How About We Have Congress Do Its Job

The British Parliament has determined that the Commonwealth shall not be going to war. David Cameron, though apparently disappointed, appears to be completely bound by the officially nonbinding resolution. The British Prime Minister, who possesses the Constitutional authority to authorize military action, lacks the political support to do so without the consent of the legislature.

Syria, Chemical Weapons, and Ad Hominems

Interventionist hawks of the partisan variety sure are having a hard time holding a position on the Syrian civil war. Only the bipartisan War Party hawks of the John McCain and Lindsey Graham sort seem to think an attack on Syria is a good idea. But what about the conservatives who paint President Obama as "weak," (despite drones, spying, and Libya) for dragging his feet to an intervention Americans, and sometimes they, don't support? Why, continue the ad hominems, of course!

Do Independent Voters Need More Independent Candidates?

ivnvoters

Demand, meet Supply

Amidst some disenchantment with both major political parties, the chart above shows, when looking across the 50 states, the share of votes earned by candidates that were not either Democratic or Republican has fallen significantly for U.S. House of Representative elections since 2000.

Americans Believe Their Wages Have Gone Up in Past 5 Years

It has been five years since the economic crisis of 2008. A recent Gallup poll conducted in August shows that 58 percent of Americans working full time or part time believe they are making markedly higher amounts of money. The poll did not define what "a lot" or "a little" meant, but left it up to the respondent to decide for themselves. In other words, people differ in what "a lot" of money is.

Can racism in America be cracked?

A quick glimpse through the Drudge Report the other night brought up quite a few articles focused on racial issues. While I know that Matt Drudge lives for controversy, I still had to wonder whether this was indicative of our nation as a whole. I am always hesitant to write about racial incidents given my background (white, middle-income, small town/suburban). What in the world do I know about it? I grew up in a relatively homogeneous community, and I live in one today. Still, I am concerned.