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A team of bipartisan lawmakers has introduced a bill designed to end what they call "the illegal, counter-productive war to overthrow the Syrian government of Assad." U.S. Reps. Tulsi Gabbard, a Hawaii Democrat and Austin Scott, a Georgia Republican, issued a press release on Friday for HR 4108, their bill to stop the flow of funds to groups fighting the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad: "The war to overthrow Assad is counter-productive because it actually helps ISIS and other Islami

We've all heard metaphors about sending people to jail. “Don't drop the soap." “Big Bubba will like your purty mouth.” Many people find these metaphors humorous. This is odd, for it seems like those people do not find sexual assault to be cruel or unusual punishment. Cruel and unusual punishment is prohibited by the Constitution. In Furman v. Georgia, Justice Brennan wrote that there were 4 criteria that need to be used in order to determine if a punishment is cruel and unusual: 1. A punishmen

Last week, California Republican Kevin McCarthy abruptly scratched himself from the list of Republican members of Congress seeking the Speaker of the House position. McCarthy, widely hailed as a more moderate Republican (we gave him a Crowdpac score of 5.2), was the clear favorite to replace Ohio Republican and current Speaker of the House, John Boehner. Now that he’s out of the way, winning the Speaker’s position is any man’s game.So, who else is vying for this now wide open position?Nearly hal

Of all the firestorms that could be reignited on a Friday morning, this is definitely one of the popular ones lately. Some groups were horrified that the pope wasted 10 minutes on a low-level county clerk who refused to issue gay wedding licenses. Others saw it as just another victory for the LGBT movement. Where we need to clear our heads in America is in this crazy association that politics and religion are equivalent actions. When presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee went to see Davis, he di

One of the Republican presidential candidates rising in polls is neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Carson. Never holding political office nor serving in the military, Dr. Carson has admitted he is a foreign policy "novice" and is learning a lot of material. He also indicates he will be able to overcome his deficiencies by "being able to listen to experts on foreign affairs and a variety of other subjects and utilize that information in the appropriate way is much more important than being able to regurgitate

FairVote on June 12 released Government of the Few in the “Decided Dozen" -- Frozen Representation and the Distorted Demographics of Decisive Primary Elections. Report authors Andrew Douglas and Zack Avre zero in on the “Decided Dozen”—12 states where control over the state legislature and the outcome of the great majority of general election races is never in doubt, leaving the only meaningful choices and power to voters in low turnout, unrepresentative primary contests. Source: FairVote: The

This week, the Washington Post published an analysis of Georgia's gerrymandering problem. Gerrymandering is the practice of manipulating electoral boundaries to favor one political party or dilute the voting power of specific voting blocs. Georgia's redistricting process is overseen by its legislature, a common theme among states with a history of uncompetitive elections. In addition to a surprising lack of competition in the 2014 elections, the Washington Post found: "But really, it's not th

Controversy over Indiana's " Religious Freedom Restoration Act" is being heralded as a bellwether for national opinion by some LGBT advocates. The bill gave businesses the right to deny service to someone if providing that service conflicted with the owner's religious beliefs. After national backlash, Indiana Governor Mike Pence signed a revision to the law specifying that private business owners cannot use it to justify discrimination based on sexual orientation. "I think everyone on both si

It’s hard to look at the doctrine of the Constitution Party without seeing references to overt religious fundamentals -- namely, Christian fundamentals. The preamble to its platform begins: "The Constitution Party gratefully acknowledges the blessing of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ as Creator, Preserver and Ruler of the Universe and of these United States. We hereby appeal to Him for mercy, aid, comfort, guidance and the protection of His Providence as we work to restore and preserve these

On Monday, March 2, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument in the case, Arizona State Legislature v. Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission. The high court will consider the constitutionality of independent redistricting commissions, something that could also affect the ballot initiative process in several states. The main issue before the Supreme Court is whether the justices will agree with a lower court’s interpretation of the phrase “by the Legislature thereof” in the Election Cla