Last weekend, the California Democratic party convened for its annual meeting where it debated and amended a party platform that addresses 23 issues ranging from “business and the economy” to the last category, “world peace.” Unfortunately, none of the 9,000 words managed to address the true issue: California is a failed state. While the term “failed [...]
Despite Obama’s campaign promise to keep the moratorium on offshore drilling, he has recently proposed to allow drilling along the Atlantic coast, the eastern Gulf of Mexico and the north coast of Alaska. In 2008, then-Senator Barack Obama critiqued McCain’s proposal to increase offshore drilling as a policy that would “have long term consequences for our [...]
Is it a coincidence that Alaskan Senator Lisa Murkowski (R)—who has received more than $124,500 from oil companies—is spearheading an amendment to stop the Clean Air Act from regulating greenhouse gas emissions? Or how about the relationship between a Congress that can’t seem to pass climate legislation and the $90 million that was spent lobbying on climate issues [...]
On Feb. 14, Vice President Biden and former Vice President Dick Cheney had a talk-show showdown that focused on which style of governing is better at keeping our country safe from terrorism: one that utilizes civilian trials or one that disregards the constitution in favor of military tribunals. Unfortunately, neither is getting at the well-oiled root [...]
My fellow columnist and Opinion Editor Alex Potter recently wrote that the unforeseen election of Republican Scott Brown in the traditionally blue state of Massachusetts was “ringing endorsement of the inherent conservatism of the American people.” I would argue that instead, the election was a sign that the American people are fed up with the [...]
Liberal arts professors like to teach about power. Sociology professors explain how power is constructed, politics professors emphasize how power is distributed and Spanish professors talk about, well, poder. Despite the constant focus on theoretical conceptions of power, no one has ever taught me how to get it. I am hoping that this will change with [...]
The forced resignation of Green Jobs czar Van Jones over Labor Day weekend was orchestrated by an angry talk show host who twisted half-truths to turn one of the environmental movement’s greatest heroes into a radical communist. The smear campaign began on July 23 when Glenn Beck, conservative talk radio host and founder of one of the [...]
Last Tuesday, Whitman’s Campus Climate Challenge met with Walla Walla’s very Republican Congresswoman Cathy McMorris to discuss climate change. We had met with her before in Washington D.C. where she had made it clear that she knows very little about the issue. She subtly avoided admitting that climate change is happening and when I asked [...]
As part of a scholarship I am applying for, I recently wrote a letter to Congressman David Obey, Chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations urging him to put limitations on the World Bank’s proposed Clean Technology Fund (CTF) that would eliminate funding for clean coal. The purpose of the fund is to help developing countries [...]
Yesterday Professor Mark Denbeaux from Senton Hall Law School visited my International Politics class to talk to us about Guantanamo. One of the first things he told us is that the debate over what constitutes torture has been obscuring the true issues at GITMO. As he said Torture is irrelevant What he was really concerned about is that [...]
