I love Bernie Sanders, and I recognize the need for universal single payer health care. I love that Bernie is still pushing for it, because “Obamacare” is far too expensive. It does not reduce the costs of our health care system, and it does not achieve the goal of universal coverage, but we cannot go backward. We must move forward.

Unfortunately, Bernie’s plan has several flaws. The flaws are no doubt a result of the way our partisan government operates, but they should be highlighted nonetheless.

On September 22, 1862, Abraham Lincoln announced his intention to order the emancipation of all slaves in the states that did not end their rebellion by January 1, 1863.

So on January 1, 1863, President Lincoln issued the famous and historical presidential proclamation and executive order known as the Emancipation Proclamation and intended to free those slaves.

That alone did not free the slaves in areas still under rebellion. However, as more Confederate regions were controlled by the Union army, more slaves were emancipated with the help of the Proclamation.

The Illinois 8th congressional district, covering the western portions of Chicago, may become one of the more unique races in 2016.

The Washington Post reported Thursday that the co-chairs of the Commission on Presidential Debates claim they are open to including an independent or third-party candidate in the general election debates. This is true, but only if the third candidate clears a near-impossible hurdle or a major movement emerges that pressures the commission to change the rules regarding candidate inclusion.

CPD co-chairs, Frank Fahrenkopf Jr. and Michael McCurry, will appear on the PBS public affairs show, The Open Mind, on January 24 to discuss the issue.

NEW YORK, Jan. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In response to Marco Rubio's recent campaign event in New Hampshire where the candidate appears to have made a climate change of heart and has called for America to be "number one in wind, and number one in solar, and number one in biofuels, and number one in renewables, number one in energy efficiency. Let's lead in all of these things," independent presidential candidate Ken Fields responded by saying:

It seems that supporters of Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders have given their response to Hillary Clinton's newest line of attack. The Sanders team reports that his campaign pulled in about $1.4 million in just 24 hours, nearly quadrupling their daily average.

This week, President Obama delivered his seventh and last State of the Union address. Regardless of where one stands on his policies/politics, he gives one hell of a speech.

Post-game analysis was fairly predictable. Republicans panned it policy-wise while Democrats were falling all over themselves with praise. It was, to me, reminiscent of President Reagan’s final SOTU, the wrapping up of two terms in a nice package. This is a compliment to both men.

The traditional “other party” -- in this case Republican -- response was noteworthy, and for a number of reasons.

Update, 1/14/16: The Washington Post reported Thursday that a federal judge ruled against the three plaintiffs in the lawsuit challenging the GOP loyalty pledge, ruling that the plaintiffs did not provide sufficient enough evidence that voters would suffer "irreparable harm" by taking the pledge.

To solve a problem, we have to ask the right question. For example, is our goal to increase the minimum wage or to reduce poverty? If our goal is to reduce poverty, the next question would be: what is the best way to reduce poverty?

By taking this approach, we would more clearly see increasing the minimum wage is a tool to achieve our goal of reducing poverty. And we would be more open to alternatives, which in combination with a minimum wage would better enable us to achieve our goal such goal.

Lolly Bentch-Myers is a mother of three and full-time activist with Pennsylvania's Campaign4Compassion. Her daughter, Anna, has Mesial Temporal Sclerosis, a brain condition that causes intractable epilepsy, insomnia, and autism. There are not many options for kids like Anna, or moms like Lolly.