Op-Eds
Op-Eds
Cablegate's real story
Now that some of the fervor over the latest WikiLeaks releases has subsided, many of us are left questioning where the organization stands in the political sphere. WikiLeaks and its editor Julian Assange are often inconsistent — at times anarchistic, at times liberal-minded or even libertarian. Judging from recent developments, however, what has really […]
Op-Eds
Freedom of speech as psychological warfare
“Thank God for Dead Soldiers” and “You’re Going to Hell” were the only things that Albert Snyder could see during the funeral of his only son, Matthew – who was killed in Iraq in 2006. These messages were displayed on signs outside the funeral by Reverend Fred W. Phelps and his Westboro Baptist […]
Op-Eds
Whistle blowing versus fighting windmills
Even if you don’t regularly keep up with the news, it would still be pretty difficult to have not heard about the recent WikiLeaks fiasco. Hundreds of thousands of documents have been released, on everything from personal assessments of foreign leaders to the names of informants. To those who are opposed to the wars in […]
Op-Eds
The TSA does not care about you at all
We’ve all seen those YouTube videos of Transportation Security Administration officers molesting and groping passengers, or by now have experienced it first-hand on the way home for Thanksgiving break. Why have we all of a sudden given up on our civil liberties for a false sense of “security” and “safety”? Getting on a plane now […]
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Why our foreign occupations will not work
A strong military presence in Iraq and Afghanistan is not going to hinder terrorists. On the contrary, it will only strengthen them, while costing us American lives and dollars. President Obama needs to end the occupation of both countries as soon as possible. I fear that even the quickest withdrawal won’t be soon enough though, […]
Op-Eds
Nations should fight wars, not contractors
An article published last week, “The uses of an extra-jurisdictional army,” argued for wider use of private military groups like Xe (formerly known as Blackwater). While I agree that unacceptable violence against civilians occurs worldwide every day, mercenaries are not the answer. Relying on private military contractors, or PMCs, will only put more lives at […]
Op-Eds
The common misconceptions of Walmart
“I refuse to shop at Walmart because they underpay their workers.” This is often the common reaction when one thinks of Walmart. Not only that, but they have low labor standards, they have horrible environmental standards, they wipe out local businesses, etc. These are just a handful of reasons why some people refuse to shop […]
Op-Eds
History shows women don’t vote their gender
Every time a prominent female Republican candidate (not a Democratic one) comes out of nowhere to win a nomination for a prominent office, the talking heads go gaga. They talk about how appealing she is to women, and how female voters will flock to her because of her message and enthusiasm. The only problem is […]
Op-Eds
The conscience of a political moderate
Last Tuesday, the Democratic Party took a “shellacking” from the GOP, which enjoyed the largest House victory since 1948. Most governorships went Republican, too, while the Senate came nail-bitingly close to a 50/50 split. “On fiscal and social policy, polling data shows a major overlap between the Tea Party and the middle class, UR English […]
Op-Eds
Child labor and world economic progress
Recently, I’ve been bombarded with endless arguments against free trade, and one popular argument is that it leads to lower labor standards. In most parts of the world where the manufacturing sector has increased in size, child labor is employed to do much of the work in factories. More often than not, “child labor” brings […]
