I watched as the microphone I had clipped to my interviewee's coat was suddenly yanked off, and she was silenced by a well-dressed woman with the teacher's union who had approached us. We were standing in front of the Supreme Court having a conversation about free speech and unions.

My interviewee was also a teacher's union supporter - but she wasn't supposed to talk. She was bewildered and so was I.

Let that sink in.

THE CONFRONTATION

Oral arguments kicked off in Janus v. AFSCME on Monday with groups supporting both sides.

The State of California sued the Trump administration in 2017 to block the construction of a wall along the southern border. That suit fell apart Tuesday at the hands of Judge Gonzalo Curiel, the same judge who was ridiculed by the president during the 2016 campaign:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKwps5fjjCY

On Monday, March 12 at 8 pm ET, hundreds of people will dial into Independent Voting’s national conference call. Jackie Salit, president of Independent Voting, hosts these calls, and I wanted to extend a personal invitation to you to join me on the call.

I’ve had the honor of organizing these calls and invite thousands of independent voters (and independent-minded Americans) to join me at what I think is one of the most important ongoing political events in the country.

Sierra Club San Diego has announced its endorsement of the SDSU West initiative.

Richard Miller, Development and Communications associate for SCSD told IVN San Diego, "SoccerCity is environmentally damaging. Ballot box land planning and the Sierra Club opposes the development and proposals like SoccerCity that uses the initiative process to bypass environmental review and convert public land to private profit."

The folks at "Louder with Crowder," a conservative-leaning website, might elicit mixed emotions for their headlines. However, they have released a rather interesting infographic on the dominance of "fake news" since the 2016 presidential election -- an issue compounded by the public's heavy use of social media.

The following infographic breaks "fake news" down by the numbers, looking at online statistics and survey results on how the public has reacted to fake news:

SO yesterday the Supreme Court declined to review a decision by a federal appeals court in California to order the White House to continue the DACA policy.

It's a moment of relief for the 690,000 people who moved to America when they were kids, and grew up here, yet like many immigrants in America– face relentless harassment, threats, and intimidation from the U.S. federal government.

Unite America, formerly the Centrist Project, announced Tuesday a historic national slate of independent candidates running for governor and US Senate.

The 5 candidates on the slate include:

In the study of migration patterns, scholars often times point to different “push” and “pull” factors that have influenced migration trends over time.

Historically, the free market structure of the United States’ economy, combined with its stable democracy has been a very strong “pull” factor that has enticed millions of families (including my own) to immigrate here from various corners of the earth.

Conversely, dysfunctional governments that have proven unable to serve their people have historically been very strong “push” factors.

Update: Facebook has announced that it will no longer channel funds into an effort that opposed giving social media users more control over their personal data. The Consumer Right to Privacy Act of 2018, the California ballot measure would allow consumers to learn about the types of personal information businesses are collecting, selling and disclosing on them – in addition to whom that information is being sold or shared.

A common reaction from someone in jeopardy, whether legal or professional, is to loudly exclaim, ‘I have rights!’

As an American citizen, to a certain extent, that statement is correct. Should a person be interrogated by the police, the US Constitution allows them to stay silent. If the government threatens to take someone’s property, they are entitled to notice and an opportunity to contest the confiscation.