Courts, Congress have sabotaged our right to pursuit of happiness

OPEN PRIMARIES
Courts, Congress have sabotaged our right to pursuit of happiness (Letter to the Editor, CantonRep.com) Reform restrictive voting requirements that exclude our citizens from participating in elections. We need open primaries, a paper trail, easy-to-get-to voting places, extended voting days, recall privileges and term limits for Congress.

INDEPENDENT REDISTRICTING
Members to Get First Glimpse of New California Map (By Kyle Trygstad, Roll Call) That will complete what is likely the most open redistricting process in the state’s history — one that incumbents at the state and federal levels have been cut out of.

2012

• Forget those Republicans for now, Obama's real 2012 opponent is The Economy (LA Times/Top of the Ticket) The polls now show Obama's job approval on the economy tanking, even among Democrats and, ominously, among independents so crucial to his 2008 victory coalition.
• Americans' Distrust in Democrats, GOP Hits 25-Year High (KGO AM 810 San Francisco)  Among political independents, rejection of both parties rises to 34 percent. That result marks the public’s long-running economic discontent and a concurrent retreat from party loyalty.  Independents have outnumbered self-identified Democrats or Republicans steadily since September 2009, by far the longest run of its kind in 30 years of ABC/Post polling.
• Tensions Flare as Afghanistan Drawdown Nears (KGO AM 810 - San Francisco) Nearly 80 percent of independents said Obama should withdraw a "substantial number" of troops from Afghanistan this summer and barely more than a quarter felt the war is worth its costs.