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(Photo: salon.com) Reports released last week stated that the US State Department decided to remove the Mujahidee e-Khalq (MEK) from its Foreign Terrorist Organization list. Originally based in Iran, the MEK is a pseud0-Marxist-nationalist Islamic cult that, among other things, forbids its younger members from marrying or using the Internet. A partner in the Iranian Revolution and the 1979 hostage crisis, the MEK fell out of favor with the regime in the 1980s and eventually found asylum in Iraq

Photo: Gage Skidmore Mainstream media buzzed Wednesday morning with news of the latest Quinnipiac poll results in the key swing states of Florida, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. The newest polls find President Obama surging in these states, which have a combined electoral vote total that will make it difficult for either Obama or Mitt Romney to win the election without winning at least two of the three. No presidential candidate has won without taking at least two since 1960. The Quinnipiac poll show

Credit: Dailykos.com A new Marquette University Law School poll shows Democratic US Representative Tammy Baldwin with a nine percentage point lead over former Governor Tommy Thompson (R) in the US Senate race in Wisconsin. The statewide poll marks a complete turnaround from March, which had Thompson at a nine point advantage. Baldwin and Thompson are competing for the senate seat left vacant by Democratic Senator Herbert Kohl, who announced his retirement in May. The open-seat race is bound to

Photo: © Caleb Long This November, Gary Johnson will appear on the ballot in forty-seven states as the Libertarian Party presidential nominee. Oklahoma will not be among those states. Last week, the Oklahoma Supreme Court denied Gary Johnson ballot access under the Americans Elect Party. When the Libertarian Party failed in its attempt to gain the necessary amount of signatures in Oklahoma, the state’s Americans Elect chapter nominated Johnson as its party’s candidate. One day prior to nominat

Credit: investors.com The fight for third party candidates to gain ballot access can be a difficult one, especially when met with fierce opposition. After a hard fought legal battle, the Libertarian Party in Pennsylvania is one step closer to gaining access to the state’s general election ballot in November. In August, the Pennsylvania’s Republican Party challenged signatures submitted by Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson to get on the state's November ballot. Many Republican vot

Credit: http://www.wvik.org When it comes to deciding who to vote for, the independent voter has a daunting task ahead of them. The funds raised by the two mainstream campaigns, which have totaled over half a billion dollars each, are mostly appropriated towards getting the parties' messages out to the public, but how are those messages conveyed, and what are independent voters suppose to think? The answer to this question may seem simple at first, but in actuality, it isn't. It has been widel

Credit: theatlantic.com Republicans and Democrats just wrapped up their big conventions, but Independents and non-affiliated voters might be wondering where alternative solutions were being discussed. For the past two weeks, the Gary Johnson campaign schedule included multiple stops and events in the neighboring areas surrounding each party's convention. This past week's Democratic National Convention, held in Charlotte, North Carolina, began on Tuesday. Taking advantage of the political atmos

(Photo credit David P.) For former congressman Virgil Goode, ballot access in the upcoming presidential race has been a remarkable challenge. Among the international community, the United States has been criticized for having remarkably difficult ballot access requirements for third party candidates. An unfortunate side effect of these stringent requirements is that it can be difficult for third party platforms and candidates to gain any traction or public exposure. This is also a result of th

Credit: sodahead.com Recent skirmishes between the Republican and Libertarian parties are instructive examples of ballot access fights that too often happen elsewhere too. In Washington, the Libertarian Party claims that the Republican Party should have to run under minority party status, and in turn should be barred from the ballot having failed to make minority party deadlines. In Pennsylvania, the Republican Party is challenging the signatures amassed by the Libertarian Party in an effort to

With the 2012 presidential election still in campaign mode, it may seem premature to discuss the possibilities for 2016, but since it is also convention time, it is interesting to examine the biggest movers and shakers at the Republican and Democratic conventions. A lot can change during the next presidential term with the possibility of the full implementation of the Affordable Care Act, comprehensive fiscal reform including altering the tax code, Middle-East conflicts, and countless other fac