In office barely a year, U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) is a hot political commodity, but what does his future hold?

History is littered with personalities who rose and faded quickly. Icarus flew too close to the sun before his wings melted in a warning against soaring too high. Before Joseph McCarthy's name became synonymous with baseless accusations, he had the power to wreck careers. In the opposite corner, then-State Senator Barack Obama delivered a stirring speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention and just 4 years later was elected president.

Update 1/6/2014 3:15 PM PT: Final vote on Janet Yellen's confirmation: 56 Yes to 26 No

Update 1/6/2014 3:00 PM PT: The vote to confirm Janet Yellen as the new chair of the Federal Reserve began at approximately 2:30. The vote has reached a simple majority. Final vote to come.

Update 1/6/2014 2:15 PM PT: Rand Paul's Facebook page announced that his flight to DC was delayed. He will not be in chamber for the vote.

A philosopher, who is a friend of my mentor, stated that he believes humans are still racially tribalistic. People gravitate toward those of the same ethnicity when finding a place to live, whether it be conscious or subconscious.

What he pointed to was an interactive map that displayed ethnically color-coded dots for each household based on 2010 census data. Many urban centers of population are diverse as a whole, but within the cities are distinguishable communities grouped by ethnicity.

Numerous polls have revealed that there is widespread ignorance when it comes to politics. In 2012, a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center found that less than half of those surveyed knew where the upcoming primary would be held, and only 53 percent knew that former presidential candidate Mitt Romney served as the governor of Massachusetts.