Parties Treat Americans as Pawns in Their Partisan Games

After the results of the 2014 midterm elections were in, IVN published

an article suggesting that Vice President Joe Biden may have intentionally sabotaged independent Greg Orman's campaign in the Kansas U.S. Senate race by saying there was no doubt in his mind that Orman would caucus with Democrats.

Rand Paul Calls REINS Act a Necessary Step in Holding Government Accountable

Two Republican legislators are hoping to institute more transparency in the enactment of regulations, but are likely to run into resistance from the White House if the effort advances that far.

Last week, Kentucky U.S. Senator Rand Paul and Indiana U.S. Representative Todd Young introduced the "Regulations from the Executive in Needs of Security (REINS) Act." The key feature of the REINS Act is that it requires the president to submit a report of proposed regulations to Congress that have "an annual economic impact of $100 million or more."

Standing Up for Secularism

In Saudi Arabia this week, doctors advised that the next phase of the punishment of liberal blogger Raif Badawi be postponed until he has healed from the first. Badawi has been sentenced to ten years in prison, and 1,000 lashes, for openly advocating secularism on his blog “Free Saudi Liberals.” Badawi has received only 50 of those lashes so far, and it has already put his life in danger.

Deflate Gate is Not Just About Footballs -- It's About The Future of America

The United States is now facing the worst enemy in the nation's history. While many people thought the biggest threat to American society and our way of life was a foreign enemy or a government that does not adequately represent its people or their interests, the truth is much graver. I am, of course, talking about the very serious threat of deflated footballs.

I know what you're thinking? Why does this matter so much? Why are we so obsessed with how much air was in the footballs used during the AFC Championship game?

Accountability in the Media: The Cautionary Tale of 'No-Go Zones'

This week, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo threatened to sue Fox News for reporting that there were certain areas of Paris that were "no-go zones" for a majority of the city's population -- a story that would later be proven false.

Beginning the day of the Charlie Hebdo shooting, Fox News reported a series of stories centered on the idea of "no-go zones." Such “no-go zones” were portrayed as areas in Europe where non-Muslims and government officials are both banned, and Sharia Law is enforced.

Looking to the Founders: Our First President

Ready to have everything you ever learned in school about the nation's first president thrown out the window?

It wasn't George Washington.

While George Washington was our first president under the Constitution, Samuel Huntington was president of the Continental Congress when the Articles of Confederation were ratified by all thirteen colonies, thereby officially forming the United States of America.

47 U.S. Representatives Co-Sponsor Bipartisan Industrial Hemp Farming Act

Vote Hemp, a major grassroots hemp advocacy group, on Thursday announced the introduction of complementary bills in the U.S. House and Senate, S. 134 and H.R. 525, titled the "

Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2015," with support on both sides of the political aisle. The Act would remove federal restrictions on the cultivation of industrial hemp, the non-drug oilseed and fiber varieties of Cannabis.

Politics and Religion: Can Religion Help Fix Our Broken Political System?

"There are three things I have learned never to discuss with people: religion, politics, and the Great Pumpkin.” – Linus, in Charles M. Shultz’s Peanuts

The Great Pumpkin notwithstanding, two topics often said to be avoided in polite conversation are politics and religion. Yet citing this maxim in his introductory comments at an event sponsored by the John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics, Chancellor Mark Wrighton added: “here, we do both.”