By Francis Northwood (PO ’21) Two new Gerrymandering cases have just been heard by the Supreme Court: Rucho v. Common Cause, a case in North Carolina, and Lamone v. Benisek in Maryland. The topic of Gerrymandering has become popular for the Supreme Court, with these two new cases appearing just a year after the court…
By Francis Northwood (PO ’21) Last Tuesday, April 9th, Benjamin Netanyahu defeated his greatest challenger yet, Benny Gantz, in a tightly contested election watched by the entire world. It was decided by fewer than 20,000 votes. While the geopolitical implications of this election are serious, Netanyahu’s election itself deserves greater analysis. Netanyahu was just indicted…
By Francis Northwood (PO ’21) When a president does something very wrong, a special counsel is often tasked with an investigation. This was the case with Watergate, the Iran-Contra Affair, and Whitewater. However, the special counsel is appointed by the Attorney General, which gives it strange status. It is controlled by the executive branch, but…
By Francis Northwood (PO ’21) Electability means many things to many people. With the Democratic Party’s 2020 rollout nearly finished, the task at hand for most of the candidates is to separate themselves from a packed crowd. Normally, there are not this many qualified candidates (save for the last Republican primary), but with such a…
By Francis Northwood (PO ’21) On March 15th, Governor Jared Polis of Colorado signed onto the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact (NPVIC), making the state the 12th member-state of the compact, and the first “purple” member (that is, a state not solidly Democrat or Republican). Proponents of the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact argue that…
By Francis Northwood (PO ’21) Back in 2018, Scott Weiner, the State Senator representing San Francisco, introduced California Senate Bill 827 to the floor. The bill’s purpose was to counteract the growing housing crisis in the state by drawing zoning power away from the cities and into the state’s hands. The bill would allow increased…
By Francis Northwood (PO ’21) On February 6th, Nicolas Maduro, President of Venezuela, directed his military to block the Tienditas bridge in an effort to halt the delivery of USAID aid supplies to the Venezuelan people. More than half of all Venezuelans are unable to meet basic food needs, and the average Venezuelan lost 24…
By Francis Northwood (PO ’21) Thailand will be holding its first elections in four years on February 25th. Since Thailand’s last election, a military Junta led by Prayut Chan-o-cha has controlled the country. The military junta only recently lifted the ban on political activity it had set in 2014. In the years since the Absolute…
By Francis Northwood (PO ’21) With the recent passing of George H.W. Bush, it is an appropriate time to recall a forgotten success of his administration. Towards the end of his presidency, he was faced with a grave humanitarian crisis oversees. In 1992, Somalia was in the midst of a terrible civil war. The U.S.…
By Francis Northwood (PO ’21) The 2018 midterms were a blue wave, resulting in the largest shift toward the Democratic Party since 1948. While a number of exciting Democrat candidates were not elected, the 2018 midterms were an underrated victory for the party. The 2018 midterms displayed three trends worth noting: an increased emphasis in…