A Conversation with James L. Buckley

Jacob Linker

We live in tumultuous times right now, politically speaking. There is a general sense of malaise in our political discourse. As Washington becomes increasingly more toxic and is increasingly fueled by partisan rage, overall identification with the two major political parties is at an all-time low. Congress, in its stagnancy, has record low approval ratings. Looking for some insight, I reached out to a political legend: James L Buckley. Buckley was elected Senator in 1970 as the Conservative Party’s candidate. Buckley served in the State Department from 1981 to 1982…

It’s Time for America to Capitalize on the Wrongs of Capital Punishment

Ryan Slattery

The number of deaths resulting from capital punishment have reached an all-time low since 1991. Despite much of the chaos we see today, only 23 prisoners have been executed in 20171. A Gallup Poll conducted in October of 2017 shows that 55 percent of Americans support capital punishment for cases of murder, a five-point drop from the October 2016 results2. Indeed, support for capital punishment has reached an all-time low in 45 years. The time has come where Americans are starting to see capital punishment as a practice that is…

Why Net Neutrality is the Wrong Fix for the Right Problem

Richard Koch

It’s true: the internet is imbalanced. The directional flow of internet content – as in what information reaches which people, and why – is prejudicial, invisible to consumers, and harmful to civic society. The question of who to blame for this, however, is what advocates of net-neutrality get wrong.   Supporters of net-neutrality misguidedly argue that regulating internet service providers (Verizon, AT&T, Comcast – the ISP’s) will ensure a more “free and open” internet. They want the FCC to re-reclassify these ISP’s as Title II public carriers – which is…

Mitt Romney is not the Resistance

Jacob Linker

With the retirement of Orrin Hatch, much attention has become devoted to the prospect of the return of the White Horse himself, Mitt Romney. He’s changed his twitter location to Utah and he’s scaring the president. Surely the #Resistance would get another person in Washington ready to stand up to the president. Romney’s election would likely be one of the biggest political comebacks since fellow two-time loser Richard Nixon struck back in 1968 by taking the White House – and it’ll have only taken Willard Mitt 24 years to become…

Promises Kept: President Trump’s First Year Review

Olivia Ingrassia

January marked one year since Donald Trump swore the oath of office and became the 45th President of the United States following an unforeseen victory on November 8, 2016. Throughout his first year occupying the White House, President Trump has made great strides in altering the trajectory of the nation from eight years of his predecessor. Despite the unrelenting attacks by the media, he has put the interests of America first, as he promised to do on the campaign trail. Early on, it became clear that those promises made were…

A conversation with Hawk Newsome, founder of Black Lives Matter for Greater New York Area

Montgomery Yu

Black Lives Matter activist Hawk Newsome sat down with digital editor Montgomery Yu after his talk at Fordham University to discuss the police brutality in America, systemic racism, and the future of the Black Lives Matter movement. Hawk Newsome is a former county committee member of New York’s District 79 and founder of Black Lives Matter of Greater New York, unaffiliated with the NYC chapter of Black Lives Matter. (The following transcript has been edited for clarity from the original audio, which is also available.)   The first question that…

A Deeper Look at the State of Trump’s Union

Sophia Singh

On January 30th, President Donald Trump delivered his 2nd State of the Union address. There was much speculation on whether or not he would “stick to the script”, what angles he would take, and how he would address some of the core issues currently causing partisan friction in Congress, namely immigration. Unsurprisingly, the speech was problematic in several areas, namely, the self-congratulatory presentation of issues with questionable follow-through, the embellishment of what should have been straightforward facts, a failed attempt at bipartisanship, and use of special guests to distract from…

The End of the Gerrymander

Alec Pollini

What must be understood about political gerrymandering is that it has been recognized as a force in party politics since before the framing of the U.S. Constitution. So it came as a surprise when a district court struck down the district map of Wisconsin drawn by the Wisconsin state legislature in 2010 as an unlawful partisan gerrymander. Late Justice Scalia would be outraged if he knew the courts were entertaining such challenges to district maps as the current U.S. supreme court case, Gill v. Whitford. The case currently under consideration…