While the US election is still over a year away, campaigning is in full swing in many parts of the country.

In the state of Massachusetts, one election promises to get plenty of national media attention.

Last week, noted consumer advocate Elizabeth Warren announced she would seek the office of United States Senator for the Democrats.

Warren, who is a professor at Harvard Law School, writes and speaks extensively on issues relating to consumer finance protection

She’s a strong advocate for protecting consumers against credit card companies, mortgage companies and student loan outfits who

“want to do business… through tricks and traps and fine print and fooling people.”

President Obama sought Warren’s advice in establishing the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau this year. However, she was not nominated to head the new agency. Is the protection of consumers exclusively a liberal goal?

A video of Warren on her “Talking Tour” has gotten a lot of traction online. Her knowledge of serious issues and her ability to explain them to non-experts (in a simple, unpatronizing way) have appealed to some voters.

If she wins the Democratic primary, Warren will face incumbent Republican Senator Scott Brown, the total dreamboat who won the election to fill Ted Kennedy’s seat in January of 2010. Brown’s success in that election was in part due to the lackluster campaign of his opponent, Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley, who the Democratic party figured was a shoo-in.

According to Public Policy Polling, Warren leads Sen. Scott Brown by two points–but, of course, it’s still very early.

Is Elizabeth Warren the candidate Massachusetts has been waiting for? Will her advocacy on behalf of the middle class win her their support? We’ve got a long campaign season ahead of us. The race between Warren and Brown is definitely one to watch.

Thanks to Haaretz

Palestine faced  problems yesterday at the UN General Assembly,  thanks, in part to President Obama.

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict that has spanned decades found a new area of discomfort for the President. Palestine President Mahmoud Abbas‘ made a determined effort to earn statehood for the troubled territory at the United Nations.

Many are upset with the UN reaction as well as Obama’s lack of support.

According to, Palestinian-American journalist Ali Abunimah:

A lot was bet on this bid for statehood. It was the last throw of the dice by Abbas, and it came up as bad …. What this all adds up to is absolutely nothing.

Does the United States have time to repair more conflict in the Middle East… with its own problems at home? Or is this just the same old song?

You’re not seeing things. The House loves shutting the government down (or at least striking down bills that would keep it running).

The Fed takes Twist and Shout! to a WHOLE new level.

Losing my R.E.M.

Do you want Puppy custody for these precious pups!

The employees are hard at work in Dissertation House @ UMBC on September 23-24, 2011.

Employee DH

Employees at work in the DH

Yvette Mozie-Ross, Assistant Provost for Enrollment Management, shares her experiences with employees

The employees are hard at work in Dissertation House @ UMBC on September 23-24, 2011.

Employee DH

Employees at work in the DH

Yvette Mozie-Ross, Assistant Provost for Enrollment Management, shares her experiences with employees

Undergraduate research is a unique experience that is at the same time educational and fascinating. My research focused on evaluating the mid Atlantic offshore wind energy resource – or, put the way I say it when not presenting my research to a scientific body, seeing if Maryland is windy enough to put up some wind turbines.

The research had nothing to do with my major, interdisciplinary studies in medical imaging, but that didn’t impact the effect of the experience on my academic life – short and long term. I learned to get organized, to work independently, to pinpoint when I was confused and ask the right clarifying questions. I learned just how relevant the seemingly dry research done in a cloistered lab can be to the wider community. Every time I heard the phrase “wind energy” on the radio, I found myself turning up the volume. This was why I was going to school and struggling to earn a difficult degree. Not for some manufactured class project (although don’t get me wrong, those can be interesting as well,) but for the application of my education to real-world problems, with personal guidance from an interested and motivating professor. This experience crystalized my decision to pursue a PhD after I graduate from UMBC, and my research background gave me the skills I needed for the research position I held at Johns Hopkins University this past summer.

Undergraduate research is a facet of UMBC that should not be overlooked by those who want to put an extra spark into their undergraduate education. The three semesters I spent on this project are three I will certainly never regret, or forget.