According to a recent USA TODAY/Bipartisan Policy Center poll, Americans are increasingly supportive of electoral reforms aimed towards easing the hyper-partisanship that has plagued the 113th Congress.
Deficits Are A First-Order Problem
[On Tuesday], Former Treasury Secretary and director of the National Economic Council Larry Summers argued that “budget deficits are now a second-order problem” and the focus should instead be on economic growth.
Good job Congress. After two weeks of anxiety about the future of our economy, two weeks without national parks, two weeks of furloughed federal employees, two weeks of confusion over social security checks, Veteran services, essential vs. non-essential federal employees, and two weeks of deteriorating Congressional approval ratings, a deal has been reached.
Campaign finance reformers and California based government transparency group Maplight held an AMA on Reddit Wednesday. The two-hour event addressed growing public concern over the high-profile Supreme Court case, McCutcheon v. FEC and the challenges posed by potentially unlimited spending on elections.
Representative Gage Froerer is currently trying to convince the Utah Substance Abuse Advisory Council to treat Cannabidiol extracts as something other than a controlled substance in order for the beneficial cannabinoid to be imported into the state without those involved fearing incarceration.
A statutorily imposed debt ceiling has been in effect since 1917 when the US Congress passed the Second Liberty Bond Act. Before 1917 there was no debt ceiling in force, but there were parliamentary procedural limitations on the level of possible debt that could be held by government.
With its last two former governors arrested, Illinois has become a political punch line. As if to throw more fuel on the fire, a 2011
report found that 14 Illinois counties had more registered voters than residents. It has also witnessed Illinois become a solidly Democratic state.
Benjamin Franklin once said that “The only things certain in life are death and taxes.” Mr. Franklin never encountered the 112
th or 113th Congress. Since the debt limit was officially set in 1917, the threat of passing that limit usually saw a smooth increase in the limit. Now, things are more than a little different and more difficult.
The Internet is full of sites that allow users to review, compare, and evaluate all sorts of products and services. One such that that I’m particularly fond of is , which bills itself as offering “nbiased hotel reviews, photos and travel advice for hotels and vacations.” But what happens if the reviews don’t go your way – can a hotel’s designation as the “Dirtiest Hotel in America” be the basis of a defamation lawsuit?
Candidate of the Independence Party Adolfo Carrion was excluded at the October 15 debate in the race for New York City mayor. The debate features Democratic nominee Bill de Blasio and Republican candidate Joe Lhota, but Carrion is staying quiet about this and future debates.