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The split between Democrats in the U.S. Senate and Republicans in the U.S. House has caused more than a little tension in the legislative process, which is Congress’ job. That division, no matter how democratically it was conceived, resulted in bills from one chamber not getting the attention they deserve in the other.If the Republicans win back the Senate, more than a dozen bills will be unlocked from legislative limbo and resurface with broad conservative support. The media is mostly discussi

According to the North American Association of State and Provincial Lotteries (NASPL), lotteries drew in $78 billion and doled out $19 billion in 2012. Lotteries have not slowed down in recent years, but when consumers have a chance to become an instant millionaire that really is not shocking. State lotteries are in 43 states, plus D.C., with over 200,000 retail locations. The chance at winning a Powerball jackpot is 1 in 175 million. In this multi-billion-dollar business, people are eager to t

Jim Jenkins, an independent candidate for U.S. Senate in Nebraska, passed a major hurdle recently by qualifying for the ballot in the November election. If successful, he would be the first independent senator from Nebraska in the state's history. Nebraska is a big state. In square miles, it is the fifteenth largest state in the U.S. -- larger than New York, Pennsylvania, Florida, and Michigan. Politically, it takes on a lesser role than these high-profile states, and is often written off as a

This campaign has opened my eyes to the many and varied opinions that voters across Nebraska think about when they are deciding on their votes. Since I am working on an independent candidate’s campaign, I have been exposed to the hesitation that many voters show when faced with the alternative option of voting for an independent candidate. Here are three opinions that regularly surface in comments and conversation on independent candidates. So, I thought I’d start some discussion on why these t

Hey, everyone! Not sure if you heard the news, but Jim Jenkins was recently endorsed by The New York Times! The most influential and widely read newspaper in the United States has decided that this rancher and businessman from Nebraska has a message for all Americans -- serve the people, not the party. Wait a second, you might be saying, wasn’t it the… yes, alright, you caught me. It wasn’t The New York Times that endorsed dad, but the York News-Times, one of the twelve daily newspapers we have

In the summer of 2010 as a lowly intern on Capitol Hill, I became painfully aware that our government was in some state of shambles. As interns, we were encouraged to attend assemblies where congressmen and women had agreed to speak to the hundreds of interns who flock to our nation’s capitol every year to see first-hand the people who govern the greatest country on earth. There I would sit, among kids my age from all over the country, eagerly listening to Senator so and so from state so and so

1. Letter to The Aspen Times says many Colorado voters are denied their constitutionally-protected rights of non-association and equal access to elections under the state's partisan primary system. "The U.S. Constitution and the Colorado Constitution both guarantee “freedom of association” — the freedom to associate with whom we please, which necessarily includes the freedom not to associate — to decline to associate with certain people or organizations. The U.S. Constitution and the Colorado C

It’s no secret that the Keystone issue is a political powder keg. Neither is it a secret that it’s a controversial topic pitting two traditional foes: environmentalists versus big oil. Very murky, however, is what benefit Keystone XL offers the United States.As in so many situations, in order to understand the present, we need to understand the past and Keystone has a bit of a checkered and rapidly evolving past. With blinding speed, progress on the Keystone project began in 2005 when it was pr

For the 46.5 million Americans living below the poverty line, 16 million of which are children, life has become a consistent struggle. This struggle does not simply begin and end with monetary concerns, but in fact surrounds both a physical and mental exertion of the individual.Using the national U.S. census and NCCP, researchers found that in 2013, the poverty line rested at $11,490, a number which equates an individual working full time while only making $5.00 – far below the national minimum

The way we elect the president and vice president in the U.S. is quite unique compared to the way we elect every other elected office. We don't elect them directly. Instead, we vote for electors who then cast votes for a presidential ticket. Electors from each state are supposed to cast their votes for whichever candidate won that state's popular vote -- "winner takes all."  However, every once in awhile there is a rogue elector who casts a different vote as "winner takes all" is not required b