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Published: Monday, March 1, 2010
Updated: Monday, March 1, 2010
Former Alaska senator and 2008 Democratic presidential candidate Mike Gravel spoke Monday night at Pruis to promote the National Initiative for Democracy and his upcoming comedy TV show.
Gravel’s main focus was the importance of national ballot initiatives to ensure that governmental power goes to the citizens instead of politicians or corporate interests.
Disgusted with the news, yet?
Heard enough about the sex-capades of politicians and celebrities?
Mad about bankers, credit card companies, bailouts and the stimulus yet?
Government debt got you down?
You are not alone.
According to a new Rasmussen poll, 75 percent of all Americans are angry about current government policies.
The Rebel Yell / Opinion / When Democratization fails to benefit society
In reply to Barry Light's letter "Dems Not Delivering" (Jan. 16), I'd like to remind Mr. Light and everyone else that the Ninth and 10th Amendments to the Constitution reserve ultimate power to the people - not to our politicians. That means we are not powerless against the minority elite who think they run things.
I read about how outraged President Obama was with the Supreme Court ruling that allowed corporate money into the election campaigns without limits. I too am outraged. This country, for decades has been run by special interests for special interests, the public be damned. That includes Barack Obama’s Administration and the current Congress.
Former Sen. Mike Gravel will be coming to Ball State University.
The university announced Wednesday that Gravel will be on-campus Feb. 15 to give a lecture on his most recent campaign, the National Initiative for Democracy, and have an open question session.
Graham Watson, Web development specialist for Ball State, said he booked the former senator because he wanted the university and Muncie community to learn about the campaign.
By Chris Hedges
Editor’s note: Video of Gravel’s speech can be found on Page 2.
By ANDREA NEAL
Indiana voters are getting a taste of direct democracy thanks to a 2008 referenda law, and so far so good. The law lets the electorate approve expensive capital projects and certain tax rates at the school and local government level. Early results show voters can and do discriminate between what they think is nice and what they think is necessary -- and that's exactly how public policy should be made.
The American Time magazine article headline asks, "Will Switzerland Vote to Ban Minarets on Mosques?"
Editor’s note: Below is an open letter to our President from guest author Edo Segal, a concerned web geek who cares about the future of our democracy. It is followed by a proposal and a new website for anyone who thinks they know what #obamashould do (cynics please skip post).
Mr President,
WASHINGTON -- In her maiden Supreme Court appearance last week, Justice Sonia Sotomayor made a provocative comment that probed the foundations of corporate law.
During arguments in a campaign-finance case, the court's majority conservatives seemed persuaded that corporations have broad First Amendment rights and that recent precedents upholding limits on corporate political spending should be overruled.
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS — Perhaps the biggest big idea that gathered speed during the last millennium was that we humans might govern ourselves. But no one really meant it.
What was really meant in most places was that we would elect people to govern us and sporadically renew or revoke their contracts. It was enough. There was no practicable way to involve all of us, all the time.
Albany’s corruption and incompetence have reached epic proportions this year. The only real hope of fixing things is if voters in New York State elect a new, truly reform-minded generation of politicians.
Right now, the rules — on campaign finance, redistricting, even ballot access — overwhelmingly discourage competition. The good news is that New Yorkers are fed up.
If legislators and Gov. David Paterson want to hold on to their seats, they must prove their commitment to reform by making elections truly competitive.
There are many misunderstandings and confusions linked to the very concept of modern direct democracy. This creates a feeling of insecurity or even fear when it comes to democratizing our democracies. However, the tools and practices of modern direct democracy are genuine aspects of each truly representative democracy, as well-designed direct democratic procedures can make representative democracy more representative. On the other hand, other forms of popular political activity, like street protests, are sometimes mixed up with direct democracy.
NEARLY a month after the June 30 deadline, California’s Legislature and governor have finally agreed on a budget for the new fiscal year. The embarrassing debacle of paying the state’s bills with i.o.u.’s will come to an end — at least for a while. Though Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger had pledged not to “kick the can down the road,” the budget he intends to sign today relies on $8 billion in accounting and revenue gimmickry, virtually guaranteeing another fiscal crisis next year.
Longtime New Brunswick political figure sets sights on governor's seat
By JARED KALTWASSER
STAFF WRITER
David Meiswinkle's first political campaign was in the seventh grade, when he successfully lobbied his middle school basketball teammates to attend an end-of-season professional basketball game, instead of the pro hockey game the eighth-grade players wanted.
A recent tea party video got me thinking about how to adapt this message to communicate about ballot initiatives.
"Change is only going to come about when people have the power to act upon the knowledge that they will acquire through the new technology," says former Alaska Democratic Senator Mike Gravel. During the 2008 presidential campaign he became a YouTube "rock" star and now spends most of his time working in South Korea.