Renewable energy projects of all sizes, but especially grid-scale projects, are increasingly running into concerted opposition from NIMBYs who, while they might favor clean energy, don’t want it located anywhere they can see it. NIMBY of course is an acronym for ‘Not In My Back Yard’ while BANANAs are even more extreme, saying ‘Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Near Anybody.’

In a first-time upset, Rasmussen Report's daily presidential tracking poll found Ron Paul leading President Barack Obama nationally in a hypothetical 2012 match-up.

Here were all four match-ups:

“I don’t believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute. The idea that the church should have no influence or no involvement in the operation of the state is absolutely antithetical of the objectives and vision of our country.” -Rick Santorum, on JFK’s 1960 speech on separation of church and state.

Depending on how you measure it, California public pensions have an unfunded liability of anywhere from $240 billion to over $500 billion. Ignoring the problem and using accounting tricks will not make this go away. Under the existing framework, California owes far more to public workers than it can ever hope to pay. The system must be reformed.

The number of voters who refuse to affiliate with any political party continues to rise in Arizona. According to the most recent registration report from Arizona Secretary of State Ken Bennett, released late last month, Independents now account for 32.9% of the state's registered voters making the unaffiliated the second largest bloc of registered voters in the state, ahead of the Democrats and steadily gaining on Republicans. Only 30.5% of the state's voters are registered with the Democratic party and 35.6% continue to affiliate with the GOP.

From the back window of my house in North Lake Tahoe the snow looks pathetic.  It has receded from full, albeit thin, coverage of the ground to less than half of the backyard.  This has not been a good year for snowfall and the resultant snowpack, which will be evaluated again (officially) this week.

The Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission (IRC) will be unable to fulfill its constitutional mandate if it does not receive supplementary funding. According to the commission's executive director, Raymond Bladine, if no supplementary funds are allocated by the state legislature, the IRC will run out of funds next month.