On student leadership
MIT students often complain about the administration, a lack of student input, and inadequate representation. We often forget, however, that our decisions can directly impact these outcomes. The upcoming Undergraduate Association presidential elections remain the best way that we, the undergraduates, can voice our opinion.
The New Political Adscape
One of the many benefits of UROPing in the Political Science Department this summer is that I get to keep a close eye on what’s happening on the campaign trail for the two contenders of the 2012 Presidential Election, Barack Obama and Mitt Romney.
On reconciling science and religion
The Tech’s religion survey covered a range of questions about the religious views of MIT students; everything from “How religious are you?” to “How religious is MIT?” and “Is religion difficult to reconcile with science?” Good questions all, but it is the last that is the most interesting.
The case of Trayvon Martin
Editor’s Note: This piece’s deadline was before the announcement of the second-degree charges against George Zimmerman were made public at 6 p.m. on April 11.
Can we finally say this thing is done?
Well, there you have it. It has been a momentous primary season with 20 nationally televised debates, countless political blunders, innumerable frontrunners, and vicious Super PAC ads. But the victor is as we always predicted: Mitt Romney.
Clarification on La Révolution Française
Two weeks ago, I wrote an article stating my opinion on a new piece of French legislation that proposed to criminalize the public denial of the events of 1915 that culminated in the deaths of many Armenians. I argued that the French government, or any other government for that matter, does not have the authority to restrict the freedom of speech and expression. The point I tried to get across with the article was that of liberty. In order to give our lives meaning, each and every one of us chooses and adopts certain doctrines, ideals, and objectives. These pervade through our lifestyle, affecting everything from the way we think, to the way we act, to the way we conduct our relations with others around us.
La Révolution Française — reprise
In 1789 the French people overturned their government in one of the bloodiest revolutions that Europe has ever seen. With it came the downfall of much of the feudal government of the past, swept away by the rise of nationalism and demands for liberty. At this time, the French coined their famous motto, “Liberté, égalité, fraternité” (liberty, equality, fraternity), which served as a potent example for the rest of Europe. Over 150 years later, France was party to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights, which have been ratified by the United Nations and the EU, respectively.
GOP Primaries take an interesting turn
Something happened in South Carolina last weekend that few people expected. While many figured that current frontrunner Mitt Romney would have difficulty in South Carolina, most people, including myself, did not expect the results to be this shocking. In a stunning turn of events, Newt Gingrich placed first in the South Carolina primary with 40.4 percent of the vote, far ahead of Romney who placed second with 27.8 percent of the vote.
Romney vs. Obama
The 2012 political horse race hasn’t disappointed so far. We currently have Mitt Romney (the “moderate”), Ron Paul (the “libertarian”), Newt Gingrich (the “Newt”), Rick Santorum (the “true” conservative), and Rick Perry (the “if-elected-President-I-would-reinvade-Iraq”).
Why the Occupy movement failed
Sparking up all over the world, the Occupy movement was one of the most popular trends of the second half of 2011. Starting with Occupy Wall Street, the movement soon spread to more than 95 cities around the globe. Before getting to its shortcomings, let’s first reexamine what the Occupy movement really is.
Oh Cain, you will be so sorely missed
Herman Cain, former frontrunner of the race for the Republican presidential nomination, announced late last week that he would be “suspending” his campaign in light of the numerous (read: many) allegations of sexual misconduct during his time as the CEO and President of the National Restaurant Association. Let’s take a moment of silence to mourn the death of his bid for the presidency and then reflect on the highlights of his campaign.
Congress needs to get its act together
Lost hopes and broken dreams: these seem to be the recurring themes with Congress nowadays. I’m sure most of you remember what happened back in August with the federal budget; if not, here’s a brief recap.
Incompetency abounds in GOP pack
I envy people like Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, who get to talk about the many political absurdities on broadcast television. Since the beginning of the debates for next year’s Republican presidential primaries, the two hosts have had daily opportunities to expose how amazingly unfit for duty some candidates are. If I wanted to enumerate all the astonishing remarks made by the candidates, I think I would have to fill up an entire edition of The Tech. Instead, what follows is a “Best Of” list covering the top three candidates, who have managed to show unparalleled creativity in the many ways they mess up. So without further ado, let’s look at our winners.
It’s all Greek (economics) to me
Let’s start with something obvious: Greece is insolvent. What this means is that it is no longer financially capable of paying off its debts. Insolvency usually occurs in one of two ways: you are either incapable of paying your debts as they are due or you own net negative assets, meaning your liabilities exceed your assets. The former is true in the case of the Hellenic Republic, where the government simply no longer has the financial power to pay off its many debts.
How hot is the cup of tea? Tea Party thoughts at MIT
The Tea Party is a very hot topic in American politics nowadays. This is especially evident in our publication, as a number of my colleagues at The Tech have published articles discussing the position of the party regularly. Depending on with whom you bring up the issue, however, it seems that opinions vary largely between Democrats and Republicans. When you add major media outlets and the Tea Party themselves into the mix, you’re left with a huge number of diverse views.