Autiello: Will True Christianity Please Stand Up?
Nick Autiello, Contributor
The notion that homosexuality is a sin and un-Christian is one that is less than a hundred years old. It is wrong, and has no basis in scriptural or historical reality.
SASSO: The Coming New Year
James Sasso, Associate Editor
As the tumultuous 2011 comes down to its final day, this column could contain an obnoxious summary of the year’s extraordinary events. Rather than once again discussing the protests around the world, the death of Osama Bin Laden, Fukushima, America’s political ineptitude, Europe’s demise or the increasingly frightful weather patterns, here I attempt to predict what 2012 holds in store.
SASSO: Kicking the Can
James Sasso, Associate Editor
For one of the first times in his tenure as Speaker, John Boehner has made a statement with which every American, Republican or Democrat, should fully agree; the two-month Senate bipartisan extension of the payroll tax cut fails to fix the nation’s problems sufficiently. Providing a short-term band-aid to a long-term dilemma contradicts what a responsible government should accomplish, but fits the pattern of contemporary American politicking.
CIOCCI: A Foolish Consistency
Mitt Romney is guilty of serial hypocrisy, Newt Gingrich is guilty of being a public intellectual constantly scrutinized by the media and others, and Ron Paul never ceases to remind me about one of my favorite quotes from Ralph Waldo Emerson’s Essays: “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines.”
AKMAN: Jon Huntsman’s Meaningless Campaign
Josh Akman, Columnist
Jon Huntsman did not participate in the CNN Debate in Las Vegas on Tuesday night. Short of his family and small (and getting smaller) campaign staff, no one really noticed. In a bizarre and counterproductive effort to impress New Hampshire voters Huntsman skipped the debate to protest Nevada moving its caucus ahead of New Hampshire’s, which has always been the nation’s first primary. It’s bizarre because no one else skipped the debate. It’s counterproductive because right now, Jon Huntsman is polling 6% in New Hampshire.
SASSO: The 99% Rising
James Sasso
Associate Editor
For the past month a movement has grown out of Zuccoti Park in New York with the potential to grab at the very heart of America’s problems. “We are the 99%” is not simply a catchy phrase used by frustrated jobless Americans , but a commentary on the disgraceful economic inequality that has arisen in the United States since the 1970s.
CUSICK: Can You Feel the Freedom?
John Cusick, Contributor
From January 10th to 20th, a group of John Jay College students and I went to Cairo, Egypt with the group called Youth International Empowerment, on what was the group’s first trip, to facilitate social empowerment workshops with high school students. Although most of my group had to leave on the 20th due to the revolution, we stayed in contact with many of the Egyptian students with whom we had worked.
WINN: The Aristocratic Founding of the United States
As Egyptians fight for democracy, a closer look at the world’s first democratic republic. The United States Constitution reveals not a wholehearted endorsement of democracy but a group of Founding Fathers with a deep mistrust of completely democratic institutions. The protests in Egypt offer the promise of increased democratization. However, simply installing a new regime based on the majority sentiment of the moment could result in a regime far worse than Mubarak’s.
MARIN: The Comedy of Democracy and the Tragedy of Satire
Paul Marin, Columnist
Tragically, today’s democracy is colored with comic “relief” and a plethora of opportunities for satire. Between Colbert’s testimony before Congress, Stewart’s Rally on the Hill and the slew of O’Donnell caricatures, current politicians and their watchdogs in late-night t.v. legitimize the mockery of a government of, by and for the people.
HOLLINSHEAD: The Consequences of Congressional Term Limits
Kevin Hollinshead, Columnist
Proponents of term limits want to take the easy way out by essentially outsourcing their ability to oust incumbents (read: giving up power). Yet, every American eligible to vote has the opportunity to turn this system around. In the end, it’s on us.
LIFSON: Greene Win Highlights Need for Ballot Reform
Matthew Lifson, Columnist
The most reasonable explanation for Alvin Greene’s bizarre coup in the South Carolina Democratic primary: his name appeared first on the ballot.
PETERSON: WikiDemocracy in America
Tim Peterson, Associate Editor
As online tools like the California Budget Challenge and YouCut grow in popularity, do they portend a purer representative democracy?
SIEFF: Poise and the President
Adam Sieff, Columnist
With oil flooding the Gulf and many Americans still out of work, the next two to three months will test President Obama’s deliberative style and his focus on economic recovery. He must not abandon either.
PETERSON: A Native’s Reaction to CA Prop. 14
Tim Peterson, Associate Editor
There’s no shortage of opinion surrounding open primaries. But does any of it matter right now?
PETERSON: Time to Press Refresh on Congress
Tim Peterson, Associate Editor
The first in series of posts discussing the role of politicians. They claim to be incrementalists even though their functions are reactionary; they deign to preserve rather than progress, even to the point when that which they are preserving is themselves, to our detriment.
CUEVAS: A Force to be Reckoned With
Jesse-Justin Cuevas, Independent
The power of the editorial is assessed by Jesse-Justin Cuevas, a recent college graduate and aspiring journalist.
CUEVAS: America the Despot?
Jesse-Justin Cuevas, Liberal
When Alexis de Tocqueville visited the United States in 1830 he found a profound fascination with American politics. Following his visit, he wrote Democracy in America’s first volume. In it, Tocqueville reveres the American system for its positive valuation of participation that manifests in the practice of townships and municipal institutions.
MARIN: Basescu Mows Down His Opponents
An exclusive peek at the effects of Romania’s presidential election.
SIEG: How Democratic Is the EU?
Emily Sieg, Staff Writer Ideology: Social Democrat | Writing From: Washington, DC In the wake of World War II and in response to Cold War tensions, major European governments came [...]
BARON: Blunt Equality — Marijuana, Marriage, and Referenda
Maine decriminalizes marijuana but bans gay marriage — what happened and why.
SIEFF: The Useful Illusion of Majority Rule
The brilliance of Lincoln’s words aside, the United States has never been a nation of or by the People.