While a founding member of NATO, France has not taken part in the NATO coalition against the Islamic State. Instead, it has chosen to press the attacks separately under its own command structure -- until today, that meant only in Iraq.

The federal government is now two weeks away from experiencing the second government shutdown in two years if it does not pass a continuing resolution (CR) by October 1.

In 2013, the cause of the government shutdown was a tussle between the Republican-led House and the Democrat-controlled Senate over funding for the Affordable Care Act.

IVN conducted a survey to determine whom independent-minded voters are supporting among the current presidential candidate field. Respondents were asked two questions: (1) If the presidential election were held today, for whom would you vote? (2) What political party, if any, do you think best represents your views?

The poll was promoted to IVN readers who largely self-identify as independent-minded voters. Notably, 51% of IVN's Facebook readers are over the age of 55.

In August, Jason Olson, director of Independentvoice.org, and Dr. Omar Ali, a history professor at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and expert scholar on populist political movements, published a study called, A Quiet Revolution: The Early Success of California's Top Two Nonpartisan Primary.

One of the Republican presidential candidates rising in polls is neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Carson. Never holding political office nor serving in the military, Dr.

Here are the words politicians are unwilling to utter.

In February, IVN.us reported on the possibility that the Independent Party of Oregon might be named Oregon's third major party by registering 5 percent of the state's voters by August 17 of this year.

With the stigma of being the first one out of the race now gone, with Rick Perry's exit from the contest, we will probably see another handful of departures from the Republican primary race in the coming weeks.

As the refugee crisis in Europe gains more attention, commentators have been asking (and answering) the question, who is at fault? 

In a piece for the Daily Beast last week, James K. Glassman, former Under Secretary of State in the George W.