Statistics are pointing to a another steep rise in opioid deaths within the next 10 years. To illustrate the point of just how critical the crisis has become, in the state of Massachusetts, 90% of all drug overdoses are attributed to opioids. In Connecticut, the figure stands at 86%.

Days after his administration said it wasn't ready to declare it an emergency, President Trump said he’s drafting paperwork to declare the opioid crisis a "national emergency."

It probably comes as no surprise to many that Congress' approval among US adults is 16 percent, according to Gallup.

One would expect the approval rating among Democrats to be down, as Republicans control both chambers of Congress. Independents also have a low approval of Congress -- at around 16 percent.

But what is driving down Congress' approval rating more than anything is a huge drop among Republicans.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btItLAjT5zg&t=4s

"Every life deserves a certain amount of dignity, no matter how poor or damaged the shell that carries it." - Rick Bragg

The challenge in solving the homelessness problem in this country is that it takes heart, consistency, and courage. And in our fast-paced, gotta-have-it-yesterday world, far too few politicians possess all three qualities.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQFKtI6gn9Y

We've all seen it: a news network will convene a panel of pundits from opposing political parties to discuss an issue.

Five minutes later, the entire conversation has devolved into the pundits yelling over each other, with arguments deteriorating into such intellectually-devoid statements as “yes they did!” and “no they didn’t!”

We’ve also seen the two political parties change their stances on several topics.

The Federal Election Commission has argued that since Level the Playing Field is not a political party and gives no guarantee that it will run or back a candidate in 2020, it has no “competitor standing” to challenge the commission’s policymaking.

Commission on Presidential Debates Update:

The Court has issued filing deadlines for the Commission on Presidential Debates Complaint:

• Level the Playing Field's motion for Summary Judgment is due by 9/15/2017

LPF’s mission is to promote greater competition and choices in elections for federal office, particularly for the Presidency and Vice Presidency. Currently, the system is weighted to favor the duopoly.

The rest of the filing schedule is the following:

Few people in the world don't know who Elon Musk is, and that's exactly the way the billionaire entrepreneur wants it. Musk's cult of personality is largely responsible for powering his clean energy cars and fueling his SpaceX rockets.

His handlers court Hollywood. He's appeared in Iron Man, dated actresses, and has his own rocket company. Musk has cornered cool, and his clean energy empire has been built on that image.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrK0CifulU0&feature=youtu.be

US constitutional law scholar Noah Feldman says there are three common propositions that people have when they look at the state of politics in the US:

When key states like California, Nevada and Colorado voted to allow recreational marijuana, it was unclear what the economic outcome would be. Many people thought the only stimulus the new laws would provide would be to Seven Eleven and the local head shop.

Now that enough time has passed to make an informed assessment of legal weed's impact on America's economy, it is clear that there are real and lasting effects.

Fifty-three percent of US voters said in a recent survey that they have voted for an independent candidate, according to a Rasmussen report published Monday.

In the survey, Rasmussen defined an independent candidate as one not affiliated with either major party, the Democratic National Committee, or the Republican National Committee.

Here's how the survey question was worded: