Last week, at the end of President Obama's Asian tour, the president was able to conclude the final touches on a mutual defense pact with the Philippines, a significant foreign policy victory for America.

Once an American colony (1898-1946), American presence in the Philippines in recent history has been cool at best. The last permanent military base on the Philippines was abandoned in 1992 after a fiery rejection of American military presence by the Filipino government.

The three great essentials to achieve anything worthwhile are, first, hard work; second, stick-to-itiveness; third, common sense. – Thomas Edison

To win a political race, it’s not enough to be right about the issues. You’ve got to be able to mobilize a coalition of people who will support you. Without that, you’re just another person with good ideas.

As we move into May of election year, our hard work is paying real dividends in my independent race for Governor of Massachusetts.

As anyone who has read my book knows, I do not consider “original intent” a legitimate principle of Constitutional interpretation. Constitutions, like most laws, are the products of compromise and negotiation among people with very different intents.

Those soldiers and veterans who are struggling with chronic, treatment-resistant PTSD have some hope on the horizon. Research studies have shown that the drug 3,4-methylenedioxy-N-methylamphetamine, better known as MDMA (or ecstasy), is having a remarkable effect on PTSD sufferers.

A law that would have meant a DUI conviction if you had trace amounts of THC in your blood failed in the California Legislature last week.

AB 2500, by Assemblyman Jim Frazier, would have meant you could be convicted of driving under the influence if any amount of THC metabolites were found in your blood stream.

The Obama White House is seeking immunity for telecommunications companies that have complied with government orders to hand over customers' data. However, there may be more than meets the eye with the president's proposed reform.

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.