Nineteen strangers were all it took to pick up our welcome mats and lock our doors. Two buildings in New York City, a field in Pennsylvania, and the always invincible Pentagon quickly became the symbolic origins of political mistrust and cynical hostility toward non-Americans.

In Minnesota, the recent decision which overturns the congressional affirmation of the provisions of the Voting Rights Act from the 1960s provoked an inappropriate tweet from a democrat in the state legislature, Rep. Ryan Winkler.

So California’s Proposition 8 is gone. A coalition of liberal and conservative justices decided today that they did not have to decide the question they had just decided because the party that they authorized to stand up for Proposition 8 lacked the standing to stand there.

Gerrymandering has become a prevalent hurdle to meaningful political participation across the country (with few exceptions, including California*). The duopoly at their finest: if you can’t win by playing fair—CHEAT. The third most important electoral reform—thy name is gerrymandering. Attention Democrats and Republicans these are Independents exhibiting open derision to your sleazy ways.

On the surface, it is easy to look at the real estate foreclosure crisis and blame everything on the banks. While there is no denying that these financial institutions have been a large part of the problem, there are other sides of the story.

For example, those who have foreclosed on their property have to take some responsibility. Maybe these people shouldn’t have been granted a mortgage for their home, however, it doesn’t give them the right to “take the easy way out.”

David Hilcher / Shutterstock.com

In 2012, states with higher taxpayer burdens had a lower recovery in home prices.