Liberation: The Journey to Freedom

As the European Union (EU) and the United States continue their sanction regimes against the Russian Federation over its war in Ukraine, it is important to gauge whether the public supports these various measures. Sanctions are an imperfect instrument of foreign policy and often carry two-way costs. More often than not the declared object of sanctions fails to be met. One such example can be seen in the Russian currency, which was touted as worthless when sanctions first kicked in, yet as of the writing of this article, the Ruble has rebounded in value to its pre-sanctions levels, and Putin’s popularity has skyrocketed to over 80 percent since March. Neither regime change in Russia nor severely undercutting Russia’s ability to conduct the war has yet to be achieved. Whether there are rejections or potential defections from the pro- or anti-Russia sanctions coalition in terms of who the public decides to elect is vital to see if the sanction regime will expand, stagnate, or fall apart. The Hungarian, Serbian, and French elections in April illustrate the limited extent of public support for the costly anti-Russia sanctions, and in Pakistan, the ousting of former prime minister Imran Khan presents the possibility for a potential defection toward the West’s sanctions regime. In the case of France it should be noted that at the time of the writing of this article that the sole election available to be analyzed was the first round of their presidential elections.

With the recent leak over the possible overturning of Roe vs. Wade, people may be asking themselves what is so important about the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe vs. Wade? Before the 2020 presidential elections, some Democrats considered trying to add more justices to the courts current amount of 9. The court’s decision to overturn Roe vs. Wade has the potential to give progressives new motivation to attempt “court stacking” and overturn the court’s decision by changing its balance of power. This article will help explain what the Supreme Court is doing by overturning Roe vs. Wade, what it means for the American people and the importance of the Supreme Court's role in the US government. Looking at previous controversial cases may help shed some light on what specifically is the Supreme Court’s role, the importance in having a balanced court, and help us understand exactly how they come to make their decisions.

With Putin’s invasion of Ukraine entering its 4th month, things are looking grim, and not just for the Russian Army. As badly as this war is going for the wannabe Tzar, neither Ukraine nor the West should rest easy at the prospect of Putin’s failure. Although it is unequivocally important for the U.S. and its allies to embrace the goal of a Ukrainian victory, such ventures must be taken with a full grasp of the hellacious slog that it will be. Given that a legitimate loss in this expansionist war (e.g. if Ukraine can drive Russian forces back to the pre-invasion line of control, or even repatriate regions occupied prior to Feb. 24th) would jeopardize Putin’s political survival, ultimately all cards are on the table if pushed to the brink of defeat.

It is not challenging for one to see the effects of inflation these days. Across the world, prices have risen for a variety of products and goods, to varying degrees. Oil and gas, food and other household items have all been increasingly expensive at alarming rates. These past few months have seen worrying signs that the economy is heading deeper into a recession. This year in April, the labor department announced the single biggest increase (8.5%) in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) since 1981. Earlier this May, the US Federal Reserve (also known as “the Fed”) decided to raise interest rates for corporations (including banks) looking to borrow money from the US government. Although the Federal Reserve is typically a cautious institution when it comes to enacting radical policy changes, it decided to raise its interest to a dramatic degree, the largest raising of its interest rates in over 20 years. Here is how we have assessed inflation has been rising and why the Fed has decided to raise the interest rate to such a degree and take a gamble that could easily worsen the recession.