2026 is a particularly ugly election year. While negative campaigning has become far too common in US elections, it has reached a fever pitch with disinformation far outweighing factual data in the flood of noise blanketing the internet where most people get their news and information these days. That makes it ever more challenging to honestly evaluate our ballots for each election. Fortunately, at least in California, there are a number of fact-based sites where voters can research the propositions and the candidates honestly. Continue reading
elections
2024 is going to be a long year
Here we are almost a month into a new year, and it’s been eventful so far. 2024 is a consequential presidential election year with democracy on the line, something that’s fast becoming a mainstay of our political process. It wasn’t always this way. There was a time when the two major parties may have preferred different approaches to solving the nation’s problems, but they worked together to try to make things better for everyone. FDR’s New Deal and Eisenhower’s Middle Way were two sides of the same coin from a Democratic and a Republican president respectively. Both held that the government had a role in regulating business, providing a basic social safety net, and aiding in making the U.S. a more fair and equal society. Continue reading

