Jack Jones articles

Jack Jones writes for Democracy Chronicles from Chicago’s south suburbs where he grew up. He is a union electrician Local 134, certified minister from Berean University, AYSO board member and coach, basketball coach, Cub Scout leader, husband, father and social participant. Jack considers himself a gourmet junk food chef, political writer, musician and likes to contribute to the world around him. A former deacon and chaplain at Cook County Jail in Chicago, he feels that our out-of-control corporate, religious and political environment is to blame for many of the problems in the world today. Jack believes we need to get money out of politics and that the church should take care of people instead of trying to get hypocrites elected to public office.

Amazon Pays Nothing in Taxes, But the Poor Sure Do

By Jack Jones - February 18, 2019 6 Comments

The middle class and the poor need the tax breaks, not the Oligarchs at the top. There are property taxes, income taxes, alcohol taxes, license plate taxes, utility taxes, tobacco taxes, gasoline taxes and more.

Time’s Up America – Civil Disobedience Now

By Jack Jones - February 5, 2019 Leave a Comment

We have been acting like doormats and have been complacent to our corporate masters. Not only that but at least 30% of us seem to be even going long and think that we are on the right track! So why do we think that there’s going to be any change?

Beware the Pied Pipers of Politics

By Jack Jones - January 25, 2019 Leave a Comment

A good tagline is simple, effective and hypnotic if done properly, and it conveys a message that’s easy to remember with a minimal amount of words. How come the Republican Party is so good at the tagline?

I’ve Had it! Trump Nominee Barr is Against Marijuana Reform

By Jack Jones - January 17, 2019 2 Comments

How backwards and how ignorant must our country remain. I’m tired of the puritanical hypocrites still using the anti-marijuana card while trying to appear more godly than the other snakes in their brood!

Stuff We Believe: Keeping Sane in Trumpland

By Jack Jones - January 16, 2019 1 Comment

Ride through the south, even most of America, the channel is still today stuck on FOX News. Even in the McDonald’s that I visited in the Ozarks while on vacation with my family, they had FOX News on.

Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death?

By Jack Jones - January 2, 2019 Leave a Comment

The revolutionary Patrick Henry who voiced this opinion in 1775 was the biggest slaveholder in the New World. He wanted freedom and liberty for himself but not for the slaves who made him his fortune.

Consequences: A Country Gets the President it Deserves

By Jack Jones - December 28, 2018 Leave a Comment

I’ve heard it said, that a country gets the president it deserves. Does that count if that person cheated to gain power? It seems amazing that many Republican voters still support Trump. What are they thinking?

Citizens United: A Battle of Money vs Democracy

By Jack Jones - December 27, 2018 Leave a Comment

It is time to demand change and this begins with staging mass protests against the Citizens United decision and the system of election campaign financing in America. Our freedoms and our rights hang in the balance.

Don’t Do the Daley Clan in Chicago Again

By Jack Jones - December 21, 2018 Leave a Comment

Bill’s father, Richard J. Daley, was the longest-serving Chicago mayor ever, serving from 1955 to 1976. That record was beaten by Bill’s brother, Richard M. Daley, who ran the city from 1989 to 2011.

Stop Grading Republicans on the Curve

By Jack Jones - December 17, 2018 2 Comments

We keep conceding to the criminal Republican agenda of rigging elections through voter suppression and a litany of illusory tactics tied to false voter fraud claims. In North Carolina, another election scandal has erupted.

On Election Security

By Jenny Oak Tree

While the current United States administration focuses on the border crisis, the threat to our election security is largely ignored. A Republican majority Senate has blocked two election security efforts.

Podcast: The Past, Present, and Future of Protests

By Jenna Spinelle

L.A. Kauffman is a longtime organizer and author of the book How to Read a Protest: The Art of Organizing and Resistance. She traces the history of the modern protest movement since the March on Washington in 1963.

The English Psycho and Brexit: A Psychological Profile

By David Anderson, J.D.

It is a psychological fact that in chaotic times people frequently allow narcissists and psychopaths to rise to the top of organizations, often faster than they do normally. Clinically, Trump and Boris Johnson tick nearly all the boxes.

A Modest Proposal to Save and Improve the Electoral College

By M D Mitchell

There is currently a debate in the US about eliminating the Electoral College and replacing it with a National Popular Vote. There are also ardent defenders of both arguments. There are valid arguments on both sides.

The Sources Of British Democracy Are Being Poisoned

By Paul Narraway

In the continuing mess that is Brexit, some very foul smells are arising from the pile of awfulness that it is. To date, there is no solid agreement on what to do and which direction to go in.

When Anger Is A Gift: Puerto Rico Rising

By Aydasara Ortega

The multitudinous and persistent demonstrations that call for the governor’s resignation show that democracy and dignity walk together. Puerto Rico demands loud and clear: “Ricky resign!”

Podcast: A Conversation About Conversation

By Jenna Spinelle

Why is it so hard for people to talk to each other? There are a lot of easy answers we can point to, like social media and political polarization, but there’s another explanation that goes a bit deeper.

MORE FROM OUR AUTHORS

Meet the 17-Year-Old Creating “Turnout,” a Mobilization App for Teen Activists

Zev Dickstein Shapiro, a 17-year-old social entrepreneur from Cambridge, Massachusetts, is revolutionizing the social media game.

Podcast: A Democracy Summer Reading List

The hosts of the Democracy Works podcast review current books on democracy in this week’s podcast episode.

Kansas Firing Range To Double As A Voting Site

Barton Community College’s Science and Math building will no longer be a voting site for residents of Barton County Township-A.

Nonprofit Registers Thousands Of Voters at Music Festivals Like Bonnaroo

Voter registration non-profit HeadCount was onsite and hard at work getting music lovers both young and old involved in our country’s democratic system.