‘Politics’ Archives
Obamacare Unconstitutional?
Notre Dame Law Professors Weigh In The Obama administration suffered a setback last December, when US District Judge Henry Hudson ruled a portion of the new federal health care law unconstitutional. Hudson, who was appointed in 2002 by President George W. Bush, stated that the individual mandate provision in the new legislation exceeds Congress’ power to regulate interstate [...]
Newdow claims atheists are discriminated against, lectures on religious equality
Dr. Michael Newdow, an attorney, physician, and atheist best known for his attempts to strike “under God” from the Pledge of Allegiance, discussed the relationship between the US government and religion at the recent Political Theory Colloquium. Dr. Newdow focused his lecture on an article he wrote, entitled, “Question to Justice Scalia: Does the Establishment Clause Permit the Disregard [...]
Are liberty and equality compatible? ND professor and Cato senior fellow debate
Should the poor be able to take resources from the rich to meet their basic needs, either on individual basis or through the state? Notre Dame philosophy professor James Sterba and senior fellow at the Cato Institute Thomas Palmer dealt with this question as they debated whether liberty and equality are compatible. Sterba identified two sets of rights: classical liberal rights and welfare [...]
Midterms 2010: A New Change
Last Tuesday brought about a watershed in Obama’s administration. The US House saw massive GOP wins, securing a Republican majority of over 60 seats. With this win, Republicans have won the largest House takeover by either party since 1938. The GOP also took a majority of the 37 governorships and gained control of 19 state legislatures. Democrats maintained a majority in the Senate, succumbing [...]
The Great Shellacking of 2010: Impressions of an Angry America
The results are in, or at least enough of them are, to chalk the 2010 midterms up as a major Republican victory and a stunning rebuke of the Democrats’ agenda. What happened on November 2, 2010 will go down as one of the greatest turnovers of power in American electoral history, sure, but a closer look at the results reveals that it was much more than just a typical off-year election where [...]
Statesman and philosopher: Professor Nicgorski on Cicero
“. . . as Socrates used to express it so admirably, ‘the nearest way to glory . . . is to strive to be what you wish to be thought to be.’” --Cicero, On Duties “Even if there is nothing in glory that should be sought, yet it follows virtue like a shadow.” --Cicero, Tusculan Disputations “. . . . as Plato has admirably expressed it, we are not born for ourselves [...]
Despite Setbacks, GOP Still in Lead for Midterm Elections
The month of August was a grueling one for the Democratic Party. Gallup, Rasmussen, and The Washington Post released polls asking whether respondents preferred the Democratic or Republican candidate in any race. Results showed the GOP with a double digit lead in the generic ballot. Why have Democrats been polling so badly for the last month? “It’s the economy,” explains Dr. John Roos, [...]
Forum-Inspired Student Debate: The Moral Responsibility of Producers vs. Consumers
Introduction: The most staunchly free-market thinkers in history have acknowledged both a moral and an immoral manner of economic activity. Even Ayn Rand, author of the audaciously titled The Virtue of Selfishness, recognized, for example, that government must exist to uphold property rights, and that anarcho-capitalism – the belief that the free market should exist instead of a state [...]
Rep. Joe Donnelly’s stance on abortion tenuous
The midterm election races are starting to heat up. The current member of the House of Representatives from the second district of Indiana, Democrat and Notre Dame alumnus Joe Donnelly, is running for re-election against Republican challenger Jackie Walorski. Rep. Donnelly refused to vote for the Senate’s version of the healthcare bill this past spring [...]
A Matter of Life and Money: stem cell research debate refueled by recent ban
When Federal Judge Royce C. Lamberth halted government funding of stem-cell research two weeks ago, he cited a 1998 statute that banned the use of federal dollars for the destruction of human embryos. The decision by Lamberth thus blocked Obama’s 2009 executive order to expand stem cell research, and sparked uproar from researchers, many of whom scrambled to determine whether their projects [...]
College Republicans seek a fresh start in 2010
After several years of maintaining a quiet presence on campus, the Notre Dame College Republicans begin the school year with a new administration that hopes to be more active, both on and off campus, in 2010. Club President and Rover Politics editor Josh Varanelli, Vice President Guillermo Pi, Secretary Amanda Randolph, , and Treasurer Michael DeJaegher, have several events and activities [...]
Florida Governor Bucks GOP, Vetoes Bill
On April 15, Republican Florida Governor Charlie Crist vetoed Senate Bill 6, spawning a strong element of disapproval from his GOP colleagues and high praise from teachers’ unions and state Democrats. The bill would have established a stronger link between student standardized test scores and teacher pay, doing away with key employment protections for teachers in failing schools. Former [...]
Goldman Sachs Under Fire in S.E.C. Complaint as President Pushes for Financial Reform
The Securities and Exchange Commission recently filed fraud charges against Goldman Sachs after months of speculation. The investment firm sold a sub-prime mortgage-backed security that was assembled by a hedge fund. The hedge fund, in turn, was betting on the mortgages to fail. The complaint is based on the allegation that Goldman misled its client, ACA Management, into thinking that the hedge [...]