There exists in rural America a very pressing need for public transportation that cannot be met by the situation as it exists. Public transportation systems, which rely on federal funding, cannot efficiently meet the needs of rural residents. And yet, their needs are no less well founded. It is with that in mind that I propose a concept whose working title I call "Liberty Taxi". The idea behind this is simply neighbor helping neighbor, but given the litigious culture we live in, certain legal...
Following on the 10% of the popular vote garnered by Martin Van Buren in 1848 as a member of the Free Soil Party, John P. Hale (1806-1873), a Representative and Senator from NH was selected as the 1852 candidate for the office of presidency. A senator for the party elected in 1847, Hale seemed the idealhigh profile choice to take the reins. He served as US Attorney under Andrew Jackson in 1834, and was removed by John Tyler in 1841. Elected as a Democrat to Congress and serving from 1843-1...
The continuing series on third party candidates throughout US History: Martin Van Buren (1782-1862) is one of two historical third party candidates who polled a significant percentage to have actually held the office. This prominence, combined with his historical anti-slavery stance (he blocked the annexation of Texas during his tenure as president because it would add to slave territory), made him the ideal, high profile candidate for the newly formed Free Soil Party, which formed on t...
Republicans have campaigned over the last several years on the idea of espousing smaller federal governments and expanding state and local autonomy. While I have found a good number of individual Republicans of whom this has been true, this is NOT true of the national party, and specifically not true of the Bush administration. In this article, I will attempt to enumerate several examples of how the Bush administration is antithetical to small government, and why true small government Republican...
The second in my series on third party candidates who made a significant impact on presidential elections: James Birney (1792-1857) was a reformed slaveholder turned abolitionist. Born in Danville, Kentucky in 1792, he was a lawyer and a member of the Kentucky legislature from 1816-1818. He helped to organize the Liberty Party, which placed slavery on the national political agenda, in 1840, and was its presidential candidate in 1840 and 1844. He received 7,000 popular votes in 1840, but...
I am beginning a series extrapolating notes on third party candidates throughout history for a larger piece I am putting together. I felt these notes would make interesting blog articles as well: <P> William Wirt (1772-1834) was a poet and a lawyer who served for 12 years (1817-1829) as the US Attorney General, under presidents Monroe and John Quincy Adamd. He was the prosecutor in the 1807 conspiracy trial of Aaron Burr in 1807, and argued over 170 cases before the U.S. Supreme Court.<...
OK, folks, no fair peeking: Who was the first woman to receive a US electoral vote, and what year? (I'll probably not be able to give you the answer until Monday due to computer accessability).
Today has been one of my most strenuous workdays as a writer. Driven by my emerging role as a leader (see, "I Don't Feel Like a Veteran ANYTHING"), and my true desire to work to improve American politics, I have begun working on a very serious, and, hopefully extensive, piece that I hope will influence many Americans who are disenchanted with the American political system to rally together to mount a serious attack against the political status quo. While such an effort could truly be deemed q...
The past twelve months have brought forth some examples of shameful behavior by professional athletes in regards to fans. The Randy Moss fake moon incident was preceeded by the Pacers' attack on the stands, was preceded by the A's pitcher throwing a chair into the stands, and so it goes. Pundits have rightly criticized the athletes for their abhorrent behavior. But they have ignored the problem of the FANS. In two of the three incidents, the athletes' actions can be attributed to equally abho...
As California continues to suffer from flood and mudslides, domestic attention is definitely drawn to it. But the international community will not be reaching out to our citizens for aid, nor will they criticize the lack of spending of other countries on our crisis. Nor should they. The California crisis is ours to deal with, and we can and should be grateful for any aid that comes from outside sources as a "gift". While we are indeed a wealthy country, it is our innovative nature and f...
This article falls in the "not necessarily tongue in cheek" category. I feel that, in my time on JU, I have put out a reasonable body of work. The problem is, with my computer time limited to library access, I am not able to edit and compile my pieces in the wee small hours of the morning, which is when I am most creatively active. So, what I am proposing is this: knowing that I have no funds outright, if there is someone out there who is willing to help me compile the hodgepodge of articl...
The newest proposal in Gideon's never ending stream of get rich quick schemes: Apparently, the sale of paper shredders is going through the roof. That's right, paper shredders. That is because a new law holds you liable if you do not shred all information from domestic employees (nannies, yardmen) that contains their Social Security number and other documents. As a result, a growing industry is expected to shoot through the roof. So, here's the rub: I am on the phone with cheap Indon...
The newest proposal in Gideon's never ending stream of get rich quick schemes: Apparently, the sale of paper shredders is going through the roof. That's right, paper shredders. That is because a new law holds you liable if you do not shred all information from domestic employees (nannies, yardmen) that contains their Social Security number and other documents. As a result, a growing industry is expected to shoot through the roof. So, here's the rub: I am on the phone with cheap Indon...
There have been many articles written to date on the court decision requiring schools to remove disclaimer stickers from science textbooks. I support the decision, and feel that the stickers were absolutely ridiculous. And I am a conservative Christian who takes many issues with evolution AS PRESENTED IN MANY PUBLIC SCHOOL TEXTS. That's not to say I don't "believe" in evolution. Frankly (warning: John Birchers may be offended reading past this point), to say evolution doesn't happen is ridicu...
in 1985, I stood with a group of protestors speaking out against the (now renamed) School of Americas, which has recently become known to the rest of the world. Between 1985 and 1988, I wrote over 100 letters for Amnesty International. In 1991, I joined the Socialist Party USA, and was active in the 1992 campaign of J. Quinn Brisben, the SPUSA's candidate, who remains a friend, and whose name my son bears. I have worked with a number of liberal theologians over the years protesting many injus...