By Chris Wilkerson, staff writer – February 1, 2012 The Commonwealth of Massachusetts has been on the front end of several legal trends during the past few years from same-sex marriage to health care reform. Last fall, Massachusetts passed sweeping alimony reform laws advocates hoped would bring the commonwealth into the 21st century. The new [...]

By Chris Wilkerson, staff writer – January 4, 2012 For the past decade, the political issue of same-sex marriage has played out like a tug of war in state legislatures across the country as weddings are legalized, then banned or rejected, then celebrated. At the beginning of 2012, there are 29 states with constitutional bans [...]

By Chris Wilkerson, staff writer – November 2, 2011 There are new rumblings that the United States Postal Service is driving its mail truck toward a financial cliff and the U.S. Congress is pushing bills forward that might slow the truck down or even steer it toward safety. The U.S. House and Senate are considering [...]

By Chris Wilkerson, staff writer – November 2, 2011 Meaningful reform of American immigration laws has repeatedly failed to gain traction during the past several years because many have said reform was worthless until the borders were secure. But now the Department of Homeland Security and even President Barack Obama have said border security concerns [...]

By Chris Wilkerson, staff writer – October 11, 2011 American business leaders have been pressing for legal immigration reform in the United States for years, but as the economy continues to struggle, the drumbeat is getting louder for policy change. The language of the those pushing for legal immigration reform has reached the same pitch [...]

By Ren LaForme, staff writer – September 13, 2011 There’s just something about beer. It is a concoction as old as civilization, thought to have been invented around the same time as bread, and yet it is still the center of many a political debate in the United States. Long after the end of Prohibition, [...]

By Ren LaForme, Political Columnist – August 5, 2011 The Internet has not been making the U.S. government very happy as of late. In the past two years, it has become a battleground for protesting hackers and free speech advocates who seek to test the limits of what they can get away with online. Sites [...]

By Ren LaForme, Political Columnist – July 6, 2011 The presidential elections of 2008 were historic in that Americans elected the first black president, and some argue the 2012 elections could follow suit in momentousness – not because of who gets elected, but because of who does the electing. Changes to election laws in the [...]

By Ren LaForme, Political Columnist – June 8, 2011 A popular and charismatic young Democrat has admitted to engaging in “improper relationships” with women after being outed by a controversial right-wing blogger, an ethics investigation is underway, and now citizens, pundits and fellow politicians alike are wondering whether he should resign from public office. The [...]

By Ren LaForme, Political Columnist – May 11, 2011 The terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001 forever changed the political landscape in the United States. From a late-’90s era of prosperity and safety emerged a new period of fear, anger and racism perpetuated against Muslims. The Patriot Act was passed into law, which – whether [...]