Recently, widespread attention has been devoted to instances of racial profiling, about the tragic lives of the victims of racial profiling, about how “wrong” racial profiling is, and about what we, …
America “Incorporated”
As of today, more than 3000 private companies have been assigned to do the job Americans believe are exclusive to U.S. agents and James Bond lookalikes: clandestine, special operations. The recently r…
Underestimation Nation
On October 15th Fox News presented a poll that found 58% of Americans felt “things in the world are ‘going to hell in a handbasket.” [1] These findings tell us two things. First, we should probably qu…
A Finnish-ed Model for National Education
Competition with the USSR served to motivate the United States to innovate during the Cold War. A byproduct of this was the surge in the military-industrial complex, which has since resulted in a myri…
Pipe Dreams
On April 18, 2014, the Obama administration indefinitely extended the review period of Keystone XL, leaving the controversial pipeline in regulatory purgatory for the foreseeable future. The pipeline…
SCOTUS Sneak Peak: A Look at the Supreme Court’s 2014-2015 Term
Though the current Supreme Court term only started on October 6, the court has already issued orders on two controversial issues and started hearing oral arguments for many other important cases. Thou…
Death of a Salesman
If I were President Obama, I might be asking myself, “How did I get here?” “What happened to those chanting masses? Where are all those t-shirts? What about the bumper stickers, the signs, the Nobel…
High-Speed Rail: Need for Speed?
On November 4, 2008, California voters approved Proposition 1A (Safe, Reliable High-Speed Passenger Train Bond Act for the 21st Century), which allocated funds towards a high-speed rail system (HSR). …
Left High and Dry: Human Rights, Water, and Bankruptcy
Since its March 2013 bankruptcy, the city of Detroit has been beleaguered with considerable economic woes. With $12.3 billion in unpaid liabilities and a purported total debt of up to $20 billion as e…
Wasteful Stadiums
The Manaus, Brazil World Cup stadium cost $300 million to build. Source: Brasil.gov The 2014 FIFA World Cup hosted in Brazil has been the most popular one yet. One Brazilian channel attracted a…