Compulsory Voting in the United States?
In the 2012 presidential election, only 56.8% of the eligible voting population chose to cast a ballot. Despite an eight million eligible population increase, five millions less ballots were cast than four years ago. The numbers for non-presidential election years are even lower, with only 37.8% of the eligible population having participated in the 2010 […]
Forecasting: 2016
Believe it or not, candidates have already started jockeying for the 2016 presidential race. Here is a quick look at which candidates have taken the early lead in the race for 2016. The Republicans: Paul Ryan The conservative heartthrob is almost certain to run in the 2016 campaign. He is now a household name and […]
Does Consensus Exist in the United States?
Today, the US is in a perpetual state of disagreement. As a nation in dissention, we can neither agree on when life begins or whether the death penalty should be outlawed. Disagreement is around every corner and appears to erode whatever semblance of a common ground once existed in the US. In Federalist Paper #2, […]
Voto Latino: A Profile of Latino Voters in the United States
Pandering is a time honored tradition in American politics, and the national party conventions this year are proof. The cast of speakers at the Republican National Convention were familiar: Mitt Romney, Jeb Bush, and Rand Paul among others; even more impressive was the lineup of Hispanic names alongside, including Governor Susana Martinez, Governor Luis Fortuño […]
Iraq: Intelligence or Policy Failure?
The author received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Northeastern University. He worked at the CIA for 26 years. Members of the George W. Bush administration, including the former president, continue to maintain that the invasion of Iraq in 2003 was an intelligence failure. This article refutes that contention and argues that […]
A Never Ending Tale? Partisan Politics in the US Congress
Congress is currently more partisan and polarized than any other time since the Reconstruction. Over the past three decades there has been an eruption of partisan politics that has increased the division between both parties in the House and the Senate. Sean Theriault, a political scientist at the University of Texas, developed polarization scores that […]
Arbitration: How Corporations Get Around the Legal System
Have you ever waived your right to a trial before a judge and jury by signing a contract? Of course not, right? Wrong. In fact, if you have ever signed a cell phone agreement with AT&T, Verizon, or any other cell phone provider, you have done just that, and signed your way into something called […]
Pollution, Prevention, Protection: Throwing Your Money Down the Right Drain
Thirty years ago, an unprecedented number of children in Woburn, a community just north of Boston, were diagnosed with leukemia. This unfortunate incident sparked an environmental revolution of sorts, highlighted in the film A Civil Action. Although decades have passed in the cleanup through efforts of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the site has yet […]
Debt Ceiling Panic: Unnecessary Instability or Crucial Wake-up Call?
During last summer, the economy was teetering on the edge of collapse due in part to the question of whether or not the debt ceiling, a ninety-year-old government policy, would be raised before the United States hit its limit. The main theory propping up the continued use of the debt ceiling has been the belief […]
The Role of “Hacktivism” in Modern Politics
Throughout history, political lobbying generally has been done in-person, using lobbyists and strategic monetary donations to facilitate their goals. With the growth of the Internet however, new means of political activism have arisen. The most prominent of these is the “hacktivist” movement, consisting of those with both the technical skill and willpower to bring about […]