted fo

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

As expected of every election season, political gaffes were bound to happen. Gaffes have been associated with campaign exhaustion, an unsuccessful attempt at humor, or a lack of emotional discipline. Aside from acting as fodder for jokes or fuel for opponents, flubs made by political leaders and candidates alike can create a personal insight that their political image would not allow. Scott Walker Even after a successful 2014 reelection bid, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) still managed to la

“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