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On Thursday, Republican Indiana Governor Mike Pence signed the "Religious Freedom Restoration Act," giving business owners the legal protection to deny service to someone if providing the service conflicts with their religious beliefs. The law is now the subject of heated controversy nationwide. Opponents of the bill call it legal discrimination targeted at the LGBT community, while supporters say it prevents the government from forcing people to violate their conscience. "[I]n a secular socie

There is an old axiom that history repeats itself. Some may dispute this claim, but it is hard to argue with what a person can witness happening right in front of them. One just has to pay attention and know history to know what the outcome of certain things will be. After the Reconstruction period ended following the Civil War, southern states (the old Confederacy) began enacting Jim Crow laws. These laws mandated that all public facilities be segregated. They were also used in an attempt to k

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

NATIONAL -- Earlier this month, VA Secretary Bob McDonald got into a heated argument with a member of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee while defending his efforts to turn around the scandal-ridden agency. Specifically, he called out U.S. Representative Mike Coffman (R-Colo.), a veteran of both Iraq wars, over his comments regarding McDonald's tenure. "[The VA] is a department mired in bureaucratic incompetence and corruption. I fundamentally believe … when this president ends his term, you

Redistricting has been a contentious process since the early 1800s, when Governor Elbridge Gerry signed a bill that reshaped electoral districts in Massachusetts to benefit the Democratic-Republicans. This manipulation of the redistricting process was nicknamed a Gerry-Mander, partially after Governor Gerry, and partially after the shape of one of the Boston districts, which resembled a salamander. The practice, now commonly referred to as gerrymandering, presents a challenge to the U.S.'s repu

President Obama is widely expected to veto the Keystone XL legislation that has passed both houses of Congress this past week in its reconciled form. It is also anticipated that the vote to override the veto will not reach the two-thirds majority needed--setting off the controversy over the checks and balances of the government. Is modern politics really that different from the days of the Founders? At times like this, we can look to the Founding Fathers--and see how our first five presidents

On December 16, 1773, a group of colonists dressed as Indians boarded three British cargo ships to destroy 342 cases of tea -- a "tea party" over a 90 percent tax cut. Tea throughout the Empire had been taxed at 30-pence a pound, which had been reduced to 3-pence a pound in the colonies to combat sluggish sales and smuggling. But that wasn't good enough; we wanted tax-free tea. From the very beginnings of the Republic, Americans have hated taxes. Looking at modern political discourse, one woul

Without a doubt, almost every American knows the name Benedict Arnold. Arnold was the worst form of traitor: one who does the damage, then flees without taking responsibility for their actions. But another largely unknown traitor was among the highest ranks in the Continental Army, holding the post equivalent to a modern Surgeon General. This unknown traitor tells us a lot about the generation and times of the Founders, the legal system of crime and punishment, but more importantly, how we shou

During every election cycle, Americans are treated to a cacophony of supposedly differing ideologies on tax policy. The two dominating party-powers put on an impressive show, each claiming to want reform to an untenably complex tax system and to pass the rewards on to the public in different ways. There seems to be no voice in the chorus defending the current system. As it stands, the U.S. tax code is more than 4 million words long, making it virtually incoherent to the general public, as well

Indiana is one of 11 states that still permits straight-ticket voting, or the ability to vote for all candidates affiliated with a particular political party by selecting a single option on the ballot. However, this could change with a new bill introduced in the state Legislature that would eliminate the option in most elections.With the exception of presidential elections, House Bill 1008, authored by State Representative David Ober (R-Albion), " emoves a voter's option to vote for all candida