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The share of Americans who say they're independent has climbed considerably, according to Gallup's quarterly party affiliation data. In the late 1980s, roughly one-third of Americans identified as Democratic, Republican or independent. Now, 40 percent or more identify as independent, while the share who identify as Democrats or Republicans has fallen to around 30 percent or lower. he problem is that few independents are actually independent. Roughly 3 in 4 independents still lean toward one of the two major political parties, and studies show that these voters aren't all that different from the voters in the party they lean toward. Independents who lean toward a party also tend to back that party at almost the same rate as openly partisan voters.

"In Gallup polling throughout the first quarter of 2021, an average of 49% of U.S. adults identified with the Democratic Party or said they are independents who lean toward the Democratic Party. That compares with 40% who identified as Republicans or Republican leaners. The nine-percentage-point Democratic advantage is the largest Gallup has measured since the fourth quarter of 2012." What I found to be more significant was the following: "The 44% of Americans who identify as political independents, whether they subsequently express a party leaning or not, is up from 38% in the fourth quarter of 2020 and is above 40% for the first time since 2019. This is consistent with the historical pattern whereby independent identification typically declines in presidential election years and increases in odd-numbered years. However, the percentages identifying as independent in 2020 and thus far in 2021 have been unusually high compared with prior presidential election and odd-numbered years. Thus, the current level of independent identification ranks among the highest Gallup has measured in any quarter since 1988" More people relate to neither party than to one, so why do they both continue on a trajectory of not satisfying the public? Is the message never heard that the Center is where most of America lives?

"Collective motions of biological systems such as bird flocks, fish schools, and bacterial swarms are the most vivid examples of the emergent behaviors of active matter (1). While moving independently at low density, self-propelled units in active matter can move collectively at high density, giving rise to coherent flows at length scales much larger than the size of individual units. In bacterial suspensions, these coherent flows exhibit a chaotic pattern of intermittent vortices and jets, reminiscent of turbulent flows at high Reynolds numbers. Hence, the flows induced by bacterial collective swimming are also known as active or bacterial turbulence (2-5)."

When the National Election Study began asking about trust in government in 1958, about three-quarters of Americans trusted the federal government to do the right thing almost always or most of the time. Public trust reached a three-decade high shortly after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, but declined quickly thereafter. Since 2007, the share saying they can trust the government always or most of the time has not surpassed 30%. Currently, 36% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents say they can trust government, compared with 9% of Republicans and Republican-leaners. Throughout Trump's tenure, more Republicans than Democrats reported trusting the government, though that has flipped since Biden's election.

CIPPEC is an Argentina-based independent nonprofit organization that works on better building public policies. The report presents four domestic politics scenarios: Many hands for little cake - Disperse power in exclusive societies. Cohesive and powerful - Integrated societies that have a voice in politics. Members only - An exclusive world with concentrated power. One for all - Concentration of power in inclusive societies and four Global Governance scenarios: Big foot in a local world Big Friendly Giant - big firms in a global scenario Small is beautiful The small under global rule

Eighty-one percent of U.S. adults say the future of U.S. democracy is under threat, a sentiment shared by most Republicans, Democrats and independents. But when they were asked which party poses the bigger risk, it was a statistical tie between people who said the Democratic Party (42 percent) and the Republican Party (41 percent). An additional 8 percent of Americans blame both parties for playing a role. "We have one point of bipartisan agreement that the ship is sinking," said Edward Foley, who directs the election law program at Ohio State University. "But the problem is that each side blames the other for the ship sinking."

The weeding machine is a beast at almost 10,000 pounds. It boasts no fewer than eight independently-aimed 150-watt lasers, typically used for metal cutting, that can fire 20 times per second. They're guided by 12 high-resolution cameras connected to AI systems that can recognize good crops from bad weeds. The Laserweeder drives itself with computer vision, finding the furrows in the fields, positioning itself with GPS, and searching for obstacles with LIDAR. It drives 5 miles/hour and can clear 15-20 acres in a day.