Author: Matthew Clemente

Is The Two-Party System is Making America Ungovernable?

/ Matthew Clemente / Leave a comment

That was the proposition being debated on the Intelligence Squared podcast. The debate originally occurred in 2011; however, it has a particular relevance today with the government is shutdown and the debt ceiling looming.

Moderated by ABC News’ John Donvan, this debate featured David Brooks–Op-Ed columnist for the New York Times–and Arianna Huffington–Co-Founder and Editor-in-Chief of The Huffington Post, who argued for the motion; and P.J. O’Rourke–H.L. Mencken Research Fellow at the Cato Institute and Zev Chafets–Former columnist, New York City News, who argued against it.

Here is description of the debate:

The Republican and Democratic parties are entrenched in calcified partisanship, where politics is played as a zero-sum game. The rise of the Tea Party, liberal backlash, and the exodus of moderate voices from Congress all point toward the public’s growing discontent. Has our two-party system failed us? Is this a call to change our two-party system of governance?

Sunday Funday: Obamacare vs. The Affordable Care Act

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Jimmy Kimmel Live: Obamacare vs. The Affordable Care Act

In an effort to bring some levity to the blog, Sundays will feature  “Sunday Funday” posts, posts about the lighter side of public policy debates.  This week, we have the viral video from Jimmy Kimmel Live where people on the street are asked which they prefer: Obamacare or The Affordable Care Act.

Here is a description of the video from CBS:

As someone who covers entertainment and viral videos all day long, I am not going to pretend that I totally understand Obamacare, but I kind of hoped that the general public knew more than me (since I choose to stay out of politics as a rule), but this clip from Monday’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live” demonstrates that we really don’t know what we’re talking about when it comes to this healthcare initiative. Watch the segment titled “Six of One” above, posted on Kimmel’s YouTube page, and be prepared to be disturbed.

This clip seemed particularly timely in the midst of all this government craziness, and it just seemed to scare me more. Were you shocked that people knew so little about Obamacare? Or that Obamacare and The Affordable Care Act were the same thing? Now, I know that this “data” is not scientific in the least, and they definitely chose clueless people on purpose, but it’s still a pretty shocking indication of what most people probably know and think.

But what I do like best about Kimmel, and the way he handled this social experiment is that no matter how dumb he may make people look, he’s always a good sport. As the woman who really seemed clueless on the segment was in the audience, and the late night host joked, “Welcome stupid people, you have a home here with me.” Always keeping it light, that’s what I like to see.

Where is SLACE?

/ Matthew Clemente / Leave a comment

The SLACE Archive is currently on hiatus while the SLACE Forum Blog is being created.  The SLACE Forum launched this past Monday.  Eventually, the SLACE Archive will resume as a subsidiary to the SLACE Forum.  For those of you who follow this blog, stay tuned. The SLACE Archive will resume in the next few weeks. 

Thank you to those of you who have followed the SLACE Archive.