National
Yesterday in a number of states across the nation, citizens headed to the polls to vote on a variety of issues.
In Mississippi, there were three measures on the state-wide ballot for voters, two of which passed. Initiative 27 which would require an ID at the polls to vote, and Initiative 31 which prevents government from using eminent domain to acquire private property both passed by significant margains. Initiative 26, the personhood amendment defining life as beginning at fertilization was defeated by a smaller but still wide margin.
Today, two big ballots in two different states should give us an idea of where Americans stand on the political spectrum. In Mississippi, voters will decide when life begins and when a person becomes a person. In Ohio, voters will decide whether or not to keep Governor Kasich’s union reform law.
Californians’ initiative, referendum and recall process is as hot a topic for debate as ever. That’s apt, for this year marks the process’s 100th anniversary.
On October 10, 1911, Californians went to the polls to enact these democratic checks on government after Governor Hiram Johnson persuaded legislators to put them on the ballot. On October 10, 2011, I’ll be in Sacramento at an event sponsored by Citizens in Charge Foundation to celebrate the centennial.
It may be a stretch to connect petition rights and space travel, but today is the final flight of a space shuttle and liftoff is in about a half hour. If you’re interested in watching live you can do so here.
There is also a petition online to continue space shuttle flights until the next space vehicle is ready. If you’re interested you can sign here.
America is 235 years old today, and Citizens in Charge President Paul Jacob talks about the 4th of July in today’s Common Sense:
Some 235 years ago we made a clean break from the corrupt Old World of Europe. Fifty-six men risked it all to proclaim in the Declaration of Independence that:
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. ”” That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed… .
In case you missed Paul’s response to Ballot Initiative Strategy Center’s Justine Sarver last week, the Fox and Hound’s Daily blog has is up today:
Yesterday, an op-ed in the Sacramento Bee by Justine Sarver of the Ballot Initiative Strategy Center urged California legislators to clampdown on the state’s initiative and referendum process by passing a number of new restrictions on the rights of Golden State citizens to petition their government.
Wall Street Journal columnist John Fund had a good piece in Saturday’s paper on threats to citizen initiative rights in Colorado and around the country:
Last week, Citizens in Charge Foundation co-hosted a transpartisan panel in Denver, CO to discuss the various attacks on Colorado’s initiative process.
After the panel was done we chatted briefly with Mr. Trippi on why he thought initiative & referendum rights are so important for citizens in holding their government accountable.
Today we created our new Citizens in Charge Facebook page. The Citizens in Charge Foundation group is scheduled to be archived by Facebook for reasons only Mark Zuckerberg knows. So, before it disappears please head over to our new page an “like” it. It will be the same as our old page, with regular news updates, pictures, and event information.
“LIKE” us HERE.
The Economist got it all wrong about California’s initiative process:
To the Editor,
Once again, The Economist lays blame for California’s budget problems at the foot of the state’s ballot initiative process [“Burn the wagons,” April 20] without offering even a scintilla of evidence for such an assertion.
Today is Citizens in Charge Executive Director Amanda Roman’s birthday, and we’d like to wish her a happy birthday on behalf of all the staff.
Have a great birthday Amanda!
On Saturday, Citizens in Charge President Paul Jacob’s op-ed on recall fever ran in the Washington Examiner: