In President Obama’s 2012 State of the Union Address, he called on “every state to require that all students stay in high school until they graduate or turn 18.”[1] This is not a new suggestion. The New York Times reports that “21 states and the District of Columbia have compulsory attendance until 18, and 11 … Continue reading
Category Archives: America
America / Education / Events / Politics / Rule of Law
Creationism: Does it belong in Indiana’s Public School System?
Indiana legislators are moving forward on a bill that would allow the teaching of Creationism in the public school system. The GOP-sponsored bill has passed out of the Indiana Senate Education Committee, thus sparking controversy nation-wide about the teaching of Creationism –and Evolution. Two prevalent ideas about the origin of life are that of Creationism … Continue reading
Health Care Reform: Recent Poll Shows Signs of Confusion
HealthDay and Harris Interactive conducted a recent poll measuring current support for the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Their recent results were not too surprising: 36% of adults say they want the law repealed, 25% want to see the law modified and 21% want the law to remain as is. The apparent divide has been linked … Continue reading
America / Economy / Foreign Policy / Politics
Forgotten in the Coverage of the US Presidential Election: two other key elections in the Western Hemisphere
As per normal in a US presidential election year, there has been a plethora of political coverage broadcasted on most any news channel so far in 2012. While this does not mean the public is paying attention to the seemingly unending political coverage (some viewers have even expressed their dissatisfaction with it), there has been … Continue reading
America / Culture / Politics / Regulation / Tax
Corporate Person: A Legal Fiction and the Reality it Represents
There has been a significant amount of discussion and disagreement about the rights held by corporations. Citizens United has equated individual speech and expression rights the speech rights of an individual with a “corporate identity.” Occupy Wall Street has demanded that corporations be striped of the rights of individuals, and the status as a “corporate … Continue reading
Too Little, Too Late? Immigration Rhetoric and the Urgency for Civility
This past Thursday and Friday, Miami played host to the Hispanic Leadership Network’s national conference, “Inspiring Action.” Hundreds upon hundreds of Florida GOP voters flocked to the Doral Resort and Spa for the exclusive opportunity to meet with and hear Governor Romney and Speaker Gingrich, among others, make their case to this diverse audience. Florida, … Continue reading
Return of the Merit Pay Debate
With major American cities such as New York and Chicago toying with the idea of installing (and in some cases reinstalling) merit based payment for teachers, the many “failures” of merit pay experiemnts will no doubt be brought to the forefront of the debate once again. Proponents of merit pay trumpet the importance of incentives, … Continue reading
America / Colbert Report / Culture / Politics
The Political Power of Satire
The year was 1968. Tensions were boiling as America was still in Vietnam and the Civil Rights movement was at its peak. Patriotism turned to cynicism as hopes for change were turning desperate. Pat Paulsen, meanwhile, was gaining fan fair as a comedian who appeared regularly on the show “The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour” from … Continue reading
America / Economy / Energy / Regulation / Uncategorized
Climate Change and Public Heath: The Truth and the Myth
In the APHA Seminar #4: “Climate Change in Public Health”, real solutions were proposed by a panel of five environmental change experts for the impact of the changing environment. Jonathon Patz, director of the School of Public Health at University of Wisconsin-Madison, started the discussion, dictating the known issues of climate changes. His outline consisted … Continue reading
The “What If” Game
Yesterday morning at the Senate Budget Committee hearing, we saw yet again the same old run-around arguments that seem to be the only support behind the stimulus bill. Research presented by two of the three witnesses, Dr. Alan Blinder and Dr. Joel Prakken, attempted to model what would have happened if the government had not … Continue reading
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