Argo: The Intersection of Hollywood and American Perceptions of Iran
Argo, a film centered around the Iranian Hostage Crisis and inspired by a true story, premiered this past month. The plot focuses on the CIA’s attempt to exfiltrate six US Foreign Service workers who managed to sneak out of the American Embassy as Iranian students stormed the building and started President Carter’s worst nightmare. Although […]
Unelect the Electoral College
The Electoral College is the entity that, despite ongoing popular opposition, continues to choose the leader of the free world. In the College, there are 538 total electoral votes, and the number of electoral votes each state receives is equal to the number of Senators plus the number of House Representatives, ensuring a minimum of […]
Third Time’s A Charm?
On September 13, 2012 the Federal Reserve Board of Governors announced their newest foray into monetary policy: Quantitative Easing Three (more commonly referred to as QE3). Benjamin Bernanke, the Chairman of the Federal Reserve, announced that the Fed would enact the policy starting immediately, and that this current round of Quantitative Easing would last until […]
A New Deal for a New Era: Michael Grunwald’s Retelling of the Stimulus
What happened to the stimulus? Once heralded as the greatest early victory of the Obama administration, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 has become a topic that the administration has no urge to discuss. This seems like a natural response to a policy that has failed, or at least failed according to the […]
The Smearing of a Good Man
Politics, as we all know, is a dirty game. As Mitt Romney settles into his new role as the prospective Republican nominee and President Obama focuses on his re-election, both sides have begun trading barbs in what will likely be a bloodbath of an election. Every presidential election features some sort of negative campaigning. Challengers […]
Unintended Consequences: Why France’s Impossible Expectations Will Shake Its Future
On Sunday, May 6th, François Hollande of the French Socialist Party defeated his opponent, Nicholas Sarkozy, with 51.6% of the popular vote. Tough economic times and recent “terrorist” attacks in Toulouse were the foremost discussions during the 2012 electoral campaign. François Hollande, the first Socialist president in the nearly two decades since François Mitterrand, benefited […]
Run For Your Life: Theories of International Politics and Zombies
Something is aloof in international affairs, or so thinks Tufts University Professor Daniel Drezner. Every day scholars and policy-makers meticulously hammer away at the ins and outs of pressing national security threats (Al-Qaeda, China, Iran, Wall Street, Occupy Wall Street). Drezner, however, believes that these political observers have wholly failed to recognize and address what […]
Shining Light on Hypocrisy: The Dharun Ravi Case
When an individual In the United States faces criminal charges, the burden of proof falls upon the prosecution, not the defense. It seems odd then that former Rutgers student, Dharun Ravi, was accused and convicted of bias intimidation though the prosecution failed to produce one witness or one single shred of evidence. Ravi was brought […]
An Incident NOT Blown Out of Proportion: A Response to Marines Urinating on Taliban
The media response to the Marines-peeing-on-dead-Afghans incident was, in my opinion, not harsh enough. In his “Incident Blown Out of Proportion,” piece, Michael Fox argues that Americans should not waste their time feeling moral outrage for dead terrorists. It is clear that the soldiers in question wanted to humiliate the deceased, even into death. The […]
Romney vs. Obama: History Favors Romney
In my last article, I outlined the reasons why I believe Mitt Romney still has the best chance of the remaining GOP candidates to win his party’s nomination. While it may be far too early to predict the results of the election, the intrigue of this hypothetical matchup begs for more in-depth analysis. Assuming that […]