Sounding Board - How not to do Democracy
554602
The rest of the world made a collective shudder on July 22 when Bulgaria decided to close 250 churches and 50 police raided a church in Sofia.
331154
This is not the kind of group you would want as your enemy. Its members have experience, political savvy and an insider's knowledge of how the place is run. They also aren't afraid to talk.
651855
Comment is free: Julian Glover: Government exists to achieve tasks individuals cannot tackle alone. On the environmental crisis, it has badly failed.
694591
Comment is free: Neal Lawson: The challenge is to seize the initiative and create a new public realm that enables a more equal world to take shape.
454915
Tycho: Sorry about that. Kiko digests the audio files for that, and I forgot that there President's Day was a holiday that people took seriously. Before today, I was not aware just how seriously Kiko took the concept of presidency. Also, I fixed an offensive and aggressively stupid typographical error in the post above. Now, it's only aggressively stupid in the ways I originally intended.(CW)TB
67075
Comment is free: Jonathan Steele: The EU must not relent to the siren voices who oppose the territory's path to independence.
462933
Â· Seeking third term would 'tinker with democracy'Â· Sharp criticism for White House's foreign policy
594387
"Despots Masquerading as Democrats": "It is a sign of hope that even dictators have come to believe that the route to legitimacy runs by way of democratic credentials."  By failing to demand that offenders honor their citizens' civil and political rights and other requirements of true democracy, Western democracies risk undermining human rights everywhere, the international ... via Kansas.com
463031
"When we Americans first began, our biggest danger was clearly in view: we knew from the bitter experience with King George III that the most serious threat to democracy is usually the accumulation of too much power in the hands of an Executive, whether he be a King or a president. Our ingrained American distrust of concentrated power has very little to do with the character or persona of the individual who wields that power. It is the power itself that must be constrained, checked, dispersed and carefully balanced, in order to ensure the survival of freedom. In addition, our founders taught us that public fear is the most dangerous enemy of democracy because under the right circumstances it ...
656009
I was sitting in a bar listening to the presidential &quot;debate&quot;, thinking the same thought I always do when listening to politicians. &nbsp;Why must I choose between two people that I don't like? &nbsp;Since I live in New York, where Democrats usually win the electorate, should I even bother voting? &nbsp;Are my votes even counted? It's always easy to blame the current President for the nation's current problems, and I'll admit that I'm often tempted to blame Bush. &nbsp;But the reality is that he is not to blame. &nbsp;The blame can be placed squarely on us, the citizens, and on our unwillingness to reform an outdated voting system.
463811
I just read an article on the Village Voice website that summed up one of the complaints I have had for some time about the Democratic Party: They won't fight.  At the same time, they are trying to convince conservative voters to vote for them instead of the Republicans and are losing votes on the liberal side as a result.   For both of these problems, I blame the Democratic Leadership Council.
35184
Former President Clinton has a message for Democrats inconsolable after President Bush's re-election: Buck up. It's not that bad. You need to improve your image.
693999
By Maureen Milford The (Wilmington, Del.) News Journal  Dennis M. Dennis offers these suggestions to deal with a backbiting colleague:  Delay any response. Give yourself time to think clearly.  Reflect on the situation.
393432
Delaying the January vote would raise new dangers. So will going ahead
251543
If you can't take it, don't dish it out.
578994
Down with conventional wisdom, Rule Breakers say.
208464
Tycho:  When I started reading articles about Senator Brownback's bill - the one that would require that the ESRB play through games in their entirety - I expected to agree with it in principle, but take issue with its execution.  The shrill phase of the site, where I would don armor and ride under the aegis of the true gamer no matter how mild the incentive, now rests in the reliquary with Xbox Controller Jokes and Jabs At User Friendly.  I had chosen a singularly poor moment to become reasonable.  Upon further examination, the Senator's plan (which I think may be rightly called a machination) is the sort of thing one might forge in the fires of Mount Doom.