Vaping is a More Effective Smoke Reduction Tool Than Government Policies

Middle schoolers, high schoolers, and university students have increased their use of e-cigarettes, despite rising public concern. While underage nicotine consumption and smoking-related lung disease deaths are a real problem, legal vaping products and accurate consumer information can combat instead of worsen these effects. We should welcome the presence of alternatives to tobacco, and endorse safe, and legal options.

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Decriminalize, Destigmatize, and Rehabilitate

The American criminal justice system can and should be reformed in a multitude of ways, but one major change that needs to be made concerns the drug policies that disproportionately impact people of color and people living in low-income communities.

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Opinion Polls and Manufactured Popularity

One day prior to the November 20 Democratic debate, The Hill released an article titled “Buttigieg surges to ten-point lead in New Hampshire: poll.” Two days later, another article by The Hill stated that a poll showed Buttigieg held a seven-point lead in Iowa. Upon closer examination, however, the samples of the two polls cast considerable doubt on their reliability and statistical significance.

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Corporate Virtue Signaling: Ally Theater’s Highest Stage

On November 18, Chick-Fil-A, America’s most popular chicken sandwich restaurant chain, announced it would no longer support two charitable Christian organizations, The Salvation Army and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA), which have been criticized by LGBTQ+ rights activists for their opposition to same-sex marriage.

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Mayor Pete’s Missteps With Black Voters

Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana, walked into the fifth Democratic debate, held on November 19, with a significant rise in the Iowa and New Hampshire polls. This surge in popularity, slow but steady, seems to have bested the stability of the Warren and Biden campaigns in maintaining high numbers.

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To Nominate or Not to Nominate — Britain vs. the EU

When Ursula von der Leyen, the incoming president of the European Commission, first announced her list of proposed commissioners in September, it did not include a British commissioner. She and her commission were scheduled to take office on November 1st, and the UK was scheduled to officially leave the EU on October 31st, so it didn’t seem necessary to appoint a British commissioner who would never serve.

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Trump’s “Amazing Deal-Making Skills” Tested in East Africa

The White House announced that on November 6, U.S. President Donald Trump had held diplomatic consultations with foreign ministers and other senior officials from Sudan, Egypt, and Ethiopia. The meeting was reportedly mainly focused on resolving the dispute over a new dam Ethiopia is building on the Nile River.

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Change for the Better? The UK’s New Speaker

The US House of Representatives and Senate are as rife with bitter partisan division as any governmental system that exists in the world, yet decorum is sacrosanct. Members will politely address the chair to be recognized and are acknowledged with a sober, scripted response often read to the chair by the parliamentarian. The House of Commons in UK’s Parliament, however, is a different story.

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Tension and Anxiety 30 Years After the Wall Fell

On November 9, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other European leaders gathered at the Berlin Wall memorial with roses to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the wall’s fall. On what is usually a day of celebration, Merkel cautioned: “The values on which Europe is founded — freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law, human rights — they are anything but self-evident and they have to be revitalized and defended time and time again.” German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier’s remarks reflected her cautionary words: “Liberal democracy is being challenged and questioned.”

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