By Lucy Ma, Independent Voter Network California Capitol Correspondent

The Wall Street Journal recently published an article titled “Review & Outlook: The Price of Green Virtue”, which examines California’s penchant for all things green despite potential harm to its already struggling economy.

In a new poll, just 17% Of Californians think highly of Congress and almost half are weary of the two-party system.  What is scary is the sentiment the poll found, unless it is indicative of a larger motivation: that people just want Congress to get to work:

This election, an estimated five million eligible voters will be disenfranchised from the political process due to new voter identification laws. These de-facto voter suppression laws not only make it harder to register to vote, but also place restrictions on voting, creating an obstacle to eligible voters who lack government issued identification.

The Pentagon wants to base F-35 fighter jets in Burlington, Vermont and has support from much of the political establishment. But determined grassroots opposition, helped by local city councils, may be winning the fight.

Gearing up for the 2012 election, the Columbia Journalism Review has launched a project monitoring key swing states, covering the presidential candidates and media coverage of the election. Focusing on campaign finance, political spending, and misinformation, CJR has identified their target swing states as Nevada, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Michigan, Florida, Ohio, Colorado, and Iowa.

The US industry for private debt collection is on the rise, and collectors are getting aggressive. The following infographic details the growing trend in private debt collection in the United States: