I have only heard a U.S. president speak once in my life. It was in the summer of 1992. George Bush, père decided to start his re-election campaign by speaking at BYU, where I was a graduate student in English. At the time, I despised George Bush and everything he stood for: Reaganomics, the First Iraq War, and of course the recession. But I still thought it was exciting that the President of the United States was coming to my school, and I gladly stood in line for hours in order to get to see him.

A national discussion regarding the state of civil rights in the U.S. exploded after racial comments made by Clippers owner Donald Sterling were made public, followed by news that he has been banned for life from the NBA.

Last month, in a bold attempt to fix out-of-control campaign financing, corruption activist Lawrence Lessig announced an experiment to raise enough money by 2016 to install a majority in Congress that is committed to comprehensive reform. On May 1, that experiment went live, raising over $200,000 in less than 24 hours.

SB 1005, a bill that would expand subsidized health care programs -- including access to Medi-Cal benefits -- to undocumented immigrants living in California, was approved by the Senate Health Committee on Wednesday, April 30, with a 6-1 vote. The lone dissenting vote came from state Senator Mike Morrell, a Republican from Rancho Cucamonga.

Foreclosures and bankruptcy are obvious glaring points that you want to avoid. If they do happen, though, they will show up on a credit report. Many wonder how long these penalties show up on a report.

There are different circumstances surrounding both of them. Let’s break it down to find out how long these will show up on a credit report.

The Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) released a report on Wednesday, April 30, on its continued investigation into the effects of California's nonpartisan, top-two primary system. The report concludes that while voter turnout was lower during the 2012 primary elections -- much to the chagrin of those hoping it would reverse the trend of gradually decreasing turnout rates -- more independent voters participated in the elections compared to previous years.

Politico's Emily Schultheis reports that the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), a pro-LGBT group, has endorsed U.S. Representative Mike Honda (D-San Jose) in what could end up being the most competitive and perhaps most expensive U.S. House race in not only California, but the country. Honda's biggest challenge in the 17th Congressional District is from fellow Democrat Ro Khanna.

In a statement, HRC COO Ana Ma praised Honda, saying he is "not only a supporter of LGBT equality, he is a champion in the fight."

May 1 is the National Day of Prayer, created in 1952 by a Joint Resolution from Congress and the signature of President Harry Truman. It is a day, according to the website promoting it, that “represents a Judeo Christian expression of the national observance, based on our understanding that this country was birthed in prayer and in reverence for the God of the Bible.” And it is a bad idea.

On Thursday, during an interview with NPR’s Weekend Edition Saturday, former Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens said that he believes our beloved federal government should legalize marijuana.

The scandal that erupted after California state Senator Leland Yee was indicted on multiple charges of corruption and conspiracy turned the national spotlight on the race for secretary of state in California -- a race Yee is a candidate in. In the irony that is only suited for American politics, Californians had an opportunity to read Yee's pledge to fight corruption in the voter information guide delivered in the mail this week to over 10.6 million voters.