The greatest casualty of this slowly recovering economy has been the fall of the middle-class, but the decline did not begin in 2007 or 2008. The past decade has been the most financially unstable for the middle-income tier since World War II.

In a blog post Wednesday, famed actor Jeff Bridges announced his intention to attend both the Republican and Democratic National conventions to raise awareness about childhood hunger in the US.

One of the recurring themes in the aftermath of the Todd Akin debacle is that it may cost Republicans control of the U.S. Senate where they currently hold 47 seats, needing a net gain of four seats to win a majority.

The new photovoltaic cells are made from inexpensive natural materials, scalable, and produce 10% more power than comparable cells. Wow.

IBM developed them working with "partners from Solar Frontier, Tokyo Ohka Kogyo and DelSolar" and hopes to have them on the market in a the next few years.

In a major story with repercussions throughout the left and beyond, investigative journalist Seth Rosenfeld broke the bombshell story that Richard Aoki, the only Asian-American to have a leadership role in the Black Panther Party, was an FBI informant.

On Thursday, the California State Senate passed a bill to allow Election Day Registration (EDR), which will allow citizens to register to vote up to and on the day of an election.

An interactive graphic from Climate Central shows how Hurricane Isaac could flood the RNC Convention floor.

As part of our effort to report on social media trends, tools, and technology, we will be periodically recognizing politicians, candidates, and political organizations who are utilizing social media in effective and creative ways. 

Name: Tumblr’s “Tumbling the Conventions”

Cranky Yankee wonders just how many government give-aways can you fit on the head of a pin?  And who's regulating pinhead crowding?  You don't suppose there's a federal basic research program for that, now do you?

Listen to how the candidate backs federal support for renewable energy:

"Instead of distorting the playing field, the government should be ensuring that it remains level. The same policies that will open access to land for oil, gas, and coal development can also open access for the construction of wind, solar, and hydropower facilities.

In a recent publication released by National USC Annenberg and LA Times, their poll shows the relationship between politics and the press.

The poll that surveyed 1,009 registered voters on the subject shows that Obama has a slight lead over Romney going into the national conventions in terms of favorability. But the reason why we’re interested?

The poll concludes that: