The Sierras have had practically no snow this year. Lake Tahoe, which relies on skiing for income, has no ski areas operating at full capacity. Some only have 30% of their lifts open. Last year, they had 50 feet of snow in some places. The Sierra Nevada is at a mere 14% of normal snowpack. The southern California Metropolitan Water District (MWD) says this could be the driest year on record.

In a major milestone for advocates of marijuana legalization, The Journal of the American Medical Association has published the results of a study which found that casual marijuana use does not harm lung function.

Controversial anti-piracy legislation in Congress has recently hit a snag, one that can largely be attributed to the internet community’s intense activism. California Congressman Darrell Issa, the House’s Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chair, announced Saturday the postponement of a hearing about some of the most contested portions of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA).

As more and more American voters join the ranks of the unaffiliated, it is likely only a matter of time before Independents constitute an outright majority nationwide. Indeed, there are already more Independents in the United States than there are either Democrats or Republicans.

Let's say you ran a business that had millions of dollars in uncollected revenue, and it would take $100,000 to collect it. Spending that extra money seems like a “no-brainer” decision. But if you’re the United States government with $385 billion in underpaid or unpaid taxes, and it will take $1.5 billion to collect them, you act as if you don’t have a brain.

The California High Speed Rail Peer Review Group, a group tasked with advising the state legislature on high-speed rail, says state bond money for high-speed rail (HSR) should be withheld until an economically feasible business plan is developed. Right now, the numbers are dire. The first phase of California HSR has a $25-30 billion shortfall and no apparent way to raise the money.

Its the biggest piece of foreign policy this election year, and it's been in the news a lot lately.  I'm talking about Iran.  And the question comes up... how do we solve a problem like Iran?  Despite rescuing sailors, threats to close the Strait of Hormuz, development of nuclear technology, and even the execution of an American citizens that has been convicted of spying... there is no shortage of headlines.  The United States, in a nutshell, seems to be caught between a rock and a hard place with no easy answers.

It’s part of our heritage. Fourth of July is called ‘Independence day.’ Being independent is like a patriotic label.
Larry Powell, professor of political communications at the University of Alabama

Tea Party Republicans, and even Republican-leaning Independents, know more about the current GOP presidential candidates than Republican voters who disagree with or have no opinion of the Tea Party movement.  According to a survey released Thursday by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, 73% who classify themselves as Republican and who agree with the Tea Party movement correctly answered at least three of four questions posed abo