California’s Congressional Contest

The Inland Empire was hit hard by the 2008 recession with rows upon rows of houses displaying “for sale” signs. In this time of desperation, voters found a sense of hope and security in re-electing their beloved Republican Congressman David Dreier, the then chairman of the House Rules Committee. Dreier’s 2012 decision to retire from … Read more

For Democrats, It’s Not as Bad as it Looks

  As it looks more and more likely that the Republicans will seize control of the Senate on Tuesday (if not in January after runoff elections in Georgia and Louisiana), many Democrats are losing hope that any of their political priorities will be accomplished in the next two years. Given a deeply unpopular president, a … Read more

Learning its Own Limits: Why America Should Stay Away

In months, ISIS has catapulted from a troublesome al-Qaeda offshoot to a dominant military power in Iraq and Syria. Their rapid takeover of territory, bombastic declarations of a caliphate, and horrendous violence towards minorities troubles the watching world. The United States, concerned as it is with any power struggle in the Middle East, is contemplating how … Read more

Is ISIS Losing its Edge?

“Do not believe ISIL is ‘manageable,’” U.S. senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) warned her constituents via Twitter on September 3. “To defeat this enemy, we will have to risk Americans who will be operating in the fight,” House Intelligence Committee Chairperson Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) added in a TIME article the following the day. These calls from … Read more

The Buddy Cianci Show

[PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND] If history repeats itself first as tragedy, and second as farce, then what happens the third time around? Come November 4, the residents of this hip, but rough-around-the-edges city could very well find out, as they go to the polls in one of the most entertaining, and frankly most bizarre, mayoral elections … Read more