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-Billy McMahon | Wednesday, April 22, 2015
I’ve spent a lot of column inches over the past year criticizing the university’s policies or administration. From what I’ve said about the administration caring too much for wealth or my tangles with the more ridiculous side of university discipline, it would be easy to conclude that I didn’t much care for this place. In
Billy McMahon | Wednesday, April 8, 2015
All outgoing seniors are asked to complete an extensive survey that covers everything from your religious views to the details of your academic schedule. There were a thousand or so questions — underclassmen can decide if that’s an approximation or an exaggeration — but the last caught my eye. Why did I decide to live
Billy McMahon | Wednesday, March 25, 2015
On Monday, Senator Ted Cruz of Texas announced his candidacy for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination. He is the first major candidate to officially enter next year’s race. This column isn’t about 2016, though. It’s hardly about Ted Cruz. It’s almost about where Senator Cruz made his announcement — Liberty University, founded by Pastor Jerry
Billy McMahon | Thursday, February 26, 2015
If Gov. Scott Walker has his way, the state of Wisconsin will soon pass some version of the Freeloader Act. Joining 24 other states, Wisconsin would then impose government controls on the market because it has determined that too many people are acting in their own rational self-interest and not in the interests of their bosses.
Billy McMahon | Wednesday, February 11, 2015
Kayla Mueller, an American aid worker taken hostage by the Islamic State, was confirmed dead yesterday. It is unclear whether she was killed in Jordan’s airstrikes on the Islamic State last week or if she had died prior to that. Those Jordan airstrikes occurred following the execution of a Jordanian pilot by Islamic State militants.
Billy McMahon | Tuesday, January 27, 2015
Notre Dame is union made, and Notre Dame has labor problems. Administrators have fought campus unionization, workers have limited bargaining power and the university’s capital investments have little moral oversight. And yet, Notre Dame is union made. This contradiction is key to the proposed changes to our University’s licensing policy. We have many precedents to
Billy McMahon | Wednesday, January 14, 2015
If one were to judge Christianity by its influence on mainstream politics in the United States, they might be struck by the religion’s obsessive focus on abortion, homosexuality and pre-marital sex. Those fighting against these things nearly always drape their arguments in Christianity, while those fighting against poverty and hunger most often make secular arguments.
Billy McMahon | Tuesday, December 9, 2014
In August of this year, I traveled deep into rebel territory in Chiapas, Mexico, to the jungle compound of “La Realidad” — a major base of operations for the Zapatista Army of National Liberation. I was welcomed by the masked revolutionaries and invited to stay as long as I liked. They called me “compañero” and
Billy McMahon | Tuesday, November 11, 2014
The past few months have seen the largest Ebola outbreak in history. Though the epidemic is largely contained to three West African countries, there has been a global medical response to fight the disease before it spreads further. Taking the lead in yet another international humanitarian crisis has been the usual suspect: Cuba. As the
Billy McMahon | Tuesday, October 28, 2014
The 2014 midterm elections are a week away. Although the outcome is uncertain, one thing is certain. Whoever wins in November, not much will change. Congress is known for party bickering and gridlock while working people struggle through a recession that has long since ended for the elite. It’s easy to understand why most people would see