Jeffrey Robin

May 28, 2013

Right-Side Columnist Bids UCSB Farewell

By Jeffrey Robin

I’ll be perfectly honest — UCSB wasn’t my first choice, by far. I came out of high school the preppy, sarcastic valedictorian of a sleepy suburb no one’s heard of. Despite receiving the Regents Scholarship here, ...

April 16, 2013

[Right Said] Reaching Across the Aisle: Bipartisanship in Today’s Politics

By Jeffrey Robin

Bipartisanship is a word that is bandied around by our politicians often but rarely practiced. In some ways, to even talk about bipartisanship in American politics is a foolhardy exercise. Vitriolic exchanges between par...

April 2, 2013

Right Said: Gay or Not, Marriage Is Already in the Dog House

By Jeffrey Robin

When I arrived in our nation’s capital for my time at UCDC this week, I had the opportunity to witness and photograph protesters outside the Supreme Court rallying in support of overturning the Defense of Marriage Act....

February 26, 2013

When “Chikin” Gets Political; Eat Mor Chikin

By Jeffrey Robin

With delicious chicken bites, pickles on buns, friendly customer service and entirely reasonable prices for it all, Chick-fil-A has long been, at least in my experience, one of the most ideally run fast(er) food restaura...

February 19, 2013

Right Said: Sometimes Hypocrites Do Things Right

By Jeffrey Robin

Imagine, if you would, a dystopian world where your government thought it could assassinate you or your fellow citizens at will according to some unknown set of circumstances that it refused to (or could not) define. A w...

February 5, 2013

Breaking News: The French Win a War

By Jeffrey Robin

Since I don’t expect that many of you would have noticed (and for good reason), I have a news flash for you: The French have actually won a war. Okay, maybe it wasn’t really an actual war, and the French have won man...

January 22, 2013

[Right Said] US Immigration Policy: Drawing the Line Between Who Gets In and Who Doesn’t

By Jeffrey Robin

  Though I haven’t held such a position, I imagine that being a professional advocate for immigration reform must be one of the most frustrating jobs in the world. When he was first elected in 2008, President Obam...

January 15, 2013

(Right Said) Abortion: When Does Life Begin And Who Decides That? Why This Debate Matters

By Jeffrey Robin

Year after year, heart disease and cancer consistently rank as the top two causes of death in our country, accounting for around 1.2 million deaths or around 50 percent of all deaths per year alone. Officially speaking, ...

January 8, 2013

Right Said: The Right To Bear Arms: Are America’s Gun Laws To Blame for Recent Gun Violence?

By Jeffrey Robin

“A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.” —Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution   Just one week ago,...

November 20, 2012

Right Said: New Wave of Violence Deepens Old Wounds (Thoughts on the Latest Attacks in the Israel-Palestine Conflict)

By Jeffrey Robin

Imagine for me, if you would, the following hypothetical scenario. You are lounging around in your apartment or house on a relaxing Saturday afternoon watching television, enjoying time with friends and preparing dinner....

November 13, 2012

Right Said: The ‘B’ Word: Balancing America’s Budget

By Jeffrey Robin

For almost the entire general election season, it has gone unnoticed. Neither presidential candidate talked about it in any great detail. The circumstances that led to its inception were set in motion a time long ago. Th...

November 6, 2012

Right Said: The 2012 Presidential Election: Endorsements, Predictions, and of Course, Why You Should Get to the Polls

By Jeffrey Robin

  23 million people are out of work or underemployed. Anemic job growth is completely insufficient to even provide jobs for new entrants to the labor market, much less those already out of work. Every citizen in the...

October 30, 2012

The Affirmative Action Debate: Moving Us Away From A Colorblind Meritocracy?

By Jeffrey Robin

Right Said: Imagine for me, if you would, the following scenario: you go to an average public high school, take an absurd amount of Advanced Placement classes, attend night classes at a community college, join every club...

October 16, 2012

Right Said: The President’s Foreign Policy: Why Hope Is Not a Real Strategy

By Jeffrey Robin

When he made his speech before the British Parliament in 1982, President Reagan commented: “I’ve always wondered about the shyness of some of us in the West about standing for these ideals (individual liberty, repres...

October 8, 2012

Right Said: Mitt Romney: Debate Victor and the Nation’s Logical Next President

By Jeffrey Robin

As I watched the first Presidential Debate last Wednesday, I almost couldn’t help but pity the president. By any — and effectively all — metrics, Gov. Romney wiped the floor with him. The contrast was stark and com...

October 2, 2012

Right Said: No, Teachers’ Strike Represents Height of Irresponsibility and Arrogance

By Jeffrey Robin

Sing hallelujah! After weeks of excruciating calls by replacements, the NFL referee lockout has ended! Meanwhile, in a far less publicized incident, Chicago’s public school teachers executed a rather — pardon the pun...