Posts in Columns
Trump’s H-1B Crackdown: How a $100,000 Fee Will Reshape Legal Immigration

On September 19th, President Trump signed a proclamation that fundamentally undermines the structure of the H-1B visa program in the United States. The update that caught the most attention was the additional $100,000 fee for all new H-1B visa petitions, which, along with other changes, sparked rightful outrage about the future of legal immigration to the United States.

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Gaza Peace Deal: A Withered, Freshly-Gilded Olive Branch

The Oslo Accords stated that Palestine could have “5-year interim self-rule, to be followed by talks on permanent status issues.” Trump's deal stipulates, “the conditions may finally be in place for a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood.” In other words, a Palestinian state could, maybe, potentially, possibly be recognized soon, later, and sometime in the future. In other words, it’s highly unlikely.

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Trump’s Latest Attack on the Media

Enshrined in the Bill of Rights in 1791, the First Amendment guarantees fundamental freedoms—speech, religion, press, assembly, and petition—ensuring Americans can express opinions and challenge authority without fear of government retaliation. From Trump’s defamation suit against The New York Times to the cancellation of Jimmy Kimmel’s show, the president’s targeting of media figures signals a troubling attempt to erode press freedom and the First Amendment.

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Donald Trump Wants to Make Broadcast Television Great Again- by Canceling Every Host Who Talks Bad About Him

Jimmy Kimmel Live! became the latest target of Trump’s media suppression campaign after Kimmel’s September 15th monologue, where he associated Trump’s ‘MAGA’ movement with political violence. Many Americans wonder: how far will Trump go to suppress left-leaning media and is a president’s influence on the media constitutional?

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A Supreme Court Tilt Toward Executive Power: What Los Angeles ICE Raids Reveal

On September 6th, the United States Supreme Court voted 6-3 to lift a lower court’s order that was blocking immigration raids in Los Angeles, California, while legal challenges continue. Even though the case remains unresolved, this choice has already sent signs of a dangerous trajectory, one where executive power is prioritized over constitutional protections, with vulnerable communities paying the price.

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Will America Finally Wake Up to the Reality of Gun Violence?

Once framed as urban crime or isolated acts, mass shootings now cut across every demographic and geography. Yet mass shootings barely make the newscycle anymore, dulling public outrage and allowing policymakers to sidestep meaningful reform. Easy access to firearms continues to fuel tragedies like the killings in Utah and Colorado, while lawmakers and lobbyists keep real change out of reach.

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The Illusion of Intimacy: Parasocial Relationships in Modern Politics

Politicians are no longer just political figures, they’re curated personalities, crafted for digital intimacy and viral appeal. As voters form parasocial relationships with these carefully managed public images, political engagements shift from policy to personality. Criticism becomes disloyalty, power hides behind charm, and emotional attachment overrides accountability. In treating politicians like people we know, like, or even idolize, we risk replacing democratic responsibility with affective loyalty, and in doing so, we protect the image more than the institution.

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Two Truths in Tension: When Law Meets the Transgender Experience

Prior to 2021, the State of Oklahoma allowed transgender individuals to change the sex on their birth certificates to reflect their gender identity after transition. In 2021, as a wave of anti-trans sentiment spread across many conservative states, Governor Kevin Stitt signed an Executive Order barring the Oklahoma State Department of Health (OSDH) from amending the sex of any individual on their birth certificates. Rowan Fowler, a transgender woman who had been affected by the Order, joined with several other similarly situated individuals to sue the Governor, on the grounds that his order violated the Fourteenth Amendment’s guarantee of Equal Protection. After losing in the District Court, and winning on appeal at the Tenth Circuit, Fowler and her fellow litigants now face one final legal hurdle at the Supreme Court. What merit is there to her Equal Protection claim?

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Transgender Women’s Rights Left in Limbo Following U.K. Supreme Court Decision

On Monday, April 16th, the United Kingdom Supreme Court ruled that the official definition of a “woman” solely refers to an individual’s biological sex. This decision overlooks the rights to security, freedom, and individuality of people who are already some of the most heavily marginalized in society. While the impacts of the law are still unfolding, it could eventually make it so that discrimination against transgender women in the U.K. becomes much more commonplace. Even more so, it risks undermining the social legitimacy of transgender identities as “real.” Finally, it could easily influence policies relating to transgender and gender non-conforming individuals in other nations, especially in fragile political climates where political leaders are already leaning towards limiting LGBTQ+ rights.

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The Politics of Control: The Hunger Games, MAGA, and the Rebranding of Dissent

The Hunger Games offers a framework for understanding how narrative functions as a tool of political control through the lens of media, rhetoric, and perception. In Panem, the Capitol doesn’t just eliminate opposition, it controls its image. President Donald Trump’s political strategies have relied on similar mechanisms, creating a parallel between him and President Snow (and the Capitol). In 2016, grievance became branding. In 2020, the campaign prioritized spectacle. Now, in 2025, after a return to the office, that approach has only intensified. This emphasis has shifted from confronting dissent directly to influencing how it is publicly interpreted and politically leveraged.

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A Weakening Dollar, Recession Fears, and Economic Uncertainty: What the Economy Looks Like in the New Trump Era

The weakening of the dollar can be attributed to many factors, including uncertainty about the future, political instability, and declining investment. As a country whose primary export is its currency and financial services, the United States is a critical player in the international economy, and the value of the dollar can have massive impacts domestically and globally.

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Due Process in the Age of Deportation: The Legal Divide Over Immigration

A legal catastrophe perpetrated by Donald Trump and his administration. The only “clash” happening is the clear disregard for the law by the Trump administration, and their continued non-compliance. This is no longer a partisan issue — we are beyond politics when we begin ignoring due process and violating the Constitution.

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Democrats Claim that Trump is an Existential Threat to American Democracy. It's Time Their Leadership Acts Like It

While the strategies of the boldest members of the Democratic caucus remain untested on a national scale, the party has already lost the White House, both chambers of Congress, the federal courts, most governors’ mansions, and state legislatures. Sticking to the same cautious playbook has only led to continued defeats. At this point, what do they have to lose by trying something new?

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