Brian Hess

In 2017 the Denver Broncos callously revoked the season ticket licenses of several fans because they resold their own season tickets to games they couldn’t attend on NFLTicketExchange.com, a website promoted and endorsed by both the NFL and the Broncos. Such anti-fan conduct was thankfully outlawed in 2018 when Colorado passed a law protecting a consumer’s right to freely use, sell, or give away their purchased tickets by transferring them to someone else if they wish. But all of that is at risk today. Ticketmaster is once again playing its game of monopoly and state lawmakers should not be deceived by it.

Something historic happened on June 22nd: The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee unanimously voted for the Equal Pay for Team USA Act. Republicans and Democrats joined together to tell the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee that it’s time to treat women equally.

I've been lobbying for almost five years. When the pandemic began, I was still green – having only lobbied for about a year-and-a-half. Today, while still green compared to many of the lobbyists in NILE's ranks, my green is more of a patina that only a healthcare lobbyist during a global pandemic can attain. During my time, there have been a lot of lessons that have shaped the way I view the profession's future, especially for young professionals such as myself. That experience leads me to believe that the argument that in-person access to the Capitol is paramount to the success of our democracy presents a false choice between a lower barrier to entry for advocacy and high-quality interaction with staff and Members of Congress. Instead, we should focus not on returning to the past but moving forward to a new, more accessible form of advocacy.

“…for my house will be called a house of prayer for all people.” Isaiah 56:7

A look at two models of thought processing and their applications in politics. 

In light of evidence of global environmental degradation, to what extent should U.S. policy promote higher levels of environmental awareness and protection at a global level?

What might be some effective ways to reduce or eliminate political gerrymandering?

Given recent events in Charlottesville, I felt at though I had to share a recent essay I wrote on the subject. 

This was written for my graduate class on Interpersonal Communication. It it, I apply many of the theories typically applied to in-person communication to online political discourse