report of "high-risk," low-accountability areas of state operations, released every other year. This year, realignment and corrections are evaluated separately.

The Public Policy Institute of California published a report on public perceptions and recommendations on the state's initiative process. While a majority of Californians favor the initiative process, many want to see changes made to the process itself.

For the last few years, when Gallup polled Americans on the most important problem facing America, the economy has continuously ranked higher than anything else because even as we are technically out of a recession, economic growth has been at a snail's pace. However, Americans now see a bigger problem than the state of the economy and unemployment: hyper-partisanship.

Rand Paul spoke with Fox news yesterday about the government shutdown and the debt ceiling. While some may see an irony in Rand Paul suggesting that our political leaders not try and strike "grand bargains" and instead focus on the things where we can come to an agreement, others may see his ability to compliment the President on the way he handled Syria as a sign that he is willing to work together.

The 2016 presidential election may be three years away, but Iowa is already abuzz with potential Republican candidates.

The Supreme Court has heard the McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission case, which has been labeled Citizens United 2 by some.

At issue is the aggregation limits placed on political contributors, which refers to the total amount of money a person can contribute to political candidates, parties, and other organizations.

As states continue searching for ways to defy excesses of power from Washington DC, one state has joined a few others in objecting to one of the more controversial prerogatives emanating from the national capital.

As week 2 of the first government shutdown in over a decade commences, most political watchers have started asking the question, "How did we get here?"