Jack Daniel's at the Court: The End of Parody?

After waking up this morning, you probably went on your phone and began to scroll through your feed, coming across a TikTok of Kanye singing “Hey There Delilah”, a drawing of Spiderman in the style of Warhol, and then read a fascinating article from the Onion to make sure you start your day informed. Maybe the algorithm was feeling nostalgic, so it decided to serve you some Key of Awesome clips. The specifics might be different for you, but one thing is clear, parody is everywhere, and more often than not, it is based on another’s creative works.

NationAbigail LoomisJuly 27, 2023copyright, IP law, intellectual property, jack daniels, abigail loomisComment

Shady Shenanigans: Montana’s Shameless Jungle Primary Scheme

In the lead-up to last year’s elections, many political strategists and pundits predicted Republican wins across the country, based on the trend in U.S. politics wherein the president’s party performs poorly in midterm elections. The GOP sought to fragment the existing trifecta consisting of a Democratic House, Senate, and White House in an effort to stall President Biden’s legislative agenda—and to an extent, they were successful. Republicans gained control of the House after four years of Democratic control.

NationBrandon ChuJuly 23, 2023montana, primaries, politics, democrats, Republican, Senate, brandon chuComment

Better Dead Than Read: Moms for Liberty and Book Banning in America

When overenthusiastic patriots get into online scraps and start comparing countries like PTA moms comparing kids, the mark they often point to at the top of America’s report card is free expression. Since its founding, the United States has maintained a vigorous discourse around the topic of free expression, with many decades of oft-controversial First Amendment jurisprudence under its belt. A 2015 Pew Research study found that Americans are the most supportive in the world of free expression (in theory); however, the United States receives a perennially middling score in each year’s World Press Freedom Index—this year, it ranked 45th.

NationRJ PrakerJuly 19, 2023censorship, Schools, book banning, rj praker, conservativesComment

Understanding and Solving the Climate Crisis Together

From the mechanical pencils we write with to the energy we use to power our homes, every facet of human civilization impacts our natural world significantly. Since the 20th century, humans have consumed more resources per year than civilizations have for centuries. Environmentally, humans are cutting down entire forests, polluting oceans with plastics, and drilling oil out of the ground. The consequences include rising sea levels, abrupt changes in weather patterns, more intense ‘natural’ disasters, and mass extinction of thousands of animal species.

NationSriya ChinnamJuly 15, 2023Sriya Chinnam, Climate Change, climate crisisComment

The Pentagon Leaks: How a Discord Mod Threatened US National Security

There has been another massive leak of classified government documents, and this time it's from a junior officer in the Massachusetts Air National Guard. At 21 years old, Jack Douglas Teixeira has single-handedly become the center of a vast Pentagon data leak that has cost the United States significant damage to its national security and international reputation. Teixeira was a cyber transport systems specialist and was given Top Secret clearance as well as sensitive compartmentalized access, otherwise known as SCI, to highly classified documents. Some of these documents were released on the social messaging platform Discord, where they would eventually spread around the world.

NationAlecia PerezJuly 11, 2023pentagon, cybersecurity, discord, national security, Ukraine, alecia perezComment

The Impact of White Evangelical Conservatism and Anti-Trans Legislation on Black Trans Women

The introduction of anti-trans bills are on the rise in state legislatures across America right now. This year alone, there have been 528 anti-trans bills proposed in nearly all 50 states, which is a devastating record for the United States that is only increasing as the year goes on. This extreme increase in anti-trans legislation at the state level is a result of the damage the Trump administration was able to cause in its four years of holding power.

NationBreeAnna VirruetaJune 21, 2023Transgender Rights, Conservatism, anti-trans legislation, breeanna virruetaComment

Monetary Mayhem: the Consequence of Discretion

The President of the United States is not the most powerful man in America. The leaders of the House and Senate, whose whips may set the leviathan Federal government barreling in whichever direction they please, do not top the rank. The nine Justices of the Supreme Court, a half dozen of whom can permanently alter the very meaning of the Constitution, are far from the most commanding figures in Washington. Rather, the true heart of American power lies not on Capitol Hill, but two miles westward, nestled between the Vietnam War Memorial and a Dunkin’ Donuts.

NationDimitri ZlatevJune 13, 2023Federal Reserve, Federal government, Dimitri Zlatev, economy, economicsComment

The Policy Failure of Criminalizing Homelessness

The proposed California Senate Bill 31 would make living on streets, sidewalks, or public property 1000 feet from schools, daycare centers, parks, or libraries a misdemeanor. In New York City, the administration has begun heavily enforcing rules that prevent people from using the subway system to sleep at night. At the beginning of 2023, a Missouri law went into effect, banning people from sleeping on state-owned land, like under bridges. St. Petersburg, Florida has a combination of ordinances that prevent people from lying and sleeping on sidewalks, as well as banning the unpermitted placement of “any object that is used as the functional equivalent of a table.”

NationBenjamin ShihJune 9, 2023benjamin shih, homeless, policy, California SenateComment

Story Hour, Transphobia, and Legislation: How Drag Queens Became Demonized

The trope of the creepy crossdresser is nothing new. From serial killers in movies to flashers in the park to weird neighbors on Disney channel shows- growing up it was everywhere, and now it’s back. And this time, drag is being dragged through the mud.
The most recent wave of anti-drag sentiment has been driven by talk shows, protests, and most importantly an influx in anti-drag legislation. Alongside a greater trend of anti-trans bills, Tennessee recently passed one of its harshest anti-drag bills yet, criminalizing participation in “adult cabaret performances” in public spaces or in the presence of children. This bill lumps drag performers with exotic dancers and strippers, labeling these performances as shows with “prurient interest.”

NationEmogene KarasJune 5, 2023Emogene Karas, Transphobia, Transgender Rights, drag queens, DragComment

Unions In America Are Under Attack: Here’s Why That Matters

Unions are one of the most important parts of our workforce today and they are under attack. Union membership has been steadily decreasing since the 1980s, but why? There are many answers to that question but the most obvious and the most relevant answer is corporate union busting and the deregulation that allows it. Corporations and their political lackeys put up a big fight, but are unions worth the effort?

Totally and completely.

NationJaren HendersonJune 1, 2023Jaren Henderson, unions, United States, AmazonComment

Attacks on Abortion

A Texas federal judge has invalidated the FDA ruling on mifepristone. Mifepristone is a common medical abortion drug used widely throughout the United States. This controversial decision has sparked a national, and now international conversation about the importance of protecting abortion.

The US judge, Matthew Kacsmaryk, ruled in favor of the plaintiffs who argued that mifepristone was incorrectly advertised as a drug marketed to address serious illnesses and providing therapeutic effects to those with hormonal impairments. The judge further explained that when the FDA originally approved the drug as a safe and effective method to conduct medical abortions it was due to political pressure.

NationDanielle JacobsMay 28, 2023Danielle Jacobs, abortion, CourtsComment

Changing the Finish Line: Ending the Practice of Holding Back Successful People of Color

For the LSU Tigers, Louisiana State University’s women’s basketball team, April 2nd should have been a truly triumphant day. It was the day they won the NCAA national championship, wowing spectators and making history. A record-breaking event, the match saw the majority-Black team score the most points ever in a women’s championship game as well as the most points scored at halftime, accomplishments that secured them their first ever championship victory.

The excitement quickly soured, however, when First Lady Jill Biden, who had been attending the game, invited the Iowa Hawkeyes, the runners-up, to the White House to celebrate alongside the Tigers. LSU’s star forward, Angel Reese, was quick to call this “a joke.”

Nation, FeaturedAdithi SumitranMay 20, 2023POC, LSU Tigers, basketball, Jill Biden, Mississippi, Hawkeyes, Adithi Sumitran', Adithi SumitranComment

Powering the Future: Nuclear Power and America’s Energy Independence

Three Mile Island. Fukushima. Chernobyl. The three worst nuclear disasters in human history, and yet they barely account for a few hundred deaths, as opposed to millions of deaths caused by the fossil fuel industry. Nuclear energy has a stigma of being inherently bad for the environment, toxifying whole cities, and spreading radioactive material. That is exactly what fossil fuels do, yet the lobbying efforts against nuclear power center the danger of nuclear power and brush off the harmful impacts of fossil fuels to scare the public against clean energy.

Andrew Tate, Conservatism, and the “Death” of Masculinity

Andrew Tate is a controversial figure who has been in the news a lot lately, for a multitude of reasons ranging from the heinous to the hateful. Along with this media attention, many questions follow: Who is he? What does he do? What does he represent? And most importantly, why is he so damn popular? Due to his immense following, we need to understand what he truly represents to a lot of people, those who dislike him and those who idolize him.

You Can’t Redline Climate Change Forever

Recent weather events demonstrate a very different narrative to what we’re told: lower-income communities will face dire weather conditions, flooding, and extreme events as climate change unfolds over the next half of the century. The Environmental Protection Agency reported that lower-income communities disproportionately experience and have difficulty rebounding from heat waves, poor air quality, and flooding. The statistics are there, but the narrative that only those of a lower tax bracket experience climate change is off base. Believing in this rhetoric will prompt a rude awakening for the rich. Mother Nature doesn’t discriminate.

Internet Sleuths and their Impacts

It started in the early morning hours of Nov. 13, 2022. As the sun began its ascent into the sky above Moscow, Idaho, a grisly discovery was made: four students at the University of Idaho had been brutally murdered in their home near the campus. With no clear explanations available, the entire affair was steeped in mystery, resulting in a bizarre internet frenzy. Theories ran abound on virtually every social media platform, leaving law enforcement struggling to keep the misinformation under control.

Nation, FeaturedAdithi SumitranMarch 7, 2023internet, sleuth, internet sleuth, impacts, moscow, idaho, renner, maura murray, Amy Mihaljevic, Adithi SumitranComment

American Political Violence is on the Rise

It is hard not to notice how political violence has increased in America these last few years. What was once an infrequent event has now become an almost monthly occurrence, and with threats against high ranking officials like Congresspeople rising almost tenfold, it’s clear that trouble is brewing in our society. There are a multitude of reasons for this change, however, and many of them stem from extreme political divisiveness and distortions of the truth.

The First Amendment, Copyright, and Warhol

When expressing an idea or creating content, creators consciously and subconsciously reference artistic works and concepts that they’re familiar with due to our unavoidable encounters with creative content. Literary works run rampant with references to their predecessors, many classical artists were trained by mimicking their master’s work, political speeches often quote influential figures, and musicians often sample other popular songs. Free speech and expression in the modern era is innately referential. However, as of Oct. 2022, this referential nature is being put on trial in the case of Warhol v. Goldsmith;

The Herstory of Hurricanes

“Angry woman.”“A neurotic lady, if she could be called a lady.” “The worst-tempered brat.” “[She] shrieked like a woman in labor.” These gendered remarks are real descriptions of what people think of hurricanes. The language used to describe hurricanes and the gendered names associated with storms have caused a recent spark in activism to address the inherent sexual hierarchy prevalent in modern American society. Most recently, with Hurricane Ian, Floridians and residents of other southeast states were urged to prepare as national and local news sources hyperbolized their coverage of the storm.

The Machine: Modern Political Mafia

Ever heard of the Kennedys? The New England family, with a sweeping hand over state and national politics, the Brahmin social scene, and Boston banking industry, certainly made a name for themselves as one of the most prominent political families in United States history. From their presence at both Princeton University and Harvard College, within Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s Securities and Exchange Commission, to Jack being the 35th President of the United States, younger generations of Kennedys are practically guaranteed power and influence at birth.