Academic Perspective

The New York Times broke a big story last month when it published its findings from a survey of Tea Party supporters. The “attitudes of those in the movement have been known largely anecdotally,” wrote Zerninke and Thee-Brenan, the authors of the exposé. The media depiction of the Tea Party hasn’t been particularly favorable, partially [...]

“To make [one] covet a thing, it is only necessary to make the thing difficult to obtain,” wrote Mark Twain in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, an American classic. The Bush administration’s approach to marijuana makes one thing clear: it did not heed Sawyer’s advice. Drugs are often a taboo subject. Very few are willing to [...]

“Our health care system is in need of major reform, but we need to go more in the direction of free enterprise and free market principles,” said Congressman Jimmy Duncan (R-TN). Tea party supporters, vocal opponents of what they call “ObamaCare”, echo the same sentiment: health care should be a free market. Democrats have taken [...]

The recent heavy snowfall in the Washington D.C. area has given rise to some alarmingly naive comments from conservative pundits and Republican senators. America has come to expect the kind of shaky logic being used from Limbaugh, Hannity, and the rest of the conservative media cohort, but it is frankly distressing to hear Senators Jim [...]

With the first month of 2010 coming to a close, we’re back to present the final chapter of the Year in Review 2009. Pop culture and the media. 2009 was a year of media frenzies. The White House engaged in a battle against Fox news, which it described as more like “talk-radio” than a news organization. [...]

With a new president, Barack Obama, Congress set out to tackle the president’s two biggest goals: to repair the economy and pass healthcare reform. A year later, new healthcare bills have been passed and the economy is on its way to recovery. But all these changes happened with no shortage of fanfare. 2009 was marked by raucous healthcare debate, media controversies, and economic turmoil. [...]

Every December 25th, Christians in America celebrate the biggest religious holiday of the year, Christmas. And much of non-Christian America celebrates along with them, albeit a little guiltily. Coming from an atheist family, I am one of the many non-Christians who celebrates Christmas every December. We don’t believe in Jesus. We don’t believe in the [...]

2009 was not exactly the most memorable year. If anything, it’s notable for being one of the gloomiest years of late. Bank accounts are drying up, foreclosures are through the roof, and unemployment is the highest its been in nearly three decades. In all parts of the world, there aren’t many who can look back [...]

Since it became clear that the U.S. was in the midst of an economic recession in 2008, the federal government has invested trillions to promote economic stability and, eventually, growth. These investments can be classified into two primary categories: bank bailouts and broader economic stimulus. [...]

Ads on every TV, radio, billboard, newspaper and magazine all say the same thing come December—it’s the most wonderful time of the year. It’s wonderful for everyone; wonderful for the companies that sell presents that then advertise them, wonderful for the various media outlets that get money for those advertisements, wonderful for the parents that get [...]