Posts Tagged: democracy

Opinion

For democracy’s sake, fix our voting infrastructure

Voters in Ventura County cast ballots during a recent election. (Photo: Spirit of America, Shutterstock)

OPINION: The administrative procedures, technology systems and people who manage elections are the essential elements of self-governance – the distribution of ballots and information, the collecting, the counting, the reporting. Like much of our public infrastructure, these systems are not always adequately maintained or updated, until they make headlines themselves.

News

Drug industry clout, Medicare costs

Prescription drugs displayed across a counter top. (Photo: Motorolka, via Shutterstock)

FairWarning: When the Republican-controlled Congress approved a landmark program in 2003 to help seniors buy prescription drugs, it slapped on an unusual restriction: The federal government was barred from negotiating cheaper prices for those medicines. Instead, the job of holding down costs was outsourced to the insurance companies delivering the subsidized new coverage, known as Medicare Part D.

Analysis

Reporter’s Notebook: A Clinton rally, close up

Presidential contender Hillary Clinton campaigning in Oakland. (Photo: Jeff Chiu/Associated Press)

After Hillary Clinton’s Oakland rally, Kayla, 15, had tears running down her cheeks. She was upset. Kayla, a student at Oakland’s MetWest High School, had walked to the rally site Friday with some classmates and at least one teacher. It wasn’t far: The event was held nearby at the La Escuelita Elementary School gymnasium.

News

Court ruling could jeopardize California redistricting

California and Arizona are two states that couldn’t be further apart in temperament and size. But in one crucial issue – the drawing of political boundaries – they are joined at the hip, as California’s redistricting commission made clear Friday to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Opinion

Voter Registration Day: A reminder to participate in Democracy

OPINION: Today is National Voter Registration Day and it falls between two historic legislative anniversaries this year and next year that remind us how so many people struggled for the voting rights that too many fail to use now. You can either cast a ballot, or cast a shadow over our democracy by not voting at all this November.

News

Stronger safeguards sought for reporters, sources

Reliable sources are among a journalist’s most valuable assets. In California, an effort is under way to strengthen their protections, a move prompted by the federal government’s recent efforts to abruptly seize reporters’ telephone records.

“A free democracy depends on the freedom of the press,” said Sen. Ted Lieu, D-Long Beach. Lieu, a former prosecutor,

Opinion

Searching for democracy this election year

Many Californians are suffering from politics and election fatigue. Tired of partisanship, they are looking for action from politicians on the issues they care most about: the economy, schools and health care.

 

We keep hearing that the U.S. is more polarized now than it has been for some time. This polarization is promoting gridlock,

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