Throughout the United States, there are numerous special elections held to fill vacant seats in local, state, and federal offices. Recently, while discussing the District of Columbia Ward 4 and Ward 8 special election results, a friend remarked that she was unaware there was an election in the district. While most Americans have the second Tuesday after the first Monday in November ingrained in their brains as Election Day, the dates for special elections are set by local/regional boards of elections and can vary greatly.
The Washington Post reported Monday that U.S. Sen.
Wired reported Monday that normalizing relations with Cuba after 55 years could be good news for cancer patients in the United States. According to the report, the island has a "promising therapeutic vaccine against lung cancer," and has had it for several years.
Gallup recently published a survey that found Millennials are more likely than any other generation to trust retail companies to keep their private information secure, despite the increase in high-visibility data breaches over the years. The generation least likely to trust companies they do business with are "traditionalists," the Silent Generation (aged 70 and older).
The news isn't good for those of us hoping the financial crisis would propel our elected representatives to appreciate their role in managing the economy.
The New Jersey Watchdog reports that potential presidential candidate and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie spent $82,594 at Jets and Giants games during the 2010 and 2011 seasons.
No, this wasn't coming out of his $175,000/year salary -- it was spent as part of his expense advance, “an allowance of funds not otherwise appropriated and used for official receptions on behalf of the state, the operation of an official residence, for other expenses.”
Since U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I - Vt.) announced his campaign for the presidency, considerable attention has been paid to his avowed socialism. On the Sunday after his announcement, he appeared on ABC's This Week, where the host, George Stephanopoulos, asked, "Is it really possible for someone who calls himself a socialist to be elected president of the United States?"
In an interview with Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday, Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson weighed in on a number of issues, including his idea for a 10 percent flat tax for all income earners. He says the idea he got from the Bible is "pretty darn fair."
The Washington Post quotes Carson:
The 2016 election is already in full swing with eight candidates having officially declared their candidacy (two for the Democratic nomination, six for the Republican nomination). Polling of these candidates among potential constituencies has already begun as well, to wildly different projections. With 18 months still to go, a lot is sure to change.