Activists to Walk Across New Hampshire for Campaign Finance Reform

Fifteen years ago, at the age of 88, Doris "Granny D" Haddock began a 3,200 mile journey across the United States to advocate for campaign finance reform. On January 11, 2014, activists have united to continue her journey by walking across New Hampshire from Dixville Notch to Nashua. Their goal is to make sure every future candidate is asked just one question:

How are you going to end corruption in Washington?

Raising The Minimum Wage: Income Equality or Job Killer?

Massachusetts passed the first wage law in 1912, followed soon after by thirteen more states and the District of Columbia. However, the Supreme Court ruling in 

Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States (1935) resulted in the defeat of a major provision of President Roosevelt’s “New Deal” and further efforts would not succeed until Congress passed the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) in 1938. A national minimum wage was established at $0.25 per hour.

Could An Independent Govern Massachusetts?

Nineteen years have passed since Angus King was elected Governor of Maine as an independent, sixteen since wrestler Jesse Ventura “shocked the world” by beating two well-funded rivals in Minnesota, and four since Lincoln Chafee vied for Rhode Island’s highest office. While history is scattered with such examples of successful independent candidacies, it is no secret that the Republicans and Democrats have a strangle hold over the political process; those outside the duopoly rarely have their voices heard.

Party Registration Drops to New Lows; Independents at All-Time High

The practice of hyper-partisan politics is rearing its ugly head for Republican and Democratic leaders. Gallup released a survey of political affiliation trends for 2013 Wednesday and things don't look good for either major party.

The number of Americans who identify with either Republicans or Democrats has either stagnated or declined significantly. Consequently, 42 percent of Americans now self-identify as independent; the highest percentage in Gallup history.

Democrats have managed to maintain a 2010-level of party registration, but the Gallup poll found:

How do We Cure Political Dysfunction? "Let the More Loving One Be Me"

If equal affection cannot be,

Let the more loving one be me .

--W.H. Auden

 

One of the more comforting myths of the modern political age is that the government in our country has become dysfunctional because it no longer represents the people. The reality, I fear, is much worse news: Government has become dysfunctional because it does represent the people—and the people are dysfunctional.

Statistics Don't lie; People Do: The Science of Political Polling

The quote, popularized by Mark Twain, who attributed it (

erroneously?) to the 19th-century British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli, speaks volumes.

Facts, as often reported, may be based on statistics. Statistics are based on data -- data which is inherently based on a collection of opinions. The danger of statistics is that what we often see reported as fact may not be as reliable as we are led to believe.