By Joe Badalamenti Ah, the presidential debates, the time where nominees from major parties come together to have a civil discussion on the issues that matter to voters. Surely this year’s nominees, Donald Trump and Joe Biden, could come to the table and show that they have what it takes to hold the highest office in America right? WRONG! After watching the first presidential debate of 2020, I mainly felt disappointed. Nearly 250 years after…
After Five Years, We Still Can’t Breathe
By Patrick McAuliffe In May of 2015, my innocent dewy eyes beheld Binghamton University in all of its austere splendor on a campus tour, and they were immediately drawn to the “Police Brutality” cover of Binghamton Review. The Editor-in-Chief at the time, Sean Glendon, tackled the problem of citizens dying at the hands of police in response to Eric Garner’s unjust murder over selling cigarettes on the New York City sidewalk. In the wake of…
It’s a Boy! Burning California
By Harold Rook Ah, California…home to Hollywood, no longer the home for The Daily Wire, and to a Katie Perry song that can’t get out of my head. Sure, I may be at odds with some of the policies and ideas proposed by many of the politicians in the state. And yes, I may channel my inner Holden Caulfield and make fun of how phony it is that actors and actresses from California tend to…
The Daniel Prude Case and its Place in the Black Lives Matter Movement
By Spencer Haynes An Overview of the Incident In the early morning of March 23rd in Rochester, NY, Daniel Prude overdosed on PCP, a street drug with strong hallucinogenic effects. As a result, he began to act erratically, running into the street and removing his clothes. His brother Joe then called 911 out of concern for Prude’s safety. This was understandable, as Prude had recently been hospitalized for mental health issues. Police and EMTs responded…
Joe Biden Will Probably Win
By Will Anderson In hindsight, 2016 was a time when Americans would fabricate problems for themselves. Do you remember when there was some big controversy over private businesses telling their employees to say “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas?” Somehow this snowballed into “PC culture running amok” and an electoral plurality of the Republican voter base declared Donald Trump to be the answer. After the primary we were given pragmatic reasons to vote for Trump…
Let’s Say, Hypothetically, Looting and Rioting are Justified…
By Harold Rook To say the last several months have generated social unrest would be an understatement. Following the death of George Floyd, protests erupted nationwide to highlight issues of police brutality and the targeting of black Americans by the criminal justice system. For a short period of time, it almost seemed as though the country was unified in the need for some measure of reform; everyone from Bernie Sanders to Rush Limbaugh decried the…
Meowmeowbeenz, Nosedive, and Social Credit
By Patrick McAuliffe By now, the Chinese government’s persecution and mass surveillance of its minority Uighur (Muslim) population should be old news to you. BBC estimates as late as August 4th of this year that, over the past few years, over one million Uighurs and other Muslim groups in China have been subject to relocation and forced internment in re-education camps, primarily in the western region of Xinjiang. China’s official stance is that these enrollments…
An Epic Bite Out of an Apple Pie
By Harold Rooke Hey there, welcome back to Binghamton (or if you’re a new student, welcome to your new prison)! Since leaving for home early due to COVID-19, I’ve been a bit busy doing what I do best: gaming. Specifically, playing Fortnite. Yeah, I know, I can already hear you saying “Pffft, Fortnite is for ten-year olds!” What outrageous slander! Fortnite is for ten-year olds and me, thank you very much! Despite the criticism of…
YAF and College Republicans Sue Binghamton University
By Binghamton Review Staff On July 21st 2020, Young America’s Foundation (YAF)—joined by Binghamton University College Republicans and College Republicans President Jon Lizak—filed a federal lawsuit against Binghamton University. According to YAF, the civil rights action is taking place due to what they believe to be a failure by the University to ensure the protection of the First and Fourteenth Amendment, as well as seemingly targeting conservative student groups. In addition to being directed towards…
Social Distancing and the NAP
By Patrick McAuliffe In ThEsE uNcErTaIn TiMeS, questions about public obligations and private rights are brought to the forefront of people’s lives. The true application of abstract ideals such as one’s civic duty or the non-aggression principle is no longer something relegated to the ivory tower, but to the concrete sidewalks in front of government buildings and the wire fences around the entrances of Walmarts. For the sake of both the healthy and the vulnerable,…
NASCAR is Back: You Should Watch
By Dillon O’Toole We are nearing two months of quarantine and, more importantly, two months without sports to keep us entertained. There is a light at the end of the tunnel however, and it is approaching fast. UFC is returning on May 9th and NASCAR is returning on May 17th. I am here to try and convince you to give NASCAR a try now that they are returning. In fact, now is a perfect time…
Kim Jong-un or Kim Jong-ill?
By Harold Rook Picture global politics as a macroscale version of high school: the world stage is the classroom, wars are fought at 4:30pm under the flagpole after class, and countries are students, with global institutions such as the United Nations being dubiously-helpful teachers and janitors. Each country is voiced by its government, in much the ways you may predict; Britain is a former jock that recently broke up with his girlfriend, the EU, Russia…
Conservatism Won’t Save Anyone From the Coronavirus
By Bryn Lauer Political parties define themselves with blanket statements. For Democrats, these statements are often paired with increased government, whereas Republicans will not let you leave a conversation without having the government sworn away as one of society’s most imminent threats. It pains me to see both parties try to apply their political philosophies over a wide array of subjects, expecting an outcome that holds true to their idealized worlds. There is a disconnect…
WHO Let the Virus Out?
By Harold Rook As I’m sure we are all aware of by now, the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19/Chinese Virus/CCP Virus/whatever you’d like to call it) has grinded the nation to a halt. Outside of making venturing outdoors feel like you are in a vacant post-apocalyptic dystopia ala Mad Max, the officially declared pandemic has almost the entire population in quarantine, with new public guidelines such as facemasks and social distancing becoming the norm. The effects of…
COVID-19: Why We Need More Authoritarianism
By Comrade Kevin COVID-19, also referred to as the novel coronavirus, has severely wrecked political, economic, and social life across the United States over the past three or so weeks. Businesses across the country have shut their doors, sports leagues have suspended play, and, as of press time, the Dow Jones Industrial Average has lost about a third of its points.. Many feel that the next few months will be bleak, and with good reason,…