Spidey Trailer Over-Analysis

Jack Ciolli of the comic book Atlas and Nick Ciolli of the Loyola Phoenix go overly in depth on the new Amazing Spider-Man 2 trailer!

Stigmatizing Mental Illness

Pro-gun supporters disproportionately blame mental illness for tragedies

The Organization Behind the Million Muslim March

What exactly is the American Muslim Political Action Committee?

Syrian Chemical Weapons and World Involvement

Should the world act in Syria?

The Baseball Hall of Fame's PED Dilemma

Should PED users gain entrance into Cooperstown?         

Reince Priebus and the CNN/NBC Scuffle

 Did the RNC make the right decision?

Representation without Representation

             It seems to begin earlier and earlier every year.  In June of even-numbered years, a hard, heavy, and steady artillery fire of political campaign ads begin to batter the American people.  The barrage continues until the second Tuesday of November, when citizens drag themselves to their polling places and cast votes for their Congressional representatives and senators.  Once these Congress members win election they travel to Washington, D.C. to serve the interests of their constituents.

If I Were a Betting Man

Sports, professional in particular, are likely the most popular form of entertainment in the world today.  Sure, everybody likes movies, music, and television but people are incredibly passionate about sports; they live and die by results of their favorite team’s games.  Professional sports today are more popular than they have ever been.  That being said, two questions dominate the wide world for sports:  should athletes really make as much money as they do, and are these sports safe.  But another question lingers in the background: should we be able to gamble on these sports?

An Argument Which Does Not Exist

           This week featured two happenings in the drive to legalize same-sex marriage in the United States.  First, the Supreme Court finally heard cases concerning the constitutionality marriage restrictions and second, Facebook was hit by a wave of profile picture changes to a red equals sign.  One of those matters a great deal, one hardly matters at all.  I’ll let you decide which is which.  My distaste for internet activism aside, same-sex marriage is the topic of the hour and I would be amiss if I did not add my two cents.

Roadblocks to Effective Government

Citizens of the United States often complain that their Congressional representatives and senators focus on ensuring continual reelection over effectively governing the nation.  Desire to maintain political power discourages members of Congress from tackling politically sensitive and often times vitally important issues, resulting in the crippling gridlock we have experienced over the past decade.  While it seems like an easy fix to this problem is to create term limits for representatives and senators, effecting change in this area is not as easy as it sounds.

The Inception of World War One

             At the Paris Peace Conference in 1919 after the end of formal fighting in World War One, Britain and France, over the objection of the United States, forced Germany to accept a war guilt clause.  This clause put the complete responsibility for dragging Europe into the war in 1914 on Germany, forcing the state to accept draconian punishments.  These included complete disarmament, significant land concessions, and substantial war reparations.  While the German delegation had little choice but to sign it, the reality is that Germany did not prove to be the state most at fault for the descent into war. 

World War One and Total War

            While World War One may not have been the first global war (the Seven Years War featured fighting in Europe, North America, Central Asia, and numerous naval skirmishes all across the globe), it was certainly the first total war.  To be considered a total war, a war must have profound impact on the daily lives of nearly every citizen in the combatant states.  Their social, political, economic, and cultural lives become directed by the state in such a manner that it benefits the military effort.

Implications of the Second Industrial Revolution

            Europe in the late nineteenth century experienced a remarkable boom of industrial, technological, and educational advancement as well as significant electoral progress.  These transformations primarily came about as a result of the Second Industrial Revolution and the important social changes which occurred in its wake.  The three decades proceeding the turn of the twentieth century, however, planted the seeds for a wave of cultural malaise, social tensions, and movement away from traditional liberal ideals.  These downsides primarily occurred due to the sudden and abrupt manner of the changes.

Please God, Don't Let It Be Rubio

            While most Americans experience election fatigue weeks before the election even occurs, the media never ceases to speculate about the next presidential election.  Who will run?  Will the demographic alignments change?  Who will win?  It is fun to ask these questions, but difficult to answer them due to the sheer temporal distance between now and 2016.  This has not stopped some media outlets and commentators from pegging Florida senator Marco Rubio as the front runner for the Republican nomination.  If the Republican Party wants to lose in 2016, they should run Rubio.  If they want to win, they should run Jon Huntsman. 

State of the Union Response

            In 2010, “Despite our hardships, our Union is strong.”  In 2011, “…and the state of our Union is strong…”  In 2012, “…and the state of our Union will always be strong…” and in 2013, “…we can say with renewed confidence that the state of our Union is stronger…”

The Death of Native Belief

            The societies of the Americas and Oceania in the pre-European contact era had numerous different religions, nearly a unique belief system to each individual tribe.  These belief systems had existed for hundreds, if not thousands, of years—generations of believers linking the present to the distant past.  The culture shock of even the initial contact must have been extreme; a huge and abrupt paradigm shift which immediately challenged age old traditions.

Small Government is Dead

            It is not uncommon for conservatives to be portrayed in the media—typically popular media, but occasionally the news media as well—as stupid, ignorant, or racist; often a combination of all three.  (For the record, I distinguish a difference between “stupid” and “ignorant”.  “Stupid” implies an inability to understand something while “ignorant” implies the ability to understand something, but the willful refusal to understand.)  This characterization is, of course, not true.  While it is nearly undeniable that some conservatives are stupid, ignorant, or racist, there are likely just as many liberals who are stupid, ignorant, or racist.  However, there are inherent flaws in the typical ideology which many conservatives subscribe to; one of which is their insistence on small government.

Not Even Drops in the Bucket

            In the quest to eliminate the budget deficit and reduce the national debt both political parties have proposed numerous solutions.  It is typical for Republicans to suggest spending cuts and for Democrats to suggest the increase of certain tax rates.  While both parties seem to be firmly ingrained in these positions, the reality of the situation is that a combination of selected spending cuts and tax increases will be required to find a meaningful solution.  Additionally, there appears to be a courage gap between the Republican Party and the Democratic Party; while Democrats are fully prepared to propose tax increases on the wealthy, Republicans tend to expound on the need for spending cuts but avoid specifics.  The reason for this is that the only way for spending cuts alone to solve the economic crisis is to deliver deep cuts to Social Security, Medicare, and the military; the first two tantamount to political suicide and the last against the party’s other positions. 

Programming Poll

I'm thinking about slimming down my post length to generate more content. The plan would be three posts a week of about five hundred words, with at least two posts a month of my typical length (about one thousand words). Just want to do a quick poll.

The Tea Party, Occupy, and a Gun Rally

            The First Amendment guarantees Americans five freedoms, chief among them freedom of speech and religion.  The fourth freedom mentioned in the amendment is the “freedom to peaceably assemble,” essentially ensuring that Americans are free to form protest rallies, provided they do not spill out into violence.  This right belongs to everybody in the nation, on both sides of the political spectrum, and is a powerful tool when conducted correctly.  In recent years, there are two notable examples of its use, one from of the two prominent ideologies, as well as an interest group which should call for a national rally.