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Showing posts from August, 2017

US Military Intervention In Venezuela?

Don't Be Surprised The current political and economic climate in Venezuela is rather hectic , to put it kindly. Yesterday President Trump  brought up the possibility  of a military operation in Venezuela. To students of the history of US-Latin American relations, this really should not come as a surprise. Since the establishment of the Monroe Doctrine, and arguably before it, the United States has positioned itself as a regional power in the Americas. The United States has led economics and politics in the region through various means. Through the use of military force and gunboat diplomacy or through American economic ventures ensuring that US interests are always the focus, the United States has been an important actor throughout Latin American history. The United States has viewed itself as relatively superior to the members of Latin American countries and societies. A good historical example of this was when Henry Ford attempted to recreate his economic successes

It's Time To Move On From The War On Drugs

Preventing Human Suffering And Improving Individual Liberty Should Be The Focus Of Our Drug Policy The United States "War on Drugs" has failed . Time and time again the punitive paradigm has proven itself to be a failure in American society. A move toward a combination of libertarian, public health, and harm reduction drug policy paradigms is desperately needed. Democratic Senator Cory Booker has introduced a bill that would fundamentally change how our criminal justice system functions in regards to marijuana. This bill is an incredible first step in regards to righting the wrongs of American drug policy, and it should receive bipartisan support as both the Democrats and Republicans constituencies clearly show support for marijuana legalization. However, it does not go far enough.  The evils of the War on Drugs do not stop at marijuana, currently there is a terrible opioid epidemic in the United States. While marijuana legalization has been suggested as a p