Articles by James Ryan

When President Donald Trump declared a national state of emergency to advance construction of a wall on the United States’ southern border, debate sparked over whether such use of broad executive power would come back to bite the Republican Party should a Democratic president do the same. And perhaps that president should: with a myriad of legitimate crises facing our nation and our world, perhaps we should be embracing innovative ideas to address them. For those decrying excessive federal ove...

Little Rock, AR - A state bill designed to "protect the rights and privileges granted under the Arkansas Constitution and the United States Constitution, and to declare American laws for American courts" may cover a broader scope than its proponents are advertising. HB 1041, introduced by Rep. Brandt Smith (R - Jonesboro), invalidates court rulings if they are based "in whole or in part" on foreign bodies of law that do not grant parties a particular set of "fundamental rights, liberties, and p...

In an interesting technical maneuver, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has transferred his personal website from company servers to an independent host.  This move, remarkably similar to those taken prior to his successful bids for mayor, appears to indicate a step toward an independent bid for the presidency. Up until mid-February, MikeBloomberg.com had been hosted on a server run by Bloomberg, L.P. -- Bloomberg's financial information company. The website is now hosted by Amazon.c...

On Monday, February 1, at 7 p.m., representatives from the Democratic and Republican parties will congregate in each of Iowa's 99 counties to cast their support for candidates from their respective party. The Iowa caucuses will kick off the presidential primaries, and a win will have a tremendous impact on the rest of state elections. That said, many people are unaware about how the caucuses work. Allow this author to explain: On the Democratic side, caucus-goers break into groups that publicl...

2016 presidential candidates seeking support from the Republican establishment previously faced only one issue, a crowded field vying for the same group of donors and supporters. Now they face two: a crowded field and a disapproving primary base. According to a December 2015 NBC/WSJ poll of New Hampshire Republican primary voters, establishment candidates have, for the most part, been viewed unfavorably: * 64% said they could see themselves supporting Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, while 29% could...

WASHINGTON -- With the crowded presidential field, which features 22 Democratic and Republican candidates, not a great deal of attention has been paid to the 585 individuals officially registered on the FEC website as 2016 hopefuls. Among them is "Deez Nuts," who, according to the campaign's FEC form, lives in Iowa and is running as an independent. According to Public Policy Polling, Nuts is putting up decent numbers in North Carolina and Minnesota. COURTESY OF THE FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION ...

U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) has transferred $250,000 to the Republican Party of Kentucky as a down payment for a presidential caucus he wants the party to conduct in March, according to an email sent to the party's central committee Monday. Paul is seeking the party's help in bypassing a state law that prohibits him from running for president and for re-election to his Senate seat on the same ballot in 2016. The email was also intended to quell concerns among the central committee -- which ...

As the 2016 election cycle continues -- spanning from the presidency to state legislatures -- the Democratic Party will have its work cut out for it as slow economic growth and declining presidential approval ratings continue to wreak havoc on its electoral prospects. Early polls indicate that the Democrats may hold the White House, but a Republican hold on Congress and increased influence at the state and local levels may render a Democratic presidency muted. GOVERNORS Red: Republican     Blu...

The new U.S. commander of the Pacific Fleet (PACFLT) assured allies Friday that American Forces are well-equipped and ready to respond to any issue that may arise in the South China Sea, where territorial disputes between China and various Pacific nations have sparked widespread uncertainty. PACFLT commander Admiral Scott Swift said that the Navy might end up deploying more than the four coastal combat ships it has already committed to the region, as well as expanding the annual combat exercise...