Every four years Iowa begins the presidential nomination process with the Iowa Caucuses. The start of caucus season is also the start of complaints by those who object to Iowa going first in the nomination…
Common goals can become a common problem.
Shutterstock classroom
The Common Core State Standards Initiative (or Common Core) is a quintessentially American approach to addressing the relatively modest academic performance of many students. The Common Core seeks to raise…
Is there room for more?
US Capitol image via shutterstock.com
The American public’s dislike of Congress is far from a new development in US politics. However, over the past few years the situation has gotten even worse with public approval of this institution hovering…
Casinos like this one in Maryland bring benefits as well as costs. The challenge is working out which is greater.
www.marylandlivecasino.com
During the past two decades, the US casino industry has expanded dramatically. According to the American Gaming Association, there are now nearly 1,000 commercial and tribal casinos in the country. Plans…
An artist’s rendering of Wynn’s proposed $1.6 billion casino on the Mystic River, Everett.
The [upcoming vote](http://ballotpedia.org/Massachusetts_Casino_Repeal_Initiative,Question_3(2014) on whether to scrap plans to allow casino resorts in Massachusetts fits into a broader pattern of individuals…
Hope you didn’t skip a race …
Scott Miller/Reuters
Although the midterms are typically referred to as federal elections, there is no federal entity that governs the conduct of elections in the US. There are basic election laws governing the timing of federal…
Confused by the news?
befuddled woman image via www.shutterstock.com
Foundation essay: This article is part of a series marking the launch of The Conversation in the US. Our foundation essays are longer than our usual comment and analysis articles and take a wider look…
Does this look like a conservative city to you?
Ixnayonthetimmay
Mesa, Arizona: a place with wide streets and narrow minds. Or so goes a once popular saying about this traditionally laid-back, conservative community that came into official existence in 1883 as a Mormon…
Foundation essay: This article is part of a series marking the launch of The Conversation in the US. Our foundation essays are longer than our usual comment and analysis articles and take a wider look…
Adrian Peterson has been indicted for injury to a child.
Arvee5.0
US sports continue to struggle with the controversies surrounding Ray Rice’s domestic violence case, and the arrest of Slava Voynov on suspicion of domestic violence. But what has not been a matter of…
A convicted rapist is no role model for this young fan.
Darren Staples/Reuters
The persistence of violence against women across the globe is well documented, but what part do sports play in gendered aggression? It seems shocking to claim that sports and violence against women are…
The people are angry, but the politicians aren’t worried.
Dave Weaver/Reuters
In Nebraska, the intensity of the Keystone XL debate is second only to that over the chance that the Nebraska Cornhuskers will win the Big Ten football championship. Raging for several years now, controversy…
Attendees photograph Hillary Clinton speaking at Pennsylvania rally in support of Democratic candidate for governor.
Mark Makela/Reuters
Foundation essay: This article is part of a series marking the launch of The Conversation in the US. Our foundation essays are longer than our usual comment and analysis articles and take a wider look…
Police in Ferguson, Missouri, far beyond your friendly neighborhood patrolmen.
Larry W Smith/EPA
In August 2014, the police who faced protesters in Ferguson, Missouri looked more like soldiers than officers of the peace. Citizens squared off with a camouflage-clad police force armed with tear gas…
They are listening but whose side are they on?
Max Rossi/Reuters
An extraordinary two weeks in Rome ended Saturday with a standing ovation. Pope Francis had invited 191 bishops and clergy to the Synod on the family to speak their minds on issues such as divorce, premarital…
The outside is being renovated, but what about the inside?
Jim Bourg/Reuters
Foundation essay: This article is part of a series marking the launch of The Conversation in the US. Our foundation essays are longer than our usual comment and analysis articles and take a wider look…
A shared past and an uninspiring future.
Sebastiao Moreira/EPA
Marcelo Ridenti, Universidade Estadual de Campinas (Unicamp)
The most positive aspect of the Brazilian election is not just that the two front-runners are are women, but that gender issues are not the major focus of this campaign in the media. Still, the likely…
Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s government was sworn in just over one year ago, making this an opportune moment to review its performance from an international perspective. Abbott and his Canadian…
I don’t think we’re in Falkirk any more.
warriorwoman531
After a flurry of interest in the Scottish referendum, with the vote featuring on the front page of the New York Times and dominating nightly news programmes, Americans may now be wondering what all the…