They say you always remember your first time.

The first time I was sexually assaulted, I was sixteen years old.

I had not long started a job working as a kitchen porter at a third-rate pub-restaurant and had been moved from the kitchen to the restaurant floor to wait tables, in which role I had a new manager.

My manager liked the shape of my ass in the tight black pants I had to wear and let me know it with a spank as I went about my work and an explicit comment as if her behavior needed any explanation.

Americans everywhere are fed up with the state of politics. At the federal level, political paralysis and polarization prevent Congress from solving pressing issues every day.  At the state level, it can be just as frustrating.

Yet, while polarization and paralysis impede the progress of many state legislatures, one in particular seems to be heading in the right direction and actually getting things done -- California.

A Gallup poll published Wednesday shows record support for marijuana legalization in the US. According to Gallup, support is at 64 percent, up 4 points from last year and 14 points compared to 2011.

This follows a mostly consistent trend as more states consider their own policy on recreational and medical marijuana. Eight states, plus the District of Columbia, have laws legalizing marijuana for recreational use.

Gary Johnson and Jill Stein plan to file a cert petition with the U.S. Supreme Court on October 26 in Johnson v. Commission on Presidential Debates. On the same day, Johnson will hold a rally on the steps of the Court.

This case should not be confused with Level the Playing Field v FEC, which is still in U.S. District Court. Both cases challenge the presidential debate exclusion, but the two cases depend on different legal theories.

The first official debate between the top four Democrats running for California governor took place in Anaheim over the weekend.

The event was hosted by the National Union of Healthcare Workers and fittingly, the only issue the candidates had significant disagreements on, was healthcare.

John Chiang, Anthonio Villaraigosa, Delaine Eastin and Gavin Newsom debated affordable housing, immigration and Washington D.C., among other issues.

VILLARAIGOSA "NO PIE IN THE SKY"