So I’ve just finished a full day and evening roving around Denver on Day One of the Democratic Convention, ducking into the inviting Lime Cantina for a round of nachos and margaritas […]
Democracy: Since we can't stand the heat, we stay out of the kitchen

When Stealth Democracy: Americans’ Beliefs about How Government Should Work was published in 2002, it caused “quite a stir among people who work for civic and democratic reform,” according to reviewer Peter […]
Letters from Afghanistan: installment #5
Replying to questions, why the Marshall Plan doesn’t work, and local democracy in Jawzareen by Connor O’Steen First off I’d like to thank you all for your thoughtful and encouraging comments on […]
Nader reaction defines difference between Obama, Clinton
Here’s an illustrative difference between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. These were their reactions to Ralph Nader’s announcement of another quixotic—though potentially impacting—run for the White House: Obama: “I think the job […]
The czar works for the Kossacks (aka why we don't need leaders to save us)
By Martin Bosworth In the middle of a post ruminating on the looming flameout of Barack Obama’s campaign, Kos makes a point I’ve been dying to hear from one of the bigwigs […]
E-voting screwup leads judge to void election results
By Martin Bosworth As an amusing coda to my posts discussing the need for paper audit trails in electronic voting, and the industry’s opposition to same, here’s a look at what happens […]