Budgeting.

Time to Feed the Beast. On tax day we have to look and question the purpose of all taxes paid in the past year. [April 17, 2012]

Bureaucracy.

I Support the Wisconsin State Workers. Brief thoughts on the happenings out in Wisconsin in recent days. [February 22, 2011]

Corruption.

Conspiracy Theories. It's easy to demonize your opponents and believe they are corrupt. [June 24, 2009]

Nobody is Immune from Money. Liberal and conservative special interests spend big to defend their interests in policy debates. [June 1, 2009]

Reaffirming My Own Belief in Man . People are generally good, regardless of misdeeds. [December 19, 2008]

What's Wrong With Ethics Reform. Regardless of the law, your not going to stop criminals from committing crime. [January 6, 2010]

Debate.

Conformity. It's important to challenge your groups' beliefs. [March 26, 2009]

Grid Lock. Why having grid lock in government is desirable. [May 5, 2009]

Why Must I Argue? I know I'm not going to change anyone's minds, but it sure is fun. [November 2, 2009]

Education.

Google Maps: School Districts Are Strange Beasts. Most school district lines are historic artifacts of an earlier era. [July 17, 2011]

License Schoolyard Bullies. If bigger and meaner children are going to steal other kids' lunch money, the state should be able to get its share. [October 8, 2011]

First Amendment.

Occupy and Saving of the Public Place. The occupy movement has been bringing life back to otherwise dead spaces. [January 16, 2012]

Leadership.

Population Density-based Democracy. Communities of similiar density should have cohesive representation, as they have the most common needs. [May 7, 2011]

Still Like Obama, Bush. Both Obama and his predecessor did a lot of good things for our country through compromise. [July 19, 2010]

What Does Courage Mean Today? A look at the contemporary meaning of courage in a society that shuns it. [March 8, 2005]

Legislatures.

Divided Government. This year, we will have divided government in both the state and federal levels. [January 9, 2011]

Do State Political Districts Group Together Rural, Suburban, Urban Communities? It turns out it varies a lot by district and political factors tend to over-ride compact districts. [July 18, 2011]

Does the US Senate or US House Represent Rural Folks More? While there are more Senators from rural states, the reality is urban demographics dominate most US Senate districts. [March 18, 2012]

Google Maps: Congressional and State Legislature Districts. Recently I updated these with the newest member information. [February 5, 2012]

Google Maps: Final Assembly, Senate, Congress Districts. Brought to you by the joys of Google Maps, QGIS, and CUNY center for Urban Research. [March 24, 2012]

How To Make Maps from Redistricting Block Lists. Most state, county, city redistricting commissions release block lists that you can make maps out of easily using free software. [February 20, 2012]

Why Not Make Majority Rule 20%? Supporters of abandoning the filibuster and procedural hurdles should realize making laws easier to pass isn't always a good thing. [February 14, 2011]

Role of Government.

America's Growing Wealth Gap. All the numbers show the wealthy becoming more so, while even middle class folk are squeezed. [June 18, 2010]

e-FOIL Your Government Monthly. A simple e-mail can get you a lot of interesting information and help save democracy. [June 4, 2011]

Home Rule vs Dillon's Rule. Some of the pros and cons of both forms of state government. [July 11, 2011]

Is Local Government Pointless? In a modern era, we need regional and state-wide planning, not little fiefdums for the well connected. [September 28, 2011]

Let the Market Decide Prices. Government should not be promoting drilling or the extraction of resources. [December 29, 2008]

Socialism. Thinking about conservative retorts about socialism. [September 10, 2009]

Term Limits. I am a big fan of term limits for elected officials. [August 31, 2010]

The Commons. Pondering the age old question of sharing land and resources. [February 24, 2009]

The Outlawing of Fun. Why not just completely outlaw everything that is fun or enjoyable experiences? [July 30, 2010]

Urban-Rural Interface for State Boundaries? Should state lines be drawn based on population density and cultural similiaries, rather then irrational factors? [November 22, 2011]

Taxes.

Don't Forget to Vote in School Board Elections. Small, local elections, can really make a difference in your community. [May 17, 2011]

Progressivity: A Cornerstone of Smart Policy. Public policy should increase regulatory and taxation burden only for the largest operations and wealthiest persons. [December 10, 2010]

Tax the Politicians. Why not tax politicians like we do for other groups that take from society? [August 11, 2010]

There Are No "Free to Use" Government Services. Some thoughts on this ever so special tax day... [April 18, 2011]