As odd as it might seem, the American Revolution was at least partly fueled by the Founder's resentment of England's foreign wars and public debt -- topics that are at the very heart of modern American political discussion.

Founding father Thomas Paine had a keen understanding of this and devoted an entire segment to it in The American Crisis. After 13 continuous years of war and almost 25 years of various "peace keeping" missions, perhaps we ought to revisit this topic and see what Paine foresaw as the end result.

In April of this year, a federal judge struck down Wisconsin’s voter ID law, claiming that the measure placed an unfair burden on older and low-income citizens, particularly minorities.

U.S. Representative Zoe Lofgren (D) has served in Congress since 1994. She knows as well as anyone what a polarized political environment has done to the Legislative Branch and she empathizes with voters and their frustration.

With less than 50 days before Election Day, Gallup published a report on Monday that shows that public trust in the federal government continues to decline. According to the most recent survey, 28 percent of respondents said they trust the Legislative Branch a "great deal" or "fair amount."

Additionally, 43 percent said they trust the Executive Branch, and the Judiciary Branch remains the most trusted branch of the government at 61 percent.

“Now let's make two things clear:  ISIL is not "Islamic." No religion condones the killing of innocents. And the vast majority of ISIL's victims have been Muslim. And ISIL is certainly not a state.”—Barack Obama, 9/10/14

Since the incursion of ISIS into western and northern Iraq, groups normally at odds are forming ad hoc coalitions to repel the jihadist army.

Ronald Reagan was known for the jar of jellybeans he kept on his desk in the oval office, offering them to dignitaries and other White House visitors.

"You can tell a lot about a fellow's character by his way of eating jellybeans," he would say, reading importance into whether a person would grab a handful or carefully select a favorite color.

Politicians often speak of the importance of character. Campaign speeches, testimonials, and press releases are full of references to a candidate’s moral stature.

As Illinois Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Rauner receives unpleasant polling news, his state party may also face a federal investigation.

I will admit right up front that I don’t have a lot of skin in the game. I’m not Scottish, and my family has not been English for about 15 generations. And I believe that people have a right to control their own political destiny. I'm glad that they are having a vote. But when voters in Scotland go to the polls this Thursday, I really hope that they vote to stay in the United Kingdom. The world, I think, will be a better place if they do.

In the summer of 2010 as a lowly intern on Capitol Hill, I became painfully aware that our government was in some state of shambles. As interns, we were encouraged to attend assemblies where congressmen and women had agreed to speak to the hundreds of interns who flock to our nation’s capitol every year to see first-hand the people who govern the greatest country on earth.