Tag: politicians

Fair vote

Fair vote

About every 10 years in Pennsylvania the majority party in the state legislature comes up with a plan to prevent a fair vote by making as many votes of the opposition party as ineffective as possible. This is called redistricting. The same happens in other states too.

The legislature figures out how to slice and dice the population in a way that protects incumbents of their party by making a challenge by the opposition unlikely to succeed. In other words, if you are unlucky enough to be a a district gerrymandered in favor of one party but prefer the candidate of the other party, your vote is unlikely to help bring about change.

The process is also called gerrymander. It is a way for politicians to prevent a fair vote. This political process is almost as old as the United States. But old and fair are not the same. Can this unfairness be prevented?
Continue reading “Fair vote”

Knucklehead for President

Knucklehead for President

The words grabbed my attention. I can just see someone shouting “Knucklehead for President”. The “stuff happens” part also appealed to me but it was the knucklehead business that really got my attention.

The article was “Stuff Happens to the Environment, Like Climate Change” by Thomas L. Friedman (@tomfriedman) and here is how it begins: Continue reading “Knucklehead for President”

Climate Change: Scientists think it is real but politicians doubt

Climate Change: Scientists think it is real but politicians doubt

The scientific evidence for climate change is pretty strong – we often hear that 97% of scientists agree that climate change is happening and human activities are at least partly the cause. A page at NASA shows this consensus.

The latest report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) shows increasing confidence that this change is happening, using words such as “unequivocal” and “unprecedented“. Continue reading “Climate Change: Scientists think it is real but politicians doubt”

Pension abuse

Pension abuse

Much has been said in the press and on blogs lately about pensions. And quite often the focus is on public employees. But little, if anything, is said about abuse of public pensions by politicians.

Should the public employee who has worked 30 years be treated diffently than the career politician? How about the politician who is in office for say 26 or 28 years and then appointed to a postion for a few years to allow them to qualify for a 30 year pension?