When major party candidates are faced with the prospect of running against an independent candidate, they are often faced with a dilemma they are not prepared to deal with. Our political system has evolved (or devolved) to the point where it encourages the two-party system, and campaigning is generalized by popular battleground issues.

Independent candidates challenge this paradigm, as many have political views that do not fall within the traditional "left-right" scale.

Recently, the Illinois State Board of Elections issued important rulings concerning third-party ballot access and electoral reform in the November elections.

The first time I participated in a political protest was in Istanbul, Turkey in 2012. Protests were nothing new to me. In fact, witnessing thousands of Spaniards in Barcelona in 2003 protest their government’s involvement in the Iraq intervention was the first time I, at age 13, seriously considered being a journalist.

The shooting death of an unarmed black civilian by a white police officer this month has made Ferguson, Mo., a flashpoint for some of the most divisive issues in America today.

Reports show that Michael Brown, 18, died after Ferguson Officer Darren Wilson responded to an emergency call. Accounts about what happened vary, but an autopsy showed that Wilson reportedly discharged his weapon six times.

1. Independent candidate Jeffrey McCormick will join Evan Falchuk on the 2014 Massachusetts gubernatorial ballot.

"McCormick submitted nearly 12,300 signatures to qualify for the Nov. 4 gubernatorial ballot on Wednesday, arriving at Secretary of State William Galvin's election division office in Boston with running-mate Tracy Post to hand deliver the locally certified signatures.

Senate District 6 represents the entire city of Sacramento, and since redistricting in 2011, includes parts of Yolo County. Almost 50 percent of its constituents are registered with the Democrat Party. Added with the district's voting record, it should be no surprise that the area is considered a Democratic stronghold.

When Ferguson, Mo. police officer Darren Wilson shot and killed Michael Brown on the afternoon of August 9, he killed an innocent man. This is an indisputable fact.

I am not speaking of theological innocence. I have no idea whether or not Brown had been cleansed of original sin, or blasphemed against the Holy Ghost, or shed the blood of his fellow human beings. Those things are handled at a level well above my pay grade.

Walking around Istanbul in 2012 I could easily pick up on the optimism and growing restlessness of its residents. The economy was booming -- Turkey was the second fastest growing economy in the world, behind China. However, not everyone benefited. Right next to the epicenter of the economic flourish, Taksim Square, a massive slum hosting mostly African migrants grew more crowded by the week.

Every semester when I teach my students about the media, I present them with the neglected history of American investigative journalism. I tell them about Ida B. Wells, who documented lynchings across the South in the late 1800s. I tell them about the muckrakers like Upton Sinclair, Ida Tarbell, and Lincoln Steffens, who documented and exposed inhumane working conditions and the corrupt collusion between business magnates and politicians during the Progressive Era.

While veterans and the general public remain outraged over the mistreatment of veterans at VA medical facilities while executives collect thousands of dollars in bonuses, the most recent VA reform package did not dump the bonuses for high-level employees. This essentially means that business as usual will continue at the VA.