The Illusion of Authenticity: Trump’s Era of Offensive Language in Politics
Long before he entered politics, Donald Trump made “You’re fired!” a national catchphrase on The Apprentice. That brash, unfiltered persona didn’t simply stay on the TV show; it became central to his political campaign and presidency. From mocking journalist Catherine Lucey with “quiet, Piggy” to berating his opponents with racial or sexist insults, President Trump’s […]
United States Policy in Venezuela: Regime Change, Resources, or Political Power?
In recent months, United States President Donald Trump has intensified American focus on Venezuela. In early September, a US Special Operations aircraft attacked a small speedboat in the Caribbean, promptly exploding the boat, its cargo, and the eleven individuals onboard. Justification for the strike was tied to the boat’s alleged association with the Venezuelan Tren […]
Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity Beyond Voluntarism
Critical infrastructure refers to assets, systems, and networks essential for maintaining everyday life, including electrical grids, communication networks, water treatment facilities, healthcare systems, and transportation networks. These systems remain dangerously unprotected in the United States because of a fragmented regulatory landscape. When adversaries can damage, disable, or steal sensitive information from these decentralized systems, they […]
Gentrification: The Unintended Consequence of the “People Before Highways” Protests
In the midst of the Cold War, Dwight D. Eisenhower argued that if the United States was invaded by a foreign entity, roads would be needed for survival. As a result, he signed the Federal-Aid Highway Act in 1956 which allotted substantial funds to municipal governments for the construction of highways, giving life to the […]
Hope at Last: A Venezuelan’s Perspective on Maduro’s Arrest
On January 3, 2026, I woke up to the news that Nicolas Maduro—the man who led the regime that had terrorized millions of Venezuelans, including my own family, for opposing its corruption—had been captured and was awaiting trial. I do not know a single Venezuelan who has not personally suffered under Maduro’s leadership. Those who […]
On Executive Power and the Independence of Central Banking
In early January, the Department of Justice issued the Federal Reserve (the “Fed”) multiple grand jury subpoenas regarding planned renovations for two Fed buildings in Washington, D.C. The renovations themselves are outstandingly banal: in a July 17 letter to the Office of Management and Budget, Chair of the Federal Reserve Jerome Powell specified the renovations, […]
Immigrants Get the Job Done: How a Lack of Immigration Will Affect the U.S
On September 23, 2023, the Department of Homeland Security issued a boastful press release, claiming that they had removed or encouraged the self-deportation of over “two million illegal aliens” out of the United States in less than 250 days. This aggressive enforcement effort has been carried out by the Trump Administration’s deployment of Immigration and […]
Development Without Democracy: The Authoritarian Consequences of Dismantling USAID
Nature abhors a vacuum. So does geopolitics. Most Americans believe that foreign aid consumes nearly a quarter of the federal budget. In reality, it has historically accounted for less than 1 percent. This widespread misconception is precisely what made it politically possible for the United States to decimate its primary development agency overnight with little […]
The Financialization of Conflicts in the 21st century is a Threat to U.S National Security
Prior to the 1990s, defense contracting looked very different than it does today. During the Vietnam War, Korean War, and Cold War, the building of arms remained in the hands of multiple smaller defense contracting companies. By the end of the Cold War as U.S military spending reached over $325 billion annually, lawmakers began to […]
A Country for Sale: The Hidden Costs of Greek Debt Repayment
Seventeen years ago, the 2008 Debt Crisis brought Greece to its knees, pushing unemployment above 27 percent and shrinking the economy by a quarter. With three relief packages totaling 289 billion euros from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and European Union (EU), the country faced a difficult road to recovery. Finally, Greece has begun to […]