by Chloe Rockow
On the global stage, no action goes without a significant reaction. Revolts in Tunisia and cries for democracy in Egypt have set off a chain reaction of protests, reforms, and unrest. As is common in American foreign policy, experts identify these reactions under the rubric of “Domino Theory: the idea that sudden change in the leadership of one nation can set off a chain reaction in its neighbors, transforming an entire region.”1 President Eisenhower originally coined the term in reference to Indochina, claiming that if one country fell …

by Lingfeng Li
When I first started writing for The Gothic Guardian as a freshman, I was full of story ideas and eager to help define the modern young conservative. But, after three years of writing mostly about fiscal policies and economics, I must acknowledge the challenges of keeping up with both news and politics.
I am apparently not unique among young Americans, many of whom also wrestle with political and news media fatigue. In a Gallup poll from March 2010, only 20 percent of Americans aged 18 to 29 were “very …

by Trent Serwetz
APRIL 8 – Congressional leaders have only hours remaining to pass a new budget or face an impending government shutdown. With this swollen leverage, Republicans have the President’s party by the proverbial chestnuts. Facing the crisis of a government shutdown, Congress has a singular opportunity to restore the conservative dream of American “sanity,” passing the most comprehensive budget cuts in recent history.
So what do they do with all this power? Undermining the overriding goal of limiting government spending as much as possible, Republicans instead consent to a virtually …

By Lingfeng Li
As a wave of new Republican lawmakers enters the legislative experience, we look back on a decade of important but misguided legislation. Hopefully these newly elected delegates will avoid some of the missteps made mostly by their conservative predecessors.
1. Iraq Resolution. The war in Iraq has been, in the eyes of most, a huge debacle for the United States. Not only were no weapons of mass destruction found, thus invalidating the government’s rationale for invasion, but thousands of American lives were lost and billions upon …

By Aaron McGuire
One year ago, the dining plan contract fee increased $70 — from $19.50 to $90. This came at the end of a long, protracted dispute between DSG and Campus Services. The fee increase was suggested for the purpose of reducing the Duke Dining deficit, which had then ballooned to $2.2 million. Finally, after the administration allegedly agreed to adhere to a list of stipulations, the fee increase was agreed upon. The most important stipulation was that the increase was to exist for only one year.
Unfortunately, that’s not happening. …

by Chloe Rockow

Tyler Clementi, a student at Rutgers University, took his own life when pressure from cyberbullying overwhelmed him in September. Megan Meier, a teenager from Missouri, committed suicide after being cyberbullied by a friend’s mother through a fake MySpace account. Duke’s Karen Owen thought her satirical “senior thesis” would be safe in the inboxes of her friends.
Even Rui Dai, a sophomore at Duke University, was ridiculed when she wrote a Chronicle opinion article on the “Engineered Happiness” of Pratt students.
Technological advances like the Internet are usually viewed as …

By Trent Serwetz
In ancient times, warriors fought within meters of their opposition, feeling the sweat and blood of their human enemies. In the modern age, rifles, bombs, and artillery increasingly distanced the human from his/her target, moving the soldier farther and farther away from the gaze of the dead. Today, hundreds can be killed with the push of a button and the deployment of an unmanned orbital missile.
The ever-growing distance between the killer and the killed is not rendered exclusively as physical distance. It is a distance from the human …

By Trent Serwetz
Election Day 2008. Op Ed pieces flood in, each one asking a more optimistic question than the last. Change is on the horizon, figured as not just political change but an upheaval of the entire American sociopolitical tradition. “Doesn’t [Obama's victory] imply a “post-racial” America?” One archetypal piece asks. “And shouldn’t those of us — white and black — who did not vote for Mr. Obama take pride in what his victory says about our culture even as we mourn our political loss?”1
A close analysis of voter demographics …

By Trent Serwetz
“…Piracy is theft. Clean and simple. It’s smash and grab. It ain’t no different than smashing a window at Tiffany’s and grabbing [merchandise].”1
Vice President Joe Biden made this admonishment on June 22, 2010 as he introduced the Obama administration’s new “Joint Strategic Plan” for enforcing intellectual property rights. While his words are significantly more severe than the administration’s actual record would suggest, they leave no doubt as to the direction of the Executive Branch’s IP policy initiatives. Biden’s words represent a serious threat to the American people.
U.S. intellectual …

By Matthew Leonard
For freedom-loving Americans, there is cause for optimism in November. The popular tide has turned against the collectivist record of the Democrat party. There are telling signs that a more conservative majority will govern Congress next year.
Given the wide margin of Barack Obama’s victory two years ago, his compatriots’ fall from grace has been surprisingly precipitous. Those on the Left explain their slide in the polls as misplaced blame for a sour economy bequeathed by Bush. On the other side, the Right claims that …