In one of the worst foreign policy disasters of the Obama administration, the president finally made his way to the Philippines this week to celebrate our newly reacquired friendship, including the new 10-year mutual defense pact of critical regional importance in the South China Sea.

At Crowdpac, we believe that there are too many barriers to running for office today.

Our political system is designed to make it easier for insiders - the party machines, the big-money donors, and the special interests - to decide who runs. It also favors the two major parties, since unless you're a wealthy individual, it's hugely daunting for independent (or independent-minded) candidates to raise the resources needed to mount a campaign. But that's exactly what we need in order to restore faith in our democracy and make it more representative.

In a state of over 38 million people, Californians – as well as the rest of the U.S. – have come to rely inextricably upon the capabilities of modern telecommunications technologies. Whether it’s your smartphone accessing the cloud to download the latest cat video, taking an online class in a virtual classroom, or launching another tech startup, the tech industry lends itself to almost every aspect of daily life.

Here we are again, watching a tragedy in Paris.

Again, innocent citizens of a broadly liberal, secular West, die at the hands of those who self-identify as Islamic purists, but are rejected by most of the rest of their faith.

I have striven not to laugh at human actions, not to weep at them, not to hate them, but to understand them. - Baruch Spinoza, Tractatus Politicus, 1676

Ahead of last week's GOP and Democrat debates, IVN conducted an opinion poll asking readers, "If it was your choice, who would be the debate moderator?"

Respondents could choose as many news personalities they preferred as well as someone who wasn't included. This method, known as approval polling, means votes couldn't be “taken away” from any other choice because participants could select any potential moderator they preferred.

The Independent Voter Project's 2015 Business and Leadership Policy Conference, an annual event with lawmakers, business professionals, and policy experts, kicked off Monday with a presentation from Dr. Lanhee Chen, Director of Domestic Policy Studies at Stanford University and Lecturer in Public Policy Program.

In 1688, England experienced its ‘Glorious Revolution,’ transitioning nonviolently to a constitutional monarchy. As part of the changes associated with that event, control of the money, which had always been the prerogative of all monarchs, was kept from the Crown and (eventually) put in the hands of the Bank of England (established in 1694).

With that, the central-bank monetary model was formally established.

A consensus has formed around the proposition that polling, especially in multi-candidate presidential races, has become inaccurate and unreliable.

Commission on Presidential Debates to continue using polls to determine who will be on the stage in the fall of 2016.

Fighting against insurgencies are always difficult, but almost impossible when the two sides have asymmetric goals for the outcome of the confrontation.

Fighting against a force that is not only willing to commit actions of genocide, but also expect an apocalyptic ending to the world, is almost impossible.

Even winning through annihilation gives them an ideological victory.