Richard Thornton / Shutterstock.com

Richard Thornton / Shutterstock.com

The controversy surrounding federal data collection has spilled over into education, prompting debates over student data collection. NPR reporter Cory Turner spotlighted critics and defenders of the Common Core State Standards Initiative, which seeks standardized curricula across state educational systems.

And now, an editorial comment: First, let me say; while I love to see words form a coherent and logical statement appear before me, as I lust for an understanding of this planet and of those who live upon her and long to gather diverse points of view while forming my own, I am neither now nor have I ever been a journalist, so this by definition is purely opinion.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKMWow_Sk04#t=29

In a recent video, investigative journalist Ben Swann takes a look at the federal data hub, a massive collection of information on Americans that is shared among government agencies. On top of the many questions this issue raises, the biggest question Swann examines is, does privacy exist anymore?

On August 28, California's Secretary of State, Debra Bowen, obliged calls from organizations like California Common Cause, Maplight, and others to make additional campaign finance information available online.

The Public Policy Institute of California's latest compilation of voter facts reveals the growth of non-affiliated voters in the state. Within the past ten years, registering as a non-affiliated voter increased by 5.6 percent:

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Poll results examining political tendencies among college students were released on August 23 by researchers from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.