Carnival of the Decline of American Democracy - Edition 3.06

Welcome to the Carnival of the Decline of [American] Democracy, Edition 3.06 - Blogging 'till the secret police take us away. Special "Never Say Never" Edition.

Yeah, it was just a month ago when I said I was giving up doing the carnival - at least for a while - but you people keep sending me blog entries to include! So, here we go again....

CPD gets us going in a grand way with On Silencing Dissent: National Awareness and Dismissing the Idea of Impeachment posted at We Op-Ed.

Leon Gettler looks at the issue of transparency in corporate political backers in Directors and donations posted at Sox First.

Collin Williams takes another long look at the Patriot Act, and how it has worked to destroy democracy, in All in the name of patriotism posted at RejectSociety.com.

And Madeleine Begun Kane wraps things up with a bit of humor in Presidential Election Blues posted at Mad Kane's Political Madness.

Information on future carnivals (should there be one) will be found on the carnival home page or on this blog. That's it for today.

Carnival of the Decline of Democracy - Edition 3.05

Welcome to the Carnival of the Decline of [American] Democracy, Edition 3.05 - Blogging 'till the secret police take us away.

Laslo Weger starts us off with a double header. In his first entry he looks at political parties as feuding tribes in Modern Tribalism. Laslo follows that with an examination of the detrimental effects of official privacy on democracy It's Time to End the Executive Privilege, each posted at Outsider's View.

Whereas government secrecy is detrimental to freedom, Timothy Moreland worries about the loss of personal privacy in U.S. Presidential Candidates Passport Information Scandal Has Broader Implications for U.S. Citizens posted at timmorelandonline.

Count Florida is a new blog dedicated to the single issue of whether or not the Democratic primaries in Florida and Michigan should count, even though they "violated party rules." I think you can guess which side they take in Florida's Vote Should Count! posted at COUNT FLORIDA!.

Barry Leiba looks at religion creeping into our public life in Why we have to keep close watch... posted at Staring At Empty Pages.

Madeleine Begun Kane leaves us with a little humor in Ode To Eliot Spitzer posted at Mad Kane's Political Madness.

Information on future carnivals (should there be one) will be found on our carnival home page or on this blog. Yes, I'm thinking of halting this carnival for at least a short time, but I'll write a separate blog entry about my reasons for that in a few days. Thank you for your support during the time this carnival has run.

Carnival of the Decline of Democracy - Edition 3.04

Welcome to the Carnival of the Decline of [American] Democracy, Edition 3.04 - Blogging 'till the secret police take us away.

Ian Welsh starts the carnival off with an examination of what happens when the checkers and balancers give up their responsibilities in The End of America's Genius? posted at Firedoglake.

Laslo Weger continues the checks and balances discussion and finds it's us who's dropped the ball in Life Above All posted at Outsider's View.

Howard Ditkoff questions why Ralph Nader has failed to make election reform a major part of his independent platform in The Key Issue Suspiciously Missing from Ralph Nader’s “Table” posted at SystemsThinker.com Blog.

Meanwhile, Justin questions why Ralph Nader in Nader '08: Warning, Spoiler Alert! Hate to Spoil It, But People Will Be Saying "Spoiler" A Lot Now posted at We Op-Ed.

Holly Ord looks at the wonderful gift of freedom that we've given the women of Afghanistan in George Bush Thinks Poverty, Death and Abuse are Blessings of Freedom posted at Menstrual Poetry.

Shaheen Lakhan talks about the disenfranchisement of the elderly in Elderly Patients Face Tough Barriers When Voting posted at GNIF Brain Blogger.

I'll be back in about two weeks (March 24) with the next edition of the Carnival of the Decline of Democracy - Submit Your Posts Here. More information on future carnivals can be found on our carnival home page.

Carnival of the Decline of Democracy - Edition 3.03

Welcome to the Carnival of the Decline of [American] Democracy, Edition 3.03 - Blogging 'till the secret police take us away.

I must apologize again for the long delay in getting this posted. It's a shame the way real life and work responsibilities get in the way of blogging sometime. But... on with the show...

DrGizmondo takes a peek at the man behind the curtain in The puppet masters: Who’s pulling the strings behind the Presidential contenders? posted at Cerebral Black Hole.

Holly Ord tells us of the political significance of currency design in What the Religious Right Wants, the Religious Right Gets posted at Menstrual Poetry.

DWSUWF chronicles the demise of a major political party in GOP Deathwatch: Tracking the Kübler-Ross Model posted at Divided We Stand United We Fall.

Sammy Benoit takes apart a racist campaign attack in Black Christians in Memphis Urged DON'T VOTE FOR THE JEW posted at YID With LID.

Avant News leaves us with a frightening possible future in Cheney Offers to Stay on as Veep posted at Avant News.

I'll be back ... well ... eventually? (hopefully March 10 or so...) with the next edition of the Carnival of the Decline of Democracy - Submit Your Posts Here. More information on future carnivals can be found on our carnival home page.

Carnival of the Decline of Democracy - Edition 3.02

Welcome to the Carnival of the Decline of [American] Democracy, Edition 3.02 - Blogging 'till the secret police take us away.

Wenchypoo gets Super Tuesday off with a lovely reminder of Why Your Vote Really Doesn’t Matter posted at Wisdom From Wenchypoo's Mental Wastebasket.

Vihar Sheth ponders why the EPA would deny the U.S. Senate access to documents in Executive Privilege Agency posted at green | rising.

Juan Pablo Melo revisits the American Dream in Illegals posted at Political Descrambler.

And Avant News gives us news of the future with GOP.com Delisted From Google For Repeated Syntactic Errors posted at Avant News.

I'll be back again in two weeks (February 18 or so...) with the next edition of the Carnival of the Decline of Democracy - Submit Your Posts Here. More information on future carnivals can be found on our carnival home page.

Carnival of the Decline of American Democarcy, edition 3.01

Welcome to the Carnival of the Decline of [American] Democracy, Edition 3.01 - Blogging 'till the secret police take us away.

Barry Leiba has some thoughts on how the media effects the primaries in The press and the election posted at Staring At Empty Pages.

Ian Welsh gives a brief history of labor and politics in The Glorious Future that American Unions Walked Away From posted at The Agonist.

Shaun Connell gives a look at how our economics effects our politics in Wealth and Poverty posted at Reason and Capitalism.

I'll be back again in two weeks (February 4) with the next edition of the Carnival of the Decline of Democracy - Submit Your Posts Here. More information on future carnivals can be found on our carnival home page.

Carnival of the Decline of Democracy - Edition 3.0

Welcome to the Carnival of the Decline of [American] Democracy, Edition 3.0 - Blogging 'till the secret police take us away.

Howard Ditkoff gets the new election year off to a great start discussing one of my favorite electoral reforms (IRV), the "spoiler effect," and Ralph Nader, in Instant Runoff Voting Excluded: An Unreasonable Omission from An Unreasonable Man posted at SystemsThinker.com Blog.

Carole G. McKay takes us all to task for allowing the current demise of democracy in Truth or Consequences posted at McKay Today.

Ian Welsh looks at the U.S. in contrast to the decline and fall of previous empires in American Parallels posted at The Agonist.

Michael Carlin discusses sweatshops as a natural result of our political culture in The Divine Right of Corporations posted at The Future of Science.

Madeleine Begun Kane uses humor to make her case for news with substance in Dear Editor: Enough With The Polls, Already! posted at Mad Kane's Political Madness.

Finally, the ever-brilliant Jon Swift makes sense of EVERYTHING in Iowa Caucus Results Explained posted at Jon Swift.

I'll be back again in two weeks (January 21) with the next edition of the Carnival of the Decline of Democracy - Submit Your Posts Here. More information on future carnivals can be found on our carnival home page.

Carnival of the Decline of Democracy - Edition 2.26

Welcome to the Carnival of the Decline of Democracy, Edition 2.26 - Blogging 'till the secret police take us away.

Starting us off this Christmas eve is Chris, who fights back against the Bush administration's trampling of justice in I am a Homegrown Terrorist posted at Gratuitous Common Sense.

Erich Engelbrecht discusses political parties as "a novel form of social networks" in Democratizing Politics posted at Innovation Politics.

Judy Aron wonders if Yogi and Booboo are in trouble in U.S. Forest Service Purchases 6,000 Tasers posted at Consent Of The Governed.

Michael Bass maintains that freedom and democracy begins with the right to private property in Do we have Private Property in the USA? posted at Debt Prison.

Sagar Satapathy presents all views in Comparison: Major Presidential Candidates on Monetary Policy and the USD posted at Currency Trading.net.

Finally, in the satire department, Jon Swift explains that fiction is stranger than truth in Jamie Leigh Jones Undermines the War Effort posted at Jon Swift.

I'll be back again in two weeks (January 7) with the next edition of the Carnival of the Decline of Democracy - Submit Your Posts Here. More information on future carnivals can be found on our carnival home page.

Carnival of the Decline of (American) Democracy - Edition 2.25

Welcome to the Carnival of the Decline of Democracy, Edition 2.25 - Blogging 'till the secret police take us away.

Starting us off this week is... well... nobody. Sorry. This week's carnival is canceled.

This is not to say that there were no submissions to the carnival this time around. It's just to say that there were no relevant submissions. Which is surprising. Every other carnival, I've had plenty of good material to choose from, along with a few unrelated political spam posts. So let's go over the point of this bi-weekly exercise again:

"From questionable election results to collecting the phone records of every law-abiding citizen to the suspension of habeas corpus, for the past six years or so we have witnessed a massive erosion of our civil liberties and freedoms in the United States. Some would say it's just a matter of time before elections are canceled for our own protection."

The Carnival of the Decline of Democracy was founded to link to those blog posts that best chronicle the decline of American democracy. It's not all negative, however. My point in organizing this blog carnival is also to show that citizens can still do something about this decline. Free speech and an active electorate can provide a balance to power-hungry politicians.

Got that? Good. Now let us also review what this carnival is NOT:

It is not a platform for promoting a single candidate for high office, or for linking to posts that have that as their primary objective. It is also not a platform for slamming any one candidate unless it is for specific reasons related to the above description of the carnival.

In other words, claims that Candidate X, and only Candidate X will restore our democracy will not be included in the carnival. Likewise, claims that Candidate Z is pure evil (without specific evidence of their supporting anti-democratic measures) will also be rejected. Virtually every posting I received this week fell into these two categories.

Okay. Now that we've got that straight, I'll include one link from the dozen received this week. Technically, it's not specifically about the decline of democracy, but it's short and amusing, so here it is: Madeleine Begun Kane presents My Family Needs Me (Limerick and Video) posted at Mad Kane's Political Madness.

I'll be back to try again in two weeks (December 24) with the Christmas Eve edition of the Carnival of the Decline of Democracy - Submit Your Posts Here. More information on future carnivals can be found on our carnival home page.

Carnival of the Decline of Democracy - Edition 2.24

Welcome to the Carnival of the Decline of Democracy, Edition 2.24 - Blogging 'till the secret police take us away.

Starting us off this week is Rickey Henderson, who dares to suggest that the pablum fed us by the media may play a role in our current political problems in This Week in Media Malfeasance... posted at Riding with Rickey.

Ian Welsh writes that the extent to which "a State controls violence and law within its territory is the most basic of all tests of power." He puts that test to work in New Jersey and Iraq in New Jersey: when gang rule trumps state power posted at The Agonist.

Judy Aron wonders what you think your right to vote is worth in Trade You My Vote For An iPod Touch posted at Consent Of The Governed.

John suggest that the abuse of power since 9/11 extends to all sectors of our society in Flying the not so friendly skies posted at hell's handmaiden.

Madeleine Begun Kane uses haiku to compare the threat of a nuclear Iran against another potential problem area in First Pakistan And Then? posted at Mad Kane's Humor Blog.

Ian Welsh provides the most frightening bit of information that most people would rather ignore in Cell phones are essentially spies in your pocket. And now cops don't need a warrant to use them. posted at The Agonist.

As always, I'll be back in two weeks (December 10) with the next edition of the Carnival of the Decline of Democracy - Submit Your Posts Here. More information on future carnivals can be found on our carnival home page.

Carnival of the Decline of Democracy - Edition 2.23

Welcome to the Carnival of the Decline of Democracy, Edition 2.23 - Blogging 'till the secret police take us away.

Starting us off this week of Veteran's Day is Ian Welsh, who points out the dangers of a professionalized army in which only a few serve, in Democracy And the Mobilization Society posted at The Agonist.

Charles H. Green looks at the de-humanizing (and expensive) effect of treating everybody with equal distrust in Terrorists and Convenience Stores: When Social Trust is Threatened posted at Trust Matters.

Does the FBI have a file on you (yet)? Judy Aron tells you how to find out in Get Your FBI File posted at Consent Of The Governed.

Holly Ord questions how a nation that prides itself on democracy and equality can allow millions to go without health care in America: The Country That Kills It’s Citizens posted at Menstrual Poetry.

In the satire department, Daveman presents Invasion of Iceland Imminent posted at BushFriedRice.

Finally, Jon Swift waxes eloquently about the 'right to be who you are not' in Pseudonym-Americans Fight Back posted at Jon Swift.

I'll be back in two weeks (November 26) with the next edition of the Carnival of the Decline of Democracy - Submit Your Posts Here. More information on future carnivals can be found on our carnival home page.

Carnival of the Decline of Democracy - Edition 2.22

Welcome to the Carnival of the Decline of Democracy, Edition 2.22 - Blogging 'till the secret police take us away.

Phil B. starts us off this week by asking us if flag burning should be legal, posted at Phil for Humanity.

vjack sees those who would instate a Christian theocracy in the United States as one of the greatest threats to democracy in the Values Voter Summit: Biggest Collection of Theocrats Since Witch Trials, posted at Atheist Revolution.

Ian Welsh looks back to the FDR era, and how he dealt with a hostile press, for examples of how we can try to save our democracy in Plus ça change, plus c'est la meme chose, posted at The Agonist.

John, meanwhile, looks at some Things we don't have to worry about..., posted at hell's handmaiden.

Dawn Xiana Moon points out the timeless elements of our current struggle against those who would silence us, as reflected in some classic American theater, in A Society in Madness, posted at Dawn Xiana Moon: Randomness.

I'll be back in two weeks (November 12) with the next edition of the Carnival of the Decline of Democracy - Submit Your Posts Here. More information on future carnivals can be found on our carnival home page.

Carnival of the Decline of Democracy - edition 2.21

Welcome to the Carnival of the Decline of Democracy, Edition 2.21 - Blogging 'till the secret police take us away.

This week, I take the liberty of including a post of my own, Time to Secede? - "Secession; it's not just for rednecks anymore."

"Politicians can't do the job of governing well while they are raising money for re-election; the solution is to fix the system" - Shaula Evans presents Lawrence Lessig connects the dots on corruption (Video) posted at The Agonist.

"One would hope that a contender for the American presidency would at least be familiar with the Constitution" - vjack presents McCain Says U.S. Needs Christian President posted at Atheist Revolution.

"Always the eyes watching you and the voice enveloping you. ... Nothing was your own except the few cubic centimetres inside your skull" - Chris presents Tabby Cat's Illustrated Guide to '1984' posted at Martial Development.

"What a mess we’ve made. And what a mess we continue to make" - John presents Throw down a hundred dollar bill posted at hell's handmaiden.

This week's final entry is actually another carnival posting: Karel Vandenberghe presents Government 2.0: e-government and government wikis posted at Open Innovators.

I'll be back in two weeks (October 29) with the next edition of the Carnival of the Decline of Democracy - Submit Your Posts Here. More information on future carnivals can be found on our carnival home page.

Carnival of the Decline of Democracy - Edition 2.20

Welcome to the Carnival of the Decline of Democracy, Edition 2.20 - Blogging 'till the secret police take us away.

Although I've been busy with other things (work?) and not able to post much, this has been a very blogworthy couple of weeks. Between the farce of Congressional outrage at MoveOn.org and the continued outrage of racism in Jena, LA, the demise of freedom and democracy has been apparent in every headline.

Let's see how our bloggers responded:

Ian Welsh presents MoveOn And the Kabuki Congress posted at The Agonist & Elyas Bakhtiari presents Congress betrays us posted at Ablogistan.

therapydoc presents The Jena 6, over a year later posted at Everyone Needs Therapy & Alex Landis presents The Jena 6: The 10 Reasons The Fit Hit The Shan posted at AlexLandis.com.

J.R. presents Your Government Lies to You posted at Harsh Realizations.

Barry Leiba presents Press coverage posted at Staring At Empty Pages.

Chani presents Are ideas dangerous? posted at Thailand Gal.

Hell's Handmaiden presents Blogs for Federal Deficits posted at hell's handmaiden.

vjack presents Army Violates Religious Freedom posted at Atheist Revolution.

I'll be back in two weeks (October 15) with the next edition of the Carnival of the Decline of Democracy - Submit Your Posts Here. More information on future carnivals can be found on our carnival home page.

Carnival of the Decline of Democracy - Edition 2.19

Welcome to the Carnival of the Decline of Democracy, Edition 2.19 - Blogging 'till the secret police take us away.

And let's get right to the show! ...

Ian Welsh presents Naomi Klein's "Shock Doctrine" posted at The Agonist.

John presents Blogs for Bull S**t posted at hell's handmaiden.

vjack presents Homeland Security Spends Your Tax Dollars on Clergy Response Team posted at Atheist Revolution.

Charles H. Green presents Trusted Politicians posted at Trust Matters.

Alex Landis presents Cyber Bias: The Threat of a Two-Tiered Internet posted at AlexLandis.com.

Robert Bruce Carter presents Exclusive Interview with Rudy Giuliani posted at Absolutely Serious.

I'll be back in two weeks (October 1) with the next edition of the Carnival of the Decline of Democracy - Submit Your Posts Here. More information on future carnivals can be found on our carnival home page.

Carnival of the Decline of Democracy - Edition 2.18

Welcome to the Carnival of the Decline of Democracy, Edition 2.18 - Blogging 'till the secret police take us away.

This week I received far more entries than I usually do (nearly double), so the task of selecting posts was especially difficult. Sometimes really important, well-written, and thought provoking posts don't get selected because they don't relate to the topic of declining democracy. Hopefully, what's left here will inspire you to not just be depressed about the attacks on our liberties, but to do something about it.

The first two postings this week each have to do with the passage of the Real ID act, perhaps one of the most frightening restrictions on our liberties yet:

Ian Welsh presents Is The US an Operating Democracy Any More? posted at The Agonist.
... and ...
Blue Dog presents Will China Show the Department of Homeland Security the Way? posted at Blue Dog Thoughts.

Also concerned about the demise of the Bill of Rights, Barry Leiba presents Searching the constitution posted at Staring At Empty Pages.

Jim Booth looks at the outsourcing of our war effort (and what it means for control and accountability) in There's no business like war business posted at Scholars and Rogues.

Phil examines how our apathy feeds in economics in The Predicted Economy of the United States of America posted at Phil for Humanity.

Madeleine Begun Kane offers a poll this week in Why Is General Petraeus Letting The White House Write His Iraq Progress Report? posted at Mad Kane's Political Madness.

Riversider updates us on an ongoing local battle across the poind in Council Votes To Ignore Flood Risk to Preston Residents posted at Save The Ribble.

This final posting is not about the decline of democracy, but is a fitting tribute to the fact that today's carnival falls on Labor Day: Maria Marien presents Labor Day Means More than a Day of Rest posted at A Passerby's Trail.

I'll be back in two weeks (September 17) with the next edition of the Carnival of the Decline of Democracy - Submit Your Posts Here. More information on future carnivals can be found on our carnival home page.

Carnival of the Decline of Democracy - Edition 2.17

Welcome to the Carnival of the Decline of Democracy, Edition 2.17 - Blogging 'till the secret police take us away.

This week's entries into the carnival are all excellent, so I will dispense with any introductions and get right to it:

AllAboutVoting presents A predictable outcome posted at All About Voting.

Gavin R. Putland presents John W. Howard's Flowchart for Political Success posted at grputland.com.

Martin Bosworth presents Wrath of the math: Why did Karl Rove quit? posted at Scholars and Rogues.

Hell's Handmaiden presents Tancredo is bloody insane posted at hell's handmaiden.

Ian Welsh presents Jose Padilla, née Winston Smith, Found Guilty posted at The Agonist.

Madeleine Begun Kane presents Bush Growls; Dems Kowtow (Limerick and Poll) posted at Mad Kane's Political Madness.

I'll be back in two weeks (September 3) with the Labor Day edition of the Carnival of the Decline of Democracy - Submit Your Posts Here. More information on future carnivals can be found on our carnival home page.

Carnival of the Decline of Democracy - Edition 2.16

Welcome to the Carnival of the Decline of Democracy, Edition 2.16 - Blogging 'till the secret police take us away.

I've just returned from a long awaited vacation in Maui where the battle against declining democracy takes the form of native Hawaiian rights. Questions from land development to the newly appointed head of a local museum all include an element of this debate. If any of my readers are Hawaiian, I'd love to read your take on this and have you submit a posting to the next edition of the Carnival.

Now, on to this week's selections: Is Anarchy a viable alternative to Democracy? Silic0nsilence presents Anarchy posted at The Blog of silic0nsilence.

Troubled by too much democracy? Gavin R. Putland offers us Democracy vs. universal suffrage posted at /etc/cron.whenever/.

Tom explains what's wrong with politicians in general in no one to vote for posted at geekandfather.com.

Has Net censorship got you down? Jimmy Atkinson presents Free Speech Hosting: 11 Web Hosts That Won?t Dump You at the First Sign of Controversy posted at Dedicated Hosting Guide.

The decline of democracy (and the rescinding of our civil rights) did not begin with Bush's War on Terror, it began years ago in the War on Drugs. Ian Welsh explains in The War on Terror Is The War on Drugs... On Crack posted at The Agonist.

Finally, for the do-it-yourselfers in my readership, Madeleine Begun Kane presents Political Madness Bush Impeachment Poll posted at Mad Kane's Political Madness.

I'll be back in two weeks (August 20) with another edition of the Carnival of the Decline of Democracy - Submit Your Posts Here. More information on future carnivals can be found on our carnival home page.

Carnival of the Decline of Democracy - Edition 2.15

Welcome to the Carnival of the Decline of Democracy, Edition 2.15 - Blogging 'till the secret police take us away.

John starts us off this week by questioning those who cheered Libby's pardon in Blogs for the Subversion of Justice posted at hell's handmaiden.

DWSUWF see fairness as key ingredient to democracy in Fixing Fairness - A modest technology solution. posted at Divided We Stand United We Fall.

Falling Out asks why Britney's bald head is more interesting than the demise of democracy in Disbanded Brothers posted at The Truth Of Paradox.

FitBuff wonders if a "fat tax" is a sign of the decline of gastronomic democracy in How Much Are You Willing to Pay for Twinkies? posted at Total Mind and Body Fitness Blog.

Doug Ragan stands up for the Right Wing in What Everyone Missed in the Immigration Debate posted at I'm A Pundit Too.

Madeleine Begun Kane wraps things up with Yet Another Filibuster Song Parody (The Full-a-Bluster Song) posted at Mad Kane's Political Madness.

I'll be back in two weeks (August 6) with another edition of the Carnival of the Decline of Democracy - Submit Your Posts Here. More information on future carnivals can be found on our carnival home page.

Carnival of the Decline of Democracy - Edition 2.14

Welcome to the Carnival of the Decline of Democracy, Edition 2.14 - Blogging 'till the secret police take us away.

Starting us off this week following the Fourth of July, Charles M. presents an excellent and timely tribute to our "forgotten founder" in History's Hit Job on Thomas Paine posted at KILL BIGOTRY!.

John continues on a related theme in We Hold These Truths posted at hell's handmaiden.

Falling Out presents Target You posted at Falling Out: The Truth Of Paradox.

Steven Silvers presents WakeUpWalMart defections might mean union-backed activist groups have done all they can do posted at Scatterbox at stevensilvers.com.

And in the Satire Department:

Avant News presents a particularly funny and poignant entry with President Ron Paul Deported Under Ron Paul's No Amnesty Law posted at Avant News.

Madeleine Begun Kane presents Suffering From Bloomberg-Envy ... Or Just an Idiotic Egomaniac? posted at Mad Kane's Political Madness.

I'll be back in two weeks (July 23) with another edition of the Carnival of the Decline of Democracy - Submit Your Posts Here. More information on future carnivals can be found on our carnival home page.