Our political system is failing because our government has become little more than a perpetual banquet for selfish interests that feed themselves first, and worry about the health of the nation later, if at all (See part 1 in this series).

This is the situation in which we now find ourselves, and it must be reversed.

For "we the people" to fix the system, here is an uncontroversial, common sense, and unifying organizing principle:

The death toll continues to climb.

The county Health and Human Services Agency updated its hepatitis A outbreak numbers which inluded an additional death to bring the total to 19 and increased the number of cases to more than 500 at 507.

Efforts are underway to vaccinatate, sanitize and educate the public on the crisis.

Many of the voters who are becoming the most disenchanted with parties are those who live in “one-party states,” and have experienced closed partisan primaries and/or politically gerrymandered districts.

They know how it feels for their vote not to count, having experienced the injustice of being shut out from primary elections or of belonging to a substantial group of politically like-minded people whose votes have been diluted such that they have no representation in Congress.

There’s no argument that candidates affiliated with the major political parties have tremendous, built-in structural campaign advantages over independent candidates. The range of major-party advantages is long:

District One City Councilmember Barbara Bry was elected last November to replace termed out Council President Sherri Lightner. Early in her first term, Bry has proven to be a leading voice on key city issues including: what to do with the Mission Valley site, how to handle the growing concerns of  short-term vacation rentals, and working to pass comprehensive marijuana legislation.

Bry took time to chat with IVN San Diego about the many important subjects facing the community.

SHORT-TERM RENTALS

AUGUSTA -- Nearly 100 Maine citizens ages 20-81 from across the state descended on Augusta this morning to testify before their elected lawmakers in support of LD 1646.

The Constitution does not set the size of the House of Representatives. Until the 1920s, its size changed after every census, expanding to reflect the nation’s growing population.

However, the 1920 census created controversy within Congress over which states should receive new seats. A resolution emerged in 1929 when the size of the House was frozen at what it happened to be after the 1910 census - 435 seats - regardless of population growth.

Independent candidate Terry Hayes officially launched her clean elections campaign for the governor's seat in Maine Monday. Hayes was joined by family, friends, and supporters as she made her announcement during press conferences in Portland and Bangor.

“I am running as an independent, clean elections candidate for Governor because I choose to be beholden to the Maine people, and not to party leaders, wealthy donors, and special interests,” said Terry. “I have the experience, independence, and courage to lead Maine in a bold new direction.”

I often get asked questions such as, “why isn’t the GOP standing up to Trump? Congress obviously hates him.” Sometimes the questions are worded with less curiosity, but that is the ultimate question behind what people are saying.

While it’s not always clear just how each member of Congress feels, it appears to be the case that there is greater intra-party antagonism between the GOP Congress and the presidency than in a very long time.

If this is the case, why does it all seem to be swept under the rug rather than brought into the light?