It began with an email–or rather, a lack of one. Brian Gibbs was one of nearly a thousand workers whose livelihoods were compromised in the name of efficiency this February. About eight months into his role as an environmental educator at the Iowa Effigy Mounds National Monument, Gibbs was locked out of his government email […]
Tag: Congress
Clashes in Leadership
As the election looms ever closer, Congressional Republicans found themselves between a rock and a hard place: a government shutdown, and the demands of their presidential nominee, Donald Trump. However, this conflict arose not just from Democrat-Republican relations, but internal party politics. Through the whole month of September, Republicans and Democrats debated amongst themselves on […]
America Isn’t Broken—But Our Leaders Need It To Be
Americans hate politics. Or at least, that’s how it seems. A Pew Research Center study from last fall found that over half of Americans (55%) are “always” angry at politics in our country. And further, when asked “What word would you use to describe U.S. politics?” some of the most popular responses were “divisive” “chaos” […]
Congress, The Lifelong Career
Sitting high on Capitol Hill, the distant and seemingly elitist Congress has struggled to maintain Americans’ trust, with reports showing a measly 26% of the public trusts our legislative branch. Americans feel separated from Congress, and it’s a trend that has persisted over the last 20 years as politics become increasingly polarized among parties. Members […]
Playing Politics in America’s Pacific Territories
During the 2021 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia) declared that America’s tax dollars should no longer be sent to “China, Russia, the Middle East, Guam – whatever, wherever.” However Guam, unlike the other places mentioned in her list, is fully American. For better or for worse, Guam’s American identity is […]
A Swindled Future: The Cost of the National Debt
From slaughtered schoolchildren to draconian abortion bans, there is much to deplore in our political present. Daily headlines are littered with stupidity, cruelty, dysfunction, and death. Such a disturbing picture makes it easy to dismiss less tangible issues—like the $31 trillion national debt—as mere distractions. But the government’s profligate ways are no longer a theoretical […]
The Quiet Menace of Court Packing
The Supreme Court has a credibility problem: a 40% approval rating, to be precise. Such a number is par for the course for President Joe Biden (whose approval hovers at 41%) and enviable for Congress, whose approval rose to a paltry 23% this year. But for the Supreme Court, 40% approval marks a seismic 19-point […]
Ten Years Post-Reform, How Are California’s Congressional Maps Still Unfair?
What a success story for California! After decades of Democrats and Republicans in the state legislature rigging Congressional maps through gerrymandering, citizens finally came together in 2008 to pass Prop 11, and in 2010 to pass Prop 20, putting redistricting in the hands of a bipartisan citizen commission. Once and for all, California had fair […]
The Haitian Migrant Crisis: Business As Usual For US Border Policy?
Why do we see brutal images and aggressive tactics against immigrants under the Biden Administration? Is US immigration policy just going to be a continuation of the Trump Era? 38-year-old Joanne Joseph told the New York Times that life in Haiti was “a struggle every day.” An immigrant, she feels safe and secure as she […]
What the Coronavirus Can Teach Us About Gun Violence
Only three years ago, mass shootings seemed to make national headlines nearly once a month. Gun control was at the center of the American political landscape as advocacy groups such as March for Our Lives (MFOL) emerged and sparked debates over gun control on the national level. However, as the coronavirus pandemic has consumed the […]