STAFF WRITER,
Senator Elizabeth Warren’s “Bank on Students Emergency Loan Refinancing Act”, proposed in May 2014 was shot down. The bill sought to “allow most individuals with student loans (both federal and private) to refinance those loans into new federal direct loans at interest rates specified in the bill,” according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).
Trust—it goes without saying that populous cities like Cincinnati, where the death of Timothy Thomas incited public outrage in 2001, or in Ferguson, where teenager Michael Brown was shot in an altercation with an officer. Trust has been replaced with fear in these very troubled cities. People fear officers who take to the streets with little oversight. Driven by aggressive policies of leaders trying to deal with high crime rates, police fear the people they have sworn to protect. As Paul Butler of the New York Times put it, they have become “armed agents who feel unaccountable to citizens.” Left behind are citizens who would rather ignore the stench of marijuana on their own corners, and never dial 911 for fear of harassment. Left behind are a majority of good cops who are looked upon as the enemy in places where they are needed the most.
Dr. Kenneth Mitchell is an Associate Professor of Political Science at Monmouth University. Having completed a PhD in Politics at Oxford University, his extensive knowledge on Latin American Politics is evident through his instruction of PS 275 Latin American Politics and PS 398 Argentine Politics.
On April 2 the Supreme Court came down with the most recent ruling on campaign finance. The outcome: an end to longstanding aggregate limits on campaign contributions. McCutcheon v. Federal Elections Commission brings the biggest change in free speech through campaign finance since the Citizens United decision in 2010. What exactly we regard as free speech has been subject to definitional expansion. First Amendment protection of ripping draft cards and protesting funerals of gay veterans has given us one of the most politically expressive societies in the modern world. The question at hand is, whether or not spending money in our political process is an act of political expression.
Hydraulic fracturing or “Fracking” is a process where the injection of water along with other chemicals into well boreswhich creates fractures in rock deep into the ground. The fractures can free up natural gas, petroleum, and shale gas, allowing for the creation of well used to extract the resources. Fracking has been most known for:
The debate over the national minimum wage looks to raise it from $7.25 to possibly $10.10 an hour. New Jersey, along with 19 other states and the District of Columbia, have minimum wages higher than the national minimum wage.
We know that Congressmen are not all math wizzes who can foresee all outcomes when it comes to economic theory; they are not seasoned scientists who can cite the effects every decision has on the environment. Apart from hearings, advisors, and constituents like you and me, who really informs politicians and government officials?
Many Services Offered by the Federal Government Will Not Be Reinstated Until Deal is Made
The United Nations Security Council reported an attack on a suburb of Damascus, the capital of Syria on August 21. According to the UN, the victims of the violence experienced “shortness of breath, disorientation, extreme eye irritation, blurred vision, vomiting, weakness and loss of consciousness.”