Responding to NATO's pledge to help Turkey counter the threat of Islamic State militant radicals, the United States sent its first military support this weekend to Incirlik Air Base in Turkey.

As a governor, Scott Walker may have an advantage over some of his non-executive rivals and in his own words has said, "governors bring tremendous experience." However, as a state politician, it has not been necessary for him to speak on international issues. Yet, as the nomination process continues, his announcements and debate answers will be increasingly scrutinized.

The first question in the GOP primetime debate was a revealing one. When asked whether the candidates would pledge to support the eventual nominee, only one of the ten candidates on stage raised his hand to signal he would not: Donald Trump.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-oi2Z2g0e4

Thursday's GOP primary debates covered economic, political, and social issues typical of a Republican primary election.

But how do those topics measure up against what Americans say they care about most?

With the United States launching a new $2 billion submarine and moving towards putting into place our new $100+ million per unit F-35 fighters, joint military exercises between India and the United Kingdom should give us a moment of pause--that the biggest, and most expensive isn't always the best.

Many viewers turned in to the first GOP presidential debate to learn about the different candidates crowding the field. Yet, certainly others were just waiting to hear if anything inflammatory would continue to flow from Donald Trump's mouth. Trump did not disappoint, but neither did a few other candidates.

Here are the most outrageous statements from the GOP debate and what was missed because of them:

Scott Walker, Governor of Wisconsin:

If the party system collapsed overnight, would we really have better candidates?

Suppose closed primaries were all opened—a long-term goal currently pursued by the Independent Voter Project, The Centrist Project, and numerous others, currently gaining real traction.

My heart rate suddenly increased, the casual conversation with my uncle had just crossed the line into politics. Not knowing exactly how I got here but deeply aware of one startling fact; I just breeched the topic of medical marijuana with a religious conservative.

Shaking his head, my uncle expressed his grievances over the recently passed medical marijuana bill in the Pennsylvania Senate. He had an impressive grasp on the cannabis jargon, citing low-level THC strains, edibles, cannabinoids and more.

Amid the ruckus of the first Republican debate, including controversy over the use of polling to determine which candidates are participating, it is easy to forget that 43% of American voters don't identify with either political party. That's a record, and it reflects the alienation voters feel with the two-party system.

On July 20, IVN reported on Dr. Beth Clarkson's work, alleging voting machine tampering in three states.

Interest in this case has definitely grown, with more news sites and groups taking up the story and calling for the Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach to audit the election results.