I live in San Diego. Home of sun, fun, and pension fiascos. Like most places in America, we periodically elect a Mayor. This happens to be one of those years. And, boy, have things gotten serious.
If the UK goes ahead with their threat to storm the Ecuador embassy in London, it will do so in complete and deliberate violation of international law. This would allow other countries to do the same, and make a mockery of the UK's pretension of supporting democracy and rule of law.
There are many factors prospective voters take into account when deciding among candidates. What are their policies? What is their experience in government? Are they a charismatic leader? Will they be knowledgeable in all aspects of the job? Voters ask these questions in an effort to ascertain how competent the candidate will be in office.
In what has become a depressingly normal occurrence in California, the state makes rosy estimations of projected California tax revenue in order to get a balanced budget passed, only to discover a few months later that revenue is less than expected.
It is election year in America. This means that voters and potential voters are deluged with all the muck PACs and action groups can dig up. The parties scramble to manage the image of their candidates. In Congress and in state capitals across the nation, politicians stop their partisan bickering over laws of substance-- and engage in partisan bickering over laws about the election itself.
Who says Paul Ryan is a fiscal conservative? Well, Paul Ryan says he is. So does ABC News, NBC News, Rick Perry, Slate, United Press International, and others. It’s the conventional wisdom, in some circles, that Ryan is a fiscal conservative and that that is a good thing.
Independents are poised to make an impact on multiple races this fall, on national, state and local levels. Americans identifying as independents are at a 70-year high.
Greece has just put a spending moratorium in place and will now spend only for salaries and pensions, freezing payments for everything else, which presumably includes vendors and debt payments.
They will increase spending only when the next bailout money arrives, and that may be never.