Four years ago, Barack Obama was the epitome of “cool” as far as politics were concerned, and his primary opponent, Hillary Clinton, was “politics as usual.” From the mystical “O” logo to a hope poster which played with sharp contrasts to capture one’s attention – and the youth vote, Barack Obama’s nonchalant professionalism came across … Read more
From “Sam Spade at Starbucks”: It’s hard not to feel inspired by all these idealists, but their service religion does have some shortcomings. In the first place, many of these social entrepreneurs think they can evade politics. They have little faith in the political process and believe that real change happens on the ground beneath … Read more
In 1954, French-born historian Jacques Barzun wrote, “Whoever wants to know the heart and mind of America had better learn baseball.” Baseball, once regarded as our nation’s pastime, has always been a representation of American culture and the values of hard work and opportunity for mobility. As a result of the steroid era, however, baseball has … Read more
The strategy of imposing increasingly punitive economic sanctions has long been the cornerstone of U.S. policy towards Iran and other rogue nations, ranging from Iraq and Libya to North Korea. However, the fundamental question of whether this policy will tend towards a favorable outcome remains too often unexamined. Beyond the inherent challenges of collective action … Read more
It’s easy to define a Democrat. At least, that’s the commonly held belief. We drink lattes and worship Paul Krugman as a god amongst men. We believe that the only fault of government is when it does not regulate enough, and that the best thing we can do is legislate the change that does not … Read more
It’s easy to define a Democrat. At least, that’s the commonly held belief. We drink lattes and worship Paul Krugman as a god amongst men. We believe that the only fault of government is when it does not regulate enough, and that the best thing we can do is legislate the change that does not … Read more
With one month of the English Premier League left, the championship race seems to be all but over. With only six games remaining, Manchester United look set to claim their 20th Premiership title and 5th in the last 6 years as they have opened up an eight point gap over self-destructing second place Manchester City, … Read more
5:47PM: Zeenia Framroze here at the Kennedy School’s Forum featuring a public address by The Honorable Dilma Rousseff, President of Brazil. The event looks packed – tickets were lotteried amongst the Harvard community, and it looks like everyone who got a ticket has shown up. I’m here with Sarah Siskind, who will be analyzing the … Read more
Jordan comparisons have come to define, and dog, a number of careers in the NBA. The legacy of 23 follows every shot Kobe misses, every playoff mistake Lebron makes. After all, the gold standard is not Russell’s 11, but Jordan’s 6. However, Jordan comparisons permeate much farther than those nominated into the “Greatest-of-all-time” sideshow. The … Read more
When Harvard announced that Army ROTC would return to campus, joining its Navy counterpart, the campus seemed to give little notice to the news. Granted, even the protests against the Naval ROTC program’s return had been quite tepid, especially compared to the raucous building occupations and protests that occurred in 1969. Yet, it seems that … Read more