Brief #50 – Elections & Politics
By Ian Milden
While the start of the presidential race tends to get most of the election coverage around this time of year, there are a couple of important elections in the early months of 2023. This brief will discuss two of these races and why they matter.
Brief #165 – Foreign Policy
By Abran C
On Janurary 8, 2022 thousands of far right insurrectionists stormed the Brazilian congress and supreme court in an event reminiscent of the January 6, 2021 capitol attack in the United States. In addition to the similar time of year, the reason behind the insurrection in Brazil is eerily similar to the attack on the US capital in that supporters of the outgoing president claim the election was stolen.
Brief #78 – Technology Policy
By Mindy Spatt
If anything is clear from Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter, it is that he is ill equipped to be the arbiter of who or what should be banned from the platform. He appears to be the last person on earth anyone would choose for the job. Former CEO Jack Dorsey had no particular qualifications to do so, but his decisions didn’t garner the publicity or public dismay Musk’s have.
Brief #152 – Health and Gender
By Geoffrey Small
On January 2nd, 2023 NFL Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin suffered from cardiac arrest after a tackle to the chest during a Monday-night football game with the Cincinnati Bengals.
As he laid motionless on the field for approximately ten minutes, first responders applied CPR, an AED (automated external defibrillation), oxygen, and an intravenous solution in order to prevent brain damage that can occur after cardiac arrest.
Brief #199 – Civil Rights
By Rodney A. Maggay
On January 6, 2021 rioters supporting then – President Donald J. Trump broke through the barricades and stormed the U.S. Capitol building.
During the breach of the Capitol building Congress had been in session opening official electoral ballots submitted by each state for the 2020 presidential election and certifying the totals.
Brief #59 – Education
By Steve Piazza
The U.S. Supreme Court recently heard arguments relating to the use of Affirmative Action, or policies designed to reduce discrimination during the college admission process. The focus was on two cases: Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, No. 20-1199, and Students for Fair Admissions v. University of North Carolina, No. 21-707.
Foreign Policy Brief #163 – Foreign Policy
By Ian Milden
After nearly two months of negotiating with the far-right religious parties, Benjamin Netanyahu reached an agreement with them to become Prime Minister again.
Brief #151 – Environment Policy
By Todd J. Broadman
Since the beginning of its operations in 2010, the Keystone pipeline has experienced 22 oil spills totaling 26,000 barrels of tar sands oil leaked into the surrounding land and water. The pipeline traverses approximately 2,700 miles, starting from the tar sands of Alberta, Canada and terminating at refinery locations in the Midwest and Oklahoma. The pipeline’s owner and operator is TC Energy.
Brief #162 – Foreign Policy
By Yelena Korshunov
Last week the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, addressed the US Congress in a persuasive, emotional speech highlighting Americans’ support in protecting Ukraine and world democracy. Here are some memorable excerpts from his speech.
Brief #49 – Elections & Politics
By Maureen Darby-Serson
On Monday, December 19th, 2022, the January 6th Committee announced that it would be sending several criminal referrals, including referrals for former President Donald Trump, to the Department of Justice. Donald Trump was referred for at least four criminal charges: obstructing an official proceeding, defrauding the United States, making false statements, and assisting or aiding an insurrection.