All American citizens should be able to become president. Previous essays in this series have addressed fundamental flaws in the Constitution: the ill-defined nature of presidential powers, the malapportionment of the Senate, the Electoral College. But I wish to draw my readers’ attention to a less central, but still important defect: the requirement, stated in… Continue reading The Constitution’s “natural-born” defect
Tag: Senate
Why the Senate is blocking a new net neutrality bill, a year after trying to save it
The House just passed a bill to bring back net neutrality. McConnell says it’s “dead on arrival” in the Senate. The US House of Representatives just passed a bill to bring Obama-era net neutrality rules back to the internet. This time, they want to make these regulations law so the Federal Communications Commission can’t overturn… Continue reading Why the Senate is blocking a new net neutrality bill, a year after trying to save it
Net Neutrality Bill Sails Through the House But Faces an Uncertain Political Future
House lawmakers on Wednesday approved a Democrat-backed bill (alternative source) that would restore rules requiring AT&T, Verizon and other Internet providers to treat all Web traffic equally, marking an early step toward reversing one of the most significant deregulatory moves of the Trump era. From a report: But the net neutrality measure is likely to… Continue reading Net Neutrality Bill Sails Through the House But Faces an Uncertain Political Future
Congress to I.R.S.: Don’t Even Think of Helping Taxpayers
Congress could free most Americans from the annual drudgery of filling out tax forms. Instead, it’s trying to lock the current system in place. Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/10/opinion/irs-free-tax-preparation-turbotax.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
Ernest F. Hollings, Former Senator From South Carolina, Dies at 97
Mr. Hollings served 38 years in the United States Senate in an era of rising prosperity and often painful accommodation to racial tolerance in his state and across the South. Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/06/obituaries/ernest-hollings-dead.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
Sure, Let’s Make the Senate Even Less Deliberative
Republicans muscle through a rules change to shorten debate on nominations, further eroding the influence of the minority party. Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/04/opinion/senate-filibuster-mcconnell.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
The Health Reforms the G.O.P. Should Embrace (but Probably Won’t)
Republicans keep searching for a politically safe silver bullet that slays Obamacare and yet leaves everyone happy. That plan doesn’t exist. Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/04/opinion/republicans-health-reforms.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
Impasse Over Aid for Puerto Rico Stalls Billions in Federal Disaster Relief
The Senate voted down two disaster aid bills on as Republicans and Democrats clashed over President Trump’s opposition to sending more food and infrastructure help to Puerto Rico. Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/01/us/politics/senate-disaster-relief-puerto-rico.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
Trump’s Acts Show the Urgent Need to Curb the Imperial Presidency
The end of the Mueller investigation reveals that post-Watergate guardrails set up against executive overreach have been smashed and need replacing. Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/01/opinion/trump-mueller-barr-letter.html?partner=rss&emc=rss