CNN Polls has been asking respondents since 1992 whether they have a favorable or unfavorable attitude toward each of the two major parties. The latest poll shows that only 29% approve of the Republican Party, and only 41% approve of the Democratic Party.

See this story. Thanks to Political Wire for the link.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, along with additional studies have compared the health care coverage options and outcomes of policies in 13 of the world's highest-income countries.

These included the United States, United Kingdom, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Japan, Germany, France, Denmark, Canada and Australia.

In a case that has deepened in seriousness with astonishing regularity since the February revelations about a Capitol Police investigation, a Freedom of Information Act request has uncovered even more damning police reports about Imran Awan, the House Democratic IT staffer at the center of the investigation.

In April 2017, San Diego adopted an ordinance permitting and regulating retail marijuana outlets (shops that dispense recreational or medical cannabis).

On September 11, 2017, the San Diego City Council held a public meeting to discuss whether marijuana cultivation, distribution, manufacturing and testing businesses should also be allowed within the City.

The council debated two (2) options:

Option 1 presented a complete ban on marijuana production in the city, only allowing for the new use of marijuana testing.

Alabama's closed, partisan Republican primary pits two candidates, Roy Moore and Luther Strange, that prove the value of open, nonpartisan primaries.

Put simply, the "I'm a bigger right-winger than you are" themed campaign is exactly what works in closed, partisan primaries. This, of course, is also true of the "I'm a bigger left-winger than you are" campaign that flourishes in closed Democratic primaries.

The bipartisan Commission on Presidential Debate’s (CPD) 15 percent rule exacerbates the political divide in the US, leaves millions of voters unrepresented in presidential elections, and undermines fundamental democratic principles in order to protect the two-party duopoly.

As ballot measure activists gather petitions to put various propositions up for a vote on the 2018 California ballot, a few stand out as -- shall we say -- rather bold.

If they get enough signatures by the deadline, 2018 might have one of the wildest slate of voter initiatives in recent memory. It's as if activists might be thinking:

We talk about the political divide in Washington and the gridlock that prevents anything from getting done on Capitol Hill. Yet, if there is one thing both parties can agree on, it is the topic of defense, war, and foreign policy.

How the heck did it come so far, so fast?

That's certainly what comedian and blogger Beppe Grillo must be saying, just 7 years after starting Italy's fastest growing political party, the  Five Star Movement.

The groups co-founder, Gianroberto Casaleggio, passed away in 2016.

It’s every politician’s worst nightmare. They wake up in the morning to find negative stories trending about them on Twitter. Angry comments, calls, emails from their constituents flood the airwaves.

The PR team is assembled with one goal; squash the approaching firestorm.