Despite elections and the experience of post-Soviet personal freedoms by the Russian people, the fate of democracy in Russia is perhaps more ambiguous now than at any time since the collapse of the Communist system.
A nice, easy place for freedom of speech to be eroded is comics, because comics are a natural target whenever an election comes up.
If taxpayers want better results from Congress, they must stop paying their elected officials for failure. After all, you get what you pay for.
It was not my wish to come into politics. I was not a public person; I preferred to spend my birthdays with family and friends. But the 2008 elections were fraudulent, so I decided to finance the opposition to make them stronger.
I've often been asked to run for office. I have no desire to do that, I would not want my time with the family or the company restricted because of the demands of an elected position.
In Kuwait there is already a real, elected parliament with genuine power, but the prime minister is always a member of the ruling al-Sabah family. That must end.
After a great deal of thought and discussions with my family, I have decided not to seek re-election in 2014. Politics shouldn't be a career, and I never intended to make it one.
During the 1937 congressional election campaign, Johnson's group probably paid $5,000 to Elliott Roosevelt, one of Franklin Roosevelt's sons, for a telegram in which Elliott suggested that the Roosevelt family favored Lyndon Johnson.
Friendships are the family we make - not the one we inherit. I've always been someone to whom friendship, elective affinities, is as important as family.
What we need is some people to stand up with the courage of their convictions, to do what they promised when they ran for election, and fight to stop Obamacare.
I was a starter and did some good things there, and then I got a chance to prove myself as a closer. Because of that opportunity, I was blessed with the honor of being elected to the Hall of Fame.
I think we need more young people; we need to elect young people to government. We need to give them a chance, in the media, in politics, in democracy.
It is up to us to change laws on the books like 'Stand Your Ground' laws and push elected officials to enact regulations that hold police officers to the same standards as the rest of society. This is why we vote.
A lot of people are in politics to make friends, too, instead of making positive change. They're worried about getting re-elected.
Like a lot of people, I'm interested in public service and want to do as much as I can to change the direction of this country and will give some consideration to that after midterm elections.
Some people just don't want to see change, but thankfully there are a lot of people more optimistic for something new in music, even with the bigger picture like with Obama getting elected.
As a member of Congress, I believe it is the responsibility of those elected to represent the people at every level of government to ensure that our government works to ensure that every person who wants gainful employment has it.
Although my seat is a contest between Labour and the Lib Dems, it could well make the difference between a Labour and a Tory government at the next election. In terms of international development, this choice is a very clear one.
In a government such as ours we have vigorous contests to determine who should lead. The recent election was no exception. Now we inaugurate a new government on a day that transcends any one individual or any one party.
Since 2001, I've done what every elected official should be doing in government right now. My staff and I took a look at the books, thought outside the box and proposed reforms.
Something that confirms all fears and many conspiracy theories about government is finding out what our elected representatives would put into law if they could.
