What's the issue? After the failure of the last two Republican-led Affordable Care Act (ACA) repeal and replace efforts, Senators Lindsay Graham and Bill Cassidy have proposed another plan to repeal and replace the ACA, know as the Graham-Cassidy bill. They need to pass the bill by September 30th, after which time they will need... Continue Reading →

What's the issue? Trump's proposed 2018 budget invests $277 million in abstinence-only sex education, while also cutting funding for Planned Parenthood. Pence is also a supporter of abstinence-only sex education, and once claimed that "frankly, condoms are a very, very poor protection against sexually transmitted diseases." In July, the Trump Administration abruptly ended funding for the... Continue Reading →

What's the issue? Donald Trump has created a Commission on Election Integrity formed to investigate his belief that he lost the popular vote due to millions of illegal votes. In one of its first acts Kris Kobach, the vice-chair of the commission, wrote to all fifty states requesting voter registry information including names, birthdates, the... Continue Reading →

What's the issue? During his campaign, Trump promised to "immediately terminate" the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. However, as president Trump has shown more openness to the plight of the 800,000 or so young people who are protected by DACA. To hold him to his campaign promise, 11 stated attorney generals threatened to... Continue Reading →

What's the issue? A leaked internal memo from the Trump administration suggests that the Trump administration is gearing up to sue colleges using affirmative action for discrimination against white students. (The Justice Department currently claims that the memo referred only to a specific complaint from Asian American students agains Harvard, despite leaks to the contrary).... Continue Reading →

What's the issue? In July, former Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio was convicted of criminal contempt for defying a 2011 court order to stop detaining people based on racial profiling and solely the suspicion that they were in the country illegally. He faces up to six months in jail at his sentencing, scheduled for Oct. 5th,... Continue Reading →

What's the issue? This past weekend, Neo-Nazis, white supremacists, and KKK members marched on Charlottesville, Virginia under the banner of the "alt-right" to protest Charlottesville's removal of a statue of Civil War General Robert E. Lee. Counter-protesters also showed up, and there were clashes between the two sides. After the initial rally was broken up... Continue Reading →

What's the issue? At the end of July, Trump announced on Twitter that he planned to ban transgender volunteers from serving in the military. While there is no word yet from the White House on how this ban would be carried out, it is the latest effort of the government to discriminate against transgender people.... Continue Reading →

What's the issue? May 25, 2017 marked 10 years since the federal government has increased the minimum wage, which is currently $7.25 per hour. Democrats introduced the Raise the Wage Act, which would raise the minimum wage to $15 by 2024. State minimum wages vary between $5.15 (Georgia and Wyoming) and $12.50 (Washington DC) per hour (although... Continue Reading →

What's the issue? Over 300 million metric tonnes of plastic are produced in the world annually, 50% of which is designed for one-time use. Our use of plastic has increased twenty times in the past 50 years. This plastic fills our landfills and our oceans, its presence felt everywhere from the ocean floor to our... Continue Reading →