Politics unusual

I've been called a lot of things in life.

Liberal hack, fake news media and jackass ranks up there pretty high.

Some of the things that I've been called few and far in between are dishonest, liar, coward.

My hope as the creator of The Statesmen, a news/politics/and opinion blog, is that those words lacking in what defines who I am reflect this website. But first, a small introduction of who I am and why I'm writing this.

My name is Alex and I am a moderate liberal/populist that studied journalism at Kent State University and developed a love for politics during my senior year. I grew up in a conservative house, car rides homes with my father involved long quiet rides as Rush Limbaugh filled the car.

For most of my life I considered myself a Republican until I didn't anymore. That isn't to say that I hate everything they do and I certainly don't like everything that Democrats do either. It goes without saying (but I will anyway) but the political world is a fucking mess right now.

It's politics unusual.

We're living in a world where the president's been impeached, his opponent questioned black voters culture if they didn't vote for him and the New York Times is running op-eds written by psychopath senators advocating the slaughter of peaceful protestors.

I miss the simpler days when amazing singers were discovered in the subway, Billie Eilish swept the Grammies and a foreign movie won an Academy Award for best picture and oh my god that all happened this year.

Is this what Hunter S. Thompson was trying to warn us about?

It's no question that these are tough times. People have dug in their trenches and both sides are at a standstill. I hope this blog will be able to bring thoughts and opinions from both sides and centralize them because Statesmen are politicians with strong beliefs and can listen to both sides of an argument.

This blog is neither left nor right. This blog is a moderately run website that will provide news, politics and opinions about both. At times we are going to but heads, that's natural and should happen because that's the only way things get done.

Sometimes we will laugh together, sometimes the world will feel small and scary and like there is nothing left to do but hide.

Regardless.

We'll figure this out together,

Alex

Comments

Democrats introduce overhaul of police reform

Today house democrats introduced t he Justice in Policing Act, which would hold police departments across the nation more accountable for their actions by stripping away some of their protections. The legislation would also c reate a national database of excessive-force incidents and ban police chokeholds. The legislation would also revise the federal criminal police misconduct statute to make it easier to prosecute officers who are knowingly involved in reckless misconduct and seek to provide greater transparency on police behavior according to the AP News. To put it bluntly, as much as I want this legislation to get make ground, it is a long shot pipe dream to get put into law. This is because the senate is majority Republican and will more than likely shoot it down or have it stripped or include poison pill amendments to it, despite Senator Lindsey Graham and Majority Senate Leader Mitch McConnell vowing to look at the issues. What do you think? -Alex

Statehood, the coronavirus and how the U.S. sets the standard for policing

With everything going on in the world, it's easy to lose track of the important issues going on in the world. For this edition of Articles that Make You Smarter, I wanted to share three articles that would give some perspective on three major issues in America. I hope you read and enjoy: Why statehood matters: The House of Representatives approved a bill that would recognize Washington D.C. as the 51st state of the country. While the Senate will more than likely shoot the bill down, here's an article by The Gaurdian that explains everything surrounding the bid for statehood: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jun/25/washington-dc-statehood-bid-house The United States and Policing: What's going on in America with policing doesn't just happen in a bubble. Here's a great article by The New Republic about how our country sets the standard for policing across the world: https://newrepublic.com/article/158297/america-exports-police-violence-around-world A new surge

Is the dismantling of our police force a good idea?

It seemed like an impossible task, like carrying water in your bare hands up a mountain and trying not to spill any. Still, protestors marching in Minneapolis have started to make massive waves in how the justice system works in their city. As reported by The New York Times , nine members of the Minneapolis City Council vowed yesterday to dismantle the city's police force in the wake of George Floyd's death at the hands of police officer's two weeks ago. Nine members of the council announced during a gathering that the city's policing system was beyond reform and would instead focus on implementing a community-based system of justice. While massive, it is unclear right now what specifically that will look like. What makes this especially interesting is just before this announcement, the city's Mayor Jacob Frey hesitated and then rejected the idea of abolishing the police department when asked at a rally on Saturday. While the council does control

The Statesmen

Search This Blog