Recently, in the case Schuette v. Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action, the United States Supreme Court, by a 6-2 vote, upheld a Michigan ban on affirmative action. The ban stated that universities didn't have to consider race as a requirement for enrollment. Michigan isn't alone with a ban either as states like California, Washington, Oklahoma, New Hampshire, and others have done so, as well.

Can one ordinary citizen change the world?

It is difficult to estimate the number of people who use Twitter to try to change our dysfunctional political environment. According to Twitter, the number of active monthly users is 241 million, sending a combined total of 500 million tweets per day. If we multiply that one ordinary citizen by 241 million, we have great potential to spread a message of political harmony. Sadly, this is not everyone’s intent. But it's not just the numbers that matter.

Each generation has its crisis. Past generations had to fight against colonial rule, slavery, and world tyranny. Others had to rally for women’s suffrage and equal civil rights. In each case, the steel of our resolve was questioned, and the people answered every time..

 

 

The United States is once again in the middle of a major election year and in many elections, people will go the polls with only two options to choose from -- red or blue, Republican or Democrat. The problem is a majority of Americans do not believe either major political party represents America.

On Wednesday, another complication was added to the current peace talks between Israel and Palestine when Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas’ political party, Fatah, signed a unity accord with Hamas (the party ruling the Gaza Strip and largely recognized as a terrorist organization), ending a 7 year divide within the Palestinian society.

Fatah and Hamas plan to form an interim unity government within 5 weeks, and they will hold parliamentary elections within 6 months.