Primaries first began in the early twentieth century as a response to increasingly strong party control over elections. At the time, voters wanted a larger say in who would be chosen as their candidate, instead of the long-standing tradition of party bosses choosing who would run for office. Progressive reformers viewed direct primaries as a way for constituencies to increase transparency and allow for citizens to participate in the electoral process.

Well, we know Eric Snowden is a traitor. Just like Benedict Arnold. Arnold turned his back on the patriots and gave our secrets to the British, put on a big red coat, and proceeded to make an English muffin topped with a poached egg and hollandaise sauce.

"A house divided against itself cannot stand. . . . It will become all one thing or all the other. Either the opponents of slavery, will arrest the further spread of it, and place it where the public mind shall rest in the belief that it is in the course of ultimate extinction; or its advocates will push it forward, till it shall become alike lawful in all the States.”—Abraham Lincoln, 1858

Editor's Note: The purpose of this article is to highlight a fundamental flaw with the survey. Because of how the questions were asked, poll takers did not encourage respondents to consider all the variables in an election -- only how things are at face value.

or not).  At times, it's quite difficult to discern between the two, but they are vastly different concepts. To help separate these abstracts, think of ideology and principles as two very different modes of transportation: trains and aircraft.

It is day four of a two week, 185 mile walk organized by the NH Rebellion, an activist organization focused on ending the systemic corruption produced by the way political campaigns are being funded. The forecast is for freezing rain over the 11 mile climb from Gorham, NH to Pinkham Notch.

claims a commitment to a code of ethics regarding journalistic responsibility, accountability, and high standards.

"After Mullah FM had been on air for about a year, Fazlullah became more aggressive, His brother Maulana Liaquat, along with three of Liaquat's sons, were among those killed in an American drone attack on the madrasa in Bajaur at the end of October 2006. Eighty people were killed, including boys as young as twelve, some of whom had come from Swat. We were all horrified by the attack and people swore revenge. Ten days later a suicide bomber blew himself up in an army barracks at Dargai, on the way from Islamabad to Swat, and killed forty-two Pakistani soldiers.