The Barack Obama Campaign and its Impact on Future Elections

In the year 2008, the American people were looking for hope. Facing dire economic straits, a war with no end in sight, and non-stop political scandals, people of all party affiliations wanted to believe that things were going to get better. For better or worse, one man was able to effectively deliver that message: Barack Obama. The Barack Obama campaign not only successfully inspired a nation of people, but revolutionized election campaigning for good. Its use of internet networking, grassroots campaign, and mobilization of the youth vote lead it to be categorized as one of the most successful presidential campaigns of all time.

Initially, the Barack Obama campaign was tremendously successful because of its heavy use of internet networking. While the world wide web was certainly nothing new, no candidate had ever been able to effectively use it as a means to motivate voters. The Barack Obama campaign changed all of that. His staff developed a homepage that allowed supporters to develop their own home site. From their page, they could provide donations to the campaign and track its impact, look up rallies or meetings for supporters, or even start mini-networks of motivated voters who could set up their own fundraisers. The mobilization of voters via internet networking established a strong, vocal, and active base of supporters who were regarded as the lynchpin of Obama's success.

The second component of the Barack Obama campaign that was so successful was the reliance on grassroots campaigning. The idea of a grassroots campaign was heartily received during the 2000 Presidential primaries when Democratic contender Howard Dean showed promise early on by relying on voters instead of party mechanics to garner support. Eventually, Dean dug his own grave with a poorly executed victory speech, but the idea of grassroots campaigning did not go away. The Barack Obama seized upon this concept, and spent little time courting major Democratic power players. While Obama's Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, attempted to win over the big wigs on Capitol Hill, Obama built an army of supporters in the common people by having zero apprehension about directly answering their questions in a straight forward manner. The support of the people eventually led the Democratic leadership to throw their weight behind Obama anyway, proving the effectiveness of grassroots reliance.

The final aspect of the Barack Obama campaign that made it so successful was the mobilization of the youth vote. For decades, political analysts and strategists had lamented the apparent apathy of youth voters. Their argument was that any politician who could harness that voting power would ultimately be successful. However, these same analysts and strategists wrote the cause off as hopeless, citing the failure of multiple past candidates who had tried to do so. The Barack Obama campaign changed all of that. While Obama's strategy did not ignore the soccer moms, Nascar dads, and senior citizen voters of the country, he spent a great deal of his time campaigning to college aged voters. His emphasis on hope appealed to the idealistic age group, and they showed up in droves on election day. In harnessing the youth vote, the Barack Obama campaign made major waves, and set an example for politicians to come.

Contract Formation

Contract Formation

Contract law is one of the most important area of the law that affects us all in our daily lives.  Although we seldom sign a written document, we go into shops daily, we travel on public transport, we park in parking lots - these are largely all contracts into which we bind ourselves to terms and conditions.  We may not be strictly aware of it, but we all participate in contractual obligations on both sides of the fence every single day.  It is therefore no surprise that the issue of when exactly a contract is formed is of the utmost importance in regulating commerce and life as a consumer.  Furthermore, how can we enforce our contracts, and what rights do we have under these contracts that we agree to almost subliminally day in day out.  In this article, we will look at some of the key issues surrounding contract formation, and general principles of the law on contract, which govern transactions we experience in our daily lives.

In general laymen's terms, we think of a contract as a detailed written document, and we understand that when we sign that dotted line, there's no turning back.  Actually, that's a myth.  Of course, there is definitely the possibility of receiving a written contract to sign, and indeed this would be legally binding.  However there is a very real possibility of being legally bound to a contract that you don't even realise exists.  A contract can be formed by way of simply verbally saying you agree to buy some item.  That is sufficient to bind you in law for most transactions, and on that basis it would be perfectly feasible to found a claim for breach.  Of course, the difficulty then arises in proving what was said, which is why in practical terms more often than not a written document is used for transactions of a substantial nature.  This avoids the problem of frivolous claims as to who said what and when such and such a term was agreed, which can lead to complications and lead to lengthy litigation

Contracts are generally formed at the concurrence of offer and acceptance.  That means when you make an offer to buy something, and it is accepted by the seller, that then forms a contract between the two respective parties to the effect of ownership will be transferred upon receipt of payment in consideration.  Usually all the vital terms of a contract will be stipulated previously, although many are implied in everyday situations, such as buying a newspaper or train ticket.  These terms would also be given practical effect by the court where it would be necessary to found a legal action, which is why they largely go unstipulated.  Additionally, the fact that very little litigation arises from these scenarios is another good reason for the lack of clarity necessary in small time contracts.  However, when it comes to more complex agreements, best practice dictates that writing is always essential to avoid problematic legal action.

Contract formation is critical, perhaps not so much on a small scale but almost certainly on a large scale with commercial property transactions and the like forming a fundamental part of commerce.  It is therefore pivotal that each jurisdiction develops its own considerations of precisely when a contract is made, in order to establish a pragmatic way to resolve disputes.  Naturally it is also important to maintain a cohesive structure to the law to ensure legal certainty, particularly in an area such as contract which is so vital to the success and growth of the economy, and which regulates such a large quantity of money.  By ensuing standard and structure, internally at least, it is possible to give the economy a fighting chance.  It is also in the best interests of everyone to harmonise laws with those of their trading partners, to ensure smoother transactions for the benefit of the economy on a wider scale.

Conservative vs. Liberal

Conservative vs. Liberal

Many people do not really understand the difference between a conservative and a liberal.  How do you really know which side of the spectrum you fall on?  In this article, we are going to explain some of the differences, so that as political figures are discussing conservative and liberal ideals you know exactly what is going on. 

The first side of the issue is the conservative side.  The conservatives tends to want to preserve things they way they are, for example they dislike change, and do not want things to change in the way the country is run, how people come into power, and how civil rights are handed out.  Conservatives appreciate in real terms the importance of building and maintaining the economy to the benefit of society as a whole.  Many conservatives are also considered to appreciate having an exclusive inner circle that controls the entire country, although in mainstream politics this is rarely a salient feature.

Many conservatives also live by the ideals that institutions that have been successful rather than dwelling on mistakes.  This has the effect of working towards improvement in efficiency, which is another key factor of Conservative thought.  Many conservatives do not think technology is our friend; they feel that technology should not be a part of government standards and ideas based on the inefficiency it brings.  Many conservatives are also very cautious people, which is reflected in the opinions and decisions of their politics.

Liberals on the other hand are very much different.  Most liberals are very open to change, almost to a fault; they do not mind the ideas of change as long as it is for a perceived good cause, even where there is no practical utilitarian upshot.  Liberals tend to be willing to take more risks than most conservatives are in the whimsical pursuit of change.  Most liberals are also very tolerant of behavior different from their own, as well as they are willing to open their minds to new ideas and concepts easier than the conservative counterparts.  Liberals also like to push for change without necessarily having a justification for their actions.

Liberals tend to be very progressively thinking people, whom are quite open to the new ideas of technology in terms of normal daily life, as well as in the role of assisting the government in managing the country to the best of our ability.  However, their emphasis on extreme individual freedom means a more distant form of governance that leaves society to regulate itself without much intervention.  This has led to numerous political and social problems for liberal governments across the world.

While there are some major differences in the two sides, there are also many people who fall somewhere in the middle.  Many people are able to pull their comfort zone from taking pieces of each side.  While some people are hesitant of change, they are able to accept change in order to make things better for everyone.  For example, women's rights were the result of change.  Many conservatives were against the ideals of women being allowed to vote.  On the flip side, some liberals are in favor of the legalization of drugs, and are wholeheartedly against government regulation in the way we live our lives.

While there are many differences in the ideals of the two groups, there is also a bond that forges from each side being determined to make life the best possible for the people in the areas with which they are concerned.  Neither side sets out to hurt the other side, nor the people they are responsible for helping.  There are times when the goals of both sides do come together nicely and result in wonderful progress for our cities, nation, and country as a whole.  Looking to the future, we can expect both sides to continue to change and progress as things change and the future becomes reality.

Tackling International Litigation

Tackling International Litigation

One of the main problems with doing business across international frontiers, particularly online business, is that of international litigation, given that it can be hard to exercise rights in a foreign jurisdiction.  It is perhaps one of the biggest dangers with contracting internationally that in the event of dispute, both parties claim their law is trump, which causes some obvious problems as they struggle towards an amicable outcome.  However, there are many ways around this situation for the savvy internet lawyer, including the widely used choice of law clause and the mutual arbitration or adjudication, which can help bypass this situation.  In this article we will look at a practical approach to tackling online litigation, and the ways in which a party can look to resolve problems across national frontiers. 

Initially, good dispute resolution begins with prevention, which means good and effective drafting of the contract.  Before transacting with anyone online, it is essential that you are fully aware of their terms and conditions of service and ensure you clarify anything you'd like to see in the contract.  If your proposals aren't accepted, you're far better to avoid transacting to avoid problems, particularly where substantial money is at stake.  Alternatively, if you are drafting an agreement from scratch it is imperative that you decide mutually on the terms, particularly what is known as the choice of law clause.  Choice of law refers to a particular designation in the contractual terms which stipulates that in the event of a dispute, both parties submit to an exclusive jurisdiction.  This is usually to the favour of the seller's knowledge, although may even be a neutral jurisdiction to avoid perceived bias.  Provided that the choice of law is stipulated in advance, it is a particularly effective way of ensuring disputes are properly resolved to the satisfaction of both parties. 

Another highly effective way to tackle online litigation is to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of some online adjudication service in the terms and conditions.  This involves a third party, usually a totally independent party, which is designed to regulate and prevent bias or unfavourable outcomes.  This eventually leads to a definite ruling one way or the other, which is helpful in ensuring no-one feels hard done to, and generally that justice is done.  Again, this is all down to the agreement and the way in which it is drafted.  By good drafting, many of the problems of litigation can be weeded out before they arise, leading to a more fluid and resolved business relationship in general.

In addition to contractual disputes, much of international litigation is taking shape online, as more and more parties find problems in dealing with those outwith their own boundary lines.  Primarily, the issues of copyright and information theft are being thrust to the fore, as issues that strike to the very core of business online.  Through establishing more regulatory online framework, it is possible, and indeed encouraged, for more efforts to be injected in regulating the way in which most of our business is conducted.  In the coming years, there will likely be much development in Internet law, particularly of a trans-national ilk, which will have a natural knock on effect on offline litigation to the benefit of business and trade.

Online litigation has risen to the forefront of legal thinking in recent years with the rise of the Internet.  As business becomes naturally more global, it is important to consider how disputes can be resolved, and indeed how this will pan out in the future.  There are suggestions of further developments of voluntary online courts, which will hear cases and establish a code of ethics, and this can only be good news for those parties feeling aggrieved by the system.  With each transaction, the Internet is becoming a more stable environment in which to conduct business, and a more regulated forum for marketing and commerce.

The Trust Mechanism

The Trust Mechanism

In legal terms, there is no mechanism quite as flexible and valuable as the trust.  Usually an imperative asset in the tax-planner's tool box, the trust mechanism is a legal fiction that is present in the majority of jurisdictions across the world.  It is in effective a tripartite relationship between a truster, a trustee and a beneficiary, although these names vary across jurisdictions.  The truster is the party transferring property, which then becomes property of the trust as an entity and hence is administered by the trustee, usually an accountant or investment banker, for the benefit of the beneficiary.  Usually, they are used for charitable purposes, or indeed as a way to minimise potential liability and alienate assets to avoid creditor seizure.  Unusually, the trust structure is relatively vague, and in many jurisdictions little more than a written deed is required to constitute a trust.  In this article we will look at why a trust should have a more formal establishment criteria, and why it is as effective as it is as an invaluable legal instrument.

Trusts can be used, and are used widely in practice, to alienate assets.  For example, if you are a wealthy businessmen, it may be wise to place your house in trust for the benefit of your wife, ultimately alienating it from your direct ownership whilst retaining the benefit.  Alternatively, it can be a good way to escape the tax liability net on death, given that the deceased can order his wealth to immediately revert to trust for benefit of his offspring rather than subjecting it to tax, or alternatively, he can set up a trust during his lifetime (i.e. inter vivos) to give away certain of his assets before death.  As you can see, the trust can be used for any number of purposes, and is particularly useful for the businessmen facing insolvency to retain his assets.

Unfortunately, most systems have relatively weak trust establishment procedures.  The trust, as an entity is not considered a person in law as a company is, but rather it is granted quasi-personality, which has made it difficult for courts to rule for or against certain actions.  For example, can the trust own property in its own right, or is it merely vested in the trustees for the benefit of the beneficiary?  Indeed can a trust be sued, or can a trust sue, or is this again a mere action open to the trustees to pursue?  It is suggested that perhaps establishing a more regulatory natured framework would benefit the set up of trusts at an international level to ensure fair play to creditors and to avoid potential cheats in bankruptcy.  Additionally, it would certainly add more weight to the legal standing of the trust as an entity, which could be beneficial in litigation and related matters, and would certainly work to harmonise the legal structure of a trust with other bodies corporate. 

In donating to a trust, it is vital that one considers the implications of gratuitous alienation in tax liability and bankruptcy.  For this reason, it is always best to leave a foreseeable period of 10 years before likely death/bankruptcy to ensure the transaction is not disqualified.  Of course, this varies between jurisdictions, and it would most certainly be advisable to consult a local legal specialist before embarking on such conduct.  However, as a rule of thumb, it should be safe with a decade between the alienation and the relevant date of asset consideration.

Trust law is a particularly interesting branch of legal study, and it is one which is plagued with riddles and anomalies, despite its evolution over hundreds of years.  Funnily enough, however, it is an ongoing successful model, and is used in almost all jurisdictions around the world for charitable public and personal purposes alike in boycotting personal insolvency, raising finances and saving on taxes in a number of business transactions.

Online Legality

Online Legality

The Internet is the most important social and economic change since the development of currency and the organisation of civilisation as we know it, and it has certainly has a profound effect on our everyday lives.  The Internet is the home of many of our businesses, a vital channel for communication with loved ones, and one of the most important knowledge resources the world has ever known.  If you're doing business online, just like the offline environment, it is imperative that you operate within and understand the law in your area.  Not only does this avoid potential problems, but it also ensures the smooth running of business and trade.  In this article we will look at certain fundamental issues when doing business online, and how they can be effective in determining how we run our online operations with a view to profit.

Online businesses almost always operate through websites of their own, which brings in a number of pertinent legal issues.  Primarily, the consideration of what is allowed to be published should be forefront in the mind of the webmaster.  As a general rule, only very 'inappropriate' material would be considered invalid online, such as certain categories of pornography and terrorist information.  Of course, the Internet is heralded as the one true bastion of free speech, which is somewhat of an exaggeration.  It is, however, important to remember that by and large the majority of content on the internet isn't policed which is a good thing and a negative thing in equal measure.  Secondly the issue of copyright will obviously play a big part.  How can I protect my website from information theft?  This is proving to be an extreme problem for the music industry, currently losing billions of dollars in lost sales through P2P file sharing programmes.  At present there is very little that can be done at large to protect online content, other than pursuing a course of legal action against every violator.  It is suggested that a move towards internet copyright policing would be very welcomed. 

Next, there is the issue of online business, at the very heart of which is the issue of getting paid for the work you do.  How can one ensure he will get paid for the goods, or indeed receive the goods he has paid for?  Services like Escrow.com have proven to be very successful in helping this situation although there is no real measure in place to avoid scammers and rip-off merchants from plying their trade.  As such, this has become a major plague on the internet, and has resulted in numerous small businesses going under and private individuals losing money.  This is primarily as a consequence of unscrupulous traders, although there are also those plain fraudsters that simply pursue fraudulent activity.  Unfortunately, at present, it can be very hard to distinguish between the two, which is frankly giving the Internet a bad name

Furthermore the issue of online litigation comes into play when issues of contract and copyright violation are raised.  Unfortunately again there is seldom much that can be done cross border, which makes this type of transacting all the more risky.  In spite of this, the Internet is still one of the most invaluable sources we have, and still an essential for modern business.  Businesses that aren't online simply fade away to competition that is more technology savvy, as customers become more and more virtual.  Likewise, those that market online are seeing greater returns on advertising spend through targeted marketing, which is boosting business offline as well as on.  The law of the internet is without a doubt one of the most important issues facing the net at this time, and one which looks set to dominate the agenda in the coming years.  With the development of more comprehensive controls and regulations, the Internet looks set to only grow from strength to strength in the B2B and B2C markets.

Internet and Politics

Internet and Politics

In the past, political figures relied upon the news in the form of television stations and even newspapers to release information to the public, i.e. direct to the electorate.  Now with the invention of the internet, more political figures are releasing their own information.  How does this affect the release of information?  Does this add to the impact of law and government on society, or is this merely a direct root to brainwashing the public.  Furthermore, is it good to use political figures time releasing information when they should be enacting change?  In this article we will look at the relationship between the internet and politics, and whether the move towards more accessibility and greater personal accounting is beneficial to democracy and government.

The correct answers are never easy to find, however with some work, analysis and thought it is possible to come up with the right answer.  The right answer is there is no answer - isn't that horrific.  Each politician has different means of how comfortable they are on the internet.  Using the internet has allowed some to maintain a closer proximity to the people they represent, while others have used it as a means to avoid personal contact with the people.  Either way, the Internet is obviously a powerful campaigning tool, and most politicians seemed to have realized and utilized this within their own campaigns. 

Many politicians are taking the internet and using it as a means of keeping a continuous stream of contact with the media, the people they represent, and everyone else.  The internet has allowed the political figures who use it the ability to quickly communicate with everyone whenever important information is available.  This makes them more accessible to the ordinary man in the street, which has never been possible through any other medium in the past.

Using the internet to communicate directly with people has improved the accuracy of the information that comes down in the political reigns.  Being assured of accurate information is why many prefer to receive the information directly from the lawmakers whom they elected.  Many times, it is possible to find the information in more detail online, and with less hassle and false facts. 

Couple the increased communication with the fact that each day, millions log onto the internet and it makes it the perfect place for candidates to hone their campaign skills to help increase their visual image in the public eye.  Most voters want a political figure they can find easily so they are able to do research to find the candidate that they truly believe in without spending hours doing research.  Furthermore, the internet allows politicians to point their campaigns directly at a completely new demographic that had never before been tapped into.  This is unleashing a whole new generation of voters eager to make the difference, which is working wonders for the politicians involved, and of course their savvy communications managers.

Many voters have embraced the idea of being able to show support for their political parties from the comforts of their home over the internet.  Politicians are also enjoying the ability to quickly communicate and using various social websites as well as the websites for their offices to keep a good flow of communication open with voters.  With everything compiled it is a wonderful age, where the internet is able to bring politicians and voters much closer together, while still allowing the politicians to be in Washington, or where their office is performing their job.

With the ease of the internet, politicians are able to communicate with the public from anywhere, giving them more time to communicate greater amounts of information to the public, as well as be able to gather feedback from the public in regards to the wishes of the majority.  Overall, it is a wonderful time and a wonderful addition to the political world since the invent of the internet.