“There is no right in our democracy more basic than the right to participate in electing our political leaders.” - Chief Justice John Robert, McCutcheon v. FEC

Since the Supreme Court handed down its decision in the campaign finance case, McCutcheon v.

The ongoing crisis in Ukraine constitutes one of the most difficult crises for the international community in recent times. Policy dialogue continues, and will prevail, as to whether Russia was justified in its actions to promote the referendum vote in the Crimean peninsula.

Is it possible that a 51st state will come through secession? How about 5 new states? Most analysts will tell you no, especially since such a thing would need to be approved by a Congress that could not even pass a resolution declaring the sky is blue at the moment.

The ruling by the Supreme Court in the case McCutcheon v. FEC could have been predicted. This is the same court that gave us the ruling on Citizens United v. FEC (with the exception of Elena Kagan replacing John Paul Stevens). While Citizens United determined that corporations and unions are people and that money equals free speech, the McCutcheon verdict goes a step further by striking down maximum limits on campaign contributions.

There is considerable news in the press about setting the minimum wage at $10.10 per hour. Recently, Connecticut became the first state to pass this as the minimum wage. Is this the answer? Or is the answer a program that seeks to eliminate unemployment?

March 2014 unemployment data will be revealed on Friday, April 4. While the recession may have ended, the battle to create jobs has not ceased. As of February 2014, the unemployment rate remains at 6.7 percent, about 2 percentage points higher than the normal rate for an expanding economy.

In the meantime, propositions regarding the best method to solve unemployment remain stagnated: simply put, the same arguments are continually repeated without innovative approaches to tackle one of the most pressing matters of the decade.

I am not surprised, or even particularly disappointed by the Supreme Court’s decision today to abolish some of the limitations on political donations. I can’t imagine it mattering much, given the existing regulations which allow unlimited donations to political action committees that are independent of candidates only by way of legal fiction. And I would rather that people give money directly to candidates, who are required to report donors, than to 501(c)(4) organizations which have no meaningful disclosure requirements.

During my business career, I have worked as a college recruiter and an interviewer/hiring contact for both the sales and claims departments, at a global insurance company.

I have met, interviewed and hired literally thousands of unemployed people during my 30+ year career. They were “young and old.” They were “diverse” and “special needs." They were labeled as members of the “X-Y-Z & ME generations.” They came from high school, college, and trade centers. After 9/11 they lined up by the thousands at Madison Square Garden for a job fair.

In the GOP’s attempt to retake the Senate in 2014 the way they reclaimed the House 4 years earlier there are already several authentic battleground states from Alaska to Louisiana. New Hampshire is not exactly grouped with those tough races, but Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen may have a difficult time nonetheless.

In record numbers, 42 percent of the electorate are disenfranchised by the two major political parties and results of this year’s primaries in most states may very well be determined by a