“Move Fast, Break Things”: Facebook Is Killing American Democracy
If Mark Zuckerberg could have predicted that his infamous philosophy—“move fast, break things”—would have turned into the antithesis of democratic values today, he likely would never have said it. Of course, to move fast and break things was once a widely adopted way of thinking for entrepreneurs who aimed to achieve Zuckerberg’s level of success. […]
Four Non-Biden Reasons for Progressives to Vote for Biden
Let’s assume you’re a progressive disappointed with the two viable presidential candidates this November. Fair enough. But there are still reasons to support Joe Biden even if you dislike him, beginning with Federal Judges. This is the best way to play the political long game, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell knows it. After Republicans […]
Senate Republicans’ Misguided, Last-Ditch China Strategy
In April, the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) distributed a fifty-seven page memo titled, “Corona Big Book.” Its message was simple. “China caused this pandemic by covering it up, lying, and hoarding the world’s supply of medical equipment,” the memo reads. “China is an adversary that has stolen millions of American jobs, sent fentanyl to […]
Banking for People, Not for Banks
For a man whose beard generates enough drag to slow a freefall, Bill Booth certainly loved to design parachutes. Through patented parachute improvements and the development of instructor-guided tandem jumping, this aerial Hagrid made his beloved sport safer and more accessible. Since Booth began innovating in the 1970s—presumably while manifesting his destiny across the continent—the […]
Eschewing Electability: What Democrats Can Draw from the Far-Right Playbook
Talking heads, opinion columnists, and mainstream pundits continually stressed that a Democratic victory in the 2020 presidential election was predicated on a nominee who could appeal to centrist swing voters. Political commentator Thomas Friedman, in a New York Times op-ed, pitched Michael Bloomberg as that candidate—one who could send a message of “national unity, personal […]
Proportional, Not Popular: Reforming the Electoral College
Five times in the history of the United States, the results of the Electoral College and popular vote have differed. In 2000, George W. Bush defeated Al Gore with 543,895 fewer votes. That election thrust the Electoral College into the national spotlight and spurred debate over reform. In 2016, Donald Trump defeated Hillary Clinton despite […]
Bill Who? The Republican Primaries’ Significance in the 2020 Election
Despite President Trump’s approval rating sitting at 44 percent as of March 20, 56 percent of Americans—including 65 percent of independents and 93 percent of Democrats—disapprove of his administration. Even the number of Republicans supporting the president has fallen by two percent since January, when the president’s approval rating peaked at 49 percent. Yet toppling […]
The “Deal of the Century” and the Death of the Two-State Solution
In late January of this year, US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu formally unveiled “Peace to Prosperity,” a proposal by the Trump administration to resolve the Arab–Israeli conflict. The so-called “Deal of the Century” plagiarizes a forty-year-old plan by the World Zionist Organization, envisions a disjointed Palestinian state, and loosely promises […]
Are Cold Sino–American Relations Solely Trump’s Fault?
Trump leads America in an era of poor relations with China, but have relations with China ever been good? Donald Trump’s foreign policy has been rightfully criticized by many Americans. American prestige and credibility has taken an extraordinary nosedive since Trump came into office. There is, however, one relationship Trump has perhaps taken unjustified criticism […]
Modern Maoism Prevails: Xi Jinping and the Use of “Red Memory”
In recent years, worldwide authoritarianism has been exposed to a new sort of “nostalgic nationalism,” where leaders increasingly rely on extreme loyalism and patriotic sentiment to promote an agenda. Within this genre of civic manipulation is a concerning phenomenon: heads of state reverting to tactics of bygone eras and rose-tinted propaganda to fuel support and […]