Articles by Trevor Hayes

Perhaps one of the least thought out and most tired observations made with respect to the Syrian refugees arriving in Europe is that they have smartphones and tablets. The implication being that if these people can afford to buy smartphones and tablets, they do not need the help of western nations to survive. Unfortunately, this sentiment misunderstands the Syrian refugee crisis, and indeed all refugee crises, to an alarming degree. Imagine for a moment that you are an average Syrian. Imagine ...

Being a business mogul has never been a qualification for being the President of the United States. That is because the United States government is not a business. Being able to run a business, grow profits, and expand a company is not synonymous with being able to run a complex federal government that oversees 50 states. The position of the President of the United States has almost universally been the purview of generals, law experts, and community activists and organizers. In short: people w...

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court heard arguments for and against the constitutionality of equal marriage rights for gay and lesbian couples. Given the history of the court, it is widely speculated that the justices will declare universal equal rights with a ruling expected in July. Support for equal marriage rights for gay and lesbian couples in the United States is at an all-time high. The court of public opinion has weighed in, leaving only a necessary change in federal law to legitimize the de...

K2, Spice, Bath Salts; In 2008, synthetic drugs by a variety of names began appearing on the streets in the United States. More specifically, these are the names of synthetic cannabinoids, man-made chemicals sprayed on to plants and used to achieve a "legal" high. What many may not know is that under DEA regulations, synthetic drugs are illegal, and more importantly, they can be incredibly deadly. One example of the consequences of using Spice is the story of Connor Reid, a 19-year-old who die...

For many advocates of marijuana legalization, 2014 was a banner year. With initiatives passing in Oregon, Alaska, and in Washington D.C., it seems that the United States may be just a few short years away from complete federal legalization. Now that advocates can point to the relative successes of marijuana legalization in Washington and Colorado, the nation could see an increase in ballot measures in 2016. Here are the 5 states most likely to explore full legalization next: 1. California Th...

Does ISIS pose a credible threat to the United States and its interests? And if so, what is the best way to manage that threat? If you had asked any politician in 2003, they most likely would have agreed that Saddam Hussein and Iraq under his reign posed a credible threat to the United States, and a 10-year war was started because of that belief. Support for the war was lost broadly when it was determined that the claim of weapons of mass destruction was false, but the damage was already done. ...

www.ncsl.org The need for voter ID laws is a contentious and politically driven argument that tends to crop up around election years following the passage of the first voter ID law in Indiana in 2006. Prior to 2006, not a single state had enacted a law that would require a citizen to bring a government-issued photo ID with them in order to vote. The law was upheld by the Supreme Court two years after its passing. Many states had laws that required voters to provide some form of identification,...

On Tuesday night, Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein and her running mate, Cheri Honkala, were arrested while trying to gain entrance to the second presidential debate between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney. Stein was attempting to gain access to the debate as a form of protest after not only her own party was excluded from the debate, but no third party candidates were allowed to have their voices heard at all. Third party presidential candidates were not invited to participate even t...

Photo credit: Jeff Haynes The vice presidential debate was regarded as being better on facts and more substantive than the first presidential debate, but followed much of the same narrative that President Obama and challenger Mitt Romney discussed the week previous. It was also akin to the presidential debate in the sense that facts remain obscured under an avalanche of partisan rhetoric and misleading figures. Last week's vice presidential debate fact check holds few surprises and it seems we ...