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Our health care system is a disaster. You won’t find much disagreement with that statement — maybe just fingers pointing in different directions as to why. We’ve had endless debates on health care, and various presidents have tried to expand coverage only to be challenged by the powerful insurance and health care industry. President Obama signed the Affordable Healthcare Act (Obamacare) into law. It was a negotiated, watered down version of his attempt to get universal coverage, and it has bee

The Texas House approved a bill Saturday that eliminates straight-ticket voting, which allows voters to choose a party's entire slate of candidates in a single ballot marking. Texas will likely become the second state in 2017 to eliminate straight-ticket voting, following Iowa. The bill, HB 25, originated in the state House, and was initially approved by the chamber in early May. However, before passing the Senate, an amendment was added to the bill that required the bill to go back to the Hous

Last week, Congress avoided a government shutdown by agreeing to a continuing resolution to keep the federal government funded for another week. Then over the weekend, US lawmakers agreed to a deal that will extend funding through September while Congress and the White House continue to negotiate longer-term fiscal policy priorities. The US House passed the budget deal Wednesday. But amidst Washington's annual kabuki theater dance around fiscal policy and possible government shutdowns, a litt

On HBO’s “Last Week Tonight,” John Oliver tackled an issue that many consider the most pressing threat to our democracy: gerrymandering. As he often does, Oliver explained the intricacies of this complex policy issue with wit and humor, much to the alarm of voters everywhere. After explaining how politicians help their own party win seats by “packing and cracking” voters into districts, Oliver left viewers with a glimmer of hope by introducing the idea of independent redistricting commissions. T

April 1995 put radicalized right-wing terrorism firmly in the minds of Americans and law enforcement, when Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols destroyed the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. At the time, this was the single largest act of terrorism ever committed on American soil. Then, in August 1998, two separate strikes against American embassies foretold what would be the new norm in global terrorism -- the rise of radicalized Islamic terrorism in the form of al Qaeda. Three years lat

In August, just one month after the Democratic National Convention, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders announced the launch of Our Revolution, a non-profit organization dedicated to keeping his progressive movement alive and strong. Among its stated goals are “supporting a new generation of progressive leaders" and "empowering millions to fight for progressive change." To these ends, Our Revolution backed more than 100 candidates from the school board level to the U.S. Senate between August and Ele

Why stick with third party and independent candidates in November, if Clinton and Trump have a combined 80% of the electorate in all major polls? In an election season that is anything but usual, one trend is holding up: outside campaigns are losing support in the last months of the race. The campaigns of Libertarian candidate Gov. Gary Johnson, Green Party candidate Dr. Jill Stein, independent candidate Dr. Lynn S. Kahn, and Veterans Party candidate Chris Keniston responded to a short question

Green Party ballot access campaigns have had more success in 2016 than ever before, according to Rick Lass, Ballot Access Coordinator for the Jill Stein campaign. You can check out the Greens' infographic to see states turn green as each state's required signatures are submitted. So far, 43 states are green. Lass is sure that Greens will make it onto 44 state ballots, plus Washington, D.C. The only state so far, with no chance of turning green is South Dakota. Greens failed to gain ballot acce

Last week, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump proposed congressional term limits. "I hear it from more and more people," Trump said of term limits for federal legislators. "We're going to take a very serious look at that." The idea of national term limits periodically surfaces as an issue. Republicans campaigned on term limits as part of the 1994 Contract With America platform. The tea party also featured term limits as part of its agenda in 2010. The presidential candidate did not e

As with past election cycles, third party and independent candidates – as well as initiatives aimed at reducing the power of the two major parties – are struggling to achieve access to general election ballots. In some cases, this is the result of general apathy toward specific parties, candidates, or reforms. In other cases, however, their exclusion from the ballot stems from a variety of causes, including minor technicalities, official ineptitude, constitutionally dubious legal barriers, and,