Policy Corner

 Policy CornerVendettas of the Week

Gunning for Rights

Christopher Law August 5, 2015

In the beginning of July, ex-CNN anchor Lynne Russel told gun control activists… References and FootnotesChuckRoss, "Ex-CNN Anchor Tells Gun Control Activists To ‘Shut The F*** Up,’" Daily Caller, July 6, 2015, accessed August 3, 2015, http://dailycaller.com/2015/07/06/ex-cnn-anchor-tells-gun-control-activists-to-shut-the-f-up ↩Eun Kim, "Piers Morgan: 'I Don't Regret Standing Up' for Gun Control," Today, October 6, 2014, Accessed August 2, 2015, http://www.today.com/news/piers-morgan-i-dont-regret-standing-gun-control-2D80195975. ↩Billy Hallowell, "5 of the Most Absurd Gun Comments from Joe Biden," The Blaze, April 12, 2013, Accessed August 3, 2015,  http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/04/12/joe-bidens-5-most-absurd-quotes-about-firearms-and-gun-owners ↩ "CONGRESS’ 20 BIGGEST GUN RIGHTS ADVOCATES," The Daily Beast, Accessed August 3, 2015, http://www.thedailybeast.com/galleries/2011/01/13/congress-20-biggest-gun-rights-advocates.html#slide2. ↩Billy Hallowell, "5 of the Most Absurd Gun Comments from Joe Biden," The Blaze, April 12, 2013, Accessed August 3, 2015,  http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/04/12/joe-bidens-5-most-absurd-quotes-about-firearms-and-gun-owners ↩ Aamer Madhani, "Murders, Shootings on the Rise in Chicago," USA Today, April 2, 2015, Accessed August 3, 2015, http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2015/04/01/chicago-murders-shootings/70787110 ↩John Lott, "Murder and Homicide Rates before and after Gun Bans,” Crime Prevention Research Center, December 1, 2013, Accessed August 3, 2015, http://crimepreventionresearchcenter.org/2013/12/murder-and-homicide-rates-before-and-after-gun-bans ↩ Larry Copel, "Georgia Town Not Alone in Using Gun Law as 'deterrent,'" USA Today, April 2, 2013, Accessed August 3, 2015, http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/04/02/georgia-town-not-alone-in-using-gun-law-as-deterrent/2048059 ↩"Where'd They Get Their Guns?" VPC, Accessed August 3, 2015, http://www.vpc.org/studies/wgun990420.htm. ↩ LoisBeckett, "What We Actually Know About the Connections Between Mental Illness, Mass Shootings, and Gun Violence," Pacific Standard, June 10, 2014, Accessed August 3, 2015, http://www.psmag.com/health-and-behavior/actually-know-connections-mental-illness-mass-shootings-gun-violence-83103. ↩Perry Chiaramonte, "'No One Helped Her': NJ Woman Murdered by Ex While Awaiting Gun Permit," Fox News, June 10, 2015, Accessed August 3, 2015, http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/06/10/no-one-helped-her-nj-woman-murdered-by-ex-while-waiting-for-gun-permit ↩

Policy CornerVendettas of the Week

Immigration Reformation

Christopher Law July 29, 2015

As of 2012, 5.9 million unauthorized immigrants from Mexico were reported living in… References and Footnotes Gonzalez-Barrera, Ana, and Jens Krogstad, "What We Know about Illegal Immigration from Mexico," Pew Research Center, July 15, 2015, accessed July 26, 2015, http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/07/15/what-we-know-about-illegal-immigration-from-mexico ↩ChrisMoody, "Donald Trump Digs in on Immigration," CNN, July 9, 2015, accessed July 27, 2015, http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/07/politics/trump-immigration-rapists-mexicans-clinton ↩TomPorter, "Mexican Drug Cartels Wage War with Grenades in US Border Wars," IBTimes, August 15, 2014, accessed July 26, 2015, http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/mexican-drug-cartels-wage-war-grenades-us-border-wars-1461316. ↩Carrie Dan, "The Arguments for and against Immigration Reform," NBC News, April 12, 2013, accessed July 26, 2015 ↩"Hazleton, PA Anti-Immigrant Law Is Unconstitutional, Federal Appeals Court Rules," American Civil Liberties Union, September 9, 2010, accessed July 26, 2015, https://www.aclu.org/news/hazleton-pa-anti-immigrant-law-unconstitutional-federal-appeals-court-rules ↩"White House: Obama Hasn't Decided on Immigration Specifics," Potus Operandi, November 12, 2014, accessed July 28, 2015, http://blogs.rollcall.com/white-house/white-house-obama-hasnt-decided-on-immigration-specifics/?dcz ↩"Did President Obama Grant Amnesty to Illegal Immigrants Without Congress?" Ask Heritage, accessed July 28, 2015. https://www.askheritage.org/did-president-obama-grant-amnesty-to-illegal-immigrants-without-congress ↩"An Immigration Stimulus: The Economic Benefits of a Legalization Program," accessed July 26, 2015, http://www.immigrationpolicy.org/just-facts/immigration-stimulus-economic-benefits-legalization-program. ↩Ed. Krayewski, "A Libertarian Solution to Immigration Reform," Reason, March 4, 2014, accessed July 26, 2015, http://reason.com/archives/2014/03/04/libertarian-answer-to-immigration-reform. ↩

Policy CornerVendettas of the Week

One-Size Fits Most: Democracy

Diane Abayan July 29, 2015

Today, the world encompasses varying forms of government,… References and FootnotesKavitha Davidson, "Democracy Index 2013: Global Democracy at a Standstill, The Economist Intelligence Unit's Annual Report Shows," The Huffington Post, accessed July 29, 2015, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/21/democracy-index-2013-economist-intelligence-unit_n_2909619.html. ↩"Statistical Information about Casualties of the Vietnam War," National Archives and Records Administration, accessed July 29, 2015, http://www.archives.gov/research/military/vietnam-war/casualty-statistics.html. ↩David H. Petraeus and James F. Amos, Counterinsurgency Field Manual, (Washington D.C: United States Marine Corps, 2006), 1-7 ↩Ibid, 8-10. ↩Ibid, 1-28. ↩John A. Nagl, "Learning to Eat Soup with a Knife," World Affairs 161.4, 1999, 195  ↩

Breaking: Theater shooting in Lafayette, Louisiana

politicalvendetta July 24, 2015

Lafayette, Louisiana — Police Chief said a shooting inside a…

Policy CornerVendettas of the Week

The GM-Faux

Brian Chernick July 22, 2015

Humanity has been genetically modifying foods since the beginning days of… References and Footnotes“Public and Scientists’ Views on Science and Society,” January 29, 2015, http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/01/29/public-and-scientists-views-on-science-and-society ↩“GMOs And The Dilemma Of Bias,” January 7, 2014, http://www.npr.org/sections/13.7/2014/01/07/260184901/gmos-and-the-dilemma-of-bias ↩“Food with Integrity: G-M-Over It,” 2015, http://chipotle.com/gmo ↩“Labelize It!” http://www.benjerry.com/GMO ↩“The Danger Of GMOs: Is It All In Your Mind?” April 27, 2015, http://www.npr.org/sections/13.7/2015/04/27/402482753/the-danger-of-gmos-is-it-all-in-your-mind ↩“Tortilla Reform,” May 5, 2015, https://medium.com/natural-resources-defense-council/tortilla-reform-53117f2d96db ↩“Roundup and Risk Assessment,” April 10, 2015, http://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/roundup-and-risk-assessment ↩“The BfR has finalised its draft report for the re-evaluation of glyphosate,” February 4, 2015, http://www.bfr.bund.de/en/the_bfr_has_finalised_its_draft_report_for_the_re_evaluation_of_glyphosate-188632.html ↩ “Unhealthy Fixation,” July 15, 2015, http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2015/07/are_gmos_safe_yes_the_case_against_them_is_full_of_fraud_lies_and_errors.html ↩“Genetically Modified Food,” December 3, 2014, http://intelligencesquaredus.org/debates/upcoming-debates/item/1161-genetically-modify-food ↩“Impacts of genetically engineered crops on pesticide use in the U.S. -- the first sixteen years,” September 28, 2014, http://www.enveurope.com/content/24/1/24 ↩Ilya Somin, “Over 80 percent of Americans support “mandatory labels on foods containing DNA,” January 17, 2015, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2015/01/17/over-80-percent-of-americans-support-mandatory-labels-on-foods-containing-dna ↩“Genetically Engineered Crops in the United States,” February, 2014,http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/err-economic-research-report/err162/report-summary.aspx ↩

Policy CornerVendettas of the Week

The Abstinence Agenda

Christopher Law July 22, 2015

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) reported that the 2013 birth rate… References and Footnotes"About Teen Pregnancy," Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, June 9, 2014, accessed July 21, 2015, http://www.cdc.gov/teenpregnancy/about/index.htm ↩"U.S. Government Is Still Funding Dubious Abstinence-Only Sex Education Program," July 6, 2015, accessed July 19, 2015, http://www.allgov.com/news/where-is-the-money-going/us-government-is-still-funding-dubious-abstinence-only-sex-education-program-150706?news=856889 ↩"Facts on American Teens' Sources of Information About Sex," Facts on American Teens' Sources of Information About Sex, February 1, 2012, accessed July 19, 2015, https://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/FB-Teen-Sex-Ed.html ↩M. Chevrette and H. Abenhaim, "Do State-Based Policies Have an Impact on Teen Birth Rates and Teen Abortion Rates in the United States?" Journal of Pediatric Adolescent Gynecology, 2014. ↩“Teens in Montana Told that Condoms Cause Cancer,” Feministing, 2005, accessed July 19, 2015, http://feministing.com/2005/05/12/teens_in_montana_told_that_con ↩"Birth Control Pills - Types, Effectiveness, and Side Effects of Birth Control Pills," WebMD, accessed July 19, 2015. ↩Chris Collins, Priya Alagiri, and Todd Summers, "Abstinence Only vs Comprehensive Sex Education," AIDS Policy Research Center and Center for AIDS Prevention Studies, 2002. ↩