Political scientists and party pollsters run with a common narrative: Independent voters are a myth.

"We think of them as closet partisans who act in almost indistinguishable ways to those who identify as partisans," Brendan Nyhan, a political scientist at Dartmouth explains in a recent National Journal article.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGmiw_rrNxkWednesday, a coalition of hundreds of organizations, whistle blowers, and civil rights leaders unveiled a video (above) opposing "suspicionless surveillance of American citizens." The 'Stop Watching Us' campaign features many notable privacy proponents including Daniel Ellsberg, best known for the 'Pentagon Papers,' and Glen Greenwald, the Guardian reporter who 'leaked' information on the NSA's PRISM surveillance program from Edward Snowden.A rally is planned for 12pm Sat

While discussion of the government shutdown has shifted to a conversation about the economic implications, John Wildermuth, a longtime writer on California politics, discusses the impact on California lawmakers in respect to the state's new nonpartisan primary system on Fox&Hounds Daily Blog:

"For those folks still saying California’s primary election changes aren’t doing a thing, take a look at the House vote to end the government shutdown.

As of October 1, it's now the law that every American have health insurance coverage or secure a waiver permitting them to forgo coverage in order to avoid a hefty fine.

But, what about the military? How does the Affordable Care Act (ACA), known colloquially as Obamacare, affect military members and their families who have Tricare, the military's health insurance program?

In short, the vast majority of active duty military families will see no change to their coverage as a result of Obamacare. However, there are nuances and exceptions to everything.

In California, the American Civil Liberties Union has assembled a high profile panel with the intention of studying every aspect of the legalization of marijuana in anticipation of such laws coming into fruition in the state.The reportedly “blue ribbon panel,” chaired by Lt.