Frustration over how the Democratic National Committee is managing the upcoming presidential debates is bursting into the open as several longshot candidates say the party is stacking the process against them. Most of the two dozen declared candidates will be able to participate in the first debate of the 2020...
Student Council Presidential Election Hacked by Candidate
SAN FRANCISCO — The first online election for student government at Berkeley High School became a lesson in more than democracy. Students also learned about vote fraud, hacking and digital privacy after a high school junior who was running for class president cast hundreds of fake online votes for himself....
Loss of Local News Hinders Ability to Watchdog Government
One of the last investigations Jim Boren oversaw before he retired as executive editor of The Fresno Bee was a four-month examination of substandard housing in the city at the heart of California's Central Valley. The multimedia project revealed the living conditions imposed on many of the city's low-income renters,...
Left is Suppressing Free Speech and That's Wrong: Zakaria
The rise of nationalism and growing autocracy around the globe in recent years has led to observations that the world is facing a "democratic recession." The previous global expansion of democratic values has slowed globally while some countries that once strongly embraced democratic norms have begun reversing course. In his...
Who Runs California? Special Interests Flex Muscles Again.
SACRAMENTO — As the deadline approached last week for measures to qualify for California's November ballot, wealthy special interests pushed lawmakers to cut deals to avoid costly ballot measure campaigns in the latest display of money's power over policymaking. In a single day, beverage companies, a wealthy real estate developer...
Google Slants Elections. When Will It Defend Democracy?
As the 2018 midterm elections approach in the U.S., Google’s power to influence undecided voters remains overshadowed by Facebook’s personal data crisis. Facebook has “taken it on the chin” for its role in the 2016 presidential election, and organizations like the political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica and the Russian troll...
What Greek Tragedy Tells Us About James Comey
Once upon a time, there was a prominent, powerful man in government who cared deeply about integrity and following the rules. He said, “You cannot know a man completely, his character, his principles, sense of judgment, not till he’s shown his colors … Experience, there’s the test.” Leaders have a...
Big Tech Isn’t a Monopoly. Here’s Why.
Public concern about Facebook’s power in society – and in politics – has skyrocketed in the wake of revelations that users’ data was analyzed by a U.K.-based marketing firm and used to construct highly targeted political propaganda in advance of the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Other technology giants have also...
In Worrying Trend, United States Fails "Full Democracy" Test
For the past 10 years, The Economist has tracked the strength of democracy in 167 countries across the globe. Now, for the second consecutive year, the United States has failed to meet the standard of "full democracy" as measured by the publication's metrics. In his Washington Post column from Feb....
In Worrying Trend, United States Fails "Full Democracy" Test
For the past 10 years, The Economist has tracked the strength of democracy in 167 countries across the globe. Now, for the second consecutive year, the United States has failed to meet the standard of "full democracy" as measured by the publication's metrics. In his Washington Post column from Feb....