Moms for Liberty Again: Implications of Massive Election Losses

| Present

Earlier, we warned readers about the innocent-sounding radical right-wing organization, Moms for Liberty. A number of states held elections on Tuesday, November 7, 2023, and the results in many contests are revealing (and, for many of us, a very hopeful sign). Moms for Liberty raised up and supported a number of candidates in both state […]

America’s Continuing Low Democracy Score and the Urgency to Improve It

| Present

Americans should know about the Democracy Index if we do not know about it already. In the latest report published by the Economist Intelligence Unit (The EIU), the US is described as a “flawed democracy” – for the fifth straight year, and lower than the 2020 score. The Economist Intelligence Unit (The EIU) is a […]

The Voting Conundrum: More Impacts from the Coronavirus Pandemic

| Present

Shortly after the 2016 election, we discussed voting in the US and in our sister nations around the world. We noted the many initiatives being taken in the US to improve the way we vote in this country. We pointed out that other countries have much better turnout rates, in part because they offer different ways […]

Mr. Kobach and the Judge

| Present

Remember Kris Kobach and President Trump’s Voter Fraud Commission? The story of Kobach and the most recent news about him is one of those examples of the intersection between an activist right-wing politician, immigration, voter suppression, Trump’s basic bigotry and racism, fear-mongering, a brave judge, the impotence of current Republican lawmakers to challenge Trump’s policies […]

Shelly Simonds and the Tale of the Virginia “Canister”

| Present

You may recall the extremely close election in Virginia in November 2017 that resulted in a loss, a win, a tie, and a resolution by “canister.” Shelly Simonds, Democratic candidate for the Virginia House of Delegates District 94, at first narrowly lost to her opponent, Republican David Yancey, by only 13 votes (out of more […]

Adopting a New President

| Present

I had a wild thought: I’d like to adopt for myself a new President! There are quite a few to choose from now: Justin Trudeau in Canada; Emmanuel Macron in France; certainly Angela Merkel in Germany; Gudni Johannesson of Iceland; or Nicola Sturgeon of Scotland. There are probably others we can think of. I am […]

Voting, Here and There

| Present

Now that we’ve voted… Or at least some of us have voted. Many Americans, once again, stayed home; the latest statistics reveal that only about 52% of eligible voters exercised their right.  (That’s the lowest turnout in two decades – very sad…) Many Americans may have felt intimidated because of the many attempts at voter […]