Thanks for helping us kick off Fixing Politics Week in style.
Tomorrow, we use the opportunity to introduce to you our newest contributing recovering politician. He was the former multi-term state representative in the home state of the star of the RP’s favorite TV show. More significantly, his profile page will feature a picture of himself with that same TV star.
And no, the RP’s favorite TV show is most definitely not Two and a Half Men. (Sorry, Sheen, Kuchner and Duckie fans!) But our new contributing RP does offer his 5 1/2 solutions to fix American politics. We think you will find them very thought-provoking.
By Zack Adams, RP Staff, on Mon Aug 22, 2011 at 3:00 PM ET
Politics of Tech
If you haven’t already heard, Google has acquired Motorola Mobility. Very nice get for Google as they look to expand more into the mobile market. [The Google Blog]
A 13-year-old boy increased the efficiency of solar panels by 20-50 percent by using them to mimic the form of tree branches and leaves. Wow, way to go, kid! [The Atlantic Wire]
A restaurant in North Carolina is being forced to pay $30,450 in statutory fees for “illegally playing” four unlicensed songs. This should be illegal. [techdirt]
27,000 South Koreans are suing Apple for $26 million for claimed privacy violations due to location information. [MSNBC]
Google wants to map the Amazon river like they have done with streetview. Please do! [BBC]
By Sandra Moon, RP Staff, on Mon Aug 22, 2011 at 1:30 PM ET
The Politics of Faith
What do Dr. Mattson, Rev. Dr. Cook, and Rabbi Kleinbaum all have in common? They are all inspiring religious leaders, and they are all women. [Huffington Post]
Robert Bellah, author of new book about religion's role in evolution
Does Christianity in its origin support socialism or capitalism? Here are two differing views. [Washington Post]
Implement term limits: 4 terms for Congress, 3 for US Senators and same for KY State House and Senate, starting ASAP or in 2015.
Remove the influence of money from elections by going to public financing.
If Murdoch or Soros or some corporation or PAC want to contribute to a candidate, they must contribute to the public pool and designate which candidate they want to support, and only the amount that the other candidate raises is allowed to be released to their choice. If any money from their contribution is left over at the end of the campaign, they can choose to leave it in the pool for the next race, but it goes into a blind pool to be doled out evenly by the public pool board or they can get what’s left back, interest free.
Supreme Court be damned on this one. I understand their individual free speech argument, but it is hurting the public good which trumps. The last 6 months highlights this point better in any time in recent history.
But for those of you good doers out there, we have a reward. This week’s posts on The Recovering Politician will be dedicated to the proposition of making our political system a better one. Fixing Politics will be our mantra.
Two particular qualifications:
1. We will be hearing from a number of our readers who offer challenging, outside-of-the-box ideas to make American democracy stronger. You may love ’em or you may hate ’em, but remember, these views, as always represent those of the writer only and not the management at the RP.
2. We’d really love to hear from you as well. We are hoping the comments section will be filled with your reactions to the articles posted. And hopefully some new ideas as well.
So please enjoy, and better yet, help participate during Fixing Politics Week. Who knows? Maybe one of your ideas will be adopted by our powerful readership and set the country on the right course. Or more likely, will at least give some of us more confidence that we are living in a truly participatory democracy.
The RP’s appearance on Fox and Friends this morning was the stuff of legendary scandal. Unlike most cable TV talk show debates, there was no screaming, no storming off the set, not even any projectile vomiting to entertain the disappointed audience.
In fact, the three panelists: the RP, Santita Jackson (Jesse’s daughter and a popular Chicago radio host), and Dylan Glenn (a former GOP Congressional candidate in Georgia) seemed to agree on every major issue, particularly that hyper-partisanship and rigid ideology are destroying American politics.
So if you can stand rational discussion without angry recriminations, go ahead and watch the clip below. (And if it inspires you to join the No Labels movement that the RP promotes and whose message the other panelists echo, click here.)
By Kristen Hamilton, RP Staff, on Fri Aug 19, 2011 at 2:00 PM ET
Still high off studying abroad in Paris, I decided to compile a list of my most enjoyable moments in Paris. This list is in no particular order, because to be quite honest, it is a bit difficult to choose between indulging in the luxury of Chanel and nearly getting attacked on the Metro. See what I mean? Check out my top 5 below:
1. Praying in the Sacré-Coeur
Regardless of the trek that it took to finally reach Sacré-Coeur, it was completely worth it. Unlike Notre Dame, I actually had the chance to go into this church (it was free) and sit down in the sanctuary. A lot of people sat down to hopefully put an end to their incessant sweating (myself, included); however, while sitting down, I was moved to pray. Tears rolled down my eyes out of nowhere; this experience was moving, to say the least. I actually had the opportunity to visit Sacré-Coeur twice, and I can honestly say that I will forever cherish the memories that I made there. Okay, enough of the crying – now to the fun stuff.
2. Visiting Notre Dame AND then watching Disney’s Hunchback of Notre Dame
Another church? I know, but I actually didn’t go into this one, and I don’t know what excited me more: seeing Notre Dame in person or seeing Notre Dame in person AND then running back to my room to watch the Disney classic featuring the beloved Quasimodo. The Hunchback of Notre Dame was never my favorite Disney movie (not even top 10); however, that is the power of the real Notre Dame. In walking distance from where I stayed, Notre Dame is majestic in all ways possible. It is one of those places where something comes over you, but you have no idea what it is. Maybe it’s the reverberation of the church bells that ring throughout the city or maybe it’s just the fact that you are standing in front of history. Regardless, my visit to Notre Dame, followed by my viewing of Quasimodo and the gargoyles, was special.
3. Playing Petanque
Petanque is probably one of the greatest games of all time. Seriously. Petanque is France’s precious sport jewel, and I am completely bummed that we do not have this game in the States. It just so happens that petanque requires a lot of skill that of which I do not have. There are two teams and each team has their own set of steal balls. In the beginning of the game, a small green ball is thrown, and wherever it lands, that is the target that each person is to aim for. The object of the game is to land the steal ball closest to the little green ball. This may sound simple (probably not with my horrible description of the game), but no, not quite. You have to throw the ball underhandedly, and the outdoor elements do not always help. My team ended up losing (of course), but I can’t remember when I have had that much fun playing a game with what looked like steal tennis balls.
Read the rest of… Kristen Hamilton: Top 5 Favorite Moments in Paris
