The Voices

Details of Sen. Barack Obama's speech on patriotism got buried in the wake of General Wesley Clark's politically lunkheaded comment that "riding in a fighter plane and getting shot down" doesn't qualify Sen. John McCain to be president. But over the Fourth of July weekend, it might be appropriate and enlightening to take a few minutes to read or watch the whole thing. more »

alternet.org — How do today' youth — black youth in particular — choose their leaders? Hint: It's not by skin color or party affiliation.

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huffingtonpost.com — In this election year, expect the skeptical or the indifferent to raise a litany of objections to having a national innovation agenda in the first place. Here are five of my all-time favorites.

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thenation.com — Young people who want work and cannot find it are being sent the wrong message. Is this a country that really respects hard work if it places no value on creating work? Indeed, what message does this nation want to send its youth?

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huffingtonpost.com — Today almost no one wants to get caught openly acknowledging the limits of public opinion. We are all populists now. The voice of The People is the voice of God. In a profound and disturbing way, our worship of The People has grown so rigid that we are in danger of losing touch with our own history. It is one thing to pay ordinary people the respect due them as human beings, quite another to pretend that everything they believe is beyond questioning. We used to understand this, but no longer seem to.

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truthdig.com — For all the talk this year about bipartisanship, a sharp shift in partisan loyalties toward the Democrats, visible in a series of polls this week, could prove to be the defining fact about the 2008 election.

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thenation.com — In any conversation about the role of young voters, a number of arguments — without fail — creep into the discussion. Once these myths enter the debate, any further discussion is usually rendered moot and participants tend to side with the person propagating them. It's time to dispel some of those myths.

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inthesetimes.com — Laws that would require proof-of-citizenship in the form of a birth certificate, passport or naturalization papers in order to register to vote have been introduced in eight states: California, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, South Carolina, Oklahoma and Tennessee. These laws could effectively turn away from the polls thousands of women, people of color, people with disabilities, and those with low incomes.

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prospect.org — Forget money, lobbyists' real power comes from information. Here's three ideas that would reduce their influence on Congress and strengthen our democracy.

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