Opinion

Oren Cass addressed Buckley Fellows in a lecture on Monday, April 23rd to discuss his work on overdramatized analyses of climate change. A fellow spoke with him before the talk, and his thoughts are printed below.  Oren Cass is a Senior Fellow with the Manhattan Institute, where his focus includes energy, the environment, and poverty, as well as corresponding policy issues. He previously served as domestic policy director for the Romney campaign from 2011-2012. He often briefs Congress on his conservative policy approaches for issues such as environmental regulation, trade, poverty, and climate change, and his work has been widely published among prominent media outlets. He received a B.A. in Political Economy from Williams College and a J.D. from Harvard University.  By: Matthew Fantozz...

Roslyn Layton is a visiting scholar at the American Enterprise Institute focusing on digital technology industries and net neutrality. Layton develops policies for digitally connected domains and advises on government regulations. She participated in the Buckley Program’s Firing Line Debate on Net Neutrality, and after the event, Layton provided the following reading list for Buckley fellows: "This is a reading list to help you think for yourself and push against orthodoxy. The purpose of inquiry and debate is to seek truth, engage in dialogue, and challenge opinions. Here are some resources to help you sharpen your reasoning and inspire you to make masterful argumentation." Blogs and Articles 10 Things Bernie Sanders Should Know About Denmark Here’s how to use the experience of your ...

On Monday, April 9th, Jack Goldsmith, the Henry L Shattuck Professor of Law at Harvard University, joined the Buckley program for a dinner seminar. There he discussed his most recent book, Power and Constraint: The Accountable President After 9/11, and how the growth the executive branch is more important to pay attention to than ever. By: Aryssa Damron At the time of our meeting, questions still hung in the air over what President Trump would do in response to the alleged chemical attack in Syria. Mark Zuckerberg was preparing to testify to Congress about the huge data breach associated with Cambridge Analytica. Questions about whether Trump could or would fire Robert Mueller were being lobbed at Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders on a daily basis. The state of the union certainly ...

On March 27th and 28th, Buckley Fellows had the pleasure of attending a wide range of events with former Florida Governor and 2016 Presidential candidate Jeb Bush in New Haven. He spoke with Buckley Fellows over meals, visited classes, and gave a lecture, touching upon a wide range of political topics. The following is one fellow’s reflection on his overall experience.  By: Declan Kunkel John Ellis "Jeb" Bush is not a name that is often connected with Yale. Politicians and laymen alike often think of his brother and father, George W. Bush ‘68 and George H.W. Bush ‘48. But Jeb, a politician in his own right, was the one making waves during a recent campus visit. Bush’s comment about going home to his children after his loss in the 2016 South Carolina Republican Primary went viral, sparki...

During his visit, former Florida Governor and 2016 Presidential candidate Jeb Bush took the time to sit down with fellows for an informal chat over coffee in New Haven. The following is one student fellow's reflection on the discussion, as well as assessment of campus culture surrounding engagement with conservative thought through the Buckley Program. By: Eric Wallach “You’re in the Buckley Program?” a friend asks, trying to restrain her face from its inevitable wince. Through this question and many others, I’ve encountered a certain oddity on Yale’s campus—a presumption which is sly, seemingly innocuous, and yet fairly malignant: if you’re engaged with anything Conservative, then you must identify as a Conservative. Simply put, this wince and its underlying assumption reflect the fal...

On March 27, 2018, Buckley Fellows had the pleasure of having lunch with former Florida Governor and 2016 Presidential candidate Jeb Bush in New Haven. Here, he spoke with a group of a dozen Buckley Fellows, touching upon a wide range of political topics. The following is one fellow’s reflection on his experience. By: Andreas Ravichandran Governor Bush touched upon topics from education policy to gun control, but the issue that struck a chord with me was his discussion of civility in politics. He presented a bleak picture of American politics, one that I expect most Americans on both sides of the political spectrum sense. Politicians no longer talk about policy and it seems that Congress is more dysfunctional than ever before. Drama and maneuvering dominate the headlines; bipartisanship ...

Erica Komisar joined Buckley Fellows for dinner on Thursday, February 8th in New Haven to discuss her new book about the importance of motherhood and early child care, and how this is tied to the lack of happiness in our current society. Two fellows spoke with her before talk, and their thoughts are printed below.  Erica Komisar is a clinical social worker, psychoanalyst and parent guidance expert who has been in private practice in New York City for the last 30 years. Erica is a psychological consultant bringing parenting and work/life workshops to clinics, schools, corporations and childcare settings. She published a new book in 2017, Being There: Why Prioritizing Motherhood in the First Three Years Matters. Using current research, statistical evidence, and material from her work as a t...