The election of Donald Trump, along with a conservative House and Senate, has the potential to drastically cut costs to federal programs that affect the health of the most vulnerable in our populations: namely, the elderly and those with disabilities.

The first executive order ever given by a President of the United States was George Washington's decree on October 3, 1789, proclaiming a national day of Thanksgiving.

Embedded in this short, roughly 500-word proclamation is an appeal for our nation to be thankful for seven basic principles, hallmarks of the fledgling republic.

Now, 227 years later, we need these principles more than ever as we face a politically divided future. We can all rally around principles of thankfulness that Washington laid out for us to remember.

Illinois is one step away from becoming the seventh state to institute automatic voter registration.

The last ten days has been nothing but a constant buzzing in the media, rumor mills, and outright political lie manufacturers -- all ready to pounce on president-elect Donald Trump's seemingly endless potential for presidential scandal.

And while the internet is ready to give us whatever dose of outrage we need at the current moment, are we really so blind to not see that scandal is the norm for the Oval Office?

No matter which side of the election you were on, clearly, half of the country was not happy with status quo. Half a country is now very unhappy with the outcome. As with Brexit, when a country is only working for half the people, it’s not working. When that half exercises their democratic right to change the country’s course, we must respect that.

Much of the run-up to the recent election focused on turmoil: difficulties the GOP had in supporting their own presidential nominee, and difficulties the Democratic National Committee had when WikiLeaks exposed questionable activities of their own.

From the Revolutionary War to the Watergate scandal, journalism has always held an important place in the political sphere. However, the concept of modern journalism can appear bleak and disappointing, constructed more as an attention-getting ruse rather than an objective means of imparting essential information to the public.

California is a leader in clean energy innovation. But energy innovation does not come without a cost.

The simplistic discussion about energy policy at the national level usually comes down to this: you either want to protect our environment, or you are a climate change/science denier.

In this two-sided partisan world, a practical discussion of consequences gets lost.

While researching another article, I bunny-trailed into an obscure law pertaining to how Electoral votes are counted.

Since 1887, 3 U.S.C. 15 gives Congress the right to invalidate Electoral votes -- either specific electors or even an entire state's vote.

While it has no place in the USA currently, gambling on elections is rife in most European countries and no other election has ignited interest so much as the 2016 Presidential Election. Whether it was the divisive rhetoric, or the fact a Celebrity was involved, the 2016 elections saw huge sums of money change hands after Trump’s win. Does this exemplify the disenchantment felt by many regarding the 2016 election, and show the disconnect that led to so few people voting?