There is no denying the rise of independent voters as a major voting bloc. Some polls now show registered independent voters outnumbering either Republicans or Democrats. Those numbers, however, translate into very limited power or influence.

In an effort to reduce emissions and running contrary to national trends, California cap and trade testing has begun, with full implementation coming soon.

There's something amiss about a number of Ron Paul campaign's adherents, many of whom did little to aid the congressman in his third and final candidacy for the presidency. These Paul supporters continue to post attacks upon those who supported other candidates. Many of whom are now, often begrudgingly, supporting Mitt Romney. Other Ron Paulers doubt the electoral viability of Romney, especially in the light of the Republican National Convention and the treatment of the Ron Paul delegates.

Conspicuously absent from our current national dialogue has seemingly been any notable discussion on issues of poverty, mass incarceration and violent crime in America.

When we look at voter fraud as a reason for avoiding new technology or techniques for opening democracy to more eligible voters, anecdotes of stolen election are often thrown out. We've discussed some of these anecdotes previously and been criticized because they happened two decades ago. The recency of anecdotes is inconsequential regardless of their use as evidence for an argument for or against an issue because they anecdotes do not change.

I will be voting for Gary Johnson. In this election, even more so than in other elections, the two establishment candidates could not be more alike on crucial issues.