Bernie Sanders recently said that the “I think the right to vote is inherent to our democracy, yes, even for terrible people.” Now, I don’t think that Bernie Sanders is the sharpest knife in the drawer, but why would anyone place this right ahead of all others?
Nicholas Malino
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Change the candidate debate format
Watching the most recent debate between the candidates for Connecticut’s next governor, CTMirror reported that there were a “few zingers” but little substance. The audience, although frequently admonished, added to the casual atmosphere, creating the feeling that we were attending an entertainment event rather than a political debate, by hooting, whistling, and applauding. Let’s face it, debates are forums in which each candidate tries to get the best, as the CTMirror puts it, “zingers” and hammer home one point whether it is factual or impactful or not.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Happy Constitution Day for an apathetic citizenry
September 17 is Constitution Day. The Constitution is 231 years old. The Framers of the Constitution effectively protected us from having our rights taken away. But they never thought that we would give them away. As countries go, the United States is one of the relative youngsters, nevertheless, our constitution is the longest lasting constitution in human history. So, Happy Birthday to the most important document in the life of every American citizen, a document which represents and embodies the freedoms that we have been enjoying for the last 240 years.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
The NPV will not solve the problem because there is no problem
The is a follow up to John Stoehr’s excellent article a few days ago. Although I agree with very few of the arguments nor his conclusions, it is one of the very few that I have read that presents a cogent and rational argument against the National Popular Vote (NPV). Bravo. I certainly do concur that we should just stick a fork in the National Popular Vote argument and let it go away.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
The Constitution is 230 years old
As countries go, the United States is one of the relative youngsters, nevertheless, our constitution is the longest lasting constitution in human history. So, Happy Birthday to the most important document in the life of every American citizen, a document which represents and embodies the freedoms that we have been enjoying for the last 230 years.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
The big bang of journalism in America
The demise of objective journalism is less a result of a news source trying to push an agenda and more about economics. A leading research organization covering the media industry published a summary of a well-known media survey from a few years ago by describing the media as “Biased, Frivolous, And Liberal.” Unfortunately, this is correct.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Obama, the laziest president, demonstrates the problem with politics
President Obama has been largely a “sidelines-quarterback.” His nickname of “No-Drama Obama” was earned by a full eight years of never getting out of first gear and assiduously refusing to exert and effort beyond the minimal. However, now it seems that he has suddenly come to life and is rushing to get some things put on his list of accomplishments. He came back from his latest vacation apparently with the intention to finally get some things done in his last few weeks. It seems as if he would like to be remembered for perhaps more than the president who has taken the most vacation time, spent the most on vacations (nearly $100 million), and logged more rounds of golf than any other president in history
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Connecticut’s school funding formulas whimsical, but not inequitable
Judge Thomas Moukawsher says the state’s school funding mechanism is irrational and the that state thereby failed to fulfill its mandate to thousands of schoolchildren across the state, and that the state spends this money “whimsically.”The funding formula is perhaps irrational and needs to be revised, but this judge’s decision can be described by those same two adjectives, and reflects a very basic failure to understand the problem. It seems that the decision was arrived at by looking at test scores and making the assumption that the only variable that affects these scores is financial, while neglecting the fact that there are many other variables which contribute to the quality of the outcomes.