Pussy Riot Welcomed to the Russian Olympics With a Police Beating
Welcome to the Russian Olympics where beatings are the order of the day. For Pussy Riot, including Nadia Tolokonikova and Masha Alyohkina, who were poised to sing a song satirizing President Vladimir...
View ArticleDeteriorating Democracy in Malaysia
Most democracies achieve political legitimacy from a popular perception of effective and upright governance. Malaysia's self-described "best democracy in the world" is looking increasingly tarnished...
View ArticleWhat Do Professors, Walmart and Pig Nutrition Have in Common? The Faculty...
Today is the second day of a strike of unionized faculty at the University of Illinois at Chicago [UIC]. This is the first major strike of faculty at a top-tier research institution since the 1990s,...
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Waiting For California to Legalize Marijuana
Marijuana is in the news today, as the Coalition for Cannabis Policy Reform (the best-financed advocacy group in California) have stated that they will not, after all, be moving forward with a ballot...
View ArticleMy Conversation With Filmmaker Robert Greenwald About His Film, Unmanned:...
Join me tonight on PBS for my conversation with award-winning filmmaker Robert Greenwald. He has exec-produced and/or directed more than 50 TV movies, miniseries and feature films. Through his company,...
View ArticleAnother Book About FDR? Yes, and It's a Must Read
It's hard to know where to begin in reviewing Richard Moe's book about President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's historic decision to run for third term in 1940 except to say that it tells us as much about...
View ArticleFast Track to Nowhere: America's Failed Trade Policy
The Obama administration continues to push a fast track to nowhere. U.S. Trade Representative Michael B. Froman now has launched charm offensive, meeting with legislators, consumer, union and...
View ArticleCapitol Punishment: The Troubling Consequences of Federal Child Pornography Laws
Co-authored by Galen Baughman I. Until Dec. 11, 2013, Jesse Ryan Loskarn was a popular chief of staff for a Tennessee senator. But on that winter day, police broke down the door of his rowhouse in...
View ArticleDid the President Overreach?
Is President Barack Obama overstepping his executive authority by declaring he would not sit idle while an obstinate Republican led House of Representatives repeatedly demonstrates that opposing him is...
View ArticleThe Noose, Ole Miss, and Free Speech
A few days ago on the campus of the University of Mississippi, someone (reportedly two males) draped a Confederate flag on a statue honoring James Meredith and hung a noose around its neck. Meredith...
View ArticleInequality, Productivity, and WhatsApp
If you ever wonder what's fueling America's staggering inequality, ponder Facebook's acquisition of the mobile messaging company WhatsApp . According to news reports today, Facebook has agreed to buy...
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Jumping on the Vietnam War Commemoration Bandwagon: The Vain Search for Honor
As we settle into year three of the 13-year Commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War, which extends from May 28, 2012 to November 11, 2025, Americans from sea to shining sea are joining...
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Why a Higher Minimum Wage Is a Net Win for Most Income Groups
Here's a point about the minimum wage that hasn't received enough attention: A rise to $10.10, from the current $7.25, raises average incomes for roughly the bottom half of all Americans -- those with...
View ArticleThe BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions) Threat to Israel: A Realistic Appraisal
As Secretary of State Kerry prepares an American set of principles that will be the basis for pressing the Israelis and Palestinians to negotiate on a final status agreement, the threat of BDS...
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Ban Nuclear Weapons; Saving Money and Saving the World
Co-authored by Owen Brian Toon, Professor in the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences at the University of Colorado, Boulder, btoon@lasp.colorado.edu As the United States struggles to deal...
View ArticleSome Smart, Progressive Budgeting From the White House
These troubled fiscal times are characterized by a few big problems: -too much fiscal drag from misplaced emphasis on deficit reduction in what's still a weak recovery (with said weakness intimately...
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Ukraine: Western Sanctions Alone Are Not Enough
Are the United States and the European Union right to impose sanctions on Ukrainian officials as a result of the escalating violence in Kiev? If so, should they be more proactive in solving the...
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President's Budget to Propose Building on Murray-Ryan Agreement
The White House announced today that it will recommend $56 billion in additional discretionary funding for 2015 above the level contained in the budget deal that Senate Budget Committee Chair Patty...
View ArticleAn Open Letter to Tom Perkins
Dear Mr. Perkins, Recently, you told Adam Lashinsky at a speaking engagement that you had an idea that would change the world. You said that the government should enact the "Tom Perkins system" for...
View ArticleWe Need a Course Correction on Common Core
During my 23 years as a high school math teacher, I learned some important lessons. One of the most important was that effective teaching and learning required me at times to be the teacher and at...
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