The rockets red glare: America’s dangerous infatuation with pyrotechnics on Independence Day
By Jay L. Zagorsky, Economist and Research Scientist, The Ohio State University In the eyes of many Americans, the Fourth of July is a day for parades, barbecue and, of course, fireworks. The tradition got its start at the beginning of our nation’s history after the...
Electoral consequences: Supreme Court makes controversial ruling that further erodes Voting Rights Act
By Cornell William Clayton, C.O. Johnson Distinguished Professor of Political Science, Washington State University; and Michael Ritter, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Washington State University Arizona may keep two voting laws that Republicans say protect...
The post-Trump onslaught: America is approaching the point where it can no longer be called a democracy
If Donald Trump’s inaugural address can be summed up in two words, “American carnage,” Joe Biden’s might be remembered for three: “Democracy has prevailed.” The new president, speaking from the spot where just two weeks earlier a pro-Trump mob had stormed the US...
Medical Debt: Wisconsin hospitals continued legal proceedings against patients during the pandemic
Last year as COVID-19 laid siege to the nation, many U.S. hospitals dramatically reduced their aggressive tactics to collect medical debt. Some ceased entirely. But not all. There was a nearly 90% drop overall in legal actions between 2019 and the first seven months...
Controversial Wisconsin golf course faces setback after ancient human remains found at proposed site
Archeologists have unearthed human remains of Native Americans who lived up to 2,500 years ago during excavations of the Sheboygan County site along Lake Michigan where Kohler Co. wants to build an 18-hole golf course. A University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee team in 2018...
President Joe Biden details bipartisan deal on infrastructure during trip to Wisconsin
During a June 29 trip to the swingiest congressional district in the swing state of Wisconsin, President Joe Biden detailed a bipartisan deal on infrastructure, focusing on how it would help families and workers across Wisconsin and the country. Speaking from the...
Social Engineering: What investments in infrastructure have cost communities of color
By Erika M Bsumek, Associate Professor of History, The University of Texas at Austin College of Liberal Arts and James Sidbury, Professor of History, Rice University The effort by Democrats and Republicans in Congress to find agreement over a federal infrastructure...
The End of Enlightenment: Why Republicans seek to plunge America into darkness by assaulting reason
The Enlightenment was a time of intellectual ferment in the Western world following the Middle Ages. Its ideas gave birth to the modern world. We know the Enlightenment from the names of its most brilliant expositors: Francis Bacon, John Locke, Voltaire, Montesquieu,...
An epidemic of distrust: New study details the public health problem behind not drinking tap water
By Asher Rosinger, Assistant Professor of Biobehavioral Health, Anthropology, and Demography. Director, Water, Health, and Nutrition Laboratory, Penn State Imagine seeing a news report about lead contamination in drinking water in a community that looks like yours. It...
Underage Drinking: Alcohol companies make billions in profit from the behavior they do little to prevent
By David H. Jernigan, Professor of Health Law, Policy & Management, Boston University Alcohol is still the most commonly used drug among high school students. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, every year approximately 3,500 people under...
Entitled Self-Importance: Research links narcissistic people to increased aggressive and violent behavior
By Brad Bushman, Professor of Communication and Psychology, The Ohio State University; and Sophie Kjaervik, PhD Student in Communication, The Ohio State University A recent review of 437 studies on narcissism and aggression, involving a total of over 123,000...
1836 Project: Patriotic education law is latest conservative tool to whitewash history
Progressives responded with disgust on June 7 after Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed a law establishing the so-called “1836 Project,” which the Republican official said “promotes patriotic education and ensures future generations understand Texas...
