A Liberal’s Case Against Single-Payer

The late Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy was a passionate advocate of universal healthcare and championed a national health insurance plan during his time in office. As Chairman of the Senate Health Subcommittee, Kennedy proposed a compulsory, single-payer program. The program involved the creation of a public insurance program to replace private insurance, and it didn’t […]

The Comforting Limits of Pessimism

A turning point in my emotional development occurred during the historically destructive winter of 2015, the one that buried Boston under 108 inches of snow. Those months laid bare a pessimism I had harbored for most of my adolescent life. Until that point, the pessimism existed as a quiet dread in the pit of my […]

The Red Menace: The GOP’s Quest to Turn America into a Single-Party State

When Senator Jeff Flake revealed that he would not be seeking re-election, he delivered a moving speech that sounded like an epitaph for traditional conservatism. The senator from Arizona lamented the death of a conservatism based on values, from a bygone era when Republican candidates offered visions and values, using rhetoric and logic to defend […]

“Crimmigration”: Immigration Enforcement & Detainment

On October 3rd, U.S. Representatives Adam Smith and Pramila Jayapal, both from the state of Washington, introduced the “Dignity for Detained Immigrants Act of 2017.” The act would increase transparency and accountability for immigration enforcement in this country, while improving the conditions of immigrants detained by the Department of Homeland Security.[1] Rep. Smith has a […]

The U.S. Lags Behind in Paid Parental Leave… Here’s Why

The United States is the only developed nation that does not have any law guaranteeing paid family leave. This translates to many parents, particularly those from low-income families, going back to work much sooner than they should simply because they cannot afford to take unpaid leave. The benefits of paid family leave have been proven […]

A Look Back at Kurdistan’s Tumultuous September

On June 7th, 2017, a certain political leader shook the world with a tweet. No, not Donald Trump, but Masoud Barzani, President of the Iraqi Kurdish Regional Government. His tweet proclaimed, “I am pleased to announce that the date for the independence referendum has been set for Monday, September 25th, 2017,” thereby launching a bid […]

The New Global Arms Race

International tensions between North Korea and the rest of the world hit a high point this September, when Chairman of North Korea Kim Jong Un sanctioned the launch of a mid-range nuclear missile that flew directly over northern Japan before landing in the Pacific Ocean. For the past several years, North Korean leadership has been […]

Dissenting Opinions Need Not Apply: Republican Mentality In the Age of Trump

The nature of Republican party politics in America today can only be described as contentious. Reports of Republican lawmakers privately bashing the President while trying to maintain and foster a semblance of party unity has become commonplace. Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell has privately conveyed his concern that Trump would not be able to salvage […]

The Cost of Freedom in Kurdistan

Spiritual leader Thich Nhat Hanh once said, “If we are free from attachment, we can easily recognize ourselves in other people, in different forms of manifestation, and then we don’t have to suffer.” Hanh’s words are dreams to the Kurdish people, who exist today fragmented, stateless, and in a forced union with Iraq. Against the […]

How Our Tax Code Inflates the Cost of Healthcare

Despite our nation’s deep political divide, there is consensus that reducing rising healthcare costs should be a top policy priority. While overall U.S. prices grew on average at below 2% in 2016, health care grew at 4%. For decades, healthcare costs have continued to grow faster than our economy with no signs of stopping. Health […]