Earlier this week, Apple CEO Tim Cook made a speech to Congress on what he called a "dramatic simplification" of corporate tax laws.

In a country as heavily partisan as the United States, it is very rare to find politicians whose allegiance lies outside the Democratic and Republican machines. Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee, elected as an independent, represents one of the very few exceptions to this rule; that said, not all voters, or even third party advocates for that matter, are particularly enthused with their gubernatorial incumbent.

In the midst of partisan jockeying for a moral high ground surrounding the IRS debacle, neither side of the aisle, nor the media has gotten wind of the underlying issue. Each side has been busy formulating a narrative that serves their narrow, short-term interests.

On Tuesday, Pennsylvania held primary elections where voters could choose either a Democrat or Republican candidate who would then proceed to the November ballot in the state's municipal elections.

The GOP has not historically been the party of the First Amendment. In the most explosive political debates since the Second World War — from the McCarthyite purges of the 1950s to the flag burning debates of the 1990s to Bush-era speech restrictions — the establishment right has tended to elevate other priotities (conformity, order, national security) above liberty of expression.

On a day when much of the media is talking about governmental surveillance and abuse, Senator Rand Paul introduced the Preserving Freedom from Unwarranted Surveillance Act of 2013. If passed, the act would protect civilians against unwarranted govenrment intrusion through the use of drone technology.

Florida Independent Voting.Org’s (FIV) BLOG on Florida legislation benefited greatly from the civil, thoughtful and well-reasoned comments and responses to each other.  It’s a joy to read comments from people with a brain that can express themselves with logic rather than anger and rote ideologies.  Thanks very much!  When the FIV movement began, we all had reservations and ideas to “make it better”.  The following comments are offered as additional food for thought.  Let’s keep the dialogue going!