voting
Postmortems of voting woes, disenfranchisement, and how countries around the world elect government officials.
Real Law about Onion Rings Made From Diced Onions
» KEY POINTS Before any bill passed by any legislature (State or Federal) becomes law, it should be reviewed by the Courts for Constitutionality and alignment with existing law without the need for anyone to sue. All laws should expire after 20 years so they must be re-approved by the current legislature. Existing laws older than 20 years would need to expire on a special schedule until all laws are in regular cycles.
- Top Story - January 2023
Two For One Election Special
“It is true that power corrupts. The hope at the polling stations and the actions of the elected representatives, unfortunately, often turn to be opposite. The power of ballot turns into the power of wallet. Some law-makers become law-breakers.” - Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj
Carl J. PetersenPublished about a year ago in The Swamp Radical Plan: Make Congress Actually Vote!
» KEY POINTS Many Amendments to the Constitution are needed in order to force bills to be discussed and voted upon in a timely manner. The leaders of each chamber must have their power to control the legislative process severely curtailed so that minority voices can be heard. Legislation must be clean and single clause in order to avoid pork and allow each element to be reviewed and approved on its own. All Congresspeople must vote and cannot avoid their duty to do so.
'Anti-Woke' Governors Get Wake-up Calls
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, both considering 2024 presidential bids, are good at generating headlines for their plans to counter liberal cultural and policy issues.
Vanessa GallmanPublished about a year ago in The SwampHow to Force Congress to Do Some Work for a Change
» KEY POINTS Legislative rules have not created an easy flow of discussion and movement of bills. Congress has instead unintentionally built weapons to be used against each other. The silence of the Constitution is hindering progress towards an effective Legislative Branch.
Long COVID Could be the Next Major Economic Disaster 2023
The Next Major Economic Disaster. With a staggering $3.7 trillion economic impact, the disease known as Long COVID could rival the Great Recession of 2008 in terms of its economic ramifications. Already, many businesses have had to close their doors due to the pandemic, and many more are struggling to survive. In addition, the disruption of supply chains has led to a significant decrease in global trade. As the virus continues to spread, the economic consequences may be even more severe. It is essential that governments around the world take immediate action to contain the outbreak and help mitigate the economic damage.
fatima dalaniPublished about a year ago in The SwampAlaska Should Have 19 Senators
» KEY POINTS In order to balance power in the Senate, each State and Territory should receive a set of Senators in relation to their population and another set in relation to the amount of land they control. The Senate should increase in membership while the House of Representatives should shrink. All members of Congress should be elected on 4-year cycles that expire in the middle of Presidential terms, resulting in country-wide federal elections every 2 years.
How We Can Have Actual Representation in Government
» KEY POINTS The House of Representatives should be elected directly by the people through proportional voting for Political Parties. The Federal Government needs to get out of the business of defining what is a Political Party in order to break the Democrat/Republican oligopoly. 4.4 million people living in the Territories should have just as many rights to representation as those living in States.
Yes, Congress Really is a Bunch of Old, Rich, White, Christian, Hetero, Misaligned Men
» KEY POINTS Congress does not reflect the American people in the most fundamental and even superficial ways. Political alignment, gender/sexuality, race, religion, age, earnings, net worth, and education of Congresspeople do not even come close to the electorate. There is no amount of law, policy, redistricting, quota filling, or any other method that can change the current situation.
Winner Takes All is a Losers System
» KEY POINTS An elected official in the House of Representatives or the Senate cannot cover the will of all their constituents. Their only concern is getting just enough votes to beat their opponents, not actually being the voice of many different people in Congress. Only by eliminating the "winner takes all" system of elections can every person have their views raised in the federal government.
- Top Story - November 2022
I’m Not Thankful To Be An American
Well, it’s Thanksgiving Weekend 2022. A day of family, friends, food, and thankfulness. I have a lot to be thankful for. I’m thankful for many things this year. One of the new ones for me is being thankful for being a writer. I couldn’t say the same last Thanksgiving. I’m thankful for the opportunity to write so many blogs and to make so many wonderful friends. It’s been awesome to have a voice these past 11 months.
Jason ProvencioPublished about a year ago in The Swamp - Top Story - November 2022
Congress: An Intentional Giant Mess from the Start
» KEY POINTS The House of Representatives is supposed to be the “Legislature of the People” and the Senate the “Legislature of the Land”. Neither are doing the job as intended. How did we get to this point and why is there no cure? No adjustment to legislative rules is going to fix a fundamentally broken system. We must Constitutionally overhaul how the Legislative Branch is set up in its entirety.