Since we’re getting a live test of how well the Constitution’s oversight of the Executive branch works at the moment, let’s evaluate how it’s doing vs. my suggestion from Failed Constitution Check: Executive Oversight that the Executive branch needs to…
Constituent Service: Making Politicians Face The Music
Politicians really are a class all their own. That’s not a good thing. Even politicians who famously start their careers straight out of a blue-collar life find themselves dragged into the bubble of political culture: seeing mainly other politicians, speaking…
Escrow: Keep The “Cloud” Honest
So, I work with computers and online hosting systems; this will be relevant … There is no cloud. There are just computers that other people control. This matters when manufacturers decide to start making and selling products that refuse to…
He’s Repressing Me: Freedom Of Conscience In An Age Of Anti-Discrimination Laws
Come and see the violence inherent in the system! Fine; I’ve got that out of my system. We can start the actual post now. Anti-discrimination laws are … problematic. By definition, they are an attempt to force citizens to behave…
National Territories: Taxation Without Representation
Territories, federal districts, protectorates; whatever you call them, their very existence violates one of the foundational principles of this country. No taxation without representation. In the United States, this is repeated at us endlessly, from elementary level history to Schoolhouse…
You Need To Read This: Remembering Courtney Everts Mykytyn
You should read this, from Mother Jones. I hadn’t heard of Courtney Everts before I read it. But she sounds like she had the right idea: you probably can’t change the systems around you, but you are responsible for how…
SPQA: Senatus Populusque Americanus
This is a followup to Let’s Do This: For Once Something Is Actually About States’ Rights. Either abolish the Senate or change the Constitution to make us a real federation. Let’s get really non-controversial: the only reason the Senate exists…
No Spoilers: Ranked Choice Voting
This is related to Bloc Party: Real Representation In Government. That one is concerned with elections where multiple candidates will win, this one is concerned with single candidate elections. Framed. When the United States’ Constitution was written, the discipline now…
Let’s Do This: For Once Something Is Actually About States’ Rights
We have a history here in the United States of claiming that some … things … were about the rights of the states against the federal government when really they were about … something else. Yeah; that. This is not…
Bloc Party: Real Representation In Government
The legislatures of this country frankly suck, and this is no secret. For example, polls regularly find more than 75% of their respondents think Congress is not responsive to their voters in any meaningful way. This is kinda by design.…