Nancy Salvato

The Constitution, Two Candidates & An Election

We are presently witnessing an historic event during this 2008 presidential election. On the one hand, we could see the first female vice president resulting from the vote. On the other hand, we may find that we have elected our first black president. Either way, a glass ceiling will have been broken, heralding in a new era in our history. Many challenges had to be met before a moment like this could take place, beginning with the creation of a written constitution which reflected an entirely new understanding about government. I’m not talking about federalism or the idea that democracy could be scalable. What I’m referring to is the idea that there can be “conflict in consensus.”

Article 2, Section 1: Just Words

In a 1995 Press Release is a statement by the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, Deval Patrick (yes, that Deval Patrick -“just words”), on the Appellate Court Ruling upholding the Constitutionality of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (otherwise known as “Motor-Voter” Law), a bill signed into law by then President Clinton.

The Hidden Costs of Voting Early

Voting early in the presidential election? Seems like a great idea to many Americans.

Money, Influence and Motive

I found it absolutely remarkable that George Soros was lampooned in the Saturday Night Live skit, Washington Approves the Bailout. (1) This is because I had previously wondered aloud to my husband my suspicion that there might be more at work than what was being reported around the tanking of the stock market. While I concurred that Fannie May and Freddie Mac contributed to the crisis we currently find ourselves in, I couldn’t help but wonder if the stock market was being manipulated in some other way. Although I initially dismissed my thought as likely “black helicopter” the fact that the writers on SNL included Soros in their parody piqued my interest again. So at the risk of being labeled a conspiracy theorist, I’m going to jump on Former Governor Mike Huckabee’s bandwagon and raise the question.

Let the Records Speak for Themselves

It’s been about two years now that the mainstream media has been reporting on the campaigns to win the 2008 presidential election. Sen. John McCain formed his exploratory committee in November 2006 and Sen. Obama announced his plans for an exploratory committee in January 2007. Both senators announced their candidacies for president in February 2007.

Michelle Obama’s on the Man that Would Be President

Michelle Obama: “His family was so much like mine.” Fact: Barack Obama's father, a Harvard trained economist, fathered eight children by four different women.

Voting Conscience, Not Color

When Chuck Wilder on CRN’s George Putnam show asked me what I was going to write about next, I said to give me a minute and I would think of something. What I didn’t say was that I wanted to write about the election, write something meaningful and from the heart. Because I didn’t want to parrot what everyone else had already written about, I didn’t have a story...until now. Thanks to James Taranto and the “Puffington Host.”

Censorship May Open Our Eyes to China

Reporters charged with covering the Olympics are now whining about "not knowing what they will be able to cover and not knowing how much the Chinese government will censor their online coverage." (1)

The Issue of Dual Citizenship in the US

"[In a republic, according to Montesquieu in Spirit of the Laws, IV,ch.5,] 'virtue may be defined as the love of the laws and of our country. As such love requires a constant preference of public to private interest, it is the source of all private virtue; for they are nothing more than this very preference itself... Now a government is like everything else: to preserve it we must love it... Everything, therefore, depends on establishing this love in a republic; and to inspire it ought to be the principal business of education; but the surest way of instilling it into children is for parents to set them an example.'" --Thomas Jefferson: copied into his Commonplace Book

The 180lbs. “Guerilla”: China’s Military Aspirations

As the mainstream media is dominated by its attention to the preparations for Beijing Olympics being held August 8-24 this year, an obvious truth is being ignored or going unaddressed. The more important story is that China is on a mission to dominate the United States and the rest of the world militarily by building nuclear weaponry meant to defeat the United States on the world stage. The actual Olympics pale in comparison to this upcoming event. And while our people continue to be distracted by a variety of “shiny things” meant to divert their attention, the Chinese continue their march to dominance in the military sphere. What serves to distract our nation from such an important subject?

Academic Freedom

An article published in the Chronicle of Higher Education reflects the notion that academic freedom means being allowed to advocate a personal point of view in the classroom.

Direct Election v. Electoral College

The constitutional amendment process is a complicated and lengthy affair. This is because we cannot be certain what consequences might arise from a seemingly minor alteration of the Constitution. To be sure, exchanging the electoral-vote system for direct election would adversely impact the entire constitutional and political structure of the United States.

A More Perfect Union Rests on a Balance of Ideas

“In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself.” – James Madison, Federalist #51

The Confluence of Religion & Freedom

“Textbooks today are trapped in an ideological straitjacket that, in contrast to the surrounding popular culture, restricts content and sterilizes social realities.” – The Mad, Mad World of Textbook Adoption

Promoting Alternative Energy for the Right Reasons

Nancy Pelosi and Newt Gingrich are featured together in a television commercial which focuses on how conservatives and liberals can come together to find solutions for problems caused by climate change.

Shackling the Individual by Imposing Racist Pride

An avid reader, I’ve learned much about individualism and freedom by reading about what life is like when these are taken away from groups of people.

A Superhero Without Special Powers

I missed the train today...again. The nitwit in front of our car let out her husband at the stop sign instead of making her way through the three-way stop and across the tracks. By the time they finished their goodbye, the brief window of opportunity to pass through the intersection had passed and the gates were down. This happens for a combination of reasons.

While The Cat’s Away, The Terrorists Will Play

Now that the present administration’s 150 billion dollar economic stimulus package has caused a substantial portion of the population worry about the economy taking a nosedive and an ensuing recession, there is less incentive to discuss the more immediate threat of securing our borders from those who mean to cause our country substantial harm.

Congress Shall Make No Law Respecting an Establishment of an Education System

As an education reformer, I read about education every day. I read about ways to hold institutions of higher learning accountable for their education curriculum, I read about how important it is to have highly qualified teachers, and I read how students not receiving an equitable education should be afforded the right to attend private schools or charter schools with the tax dollars set aside for public education.

What Does the Progressive Left Stand For?

I’ve come to the conclusion that the United States is having a midlife crisis, an identity crisis. And this is a huge problem because if we don’t know who we are, what we stand for, or how we arrived here, how can we know how to navigate the 21st century while maintaining the freedom and standard of living we’ve come to take for granted?