cam, 142 words, 0 comments, USA, US Politics

The electoral system in the United States is heavily federal in character with the states controlling many of the machinations and procedures for the national elections. A common device used by the states to keep out unwanted candidates is the requirement for a certain number of signatures to be collected for someone to be on the ballot. In my opinion this is an onerous task which acts as barrier to compete for many candidates.

It also has some oddities, for instance today the Republican would-be challenger to Senator John Kerry was thirty short;

According to Secretary of State William F. Galvin's office, Ogonowski's campaign delivered just 9,970 certified voter signatures to its election division today just before the final deadline, 30 short of the 10,000 he needed.

It will most likely mean he is off the ballot short of legal re-instatement. (reply)

cam, 213 words, 3 comments, Ford, USA, Car Design

I cannot work out American car design; it has always produced distinctive cars but you have to be blind to the absolute stinkers that get produced along with the classics. There are some cars that just do not look right. The American Ford Focus is such a car. (more)

cam, 325 words, 0 comments, USA, California, Labor Market, Technology

Californian companies are starting to do the process of insourcing. This is where a company creates satellite offices in nearby cities, such as Phoenix, Denver, Salt Lake City or Portland to do development. One of the reasons is ease of communication; most of those cities are a day flight away from San Francisco. Another concern with outsourcing overseas is that a vendor is intimate with your business logic.

I thought the lower rent and salaries in these cities was a major consideration but it is not. The Californian labor market is tapped out of quality technology candidates and smaller tech companies are having trouble competing with the 'cool' billion dollar companies like Google* for skilled workers. (more)

cam, 522 words, 0 comments, Process Laws, USA, US Politics, Virginia Politics

An ethics reform bill has passed in the US. I think those bullet points will help improve legislative governance. It is a shame the Australian Senate is not independent enough from the executive presently to pass similar laws which enforce process on the Senate. (more)

cam, 382 words, 0 comments, USA, Robert Dallek, Recall

Robert Dallek has an op-ed in the WaPo which argues for a constitutional amendment to remove an unpopular and failed President - a recall election in other words. The electorate had their opportunity to judge in 2004 and they decided to democratically re-elect President Bush. So I do not buy that argument. (more)

cam, 771 words, 0 comments, USA, Virginia, Henrico District Court, Archer Yeatts, Anthony Price, Virginian Politics

A Henrico District Court Judge has decided that the fees on Virginian drivers which are in addition to the normal penalties are unconstitutional. Too often the judicial ends up being the last barrier between bad laws and bad policy; legislators and the executive force this state of affairs. The decision was immediately appealed by commonwealth lawyers. (more)

cam, 959 words, 6 comments, USA, Bush Administration, Impeachment, Executive, Legislative, Congress

I am opposed to impeaching the President of the United States until concrete solid evidence turns up. The only place I can currently see that happening is around the FISA wiretappings. Impeachment is not a process to recall an inept, incompetent or unpopular President. It is a specific legal process that requires proof of "treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors". (more)

cam, 379 words, 1 comment, USA, Constitution, American Constitutionalism, Leonard E. Levy

Leonard E. Levy writes, "They [America] resorted to arms in 1775, the Continental Congress believed, not to establish new liberties, but to defend old ones. In fact, they did establish many new liberties but convinced themselves that those liberties were old." (more)

cam, 670 words, 0 comments, Immigration, USA, Loudoun County, Prince William County

With the failure of an immigration bill to get through the Senate at the Federal level in the United States, local government such as counties have started passing similar legislation. Recently Prince William County and Loudoun County in Virginia have passed laws which deny illegal immigrants services and require police to arrest them if discovered during routine stops and enforcement. (more)

cam, 533 words, 0 comments, USA, George Bush, Bill Clinton, US Senate

The US Constitution was written in the days when it took James Madison three days to travel to his nearby political friend, Thomas Jefferson's house. That same trip can be made today in twenty minutes by car. Foreign policy with Europe in those days could be a problem as well, as it took several months for Executive policy to reach Ambassadors in England and France - often events in the US would outpace communications. So it was wise at the time to include a provision for recess appointments as getting the Senate together could take weeks, if not months. Today? With modern transport? Not so much. (more)