On Tuesday, the United States, Afghanistan, and the Taliban agreed to participate in peace talks in Doha, Qatar. But by Wednesday the Afghan government had pulled out of the talks and the American government remained confused and stung by the broken promise of discussion. The already rocky-road to peace represents what is to come, and how … Continue reading
For those who don’t know, absinthe is a grain alcohol of Swiss origin which is made by macerating herbs and spices, the most important of which are fennel, anise and wormwood. The first two give absinthe its characteristic licorice flavor. Wormwood imparts a bitter flavor and is the source of absinthe’s famed mystique and jade-green … Continue reading
Immigration seems to have only become a controversial issue in the last couple of years, when in reality this has been an American issue since the country was formed. Recent legislation such as the Arizona’s S.B. 1070 also gave way to hatred against people who looked of Hispanic background, regardless of their legal status in … Continue reading
I consider myself a child of the millennium. I got my first email address when I was six; my parents gave me my first cell phone when I was ten; and just a few weeks ago I played skee-ball in my living room using only my laptop and smartphone. I never expected to be a … Continue reading
The United States is the largest giver of foreign aid in the world, providing $49.5 billion in economic and military assistance in 2011. Clearly, charity is one of our strong suits. But with the slow economic recovery, and approximately $12 trillion in national debt, the fact is that we cannot afford to keep this up. … Continue reading
One of the key goals of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is extending health insurance coverage to those currently uninsured. Starting in 2014 there will be far fewer uninsured Americans and, in theory, fewer deaths and a healthier population. There is no argument that individuals with health insurance are better off than those without. Insured … Continue reading
In early June, a coalition of urban and rural politicians in the Senate banded together to pass the Farm bill, a legislative piece that distributes welfare benefits to an unlikely pair: wealthy agro-businesses and the inner-city poor. Although widely popular among constituents, a common sense look at the bill reveals serious flaws. The Senate’s version … Continue reading
5. Overlapping Renewable Energy Subsidies. Senator Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) estimates that redundancies in government spending alone amount to roughly $250 billion. That’s three times the cost of sequester cuts. Right now 23 agencies and 130 sub-agencies are in charge of some 679 renewable energy initiatives, according to the Government Accountability Office. One would think with … Continue reading
After years of taking heat from Republicans on healthcare, Democratic strategists have suggested what was once the unthinkable – embracing the oft-spurned Affordable Care Act, colloquially known as Obamacare, in the 2014 election. Key provisions of the bill are set to be implemented in January 2014, and the ACA will almost certainly again play a … Continue reading
The Bipartisan Policy Center recently hosted an event discussing the geopolitical impacts of the US’s recent tight oil boom. Tight oil, or shale oil, production has increased with the expansion of hydraulic fracturing technology used to access shale gas from shale or sandstone formations. Amidst the rallying cries of a “qualified abundance” instead of a … Continue reading
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