The Marshall Plan was an American investment in the economy and infrastructure of the war-torn continent of Europe after WWII. Vladimir Putin was born four years after the Marshall Plan ended into the world it created.

The goal of this plan was to spread democracy, mutual trust, and trade between countries in Europe. Germany, who held most of Europe’s industrial capabilities even after World War II had ended, was a particular focus.

In an op-ed for the Bangor Daily News, Ned White rightly points out the future of ranked choice voting (RCV) is once again in the hands of voters. After 52 percent of Maine voters supported the implementation of RCV in 2016, the Maine legislature passed a law to delay the implementation until 2022.

A commander and 33 year veteran of the San Diego County Sheriff's Department, Dave Myers, is now a candidate for Sheriff and running against the incumbent Bill Gore. The two will be on the June ballot.

Sheriff Gore has held the seat since 2009 when Bill Kolender stepped down.

IVN San Diego's request to interview Sheriff Gore was declined.

I sat down with Erin Mazursky, Founder and CEO of Rhize, to talk about her work as a movement builder and her experience as a Florida Obama for America organizer in 2008. It was a fascinating conversation.

It is periodically reported that California’s Prop 14 (Non-partisan Top Two Primary) was drafted in the middle of the night in the back rooms of the California Legislature. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Here is the truth:

Many Americans will be staying out of the voting booth for the 2018 elections, disillusioned by the promises of politicians and convinced that the political system is irreparably corrupt.

At least that's what respondents told poll takers at USA Today and Suffolk University in a recent survey:

“If something cannot go on forever, it must stop.”

In economics, this is known as Herb Stein’s law. We ignore it at our peril.

In the 2000s, economists and other observers pointed out that real estate prices could not continue to rise at such a blistering pace. They didn’t. The entire global financial system was put at risk when that unsustainable trend came to a screeching halt.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ih9Ir0B5uGE

At a briefing on Capitol Hill, the University of Maryland’s Program for Public Consultation presented new public opinion data that shows American voters are eager for three key electoral reforms that would give voters a greater voice at the ballot box and more fair representation in government, while tempering the partisan rancor that currently dominates our politics.

Americans are angry about the apathetic approach to our online data security by our state and federal governments, as well as tech giants. Repeatedly our data is compromised. The thieves are sometimes hackers, hell-bent on creating false identities or worse, and sometimes the culprits are big businesses making a buck off the personal preferences we offer up for free.

T.J. O’Hara,the host of Deconstructed, is joined by two guests this week to discuss their work between the partisan political space, Debilyn Molineaux and Cheryl Graeve.

The two discuss their organizations' activities in the pursuit of expanding civic engagement across the nation, as well as improve our political processes.