Those of us who inhabit the space in American politics between the 40-yard lines have watched with dismay as the nation’s two major parties retreat to their respective ideological end zones. As election after entrenched election passes, we have to wonder about the potential for a third party that would occupy the ground near midfield that has been abandoned by Democrats and Republicans.

Our electoral system is broken. Just look at the U.S. House of Representatives. Only a tiny fraction of seats are competitive, and the results leave out far too many voters. Case in point: almost two years out, we can project the results in over 80 percent of seats for the 2020 elections.

Many of us now see the connections between severe weather and new disease patterns. More destructive and more frequent floods, fires, droughts, hurricanes and blizzards can no longer be ignored. Also recognized, changing weather brings new patterns of insects and diseases. Mosquitoes moving north, ticks and Lyme disease spreading west, polio-like illnesses, ancient bacteria in defrosting tundra and everywhere the health impacts of poorly stored or unethically distributed chemicals and toxins.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - In defiance of President Donald Trump, who has taken a barrage of criticism from Republicans and Democrats for standing by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman after the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, the U.S.

It has been one month since the 2018 midterm elections were decided. Much in our politics has changed: the Republicans built on their majority in the US Senate, while Democrats won back the House of Representatives and flipped several governorships and state legislatures.

San Diego, Calif.- Apple has announced plans to build new office space in San Diego in the next three years.

The company is making the move after new tax laws were enacted late last year. That move prevented Apple from avoiding taxes on international profits.

The company announced last January that it would invest $30 billion in US facilities and create 20,000 American jobs by 2023.

Update 12/14/18: US Rep. Bruce Poliquin calls for an end to the recount, but says he may still appeal the court's decision. Says there continue to be unanswered questions that have, in fact, been answered. 

https://twitter.com/BrucePoliquin/status/1073603657244004352

Dear Reader,

The poet Hart Crane (1899-1932), a favorite of mine, famous for intricate works like “The Bridge” and “For the Marriage of Faustus and Helen” wrote a four-line poem that was never published in his short lifetime, titled “To Earth.” I reprint it here.

Shortly after the U.S. midterm elections last month, the Pew Research Center conducted a survey of U.S. adults from November 7th - 13th to find out what voters would say about why they voted for one party's candidate over another. The interesting thing about this survey is that the question was completely open-ended.

The must-pass Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018 (colloquially known as the "Farm Bill") is now subject to great controversy. Late Tuesday night, the House Rules Committee added a provision to the bill that would suspend the War Powers Act for the remainder of the 115th Congress with respect to Yemen.