It's easy to become a cynic when it comes to politics, but when a campaign overtly tells the press that they are going to focus predominately on 17 states for the win, cynicism goes into overdrive.

It's not like this isn't a common theme in modern politics. The Democrats have maintained a hefty advantage for decades with California and New York giving them almost one-third of the 270 electoral votes to win.

Electoral reform is getting much more attention in the wake of the presidential primary cycle. From open primaries to superdelegates, voter registration measures, campaign finance, and everything in between, all of the process issues were fair game after the unorthodox campaigns of Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump exposed the party nomination process for what it is: a

Eighty-three years ago in Chicago the first All-Star Game between the American and National Leagues was held, the genius of Arch Ward, sports editor of the Chicago Tribune. The game was played July 6, 1933, at Comiskey Park on Chicago’s Southside, and a sellout crowd of 49,200 attended what would become a magic moment in baseball history.

Third party candidates like Jill Stein (Green Party) and Gary Johnson (Libertarian Party) face a major hurdle to political legitimacy : not being included in national polls that determine debate eligibility.

An independent running in Illinois' 13th congressional district could garner substantial support in November. However, the candidate's Democratic opponent is now trying to keep him off the ballot.

David Gill is a Bloomington physician and ran for Congress four times as a Democrat. This year, however, he decided to run as an independent.

In May, the Sanders campaign was given a major opportunity to influence the DNC platform, as 11 of the 15 seats on the drafting committee were filled by progressive voices. While this was a significant victory, the progressives haven't won every battle before the full committee.

San Diego-The San Diego Chargers stadium ballot initiative has secured enough valid signatures to appear on the November ballot.

The initiative would raise local hotel taxes for a downtown stadium and convention facility. San Diego City Clerk Liz Maland made the announcement Saturday afternoon.

The Quest for Peace and Justice Martin Luther King Jr. Nobel Lecture -- December 11, 1964

“Violence as a way of achieving racial justice is both impractical and immoral. I am not unmindful of the fact that violence often brings about momentary results. Nations have frequently won their independence in battle. But in spite of temporary victories, violence never brings permanent peace. It solves no social problem: it merely creates new and more complicated ones. Violence is impractical because it is a descending spiral ending in destruction for all.

In late June, the Supreme Court voted unanimously to vacate the conviction of former Virginia Governor Robert McDonnell, who was found guilty by a jury in 2014 on 11 corruption-related charges.

The past 48 hours have been a steady bombardment of memes and self-proclaimed legal analyses on the FBI's decision to not recommend charges against Hillary Clinton for wrongdoing over her use of private email servers as secretary of state.

The manufactured outrage seems to be along party lines, with Republicans flabbergasted by the outcome and Democrats having more of a 'move on' type attitude.