Elections

David Faris | (Informed Comment) | – – In weighted opinion polls, Hillary Clinton crushed Donald J. Trump in Wednesday night’s debate, with a 10 to 13 percent spread. On Wednesday night, an accomplished, intelligent woman with painstakingly constructed plans for the future of American society and a wonk’s grasp on policy once again spent […]

Dissent

Shadows of Plutocracy darken over our Democracy in this Election

contributors

By Bill Moyers | ( Tomdispatch.com ) | – – Sixty-six years ago this summer, on my 16th birthday, I went to work for the daily newspaper in the small East Texas town of Marshall where I grew up. It was a good place to be a cub reporter — small enough to navigate but […]

Bill of Rights

Can Americans get back their Democracy from the Oligarchy?

contributors

By John Scales Avery | (Inter Press Service) | – – COPENHAGEN, (IPS) – As many observers around the world have pointed out, the United States is no longer a true democracy. It is an oligarchy. The US government ignores the safety, wishes and needs of the majority of its citizens, and instead makes decisions […]

Democracy

Iran’s Pres. Rouhani may have parliamentary backing, but can he remake Iran?

contributors

By Nader Habibi | (The Conversation) | – – Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and his policies are set to get a boost this week after voters elected a parliament that favors reform. While Rouhani’s reformists didn’t win a majority of seats, it appears likely that the “moderate” independents also elected will side with his faction, […]

Democracy

With more Women than Clerics, will Iran’s new Parliament improve Women’s Rights?

contributors

Leila Alikarami | (Open Democracy) | – – The problem was the Guardian Council, a body which has veto authority over any legislature, which in this case rejected all 33 bills introduced by women deputies. Parvaneh Salahshouri in the conference of elected moderates and reformists of Iran, March 2016. Wikicommons/ Hamed Malekpour. Some rights reserved.Seventeen […]

Arms Sales

Big Money in Politics Doesn’t Just Drive Inequality. It Drives War.

contributors

By Rebecca Green | ( Otherwords.org) | – – Military contractors have shelled out over $1 million to the 2016 presidential candidates — including over $200,000 to Hillary Clinton alone. The 2016 presidential elections are proving historic, and not just because of the surprising success of self-proclaimed socialist Bernie Sanders, the lively debate among feminists […]

Bill of Rights

The Young Turks’ Cenk Uygur ARRESTED At Democracy Spring Protest In Washington D.C.

contributors

Ben Mankiewicz, Ana Kasparian, and John Iadarola | (The Young Turks Video) | – – “The Democracy Spring rally was held today in Washington, D.C. to protest government corruption and money in politics. What began as a march from the Liberty Bell to the nation’s capitol ended in civil disobedience and mass arrests. Our own […]

Democracy

Do you have to be Affluent to be Democratic?

contributors

By Pippa Norris | (The Conversation) | – – Africans recently went to the polls in Benin, Cape Verde, the Republic of Congo, Niger and Zanzibar. The outcome was decidedly mixed. In Congo, riot police used tear gas in the capital to disperse dozens of opposition supporters who alleged vote irregularities. But incumbent President Denis […]

Democracy

Why Are there no Iranian Suicide Bombers? Evolving Islamic Democracy Matters!

contributors

By Ali R. Abootalebi | (Informed Comment) | – – The emergence of political Islam in the mainstream politics in the Middle East and across other Muslim countries since the 1970s has impacted socioeconomic and political development in so many different ways. The return of religion–a symbol of traditionalism–to the mainstream debate about and the […]