Hsi-Chang Lin

Associate Producer

Hsi-Chang Lin appears in the following:

Does the GOP Need to Fix its Primary System?

Wednesday, March 07, 2012

Here's a question you may not have asked yourself: why does the Republican party hold primaries and caucuses at all? Is there a better system than the long, drawn out process of staggered elections which push and pull the political momentum towards different candidates at different points in the cycle? Wouldn't it be easier to have all of the states elect their nominee at once? Or is there another way entirely to choose our political leaders? 

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Super Tuesday Exit Polls Hold Clues for General Election

Wednesday, March 07, 2012

Super Tuesday results aren't just about state-by-state winners and losers -- or about securing delegates. They're also a crucial barometer of what matters to voters and why. Detailed exit polls results from contests around the country paint a complex picture about what issues voters of different demographics are most passionate about and who they believe will be represent their interests.  

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Does the GOP Alienate Women Voters?

Wednesday, March 07, 2012

In recent weeks, the Republican party has had a difficult time charming a key slice of its political base: women.
For his part … Rick Santorum has been advocating against women’s access to contraception.  And even more recently… conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh is facing heat for the inflammatory and misogynistic comments made on his show.  
It should be noted that both Romney and Santorum have distanced themselves from Limbaugh’s comments. 
My next guest says that these isolated incidents speak to a bigger problem among the Republican party as a whole; specifically, that the grand old party has been ignoring, marginalizing or just offending women for years.  And that polls show this is going to hurt the party in the short term and the long. 
We’re joined now by Jennifer DeJournett [deh-JOOR-nett], president and co-founder of VOICES of Conservative Women, a non-profit that works to get women engaged in the political process.
In recent weeks, the Republican party has had a difficult time charming a key slice of its political base: women. Rick Santorum has been advocating against women’s access to contraception. Although both Romney and Santorum have distanced themselves from Rush Limbaugh's comments, the conservative radio host is facing heat for the inflammatory and misogynistic comments made on his show.

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Eric Holder: US Can Target Citizens Overseas

Tuesday, March 06, 2012

Attorney General Eric Holder outlined the United States’ legal defense of using lethal force against U.S. citizens overseas if that citizen is posing a terrorist threat. Holder’s speech, delivered Monday afternoon at Northwestern University, argued in part that the U.S. Constitution’s definition of due process defends the use of lethal force, even without the written consent of the president.

Until now, no legal defense was given for the U.S. mission in Yemen which killed al-Qaeda’s leading figure Anwar al-Awlaki. Al-Awlaki, who was born in the US, was the radical cleric who successfully took al-Qaeda’s message to YouTube.

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Taking a Page from the Obama Playbook?

Tuesday, March 06, 2012

As voters from 10 states across the country head to the polls on Tuesday, Republican candidates will be hoping to secure as many of the 437 delegates as possible. To win the party nomination, a candidate must obtain more than half of the total 2,286 delegates at the Republican National Convention. That means that what happens today could change the entire course of the primary season. Mitt Romney may be leading the pack, but he’s still far from acquiring enough delegates to become the nominee. The last race that was this close was in 2008 between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.

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The Monkees' Davy Jones Dies of Heart Attack

Thursday, March 01, 2012

Davy Jones, the pint-size lead singer for the Monkees perhaps best known for singing "I’m a Believer," died of a heart attack on Wednesday at his home in Indiantown, FL. He was 66 years old. The Takeaway remembers the mop-topped front man of the one of the first "boy bands."

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Super Tuesday: A Look at Blue Collar Workers

Thursday, March 01, 2012

On Super Tuesday, 437 delegates are up for grabs, and just like in Michigan, America’s blue collar workers are going to play an important role especially in three of the main battleground states: Ohio, Tennessee and Georgia. But who are these workers, what are their industries, and what message do they want to hear from their potential presidential nominee?

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Newt Gingrich's Super Tuesday Strategy

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Newt Gingrich hasn't been able to wrestle a significant percentage of voters since South Carolina. The former speaker of the house's super PAC, Winning the Future, is going on an ad buy blitz in seven out of ten Super Tuesday states, spending upwards of $10 million. Focusing on Southern states, these new ads mainly attack Romney for being "out of touch," but also target Santorum for lack of leadership experience.

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How Does America Apologize for Koran Burning?

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Tuesday marks the seventh day of violent protests in Afghanistan after several copies of the Koran and other religious artifacts were burned in a Baghram air base. Although the President has issued a series of apologies for the mistake, it has not stopped or even slowed the outrage: at present, 40 people have been killed. As one of the most offensive acts to Muslims, it's clear that another method of setting things right need to be pursued.

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Rick Santorum, Satan, and American Politics

Thursday, February 23, 2012

In a talk delivered in 2008, Rick Santorum asked the students of Ave Maria University, "If you were Satan who would you attack in this day and age?" The former Senator went on to answer his own question and said "Satan has his sights on the United States of America." Santorum's statements resurfaced this week on the blogosphere, leaving many pundits scratching their heads. 

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The Debate Over Obama's Birth Control Mandate

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Since Obama announced his birth control mandate that requires faith-based employers to pay for contraceptive coverage, church officials have waged against the controversial bill. Last Friday, President Obama put forth a compromise that would allow churches and their religious employees to shift the cost of birth control to their insurance companies. Pastor Bob Stec and James Salt discuss the debate within the religious community over the federal ruling.

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What Did Clint and Chrysler Mean by 'Half Time in America'?

Wednesday, February 08, 2012

On Superbowl Sunday, Clint Eastwood appeared in a two-minute ad that has been dubbed "Half Time in America." Sponsored by the Chrysler car company, it shows a Detroit that escaped the jaws of defeat to become a model for American recovery. Eastwood's narration goes on to suggest that America is in similarly dire straits: “This country can’t be knocked out with one punch. We get right back up again and when we do the world is gonna hear the roar of our engines. It’s half time America, and our second half is about to begin.”

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Obama Backtracks Position On Super PACs

Wednesday, February 08, 2012

In order to help close the financial gap between his campaign and its republican contenders, the Obama campaign reversed its long-standing opposition to super PACs. The reversal marks the beginning of a new phase in the presidential race both in terms of strategy and ideology, and is yet another sign of the huge role that these largely unregulated fundraising groups will play in the 2012 election cycle.

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Obama's State of the Campaign Address

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Tuesday night’s state of the union address will be a prime-time assessment of the nation's policy, economy and infrastructure and a laundry list of Administration policy goals set for the future. It will also serve as the opening salvo to President Obama’s 2012 reelection campaign. To look at the State of the Union as prime time electioneering is Julian Zelizer, professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University.

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What's Ahead for China in the Year of the Dragon?

Monday, January 23, 2012

Monday marks the beginning of 4709 in the Chinese calendar, the "Year of the Dragon". A strong, fiery, and auspicious cultural symbol, the lunar year ahead holds the potential for seismic change. In addition to the generational transitions set for its government, military, and the Communist Party, some experts are claiming 2012 will be the year China's economy collapses.

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Kodak: A Walk Down Memory Lane

Friday, January 20, 2012

Considering Kodak's recent financial woes, the imaging giant's Chapter 11 filing should have come as no surprise. But that hasn't lessened the cultural impact of losing such an iconic American institution. Kodak has been a part of American culture for more than a 100 years. The company made the first consumer camera, and people even called cameras "Kodaks" at the turn of the century. In this commentary we explore the rise and fall of one of America's most identifiable brands.

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A Democratic Perspective on the 2012 Presidential Race

Friday, January 20, 2012

With Texas Governor Rick Perry dropping out of the race and Rick Santorum declaring a belated victory in the Iowa caucuses, Thursday marked a day of big game changers in the GOP presidential contest. With one day left until the South Carolina primary, frontrunner Mitt Romney is slipping in the polls as Gingrich picks up more support, including an endorsement from Perry. As the Republican race gets tighter and attacks become even more brutal, how is President Barack Obama preparing for his campaign for 2012

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Fascist, Marxist, Socialist: The Misuse of Political Terms

Thursday, January 19, 2012

When President Obama's political opponents describe his administration's ideological bent, harsh words are often tossed into the fray. Whether it's Socialism, Marxism or Fascism, the President’s first term has been marred with accusations of adherence to a number of controversial ideologies. Is there any truth behind these heavily loaded terms? James Morone, political scientist and author, speaks about the many "isms" used to describe the Obama administration.

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SOPA Being Challenged Online and in the White House

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Last Friday, President Barak Obama issued a statement announcing that he would not lend his support for the Stop Online Piracy Act, known as SOPA, citing concerns over First Amendment rights and cyber security risks. Introduced last October in Congress, SOPA would give content providers wide reaching powers to shut down websites distributing copyrighted materials. 

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Young Americans See Uptick in Hiring

Friday, December 02, 2011

After four years of economic downturns, there's finally some good news: in the past 3 months, 650,000 workers aged 16 to 24 have found jobs. This age group, dubbed by some as "the lost generation," have been hit hardest by these ongoing problems: in 2010, only 16.9 million of them were employed.

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