Does the Magna Carta Mean More to Americans Than to Brits?
The British comedian Tony Hancock, when exasperated at any suggested attack on his citizen rights, would cry out, "And what of Magna Carta? Did she die in vain?" Hancock wasn't the only British...
View ArticleNewt Gingrich and Jay Z Came Together on Sentencing Reform. Maybe There's a...
Fresh off their sweeping victory in last week's election, Republicans have begun mapping out a policy agenda for the 114th Congress. President Obama has pledged to work with GOP leaders to find common...
View ArticleA Primer for the New Congress
Welcome to Washington, new members of Congress. It is a city of museums, statues, self-importance and arcane ways. After a post-campaign vacation, you will be ready to take on the world -- or at least...
View ArticleA Real Right to Life
Several days ago, 29-year-old Brittany Maynard exercised the final act of sovereignty over her life: she chose to end it. She had been diagnosed with inoperable brain cancer and, earlier this spring,...
View ArticleKoch Brothers Add Civil Lawsuit Win to Midterm Victories
Don't look now, but the midterm elections are not the only huge November win for the politically conservative Koch brothers, and likely not even their most relevant. The CSX Transportation company, a...
View ArticleThe GOP and the Seven "D"s
Republican success in mid-term elections is the result of a well-crafted arsenal: The Seven "D"s: Divide Disenfranchise Disaffect Disinterest Distract Delude Democrats The voting age population in...
View ArticleAbout Yesterday
Yesterday was Veterans Day, a day of honor! Since November 11, 1918 -- the end of World War I -- Americans have honored veterans who served our country to preserve and protect our freedoms. It was an...
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The Catholic Church Started the Culture Wars -- Now Can They End Them?
This week, the U.S. Catholic bishops are gathering in Baltimore for their semi-annual meeting. It's the first gathering of the U.S. prelates since the Catholic Church's rocky Extraordinary Synod on...
View ArticleThe Day the Music Died
In 1984, the group Huey Lewis and the News scored a hit with the song, "The Heart of Rock and Roll." Besides its driving beat, the song also garnered attention for its lyrics--or at least what people...
View ArticleFollowing Jesus and Annoying the One Percent
In the aftermath of the recent elections in which candidates running on a platform that offered a perfunctory hat tip as it hurtled passed the middle class on the way to performing an unctuous curtsey...
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Democracy Day
This week I introduced legislation to make Election Day a national holiday -- Democracy Day. I am doing this because, as a nation, we should be embarrassed by the abysmally low voter turnout that we...
View ArticleA US-China Breakthrough for the Planet -- and New Economic Growth
The forecast for climate change has been undeniably altered overnight -- positive news for the planet and for economic growth. US President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping, the leaders of...
View ArticleKansas: Picking Ourselves Back Up
Recently my son's Advanced Placement literature class was playing what they jokingly call Russian Wiffleball before tackling Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment. Running, Alex tripped and fell,...
View ArticleSame As It Ever Was: The GOP's Post-Election Plans for Social Security and...
The 114th Congress will see many new faces after the 2014 midterms; however, the face of our nation's middle class remains largely unchanged - they're poorer, more diverse, getting older and facing a...
View ArticleWhy LGBT Communities and Our Allies Should Care about Net Neutrality
It's easy to forget the larger, community benefits of an Open Internet that doesn't discriminate based on the content flowing through the fiber (or however it gets to you). But let's get specific. How...
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What Obama Should Say Now
There is a very old tactic in American politics, used for decades after the Civil War, which is called "waving the bloody shirt." Without getting into the ugly details of Reconstruction (or the ugly...
View ArticleHow We Arrived At The Current State Of Our Politics
This post will take you all the way from the invention of the Tonight and Today shows through the dysfunction of modern politics. It's a bumpy ride, so please stow your tray table. There used to be a...
View ArticleWhy the U.S. Needs More Apprenticeship (and Less Cowbell)
There is a famous scene from Saturday Night Live in which Will Ferrell is playing a cowbell as he and his bandmates belt out a classic Blue Öyster Cult song. Will Ferrell looks ridiculous and...
View ArticleWe'll Tell You Exactly What Valerie Jarrett Does
In Washington, D.C., it sometimes seems like no good deed goes unpunished. But these days, apparently, six years' worth of good deeds can make you a contender for Public Enemy No. 1. That's why the...
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