Domestic News
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Feuding over New Federalism: The Supreme Court’s Role in “Laboratories of Democracy”
With an inclination towards New Federalism, the United States Supreme Court seems poised to disregard substantive due process and disrupt the balance of federal and state power.
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The Rise of Christian Nationalism in America
A rise in Christian nationalism has affected our nation’s democracy. The movement's hateful rhetoric has shaped the politics and communities that don’t align with its values.
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From Mourning to Martyrdom: How Charlie Kirk’s Funeral Revealed MAGA’s Future
Charlie Kirk’s funeral in late September served as more than a memorial service. The event showed just how intertwined Christianity and Trump’s MAGA base have become. While Christianity and conservatism’s overlaps are not a new trend, they are much more intense and opposite to the foundational concept of the separation of church and state that is so integral to American democracy.
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Rural America Neglected Yet Again Under the One Big Beautiful Bill
Medicaid cuts, the allowed expiration of the Affordable Care Act, and other facets of Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill threaten to cut millions in funds from those receiving proper health care. Rural communities, many of which voted for Trump, will be disproportionately affected.
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Who Is The Democrats' Secret Weapon in 2028?
Assessing what direction the Democratic Party must go in order to reclaim the White House from the GOP.
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Medals for a Massacre
The slaughter of innocents is not worthy of commemoration with Medals of Honor. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s refusal to revoke this honor for the soldiers present at Wounded Knee is a display of blinding patriotism at the expense of historical accuracy and dignity.
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How Erika Kirk Turns Grief Into Her Version of Women’s Liberation
Erika Kirk is using her recent publicity from Charlie Kirk’s recent death to manipulate her audience and project her idea of women's “liberation” onto them.
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Does Tylenol Actually Increase Risks of Autism?
With recent claims from President Donald Trump about links between Tylenol use by pregnant women and increased risk of autism, questions over fact-checking public officials who make public health announcements have heightened. Should government officials be held more accountable for making false medical claims?
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Be Birch Bayh
As Senator, Birch Bayh authored two successful amendments to the Constitution. No amendment authored since him has passed. Let’s change that.
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Ignore ‘Protect the Children’ Hysterics — MAGA is an Anti-Child, Anti-Future Movement
Despite the movement’s supposed ‘pro-life’ foundations, MAGA supports an administration that has exercised severe political violence towards children at home and abroad.
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The Disappearing Teacher Pipeline: What’s at Stake for Virginia’s Classrooms
Classrooms are suffering under teacher quality and quantity, and proposals to cut federal teacher preparation programs threaten to worsen the issue — Virginians are looking to their next Governor to turn things around.
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Democracy’s Defense: How Due Process Protects Democratic Governance
Discussion of recent events have often centered around the term “due process.” Understanding the term and its implications for our democracy are crucial for its survival; far from being solely a legal protection, due process is an essential safeguard against authoritarianism.
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Grappling with Gun Violence in the Wake of Charlie Kirk’s Assassination
Celebrating the death of Kirk doesn’t dismantle his harmful ideology — instead, it normalizes violence as a political tool.
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The Price of Populism: How the Big Beautiful Bill Targets Students, not Schools
President Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” reimagines higher education not as a public good but as a battlefield, wielding endowment taxes and student loan restrictions as weapons against elite universities. Doing so punishes middle-income students most of all, trading their American Dream for fleeting political victories.
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When Executive Power Means No Accountability
Only nine months later, Americans have all but abandoned the brief class consciousness that emerged after the murder of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Despite the country moving on, the cultural and legal issues this moment illuminated still persist. How do we solve them? And how do we move forward
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Where Have the Democrats Gone?
Democrats are facing criticism, but this time it comes from within their own party. With Republicans dominating the political sphere, people are urging the Democrats to step up and toughen up.
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The Texas Tripwire
The Texas redistricting effort is a blatant power grab that violates the democratic principles this country is supposed to abide by. Not only is it an indicator of the declining health of the American Republic, it ushers in a cascade of further gerrymandering, undercutting the voices of both Democrats and Republicans around the country.
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Shutting Down Isn't Reform: How Public-Private Partnerships Let Us Strip Down Government Smarter
The recent federal shutdown displays how abrupt pauses on government programs can create widespread harm without always delivering reform. If we want a leaner, more efficient government, reform must come through precision tools like public-private partnerships, and not total shutdowns.
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Not Being Republicans isn’t Enough for the Democrats to Win Back Voters
Even as the GOP embraces authoritarianism and accelerates wealth transfers to the rich, the Democratic Party’s time-worn message isn’t proving an effective counter.
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Examining Virginia's Dysfunctional Republican Ticket
In a time where MAGA seems more united than ever, Winsome Earle-Sears and John Reid, Virginia’s candidates for Governor and Lieutenant Governor, pose a striking contrast.
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Don and John: President Trump Looks to Leave His Mark on the Kennedy Legacy
More than half a century after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, President Donald Trump took the Oath of Office for his second term as President of the United States. Only weeks into his term, President Trump has sought to make an indelible mark on the Kennedy name and legacy of the late president, with the ultimate goal of bridging the gap between two figures synonymous with American history for different reasons.
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The Current Case for the ERA
Recent rollbacks on womens’ rights create an atmosphere that necessitates the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment to uphold gender equality in the United States.
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The Undemocratic Dismissal of Jim Ryan Cannot be Normalized
Jim Ryan’s coerced resignation sets a dangerous precedent for the future of American democracy. Going forward, it’s critically important that students, staff, and the whole of the University make their voices heard.
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What the Trump administration’s battle with Harvard means for the future of democracy
Trump has weaponized the federal government in a multi-front assault on some of the nation's best-known and most prestigious universities, particularly Harvard. However, through its resistance, the school has shown other universities—and potentially other parts of civil society —how to fight back.
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Trump’s Three-Pronged Assault on Free Expression
Our country is facing an unprecedented assault on free expression. Trump’s attacks on the press and both individuals and institutions in higher education are troubling, to say the least.