Potential Jurors in Boston Marathon Case Must Consider Death Sentence

Jury selection began on Monday in the Boston Marathon case, a process that could go on for weeks as prospective jurors not only weigh the guilt or innocence of 21-year-old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, but what his sentence will be if he is found guilty: life in prison or death.

There is no doubt that the trial will be closely watched by people all over the country; it is likely to be the most followed terror trial since the Oklahoma City case where Timothy McVeigh was sentenced to death for bombing the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma in 1995.

Are We In A New Golden Age of Journalism?

The turn of the twentieth century was a period of profound change on the art of journalism. Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Doris Kearns Goodwin

explored this era in her book, The Bully Pulpit: Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and the Golden Age of Journalism.

3 Reasons Why Lower Gas Prices Are Not A Good Thing

Russia President Vladimir Putin has openly accused the Saudi government of orchestrating a form of economic terrorism by glutting the oil markets with supply. While most Americans are cheering over the lower gas prices at the pump, a growing number of experts, politicians, and commentators are quietly siding with Putin's opinion that the lower prices aren't necessarily in our best interest.

Russia's economy is directly tied to oil; when oil prices are higher, the economy (as a whole) tends to function better.

Poll: Government Now Biggest Concern for Americans

At first blush, an elected representative might rejoice after learning that 2014 was the first year since 2008 that the economy wasn't the American public's biggest concern, according to a Gallup Poll

released Friday. After a closer look, however, they'd be shaken to see that Government and Politicians replaced the economy at the top spot as the most important problem facing the U.S.

Can Independents Win Statewide Campaigns?

A 2014

Gallup survey showed that a majority of Americans – for the first time since Gallup started asking the question – believe their children’s lives and lifestyle will be worse off than their own. Gallup also reported this year that the United States Congress has the lowest approval ratings in the history of political polling. Coincidence? Or cause and effect?

Looking to the Founders: The Copper Panic and The Gold Standard Debate

No State shall . . . coin Money; emit Bills of Credit; make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts... --U.S. Constitution, Article I, Section 10

July 1789

George Washington's new government had only been in place for a few short months when it faced its first financial crisis. The new government under the Constitution had just been elected, the Treasury hadn't even been formed yet -- but the country was dealing with the collapse in the value of colonial and Confederation-era coinage.

Everything You Need to Know About The Good and the Bad of Quantitative Easing

For the U.S., ‘quantitative easing’ (QE) is over—for now, anyway. While the costs and benefits will take time to reveal themselves completely, we can assess what we know of it to this point. To make sure we’re all singing the same notes, let’s begin with a brief summary of what QE is and how it was accomplished here in the U.S.

First of all, QE was a derivative, if you will, of the standard functioning of the Federal Reserve System (the Fed). Even among the most developed nations central banks have somewhat different functions in different monetary systems.

Why Americans Should Not Give Up Hope for Political Change in 2015

This article is for people who would like to believe that, despite our nation's political woes, there is cause for renewed optimism. It is for those among us who hold some vestige of hope that the coming New Year may turn America not further down the path of despair, but up a trail of progress.

Read on if you are tired of hearing that bipartisanship is dead; weary of media reports of dysfunction in government; tired of listening to pundits who tell us that our nation's lawmakers are beyond the ability to legislate.

Despite Ruble Crisis, Russia and China Still Threaten U.S. Trade Interests

For about a decade, Russian and Chinese politicians, bankers, and industry captains have been calling for a new world super-currency in an effort to ditch the United States dollar as the primary worldwide trading currency. Even with the current ruble crisis, the plans continue to move forward with a significant currency swap between Russia and China.

Both China and Russia are heavily dependent on American dollars for their exports. Russia's primary export is petroleum and natural gas, while China exports large quantities of consumer goods to American markets.