Prescott Valley, AZ Correspondent-Insurance companies have been paying out billions of dollars in relief for property damage caused by hurricanes and resulting wind and flood damage to home and property owners in the coastal states. A great majority of the billions have come directly through the federal government, which basically underwrites (provides) the endless amounts … Continue reading Should the Government Continue to Provide Hurricane and Flood Damage Relief to the Coastal States?
Government
Election 2016 Round Table Discussion: Donald Trump has recently been under attack for open mic comments made in 2005. Hillary Clinton has been attacked for defending a rapist early in her law career and comments made in speeches to Wall Street firms. Does this really matter? Should the debates focus solely on policy issues rather than character issues? Would third party participation in the debates help to better manage the dialogue?
Owatonna, MN Correspondent-Character issues always matter when electing leaders, especially those in the federal government, but they are not as important as policy issues. The government is made up of humans who are fallible and have a wide variety of shortcomings. Character plays a role with voters because most voters at least subconsciously need to … Continue reading Election 2016 Round Table Discussion: Donald Trump has recently been under attack for open mic comments made in 2005. Hillary Clinton has been attacked for defending a rapist early in her law career and comments made in speeches to Wall Street firms. Does this really matter? Should the debates focus solely on policy issues rather than character issues? Would third party participation in the debates help to better manage the dialogue?
Election 2016 Round Table Discussion: What are your thoughts on early voting and voting procedures in the US? Is it time for reform?
Owatonna, MN Correspondent-This country's voting procedures are adequate but rapidly falling behind the times. An upgrade is needed in when to schedule elections, how and when to allow voting, how to tabulate votes, and whether the time has come for ranked-choice voting. Early voting makes a lot of sense, as does increased access to absentee … Continue reading Election 2016 Round Table Discussion: What are your thoughts on early voting and voting procedures in the US? Is it time for reform?
Election 2016 Round Table Discussion: Donald Trump stated in a late September Council Bluffs, Iowa campaign rally that if elected president he would “take on the special interests, the lobbyists, and the corrupt corporate media that have rigged the system against every single American.” How would he go about tackling these monumental tasks?
Gastonia, NC Correspondent-The first and best way to rein in the special interests that have turned congressional votes into a commodity to be bought and sold is to run the lobbyists out of the process. No matter how you slice it, using money and influence to get close to legislators is bad business. We have … Continue reading Election 2016 Round Table Discussion: Donald Trump stated in a late September Council Bluffs, Iowa campaign rally that if elected president he would “take on the special interests, the lobbyists, and the corrupt corporate media that have rigged the system against every single American.” How would he go about tackling these monumental tasks?
Election 2016 Round Table Discussion: Briefly, what are the top five most important issues that you believe the next president should address and why?
Owatonna, MN Correspondent-The top five issues the next president needs to address are the domestic economy, foreign policy, immigration, the tax system overhaul, and resolving the coming entitlement crisis (which includes health care and health insurance). Number one by a mile is the economy. The U.S. cannot help anyone in the rest of the world … Continue reading Election 2016 Round Table Discussion: Briefly, what are the top five most important issues that you believe the next president should address and why?
Computer Hacking and National Security
From Our Gastonia, NC Correspondent Do the denial of service attacks have other implications for US national and economic security? The denial of service (DDOS) attacks last week which took down Netflix, Amazon and other large sections of the internet should be a huge wake-up call to our nation’s IT security experts. The evidence so … Continue reading Computer Hacking and National Security
Should felons, no matter their race or crime, be granted voting rights?
Gastonia, NC Correspondent- This is a tough one for me. I firmly believe that the right to vote is one of our most sacred. While I might secretly wish that there was an intelligence test administered before the franchise was granted, the fact is that if you reach the age of 18 with a pulse, … Continue reading Should felons, no matter their race or crime, be granted voting rights?
Should the National Park Service Be Privatized?
Prescott Valley, AZ Correspondent-Privatization of the National Parks Service would be considered a break from tradition, though a number of national parks have already incorporated private operations within the parks themselves without detriment to the traditional sense of the government’s management and protection of the parks. In spite of reservations about the federal government and … Continue reading Should the National Park Service Be Privatized?
Some members of the Congress want to allow the USPS to engage in financial services and banking. Is this really a good idea?
Prescott Valley, AZ Correspondent-Postal controversies have been brewing in one way or another since financial inefficiency and deficits have become part of the post office’s legacy for a number of years, so whether the USPS should be allowed to expand upon its existing financial services and possible banking services is questionable. Since the postal … Continue reading Some members of the Congress want to allow the USPS to engage in financial services and banking. Is this really a good idea?
If Gary Johnson, the Libertarian Party’s Presidential nominee, earns his way into the Presidential debates, could that signal the end of the two-party political system in the U.S. and a change to a more permanent multi-party system like those found in many European nations?
Owatonna, MN Correspondent-Gary Johnson, former Governor of New Mexico, is the most popular third-party candidate for President since H. Ross Perot in 1992. He's closing in on 15% approval ratings in many polls, the benchmark by which candidates are invited to the nationally-televised Presidential debates. Because Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump combined have some of … Continue reading If Gary Johnson, the Libertarian Party’s Presidential nominee, earns his way into the Presidential debates, could that signal the end of the two-party political system in the U.S. and a change to a more permanent multi-party system like those found in many European nations?
