THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM | “Power is power”: What “Game of Thrones” can teach us about politics

Millions of Americans have been affected by the government shutdown, and many workers’ livelihoods are at the mercy of the decisions of powerful elites. While witnessing the news about the American government shutdown, another shutdown occurred in my home country of Zimbabwe. On the week of January 15th, the Zimbabwean government blocked internet access throughout the country in response to protests. Even when the internet was switched back on a few days later, Gmail and certain popular social media sites such as WhatsApp and Facebook were blocked in the country. As an international student who was in America when all this was happening, I felt powerless.

THE PERSONAL IS POLITICAL | Why America Needs Donald Trump

I have an immense amount of respect for The Donald, and I could not be happier with how his campaign has unfolded.  From his not-so-humble beginnings as just one hopeful drifting in a sea of infinitely more qualified candidates, Donald is the little, tiny-handed orange engine that could of American politics. Watching him rise to new levels of fame has truly been heartwarming, and has imparted some powerful lessons about what it truly means to be an American:

 

In America, you can be anything you want to be. No experience necessary!  If you are white, wealthy and male, that is qualification enough.

MOSKOWITZ | Measuring our Country’s Future

 

Sometimes, they are just hard to avoid. They spring up, almost daily, prognosticating the future and therefore predicting what our country may look like in the  years to come. You can watch them climb up and fall with the change in days, months and years. Sometimes they can seem overpowering, as if their subtle shifts really matter. But that can be the issue, because in the end, how much should we really care?

KRAVITZ’S KORNER | The GOP’s Perilous Gamble on Trump

If there was ever a time for the Republican Party to regret nominating Donald Trump, it would be now. The Washington Post’s release of video tapes that include Trump’s abhorrent remarks about women in 2005 underscore not only his immoral character, but also his weakness as a candidate. And following the second presidential debate, there is little sign that Trump is going to change the tone of his campaign. According to Election Betting Odds, a website that uses political betting markets to compute odds, Trump’s current chance at winning the election hovers at an abysmal 16 percent, down from 26 percent from before the video tapes were released, and down from 36 percent from before the first presidential debate. It’s safe to say that Trump would get crushed if the election were held tomorrow.

Nobody’s Opinions | Trump’s Candidacy: Fact, Fiction or Fraud?

Most people have probably imagined being the POTUS at some point. Fewer people have imagined their best friend as president, fewer still their business associate, and most have probably not considered actually running for the office themselves. Consider it from this perspective, though: if you could be reasonably assured that either yourself or your business partner could ascend to the highest office in the land, wouldn’t you put some effort into making that happen? I probably would. More than that, I’d try pretty damn hard to make sure it did.