One of the panel events at this years Unrig The System Summit, brought together leaders from different political points of view. From transparency in government, to voting rights, to an a deep dive into IVN and the connections of business and politics, the Spark Talks offered attendees valuable insights into what some of the leading political organizations from across the county are thinking as we head into the 2018 election season.

Zoe Reiter, Transparency International Senior Project Leader

In the New York governor’s race, Larry Sharpe is ahead of the Republicans in fundraising.

He says he’s shaping the 3.0 version of the Libertarian Party and that it’s totally possible to take Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo's job in the 2018 election. He’s also kicked off fundraising with crypto on the WAVES blockchain. The name? “Sharpecoin.” Enjoy.

In his first State of the Union address, President Trump praised members of the military while calling for an increased defense budget in the face of another government shutdown. The continuing resolution passed last month only funded the military, and other government operations through February 8, a deadline that is fast approaching.

An unprecedented gathering of the brightest minds from the right and left with one common purpose: fix American politics. Leaders in advocacy, policy, politics, legal, movement-building, and popular culture share their knowledge and experience to build lasting solutions that inspire change.

President Trump rarely received a standing ovation from the entirety of the audience at his first State of the Union address. One of the rare moments came when he spoke about knocking down America’s outrageous drug prices.

“One of my greatest priorities is to reduce the price of prescription drugs. In many other countries, these drugs cost far less than what we pay in the United States. That is why I have directed my administration to make fixing the injustice of high drug prices one of our top priorities. Prices will come down.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLBklg_fE18

Video Credit: CBS News

The Equal Vote Coalition is proposing an innovative new voting system that its leaders say will not only revolutionize the way we conduct elections, but will provide the fixes we need for a clearly broken system.

The voting system is called STAR (Score Then Automatic Runoff) Voting, which was originally proposed in 2014.

Yesterday, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffet, and JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon announced they are forming a partnership to use their combined purchasing power to drive down health care costs for their employees, and perhaps all Americans.

Can the world's wealthiest do what the world's most powerful could not?

Sound the Independent Thought Alarm!

We've got a live one here!

It's funny that you won't hear just about anyone say it anywhere else, not even a lot of independent voters. It's funny because people treat the State of the Union Address like a magnificent, sanctified ritual of our democracy, when it's obviously absolute insanity.

To begin with, it's predictable. You know exactly what's going to happen going in, so it's incredibly boring too.

"I think Kevin Towers is THE most significant figure in the health of Major League Baseball." ~ FMR. State Senator Steve Peace

For those lucky enough to call Kevin Towers a friend and colleague, they all say he was much more than a notably successful MLB General Manager.

Rare in professional sports, the 56-year-old Towers, whose life ended after a battle with Thyroid Cancer, was a man who rarely veered from his principles despite enormous political and business pressures brought by Major League Baseball.

THE PRINCIPLED MAN