Defend Democracy Before It’s Too Late: A One-Page Bill Would Do It
America faces unprecedented and existential threats to voting rights, free and fair elections, and the very future of our democracy. Congress must take urgent action now — well within its constitutional powers — to stop these threats in their tracks. All it would take is a simple one-page bill. I have proposed a draft here. [...]
How New Zealand's Recent State Agency Restructuring and Legislative Changes are Empowering Māori
New Zealand governments have long been subject to criticism for vesting decision-making power over Māori in Pākehā-driven state agencies. Structural issues dating back to the differences between the English and Māori texts of the 1840 Te Tiriti o Waitangi (the Treaty of Waitangi) are one means of explaining the paradigm. While change has been long-demanded, [...]
A bipartisan group of United States senators introduced a bill Wednesday which would allow the United States Postal Service to save 45.9 billion dollars over ten years. Senators Gary Peters (D-MI) and Rob Portman (R-OH) introduced the Postal Service Reform Act to the Senate along with 18 colleagues from both sides of the aisle. Senator [...]
British legislators introduced a bill on Wednesday to recognize animals as sentient beings, setting the stage for new reforms under the government’s Action Plan for Animal Welfare. Some of the proposals include prohibitions on the live shipment of animals and bans against shark fins, ivory, and the import of hunting trophies from endangered animals. A [...]
UK regulations to ensure legal abortions fully available in Northern Ireland
The British government published regulations Tuesday giving British officials the power to compel Northern Ireland to implement a full scope of reproductive care services, following a 2019 law that legalized abortions in the region. Supporters say this law is a step in the right direction for women needing to access abortion procedures, but critics from [...]
The Fake Filibuster: A Clear and Present Danger to Democracy
Judging by much of the debate over the Senate filibuster rule, you’d think it was some honorable tradition worth keeping — “an elegant weapon of a more civilized age,” as Obi-Wan Kenobi described the lightsaber to Luke Skywalker in the original Star Wars. Not so. The filibuster is a dangerous relic with a deeply destructive [...]
The UK government announced Wednesday that it is seeking to reform the Mental Health Act 1983 in order to give patients more control over their treatment. The reforms are based on an independent review carried out in 2017, which looked at the rising number of people being detained under the Mental Health Act as well [...]
US Senate Democrats introduce 'College Athletes Bill of Rights'
A group of US Senate Democrats introduced legislation Thursday that would establish a federal commission to supervise college athletics and to grant student-athletes extensive compensation rights, including profit-sharing. The College Athletes Bill of Rights, spearheaded by Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), aims to set up a federal commission consisting of nine members [...]
Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ), the former astronaut and rising political star, was sworn in December 2, marking the end of an astonishingly long period (two years plus three months) during which the people of Arizona were deprived of their constitutional right to elect one of their two U.S. senators. It is an outrage that it [...]
On November 25, 2020, the Supreme Court of the United States issued an emergency opinion in the case of Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn, New York, v. Andrew M. Cuomo, Governor of New York (Application No. 20A87) ostensibly to protect the freedom of religion. The 5 to 4 decision appealing denials of a stay from [...]
