by Jacob Puhr

Next Tuesday is election day, where a third of the Senate, the entire House and numerous local and state offices are up for grabs.  In this essay, I’ll be focusing on the elections that I’m a constituent of.  The midterm elections could be pivotal in shaping President Biden’s remaining two years, especially if Republicans take control of the House, which historically speaking, is a likelihood.  All eyes are on several swing states and their Senate races, as just one seat flipping could change the balance of power in the legislative branch, and severely affect Biden’s policy goals.  Despite what happens in the House and Senate, realistically, the biggest changes you’ll experience will come from the local elections we so quickly disregard.         

Clerk of Circuit Courts : The Democrat incumbent is Rebecca Mentink, who is opposed by Republican Zach Rodriguez.  How on earth is this position political?  No idea, but welcome to present day politics.  She’s served three terms in this role and has claimed bipartisan support.  Oddly enough, I personally have seen multiple Republican households with a Mentink sign.  Mentink has criticized Rodriguez for never writing a budget and lacking any meaningful experience.  Among other things, she criticized his attendance record and lack of bipartisan support.  On a final note, Mentink participated in a live stream at the Kenosha Creative Space, but Rodriguez was a no show.          

The Republican challenger, Zach Rodriguez, is the chair of the Kenosha Judiciary and Law Enforcement Committee and the Kenosha County Board supervisor for District 8.  He’s been endorsed by multiple county board members, Congressman Bryan Steil and David Zoerner.  As a county board member, he’s fought for amendments allowing carry of concealed weapons in county facilities. Some priorities of his will be maintaining accurate record keeping, efficiently collecting fees, and ensuring equal access to the courts for all residents.  He’s also attacked Mentink for her attendance record.             Continue reading A Brief Recap of the Wisconsin Midterm Candidates  →

by Benjamin Rothove

The American embargo against Cuba prevents American companies and some businesses with ties to the United States from trading with Cuba.  The United States first instituted an arms embargo against Cuba in 1958 during an armed rebellion led by Fidel Castro against the US-backed regime.  However, the arms embargo backfired because the rebels were not being supplied by the US, which resulted in Fidel Castro’s socialist government coming to power in 1959.  Within three months of being in power, the US began plotting to overthrow Castro.  Congress did not wish to lift the embargo, and the Cuban government began purchasing weapons from the Soviet Union in 1960.  The US reduced the import quota of Cuban sugar, and the US government cut exports of crude oil to the country in late 1960.  This led to the regime nationalizing all three oil refineries in Cuba, and one of the final acts of the Eisenhower administration was to sever all diplomatic relations between the US and Cuba in January 1961.

After the failed Bay of Pigs invasion, the Cuban government officially declared itself Marxist.  Congress passed the Foreign Assistance Act which allowed the president to impose a trade embargo if necessary, and the Organization of American States suspended Cuba.  Sanctions were then imposed on Cuba by the OAS, and president John F. Kennedy officially began the embargo in early 1962 and expanded it in late 1962.  Following the Cuban Missile Crisis, travel restrictions were enacted and all Cuban assets in the US were frozen. Continue reading The Embargo on Cuba: A Legacy of Failure →

By Benjamin Rothove

Wisconsin: Polling is looking very good for incumbent Senator Ron Johnson.  Johnson went from trailing his opponent, Mandela Barnes, this summer to a steady lead in the last few weeks.  Barnes is increasingly unpopular in the state, with ads highlighting his record on crime and many past controversies.  Johnson is not particularly popular in the state either due to stepping back on his commitment to serve only two terms.

On the other hand, the Governor’s race is a tossup.  Incumbent Governor Tony Evers is in a dead-heat race with challenger Tim Michels.  Michels narrowly won a contested primary, so he has spent much of his time trying to ignite the Republican base.  Evers has been facing trouble as well, primarily due to attacks on his record with education. Continue reading Election Rundown →

By Benjamin Rothove

On August 8, 1974, Richard Nixon announced that he would resign from the presidency, effective noon on August 8th.  No President had resigned before, and no president has resigned since.  Less than two years earlier, Richard Nixon had been reelected winning 49 of the 50 states.  Now, he was stepping down in disgrace.  Nixon left a permanent stain on the Presidency, and the government can never be trusted by the American people in the way it once was.  It looked then like the Republican Party had died.

In the election after Nixon’s resignation, Americans voted in the friendly face of Jimmy Carter.  Carter carried little political baggage and is still seen as a good person today.  However, that is not enough for a successful presidency.  The presidential term of Jimmy Carter was defined by high inflation, flawed foreign policy, and low approval ratings. (Sound familiar?) The American people did not see Jimmy Carter as a leader. Continue reading The Future of the Republican Party. Before Reagan, There was Nixon →

by Riley Voss

The Artemis 1: NASA’s first mission of many attempting to establish a human presence on the Moon. Our first journey back to the big rock orbiting our planet since the original Moon landing in 1969. This is a giant leap into the future of mankind and our exploration of other planets, and a stepping stone to a colony on Mars. But what are the technical aspects of this shuttle to the future? What can we expect from the results of this mission?

NASA’s Artemis 1 mission is a test flight, used to monitor and verify that the systems that the engineers have designed and created will be able to safely and successfully send a crew of astronauts to and from the Moon. NASA states that “Artemis I, formerly Exploration Mission-1, will be the first integrated test of NASA’s deep space exploration systems: the Orion spacecraft, Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and the ground systems at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.” According to NASA’s Artemis 1 Overview, “The primary operations goal of the mission is to assure a safe crew module entry, descent, splashdown, and recovery.” The first of the Artemis 1 missions will ensure complete safety for the astronauts embarking on the journey both to and from the Moon, while simultaneously testing the systems that will be used to launch and carry them as well as the ground systems that will be crucial for proper execution of the mission. Continue reading NASA’s Artemis 1: What Is It, and Why Does It Matter? →

By Benjamin Rothove

The Senate race in Pennsylvania is perhaps the most chaotic election in the 2022 cycle.  Perhaps more accurately referred to as the Transylvania Senate election, the race is between Dr. Frankenstein and his monster, so voters must decide whether they want to be represented by a madman or a fool.  On the Republican side, television star Mehmet Oz keeps putting his foot in his mouth, unable to appeal to his base or to moderates.  On the Democratic side, John Fetterman seems unable to say, well anything.

Primaries: While I would like to focus on the candidates in the general election, this election was weird from the beginning.  On the Democratic side, it appeared that Congressman Conor Lamb would easily win the primary, but his campaign was disastrous from the beginning.  His team was so disorganized that he was unable to garner anything resembling widespread support, which lead to him handily losing the primary.  On the Republican side, the primary was decided by just a few hundred votes.  The messy first round, however, was nothing compared to what was to come. Continue reading The Pennsylvania Senate Election: An Accident Waiting to Happen →

By Amaiya Diaz

Over the years, climate change has affected the world in many ways. One way that many people may not take into consideration when thinking about the consequences of climate change would be natural disasters. Natural disasters have been devastating to people all around the world. Ranging from wildfires to flooding, it’s hard to be able to adapt and prepare for the catastrophes you could be vulnerable to if you are not ready for a natural disaster to hit. However, these natural disasters might not be so natural anymore. They have been impacted by the human-made emissions and the carbon dioxide that have been recently released into the atmosphere. This has also caused global warming to become a hazard all across the Earth, being a threat to the people, but mostly the oceans.

Over the last century, the global temperature has risen two degrees Fahrenheit. To many, this doesn’t seem like a big deal since it’s such a small number. Yet, just two degrees could completely change the Earth’s sea levels, causing flooding all across seaboards. This will cause the water supply in many cities to be salinized, and unable to be consumed by humans without proper sanitation. Hundreds of thousands will be forced to relocate since their towns would be eroded, flooded, and inhabitable.  Continue reading Water: Too Much or Too Little →

by Bailey Chrabascz 

September 11, 2001, is a date that will go down in history as the largest terrorist attack. It is arguably one of the most tragic events in United States history. The series of airplane hijackings, that resulted in the collapse of the Twin Towers and death of thousands of civilians, united the country during a time of grief. 

The terrorist attacks changed everything. Immigration law and policy was forever changed after the events that took place on 9/11. The country quickly became closed off to any foreigners who might harm us. Border patrol and border surveillance have grown exponentially. The hijackers were able to obtain a visa from the U.S, go through the point of inspection, and into the United States without being detected, revealing the vulnerability of the Immigration system. The government was quickly faced with a task to fix the gaps in domestic immigration laws and strengthen our country’s security.  Continue reading The 21st Anniversary of 9/11 →