Oct 10, 2013 | Conservativism, Economic Policy, History, mic, Political Ideologies, Political Parties, Republicans
Published: mic (October 10, 2013) Before you ask, I present the definition of "snollygoster," courtesy of TheFreeDictionary.com: One, especially a politician, who is guided by personal advantage rather than by consistent, respectable principles. While not born of this crisis, snollygoster is an antique in the American political lexicon, tracing as far back as the 1840s and allegedly inspired by...
Oct 2, 2013 | Conservativism, Democrats, Economic Policy, History, Liberalism, Libertarianism, mic, Political Ideologies, Political Parties, Republicans
Originally Published: PolicyMic (March 8, 2012) Republished on PolicyMic (October 2, 2013) as "Government Shutdown Question: Would the Founding Fathers Fight Liberalism?" Editor's Note:Although this article was originally published on March 8, 2012, we felt it would be valuable to offer the perspective of a PhD student in history on the ideological debate accompanying the current government...
Oct 1, 2013 | Conservativism, Economic Policy, History, mic, Political Ideologies, Political Parties, Republicans
Published: mic (October 1, 2013) It would be nice if Republicans would occasionally listen to the words of their party's first president. Abraham Lincoln, February 27, 1860: "Under all these circumstances, do you really feel yourselves justified to break up this Government unless such a court decision as yours is, shall be at once submitted to as a conclusive and final rule of political action?...
Sep 13, 2013 | Foreign Policy, History, mic, Military-Industrial Complex/Security State, President Obama
Published: mic (September 13, 2013) Political insight can come from the darndest places. On this occasion, inspiration struck me in the midst of insomnia-induced light reading. My nocturnal literary companion, Kristin L. Hoganson's classic historical monograph Fighting for American Manhood, was discussing the various ways in which Victorian ideals on masculinity influenced America's imperialist...
Sep 11, 2013 | Foreign Policy, History, mic, Military-Industrial Complex/Security State, Terrorism
Published: mic (September 11, 2013) While it's a tad unorthodox to opean a political op-ed with two historical quotes, this pair strikes me as particularly prescient: 1. "They [the Union of states] will avoid the necessity of those overgrown military establishments which, under any form of government, are inauspicious to liberty, and which are to be regarded as particularly hostile to republican...
Aug 25, 2013 | Centrism, Climate Change and Other Environmental Issues, Economic Policy, Health Care Reform, History, mic, Political Ideologies, Political Parties, Republicans
Published: mic (August 25, 2013) On the centennial year of his birth, a renaissance of interest has occurred about President Richard Nixon. First came Penny Lane's documentary Our Nixon, which compiles home movies shot by the 37th president's closest aides as a way of humanizing the much-maligned "Tricky Dick." Then came the release of The Butler, which adds further nuance to Nixon's cultural...
Aug 20, 2013 | Climate Change and Other Environmental Issues, Economic Policy, History, mic, Race and Racism
Published: mic (August 20, 2013) As liberals prepare to celebrate President Benjamin Harrison's birthday today .... I'm sorry? Most people don't know that August 20 is Harrison's birthday, much less care? Well, that certainly is a pity. After all, if it wasn't for Harrison, many of the policies liberals consider so important today might have never been enacted. Indeed, it was the Harrison...
Jun 8, 2013 | Gun Control, History, mic, Political Parties, Republicans
Published: mic (June 8, 2013) In light of the recent ricin attacks on Barack Obama, Michael Bloomberg, and Mayors Against Illegal Guns, it is time for us to acknowledge an unavoidable reality: When the slippery slope fallacy is applied to politics, the consequences can be dangerous. As defined by the Nizkor Project (an organization dedicated to debunking Holocaust denial), a slippery slope...
Mar 25, 2013 | Arts and Entertainment, Education, History, mic
Published: mic (March 25, 2013) Although it's being rumored that NBC is planning on replacing Tonight Show host Jay Leno with Jimmy Fallon, Leno is still outranking his late night competitors at present. That said, I can't help but wonder who those people are, since it amazes me that no one has picked up on this hilarious (and sobering) incident. On the February 26 episode, Leno did his weekly...
Jan 21, 2013 | History, mic, President Obama, President Obama's Second Inauguration
Published: PolicyMic (January 21, 2013) "Are you going to the inauguration?" It's not an uncommon question to hear in Washington, D.C., especially when you're on the Metro in the wee hours of the morning with seemingly no other reason to be there. "Yes," I responded. "That's where I'm heading." "Really? As a spectator?" Maybe I exuded an air of professionalism in spite of myself. "No," I...