corruption
A prime locale to talk bribery, suspect campaign funding, and all other instances of political corruption. The shadier, the better.
Where Does Authority Come From?
Where does authority come from? Legally, authority is shaped by the people, the people who vote, the people who are being voted for, the people who enforce laws, and the people who break laws. Authority is power. Authority is defined as “The power or right to give orders, make decisions, and enforce obedience.”
By Clare Woodford8 years ago in The Swamp
The Hour Glass
As the sands of time flow downward the sea of change continues to ebb. It ebbs not with grace but with a velocity of a coming tsunami. The world that I once knew when I was young is unrecognizable now. Back at a time when memories were made has kept my compass almost on the straight and narrow. I lived through times of hardships and woe, experienced joy and adulation and through it all never have I seen what our world has come to today. Sure, there are scientific breakthroughs and technological marvels that have made an impact but, yet the world keeps shifting toward a more ominous outcome. Our world is more convoluted, complex and dangerous now.
By Dr. Williams8 years ago in The Swamp
Are the Days of Honest Debate Over?
Are the days of honest debate over? Are we on a decent to continuous confrontation? It is widely acknowledged that if you are in a debate, before presenting ideas that oppose those presented by another; you talk about the parts of their view that you can agree with. Then, when you present your opposing ideas, the debate is already a discussion rather than outright confrontation. Your opponent now understands that you can see some merit in his or her position and so they are far more likely to accept at least part of your views, even those they initially disagreed with.
By Peter Rose8 years ago in The Swamp
If You're Outraged at Harvey Weinstein, You Should Be Furious About Bryan Singer
As more allegations about the conduct of Harvey Weinstein surface, the USA is about to experience a tempest that could fundamentally change their society. The bubbling press waters are already being disturbed by the emerging truth reaching the surface and causing, for the moment, minor turbulence in the status quo. The United Kingdom has been through this turmoil already with our experience of Jimmy Savile, Rolf Harris, Gary Glitter, Stuart Hall, and many other men who used their power in the media to molest children.
By Johnny Vedmore8 years ago in The Swamp
Tory Views on How We Should Live
So, Tory Minister Dr. Phillip Lee has decided that we're all a selfish lot and don't care for our elderly parents enough. I wonder, is he talking about successful businessmen, etc. not paying out for nurses and home-helps for their parents? Is he talking about, for instance, high-flying government ministers who should perhaps give up those responsible positions to spend more time with their elderly relatives? (Can he provide an example of this happening?) Or is he talking about people with no money, or who work every hour they can to support their own kids, driving themselves further into poverty, and debt by taking on the care of their parents as well? I think you'll find it's the latter. And would I, when the time comes, want my kids to waste their opportunities just to make my dotage a little less miserable than it will, almost inevitably, be? Time the Tories stopped trying to tell the rest of us how we should live I think—as if they have any idea at all.
By Martin Reed8 years ago in The Swamp
Failed Democratic Governments That Collapsed into Dictatorships
Many people see the election of Donald Trump in America as the dissolution of the American Republic; that this is a sign that America is another one of the many failed democratic governments that collapsed into dictatorships. Thankfully, the American government's series of checks and balances have indicated that Trump's powers are being limited, and that, no, despite his best efforts, he is not the CEO of America.
By Nikkie Evans8 years ago in The Swamp
The Greatest Challenge
Are we being led like sheep to the slaughter by leaders after quenching their thirst off of the tears of the masses? Is mankind going to dissolve into obscurity where all that is left is woe and misery? Has the US lost its moral compass? Very sobering thoughts considering the events of our modern day world that has played out before all to see. As undaunting the task before humanity is, the resolve has to be united. Not fractured as we are witnessing here in the United States and throughout the world. The future for all mankind rests with the decisions that are made today. But, sadly there continues to be those who hide behind cloaks of deception and deceit. Then we have a President who is incapable of uttering decisive remarks and decisions that would heal the wounds of an already divided country. Our leaders are the ones that control the events that shape the world. History is ripe with those whose cloaks have masked their misshaped ideologies. For those who seek of gaining more power, control and wealth they do so at the expense of the future, the environment, and the existence of all life.
By Dr. Williams8 years ago in The Swamp
Trump's Nazi Problem
Another day, another Trump Nazi think piece. One would think that I enjoy writing these, but I don't. Truly I would rather go back to living in my bubble and pretend that this reality star was still terrorizing us for entertainment value and not as leader of the Free World. Seriously Republicans, what does he have to do before you get off your asses and start putting country over party? Will it take him attempting a coup of our country before you do anything? Coming out and saying he should have said something is not going far enough. There have to be consequences to actions, but so far you have empowered him for his bad behavior. Take, for example, the fact that it took him 48 hours, two whole days, to condemn white supremacist Nazis down South for their actions. 48 freaking hours. If that had been President Obama, you would have been starting impeachment hearings before the violence began. This is not the first time that Trump has refused to rebuke white supremacist/hate groups, though.
By Edward Anderson8 years ago in The Swamp
Neo-Nazi Site 'The Daily Stormer' Pulled from GoDaddy Following Vile Charlottesville Comments
Domain hosting site GoDaddy isn't putting up with The Daily Stormer. The Daily Stormer posted egregiously hateful comments on its website at some point following Heather Heyer being identified as one of the three victims in the Charlottesville tragedy this past weekend. The comments, which will not be posted here, led several Twitter users to call for the removal of The Daily Stormer from GoDaddy.
By Christina St-Jean8 years ago in The Swamp
Should Police Wear Body Cameras?
At the current time, where small cameras can be mass manufactured and weeks of video can be stored on Terabyte hard drives, I believe we should start using technology to bring justice to criminals. Today we should allow it to be done on the municipal level and only in the cities that can afford it. In New York, a program is starting where their police department is aiming to put body cameras on 23,000 police officers. (New York Times, 2017) The New York Times is calling this a very large experiment where we can see technology’s effect on the penal system. The costs for a three year program are estimated to be higher than $70 million dollars.
By Jesse Guerrero9 years ago in The Swamp
Racism
According to Buck, white privilege was established in the USA. To explain it, she takes us back to the 16th and the 17th century. Before the construction of race that exists today, there were only two main classes of Europeans and Africans or whites and blacks. And the whites dominated over blacks using them as slaves. The Native Americans were also treated as inferior to the whites. They suffered from the same oppression that the blacks did. To support her rationales, Buck uses examples of historical changes like the Bacon’s Rebellion. “Given the tendency of slaves, servants, and landless free Europeans and Africans to cooperate in rebellion, the elite had to "teach Whites the value of whiteness" in order to divide and rule their labor force.” (P. S. Rothenberg, 32) After that rebellion, the Europeans implemented stricter voting rights that prevented Africans, Native Americans, and sub tribes who did not identify themselves as Europeans from voting. They even increased the punishment for white women who married African men, and black children of white fathers were given the status of slavery rather than 30 years of indenture. Many such punishments were implemented to maintain the status quo of white privilege.
By Beena Patel9 years ago in The Swamp
