What is liberty?
A draft opinion of the Supreme Court in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization was leaked late Monday and seems to show that the court is going to overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 case that upheld a right to abortion access. The opinion would put into caselaw a long-circulating conservative idea: that Roe v. Wade was decided incorrectly and should be overturned because … Continue reading What is liberty?
The old rules don’t work anymore
The Walt Disney Company used to control Florida’s government. In 1965, Governor W. Haydon Burns hosted a press conference with Walt Disney where they announced the Florida Project, a sprawling development that became Walt Disney World. There has not been a time between 1965 and early 2022 when Mr. Disney’s company did not exert a heavy influence on Florida’s state government. To maintain that influence, … Continue reading The old rules don’t work anymore
It turns out Republicans are manufacturing some of the supply chain issues for political points
Three of the largest economies in the Americas – the U.S., Canada, and Mexico – have a decades-old free trade arrangement. Slightly modified under the Trump administration, the deal ensures that most goods can be made in any of the three countries and sold in any of the other three countries. Originally called the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and now called USMCA, the … Continue reading It turns out Republicans are manufacturing some of the supply chain issues for political points
The Last Three Kmarts
This is a follow-up to our November 29, 2021 article The Last Six Kmarts. On April 16, 2022, the Kmart in Avenel, New Jersey, will close for good. With that, the storied chain – which dwindled to just six stores stateside at the end of the 2021, will be down to just three. There are around 400 RadioShack stores still around and over 600 JCPenney … Continue reading The Last Three Kmarts
The Biden administration is going to delay student loan repayments again. How can it ever expect to resume them?
Contrary to popular belief, the United States is not the only country where student loans exist. But the ubiquity of student loans in the U.S. is somewhat unusual. Less than 20% of German students obtain student loans, for example. Things in the U.K. might be more relatable to American students; there, students rack up an average of $43,298 in debt, slightly above the average $39,351 … Continue reading The Biden administration is going to delay student loan repayments again. How can it ever expect to resume them?
Again, the Iraq War was more popular than you remember
Vladimir Putin celebrated his country’s middling performance at the 2022 Winter Olympics by invading Ukraine, which is more or less also how he celebrated his country’s middling performance at the 2014 Winter Olympics. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, maybe your country shouldn’t be allowed to go to the Olympics anymore. It’s not the only repercussion faced by Russians, who have watched … Continue reading Again, the Iraq War was more popular than you remember
Moderate Democrats still don’t understand the tautology of American politics
In an Associated Press report provided to news outlets Thursday, former Senator Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND) lamented that “far-left” positions taken by some Democrats alienate rural voters. Heitkamp explained, “We’re letting Republicans use the language of the far left to define the Democratic Party, and we can’t do that.” The problem that Heitkamp fails to grasp – and that, indeed, a lot of Democrats fail to … Continue reading Moderate Democrats still don’t understand the tautology of American politics
There’s no evidence that term limits work and a lot of evidence that they don’t
When a politician is looking to score some quick political points, there’s a well they consistently dip their bucket into: term limits. In 2018, President Donald Trump tweeted that he had met with lawmakers and discussed term limits, giving his “full support and endorsement for their efforts.” President Obama wrote in A Promised Land that, as a senator, he “questioned what might happen to me … Continue reading There’s no evidence that term limits work and a lot of evidence that they don’t
If Manchin and Murkowski can’t start a new party, no one can
Five U.S. Senators – Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Mitt Romney of Utah, Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona – could break away from their respective parties today and form a new centrist party which would have an inconceivable amount of power in the divided senate, depriving the Republicans and Democrats of guaranteed control and forcing legislation to … Continue reading If Manchin and Murkowski can’t start a new party, no one can
A History of Black History Month
When Carter Woodson was a young boy, his family had very little. They were poor farmers and, to make things worse, they were Black in a post-Reconstruction Virginia where white figures were reasserting control over the political and social sphere. But what they did have was freedom, something Woodson’s parents had gained in their lifetime. He was a free American citizen at his birth, something … Continue reading A History of Black History Month