Ballotpedia.org: The Encyclopedia of American Politics

Hi All,

For those folks who are interested in politics I just learned about a website called Ballotpedia.  Click here to visit the site.  Advertised at the 'Encyclopedia of American Politics' the site has links to Elections (Ballot information, Elections Results, Election Analysis), Federal and State and Local Elections. Links to policy issues, links to 'Influencer's, and a section on Updates.

Visiting the Federal Politics link leads you to a map of the United States.  This part of the site includes Special elections to the 114th Congress, House of Representatives Elections in 2016, Senate Elections and the 2016 presidential election.

Other useful parts of the site is the Ballott Measures section.   Statewide measures, local ballott measures and unique reports can be found here. For example, local ballot measures discussed include marijuana, the minimum wage, fracking, law enforcement and more.

The 'Influencers' page is very, very insightful.  It includes 'influencers' on a national, state and local level.  Influencers are also organized by 'policy' for users to navigate more easily.

Whatever your political persuasion, there is something here for everybody on the site.  Enjoy Ballotpedia - its got unique information that is well organized, easy to find and interesting to read.

Regards,
Stu

A Possible Government Shut Down...

Hi All,

You've probably all heard the phrase recently, 'Government Shut down' regarding the budget deal that might not get approved by the U.S Congress...If not, click on this link from CBS News for some video and accompanying text that explains that might happen, and why, if Congress doesn't strike a budget deal.

Let me make it clear at the outset of this post - I am NOT taking any political sides to this issue. I'm being a political agnostic and just giving readers - as they say - the facts....

Long-time readers know that I like to use Wikipedia for a quick look-see for various topics that I write about.  The possible government shutdown is no different.  Readers should click on this link to see a Wikipedia entry about 'government shutdowns'.

Let us start at the beginning...what is causing the possibility of us having a government shutdown? Well, as this video and article explain, its simply a budget issue...click here for the link to the article and video - via USA Today.   Finally, you might want to get the New York Times view from this link, or the Washington Post view from this link.

So what actually happens when there is a government shutdown?  Indeed, the exact details of which government functions that would stop is determined by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).  Click here for a link to the OMB. Specifically, this link will give readers more information about what exactly happens during a government shutdown.

Unfortunately the OMB told various government agencies to start making shutdown plans on September 18th in preparation of the October 1st deadline.   USA Today posted a helpful article about the affects of the government shutdown back on September 28th. Entitled, 'Questions and Answers About Government Shutdown' this is a good summary article of the whole event - which may, or may not take place. Click here for the article.

So there you have it - a few good links that will help you understand the government shutdown in more detail. Enjoy!

Regards,
Stu