Politics
The Political Impact of Terrorism
Stanford sociologist Robb Willer says terrorism generally serves to sharpen national boundaries and increase nationalist spirit. However, scholars are largely in uncharted territory in regard to how terrorism will affect the 2016 presidential campaign, as prior research has focused primarily on incumbent officeholders. more »
Bills Introduced and Defeated: Denying Firearms, Child Protection, Women's Health Care, Eating Disorders, Family and Medical Leave
According to information prepared by the Government Accountability Office, individuals on the consolidated terrorist watch list, which includes the no-fly list, cleared a background check for a gun transaction in 94 percent of attempted transactions in 2013 and 2014 (455 out of 486 times). Between February 2004 and December 2014, individuals on the consolidated terrorist watch list cleared a background check in 91 percent of attempted transactions (2,043 of 2,233 times), according to GAO data. more »
Have You Heard the Term Daesh for ISIS, ISIL? Terrorist Designations of Groups Operating in Syria
"The Department will also add the following aliases to the ISIL listing: the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), ad-Dawla al-Islamiyya fi al-‘Iraq wa-sh-Sham, Daesh, Dawla al Islamiya, and Al-Furqan Establishment for Media Production. Furthermore, under the same authorities, the Department of State designated al-Nusrah Front as a standalone FTO and SDGT." more »
Politics As Unusual: Strategists Left with Crow on Their Plate and Egg on Their Face
Doris O'Brien writes: That's probably been the nature of the beast since some ambitious caveman settled by the fire and grunted his way to tribal leadership. And while some earmarks of politics never seem to change, others do. Every election is in some way different from those that came before. And Election 2016 is a doozey! more »