Tag Archives: Brendan Birth

Heading into a Major Election Year…Without a Functioning Election Commission

Posted on by under Election 2018, Election 2020, Law and justice, Political commentary, Re-blogs

Just when you think things can’t get much worse … we now find out that the Federal Election Commission (FEC), the agency tasked with ensuring that election laws are properly enforced in order to guarantee a fair and honest {cough, cough} election, is not able to do its job. Blogging friend Brendan has written a rather chilling post on a topic we should all be aware of. Yet another strike against our democratic processes. Thank you, Brendan, for this enlightening post, for I was unaware of this, as I’m sure some others were!

Blind Injustice

I am not one for hyperbole, but the 2020 Presidential election is extremely important. In addition to many local- and state-level races, the election will determine who will control Congress for the next two years, and who will occupy the White House for the next four years.

Heading into such consequential elections, the Federal Election Commission (FEC) would be a helpful tool in making sure that candidates for the United States House of Representatives, United States Senate, Presidency, and Vice Presidency were not running afoul of federal campaign finance law.[1]

There’s one problem though—the FEC is not in a position to enforce federal campaign finance law heading into this. Why? Because the FEC needs at least four commissioners (out of six that could be in place) in order to enforce federal campaign finance law, and right now, the FEC is at…three commissioners. It was an issue noted the previous…

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Twelve Years of Bloomberg as Mayor: A New Yorker’s Perspective (Part One)

Posted on by under Election 2020, Environmental Issues, Law and justice, Political commentary, Racism & Bigotry, Re-blogs, Social commentary

Much of what Michael Bloomberg claims will enable him to be president is his record as Mayor of New York City. Blogging friend Brendan has lived in New York City all his life, and therefore had a birds-eye view of Bloomberg’s mayoralty. What was Bloomberg really like, as mayor? Brendan is doing a short series this week, sharing his ‘birds-eye’ views with us … I think his words will provide us with some much-needed insight. Thank you, Brendan, for permission to share these posts with my readers!

Blind Injustice

As I said in my recent “blog news” post, I hope to focus on issues that are either misunderstood or “under the radar” during this election season.

One of those “under the radar” issues is the mayoralty of Michael Bloomberg in New York City, especially since he is viewed as the “alternate to Bernie” (for those who are scared of Bernie Sanders). And, considering the fact that I lived in New York for nearly his entire tenure as mayor (with the exception of my freshman year and part of my sophomore year at college), I feel that I have something to offer on this under-the-radar issue. I feel it’s under the radar because, while certain elements of his past, such as stop-and-frisk, have been highlighted, many other elements of his time as mayor seem not to be discussed as much as they should be.

Some people may ask why…

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America’s Failure to Support Troops…Economically

Posted on by under Global Issues, Law and justice, Political commentary, Re-blogs, Social commentary

Yesterday, I was stunned by the statistics in this post by Brendan Birth … I think you will be too!  The United States has the largest military budget in the world, in fact it is larger than the next seven nations combined!

defense-spendingAnd yet … we have homeless veterans, and military families who must rely on government assistance simply to put food on the table.  There is something wrong with this picture, folks!

Thank you, Brendan, for this eye-opening post!

“Support our troops.” People in the United States frequently hear and see this phrase in a variety of settings: on cars, from politicians, and from friends posting on social media, to name a few. We hear it especially on days like Memorial Day and Veterans Day.

And I agree. We should support our troops. While my personal opinion is that we should avoid war except in the most extreme of circumstances (example: if our own nation is attacked, like with Pearl Harbor), people who risk their own lives on behalf of the entire country should be supported. Since people in the military serve our country, our country should in return serve our military veterans. It’s the least we can do in the United States.

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Slavery and Chocolate: Some Not-So-Sweet Truths

Posted on by under Global Issues, Political commentary, Racism & Bigotry, Re-blogs, Social commentary

Blogging buddy Brendan is a warrior for social justice, and this afternoon I came across this post that cries out to be shared. I must admit that I was clueless about all of this until I read this post. I only wish I had seen it before I bought candy yesterday for the girls’ Easter baskets. Well, live and learn, yes? Thank you, Brendan, for shining a light on these abuses, for I think it likely that many are unaware, as was I.

Blind Injustice

Every Valentine’s Day, Easter, birthday, and Christmas, many of us in the United States like to give chocolate to friends and/or family. Most of us look forward to getting that sweet goodness during those times of year.

For better or for worse, I’m about to sour that sweetness because of some ugly truths about slavery and chocolate.

Namely, there is a good chance that the chocolate you eat was made by slaves. But not just any slaves. Child labor.

A variety of sources have widely reported on how the three major American chocolate manufacturers—Hershey, Nestlé, and Mars (the makers of M&Ms)—all produce chocolate made with child labor. It has been a persistent problem, and a problem that isn’t getting resolved quickly.

Fortune Magazine best describes this problem in an article they wrote about the issue:
“The major chocolate companies—from Mars to Nestlé to Hershey—are heavily reliant on these countries…

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