Columbia, MO, USA. A study of recent political blogs indicates politics are getting nastier due to digital media, which are segmenting people into polarized interest groups, a barrier to civility in the political discourse at the heart of democracy.

However, the authors of a new paper can only recommend a balanced approach to finding information, based on the assumption that citizens are looking for a full and fair political discussion.

San Diego, CA, USA. Republicans and Democrats are less divided in their attitudes than popularly believed, say analysts who reviewed voter data compiled over the past 40 years.

However, it is the perception of polarization that help drive political engagement, the researchers say.

St. Paul, MN, USA. Job creation once again is dominating talk in statehouses as governors propose sweeping plans to jumpstart state economies. The proposals often illustrate the philosophical differences between the two parties.

With unemployment stuck at stubbornly high rates in many states, it’s no surprise that governors in 2012 are talking a lot about the need to create jobs.

Washington, DC, USA. From the viewpoint of evolutionary biology, if such a thing can be said to have a viewpoint, the female body is designed to attract and retain, if possible, the male. Similarly, the male body has evolved to be sexually attractive to the female.

That is the way of the world. The way of primates and most all of the creatures on this planet, God or no. The human way.

Palenville, NY, USA. The town of Catskill, New York has waged an illegal five year battle against the Maetreum of Cybele for claiming its legal property tax exemption under the laws of the State of New York and United States.

It is a struggle for nothing less than the right of all religions in America to be treated equally under the law. You do not have to be a politically aware Pagan to understand the danger to us all when government becomes the arbiter of personal belief.