In a region of powerful rivals and rogue nuclear states, is pacifism the weakness of the Japanese?

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is on an urgent timetable. His push for modifying Japan’s pacifist constitution clause has been met with doubt from both the public and politicians alike. As elections rapidly approach, how will Abe take advantage of his party’s power to push Japan towards remilitarization?

Why was Japan’s military reduced in the first place?

After World War II, Japan was reduced to a shadow to its former self. Nearly all it’s major cities (with the exception of Kyoto), industry, and transportation was severely damaged. …

The real question is what comes after the caliphate. Insurgents may die, but ideologies don’t.

Last year, reports on the losses ISIS has sustained in Iraq and Syria began surfacing. At first, the data appears to be positive. They have lost more than ninety-five percent of the 34,000 square miles of territory they held in 2014, their annual funds have been slashed in half, and several top dogs, including Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, have been killed.

So why could the future of the fight against ISIS be bleak?

The big question is not about if ISIS will fall, but how it…

Columbine. San Bernardino. Virginia Tech. Aurora. Sandy Hook. Orlando. Las Vegas. Now we add Stoneman Douglas High School to the list.

Whatever the U.S. is doing with gun control, it’s not working. It’s been just weeks into 2018, and there have already been eight lethal shootings at schools around the nation. The shooting on February 14th, committed by 19-year old Nikolas Cruz, is just the latest in a pattern that has spanned for years. Yet gun control is still described as a topic that is off-limits, that is deemed too touchy by politicians and too partisan by voters. …

In the wake of a tough year, President Trump’s first State of the Union basked in his success. Starting and ending on confident tones, Trump described his presidency as a “new tide of optimism sweeping across this land” and frequently referring to America as a nation that “will forever be safe and strong, proud and mighty, and free.”

In the first few minutes he introduces:

• Cajun Navy representative Ashlee Leppert, who saved forty lives during the hurricane season.
• Santa Maria firefighter David Dahlberg who saved trapped a kids camp from the California wildfires.
• House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, who was…

Politicians are gambling on the blame game.

What is a government shutdown?

Imagine that you are stranded on an island with nine other people. You’re going to need food, clean water, shelter, and plenty of other materials to make sure you and your group are safe. The problem is that your group has to agree on how to use up these resources — and you all have plenty of disagreements. For example, when you cut down a tree, five people want to use it to build a boat to get off the island, while the rest want to continue to save it for making fires…

Of all the powers Congress has, the one that they should most jealously guard is the power to declare war.

It was 9/14/2001; just three days after terrorists hijacked planes and sent them towards the Pentagon, the Capital Building, and the Twin Towers. In an attempt to stand with the American public — literally and figuratively — President George W. Bush paid a visit to the still-smoking remains of Ground Zero. He didn’t plan to make any remarks that day, but at the last minute when he was thanking first responders, some yelled that they couldn’t hear him. In this…

Trump’s decision to move Israel’s capital shocked the world. Here’s why knowing the importance of Jerusalem to Muslims is key to understanding the conflict.

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been, according to some experts, a complete foreign policy disaster for more than 60 years. For decades, both sides have indulged in violent and temporary solutions and washed each other with hate. The newest chapter of Israeli-Palestinian relations was written, unsurprisingly, by President Donald Trump, who decided to recognize Jerusalem as the official capital of Israel. With this new declaration, Washington’s plan to move the U.S. embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv…

What a wild and chaotic year it has been for Washington, even by their standards. While it seems like a lifetime has gone by, this article will recap everything important and influential that has happened in U.S. politics this year.

Nominations, Confirmations, Resignations

Let’s start off our recap with President Trump coming into office. A year ago and he was still considered an underdog in the Republican primaries, but now he holds one of the most important offices in our government — and the free world.

Arguably the most important event this year also happened to occur early on in Trump’s presidency. The…