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(11/10/15 5:05am)
Congressman Paul Ryan, R-WI, newly elected Speaker of the House, has come under fire recently for an unexpected reason — he wants to see his family on weekends. Unlike his opponents for the position, Ryan did not seek out the speakership. Rather, House Republicans implored him to take the job after judging him the best candidate to unite the various moderate and conservative caucuses within the GOP. Sensing his bargaining power, Ryan agreed to accept the position on the condition that he could still spend time with his wife and young children. I would expect people to applaud a politician’s commitment to his family, but instead Ryan received vitriol from reliably left-wing sites like Jezebel, Salon and Think Progress, and even more centrist publications like Time. The central charge is that Ryan is a hypocrite because he has been a consistent opponent of federally mandated paid family leave. But such criticisms fundamentally misunderstand Ryan’s philosophy. You may disagree with his voting record, but calling him hypocritical reveals your own lack of understanding of the issue, not his.
(10/27/15 5:41am)
Last week, after Hoos for Life hosted an event called “The Planned Parenthood Project” on Grounds, my fellow columnist Alyssa Imam suggested the pro-life movement should “shift its narrative away from Planned Parenthood and restricting access to abortions.” Instead, Imam argued, pro-life advocates should “acknowledge and focus on other factors that lead to increases and declines in abortion rates while fostering a more welcoming atmosphere.” On the latter point, Imam is surely right. To garner more support for its cause and reduce the amount of abortions, the pro-life movement should focus less on publicly shaming individuals considering abortion — i.e., stop plastering the infamous photos of aborted fetuses everywhere — and devote more energy to reducing unwanted pregnancies in the first place. But this does not mean the pro-life movement should stop educating the public about Planned Parenthood. On the contrary, as the largest abortion provider in the country and annual recipient of 500 million taxpayer dollars, Planned Parenthood should remain in the forefront of the abortion debate.
(10/20/15 4:10am)
Following last week’s Democratic debate, political commentators overwhelmingly declared former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton the winner. But no amount of polished talking points can alleviate Clinton’s core problem: voters do not view her as trustworthy — nor should they. Moderator Anderson Cooper immediately challenged Clinton on this very issue. Noting several policies on which she has changed her views, he asked her a simple question: “Will you say anything to get elected?” No doubt prepped for such a situation, Clinton replied: “Well, actually, I have been very consistent. Over the course of my entire life, I have always fought for the same values and principles, but… I do absorb new information.” While many politicians could explain away certain minor policy shifts with such an answer, for Clinton to claim she is “very consistent” is laughable. In this election cycle alone Clinton has demonstrated she will say anything to get elected, and that her core values and principles stem more from public opinion polls than serious conviction. At a time when trust in government nears historic lows, the American people need a president who can restore the federal government’s credibility. A politician like Clinton is no such candidate.
(10/13/15 4:10am)
The gun control debate is one of the most contentious political issues of our time. After yet another horrific shooting last week, I understand the impulse to do something — anything — to combat this issue by further regulating guns. My fellow columnist Jesse Berman’s op-ed last week urging new “common sense” gun control legislation is emblematic of this impulse. But unfortunately, by framing the debate around “common sense” reforms, Berman suggests there is a simple solution to stop these senseless attacks, if only the recalcitrant politicians bought and paid for by the National Rifle Association would start valuing the lives of innocent victims over campaign endorsements. But the unfortunate truth is there is no quick fix to this problem. Implying there is — and that politicians are simply being bribed into not supporting it — obscures the complexity behind the issue: namely, that those who oppose gun control do so not because they are stooges for the NRA, but because many gun control measures are quixotic endeavors unable to curtail gun violence. All new legislation must be judged not by its intentions, but by its efficacy, and Berman’s proposal should not go unchallenged simply because we feel compelled to act.
(10/06/15 5:50am)
Despite my opposition to the College’s foreign language requirement, I do not harbor resentment toward all University-mandated courses per se. On the contrary, I feel one requirement is noticeably lacking from the College’s curriculum: Ethical Reasoning. Per its website, the College aims to “provide students with an extensive base of intellectual content and skills that enables them to explore ideas, evaluate evidence critically [and] draw reasoned conclusions.” Unfortunately, the College’s current curriculum doesn’t deem questions of morality and ethics worthy enough of their own requirement. Although “Moral, Philosophical, and Religious Perspectives” exists as a subset of the humanities requirement, the field can be avoided entirely if a student opts to take a “Fine Arts” and a “Literature” class instead, allowing a student to graduate with a liberal arts degree even if he never grapples with the vexing dilemmas moral philosophy presents. This is a huge missed opportunity for College students. Ethical reasoning courses demand students understand both morality and reason. The lessons from ethics courses are thus not merely facts to memorize for a test and soon forget; they are guidelines that remain relevant long after University life.
(09/29/15 4:20am)
Donald Trump receives his fair share of vitriol. Despite the outrage he generates after nearly every media appearance, Trump remains the GOP frontrunner. This is unsurprising. Republican primary voters despise political correctness, and it seems regardless of how outlandish Trump’s statements are, as long as his rationale remains “I don’t have time for political correctness,” his support holds fast. Thus regardless of the merits of my fellow columnist Nazar Aljassar’s editorial, a plurality of the GOP base seems simply not to care how abhorrent Trump’s unfiltered speech becomes. They should. Donald Trump is cancer to the conservative cause, both from an ideological standpoint and in terms of electability. For those who wish to advance conservative principles, Trump is the vessel least fit for the job.
(09/22/15 4:05am)
Recent controversies surrounding “religious freedom” laws are poised to dominate the upcoming election. Many on the left hold the impression that these laws seek to deprive the LGBT community of equal rights, thus feeding their perception that not only are conservatives wrong on policy, they are simply wrong morally. But this position rests on a basic misunderstanding. By embracing the notion that these laws stem from sheer bigotry or homophobia, many on the left believe the “religious freedom” agenda is driven exclusively by social conservatives pushing a watered down version of theocracy. On the contrary, the religious freedom laws I (and many on the right) support stem from a classically liberal tradition. Rather than use government to reinforce discrimination, as many seem to believe these laws intend, a good religious freedom law will protect citizens from possible government abuses.
(09/15/15 4:08am)
The College’s foreign language requirement epitomizes the worst aspects of bureaucracies. It exists primarily to serve its administrators rather than its users, and achieves few tangible results. To clarify, I am not arguing the foreign language department itself is worthless; I have tremendous respect and admiration for those who study other languages, just as I am rather in awe of physics majors. And yet the University did not mandate that I sit through two years of physics classes. Rather, the natural science and mathematics area requirement allows students to diversify their studies according to their own interests. The foreign language requirement should follow this example.
(09/02/03 4:00am)
Fellow Virginia public school Radford University has raised more than 65 percent of its goal fund during the first phase of its $40 million capital campaign, which kicked off in 2000.
(03/01/00 5:00am)
RICHMOND-After tough losses in the Michigan and Arizona primaries, Texas Gov. George W. Bush handily defeated Arizona Sen. John McCain in Virginia's first open Republican primary.
