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(Credit: Gage Skidmore) On Wednesday, the South Carolina House of Representatives passed a bill that would effectively make it a federal crime to enforce the Affordable Care Act within the Palmetto State. To supporters and opponents alike, the bill is an act of nullification. Named the "South Carolina Freedom of Health Care Protection Act," the legislation passed 65-39 in the Republican-controlled House. If enacted, the bill will: "Prohibit certain individuals from enforcing or attempting to

California District 19 Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson / PHOTO: Sen. Jackson's Facebook A proposed California initiative would lower the voter preregistration age to 15. Under the bill put forward by Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-CA), 15-year-olds could preregister when they get their learner's permit at the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). Pre-registrants would remain ineligible to vote until they turn 18. "I see this as an opportunity to encourage teens to make sure they register to vote," Jac

Credit: www.ed.gov Illinois, New Mexico, Colorado, Oregon, and Wisconsin will get a share of the 2012 Race to the Top-Early Learning Challenge, a $133 million grant fund to enhance superiority and expand access to education programs throughout those states. The five finalists join the nine existing state grantees who secured first-round funding last year. Arne Duncan, the US Secretary of Education, said that every child is worthy of the lasting benefits of a high-class learning program: "Than

Today is the first day that same-sex couples are allowed to get married in the state of Washington.  The legislation permitting same-sex marriage was passed by the legislature and signed into law by Governor Chris Gregoire on February 13, 2012, but it was stayed pending a vote of the people.  In every instance of same-sex marriage going to the vote of the people, it had been voted down.  But the general election of 2012 would turn out to be more interesting than all the years prior. Washington

Credit: dukechronicle.com The 2012 general election was bitter for the GOP because so much hope was put into defeating President Obama, yet he won re-election anyway. While there has been a good deal of post-election finger-pointing and second-guessing--a popular theme among conservatives has been that Mitt Romney did not fire back as aggressively in defining the president as the president defined Romney--there is a bright spot for the party. The GOP picked up the gubernatorial seat in North C

Cognitive Match released this infographic soon after the 2012 election. Obama lost independent voters in every state except North Carolina, compared to 2008. North Carolina was the only swing state that went to Romney.

Citizens in nearly thirty states have signed online petitions propagating secession from the United States. These states have filed their petitions with the We the People Program, a facet of the Obama Administration which attempts to facilitate citizen participation in government. Though the ability to petition a presidential administration is not a new concept, the online petition program is. Petitions bear little to no legislative power, but the implications of online petitions for secession a

Since Obama won reelection a week ago, the White House website has been flooded with petitions from citizens in various states wanting their states to secede from the union.  It is important to note that these are not official petitions by the state governments but rather petitions started by individual citizens. The threat of secession is nothing new in the United States.  It seems that after any election, people want their states to secede so that they don't have to live under a leader they d

For the great majority of mankind are satisfied with appearances, as though they were reality, and are often more influenced by the things that seem than by those that are.- Nicolo Machiavelli, The 8th Institute I began writing opinion pieces in 1973. It’s now 39-years later and in something approaching 500,000 words, I have expressed many opinions about issues and people. I have neither hidden my political beliefs nor Christian faith, neither my cultural values nor love of baseball. I have so

of all US Senators are up for re-election. Every two years approximately one-third 1. Max Baucus (Montana) Baucus is the longest-serving US Senator in the history of Montana, having first won election in 1978. He has voted to allow concealed carry and was a major player in the passage of the Affordable Care Act. 2. Mark Begich (Alaska) Begich is the former mayor of Anchorage and defeated Ted Stevens in 2008, the longest-serving Republican US Senator in history. In his term in the Senate,