April 29, 2008
The Illinois Senate’s Version of the Recall Amendment / Recalled Officials Can Run to be Their Own Successors
After the fiasco two weeks ago, when the Illinois Senate buried Rep. Franks’ recall amendment (HJCRA28), Senator Hendon introduced his own recall amendment in the Senate. This version (SJCRA70) is substantially similar to Rep. Franks’ recall but has a few changes: the ability to recall judges, the Governor and Lt. Governor have to be [...]
Comments (0) Filed under: 2008, OP/ED, Politics, Vox Populi — John Bambenek @ 9:20 pmApril 1, 2008
Can a Constitutional Convention Fix Illinois’ Broken Government?
Illinois voters will be presented with an historical opportunity to fix the structural problems that plague Illinois government and fix deficiencies and loopholes in our current constitution. There are problems that can only be fixed in a constitution but the entrenched interests have come out saying a convention is unnecessary. Here is why they [...]
Comments (0) Filed under: 2008, Current Events, OP/ED, Politics, Vox Populi — John Bambenek @ 8:17 pmMarch 13, 2008
What if Chavez Isn’t Bluffing About War with Colombia?
Hugo Chavez is making news again, this time threatening war with Colombia (a U.S. ally) over the assassination of terrorist elements that have taken refuge in Ecuador. The facts aren't quite known, but it is alleged the Colombia sent military forces into Ecuador to attack members of the FARC, a terrorist group that has been [...]
Comments (2) Filed under: Europe, International Politics, OP/ED, Russia, South America, Vox Populi, War — John Bambenek @ 8:54 pmFebruary 19, 2008
The Health Care Crisis and Why it was Inevitable
Since 1970, the health care industry has undergone a revolutionary change. Before that time people were overwhelmingly (about 70%) in traditional indemnity plans where patients pay a certain percentage of health care costs. With the passage of the Health Maintenance Organization Act written by Ted Kennedy (D-Mass), very quickly over 70% of Americans [...]
Comments (1) Filed under: Conservatism, Current Events, Economics, Health, OP/ED, Politics, Vox Populi — John Bambenek @ 6:47 pmOctober 17, 2007
Al Gore’s Nobel Peace Prize First Ever Given That Has Nothing To Do With Peace
Al Gore and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change have been awarded the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize for 2007. According to the Nobel Foundation, the award was given “for their efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change, and to lay the foundations for the measures that are needed to [...]
Comments (6) Filed under: Current Events, Europe, OP/ED, Politics, Vox Populi, contributors — John Bambenek @ 8:18 pmSeptember 28, 2007
Columbia was Right in Hosting Ahmadinejad
The controversy surrounding Ahmadinejad's speech at Columbia is still roiling the campus and the legislature. Representative Duncan Hunter, a non-factor in the Presidential race, has threatened to cut all federal funding from Columbia for hosting the event. It's just not no-name presidential candidates hungry for airtime that are complaining. Conservative groups across [...]
Comments (3) Filed under: Current Events, Iran, Politics, Vox Populi — John Bambenek @ 7:47 amSeptember 25, 2007
If Congressional Approval Falls Below 10%, Do We Get to Have Another Revolution?
The latest Zogby poll shows that only 11 percent of Americans approve of the job Congress is doing. This is contrasted with Bush's underwhelming 29% approval rating. These polls show that Americans of all political stripes are losing faith in their government. Congress' all time low (prior to this poll) is 18% [...]
Comments (4) Filed under: 2008, Current Events, OP/ED, Politics, Vox Populi — John Bambenek @ 8:00 pmSeptember 16, 2007
Greenspan is Right about the Republicans and the Economy
Many on the right are lamenting the "conversion" of former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan and will likely start to discredit him for committing the unforgivable heresy of praising Clinton and criticizing Bush. Specifically, he praised Clinton for his fiscal-minded policies and focus on the spending deficit. Conversely, he criticized Bush and the [...]
Comments (3) Filed under: 2008, Economics, Politics, Vox Populi — John Bambenek @ 6:38 pmSeptember 7, 2007
FEC Evasion and the Regulation of Political Committees
The Federal Election Commission has recently ruled on the complaint filed against Kos Media (of DailyKos.com fame) that alleged it was running a political committee and did not file the required disclosures. The case was MUR 5928 and the documents are available via the Commission’s Enforcement Query System (put 5928 in the case field). [...]
Comments (0) Filed under: Current Events, OP/ED, Politics, Vox Populi — John Bambenek @ 8:01 pmJuly 23, 2007
The Absurdity of the Marriage Debates
This week a study came out that shows how unilateral divorce laws make divorce more frequent. The empirical research shows what any sensible person would already guess — easy divorce laws make for more divorces. This is only magnified by the fact the divorcing party usually has great incentives to divorce and few [...]
Comments (88) Filed under: Family, Politics, Vox Populi — John Bambenek @ 4:55 pm