The Fix, a Republican political consultant has predicted that Dan Schnur, a No Party Preference candidate running for California's secretary of state, will become the first independent candidate to win a statewide race.

Since President Obama's digitally driven victory in the 2008 presidential election, politicians nationwide have been signing on to social media accounts in order to increase their following. They have integrated Facebook, Twitter, and Google Plus into their campaign strategies and have continued to connect with their constituents on social media well after winning -- or losing -- elections.

Capitol Hill publication, The Hill, named freshman U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) 'Person of the Year.' Cruz, one of the runner-ups for TIME Person of the Year, arguably made the biggest impact in Congress and has not even served a full year of his first term.

According to a report by the Associated Press, the number of sexual assaults reported in 2013 increased dramatically by 50 percent compared to 2012. The report highlights a serious problem in the military that has gone mostly under-reported in the mainstream media even though there were serious scandals and new legislation passed in Congress to protect the rights of victims and strip commanders of the authority to overturn jury convictions.

Although the NSA assures citizens that the actual contents of phone calls are not recorded, the opinion states that, "since May 2006, has collected this information for substantially every telephone call in the United States."

Here's the nuts and bolts of why this is important:

bastion of liberalism.

Merry Christmas. I Hope your holidays are filled with music and your new year is filled with love, light, and laughter.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJ_MGWio-vc&feature=share

Today, hospitals don’t collect on two-thirds of their bills. This means, for every dollar the hospital charges its customers, the average customer actually pays $.33

Now I’m not an economist, but I know enough to know that when a company has to give away most of its product for free, its going to increase the price of the rest.

I am a product of my family, including my grandpa -- a life-long Republican, until recently.

Yet, 7 politicians stuck out this year as the most 'independent.' For this list, independent means going outside a particular party's interest for better or worse.