Independent authors cover the political spectrum and perspectives. Authors share their opinion on a wide range of topics on local, state, and national issues. Articles in this category express the opinions of our contributors, not IVN as a whole.
Opinion
I. The marches in Bensonhurst are a distant memory for me. They were 30 years ago. I don’t recall many of the specifics, the details. We rode on busses to the Slave Theatre in Brooklyn and congregated there before heading to the site of the march, but most of
Opinion
If Joe Biden were to ask the framers of the constitution what qualities he should look for in a running mate, they might single out one in particular: a love of lucubration. It literally means working by candlelight. This “nocturnal study,” as Samuel Johnson called it, was an important part
Opinion
Consider this voting method: “If, on the first ballot, no one candidate receives a majority of the votes cast, the candidate receiving the least number of votes shall be eliminated…balloting shall continue in this manner until one candidate receives a majority vote.” If this sounds like ranked-choice voting (RCV)
Opinion
Voting is a right; This shouldn’t be a controversial statement but it is. The struggle to ensure that every adult United States citizen has the right to vote has been going on since the founding of our country. Right now, our right to vote is threatened by the COVID-19
Opinion
In the wake of Bernie Sanders’ loss of the Democratic Party’s nomination for president, the Left has cried out, as it has in the past, for the creation of a third party. There is some merit to this idea, given that repeated attempts to fashion the Democratic Party into
Opinion
This November, St. John’s County Florida elects a sheriff. It’s an important race as law enforcement culture and training is the subject of local and national debate--except 47.2% of voters in the county will be denied the right to vote -- how could this be? This is
Opinion
The exact opposite of what the Framers originally intended has now been made the Law of the Land. John Jay wrote in Federalist 64 that the virtue of the Electoral College is that it can dampen “the activity of party zeal.” Hamilton, in Federalist 68, envisioned Electors as sophisticated people,
Opinion
In the information age, the explosion of always-with-you technology has created a voracious hunger for content. The 24-hour news cycle means that cable shows, websites, Twitter feeds, and Facebook updates are always churning out something. Unfortunately, there are unreliable content providers among them who dole out inaccurate, biased content designed
Opinion
2020 is already a year to remember – a world-wide pandemic, militant Black-led protests sparked by the murder of George Floyd by a white Minneapolis police officer, and a presidential election. It is fair to ask what the election has to do with the other two. Will it bring anything more
Opinion
There is a good deal of mention of the Constitution on social media these days; frequently, in short, declarative sentences that express with certainty what the document means. Oftentimes these comments are directed at the Supreme Court, accusing a justice or justices of willfully violating the obligation to impartially interpret
Opinion
Lawrence Goldstone is the author of numerous books and articles on Constitutional Law, most recently “On Account of Race: The Supreme Court, White Supremacy, and the Ravaging of African American Voting Rights.” Find out more at www.lawrencegoldstone.com. In less than two weeks, Chief Justice John Roberts has delighted
Opinion
This is a horrific time for our country and a time of deep reflection for me. As a child of the 60’s, it is almost incomprehensible to fathom that we are experiencing a moment that is eerily similar to what I lived through fifty year ago on May 4,