Overview for News

Gays Don't Need a League of Their Own

Whatever one thinks of gay sports leagues, we should hope that, before long, they become entirely unnecessary. Just a few days after New York’s historic approval of same-sex marriage, the Onion ran a piece about a lawsuit against the North American Gay Athletic Alliance alleging discrimination …

Written by Alan Hirsch on Saturday July 9, 2011

Page One: Inside the New York Times

The new documentary Page One asks an important question: is it really surprising that people have lost faith in old media? "The old newspaper business is dying. PERIOD," proclaims noted columnist and author Jeff Jarvis, at one point in Andrew Rossi's up-to-the-second new documentary, Page One: …

Written by Telly Davidson on Friday July 8, 2011

The Fat Diaries: Competitive Eating is Nothing to Cheer About

Does scarfing 20,000 calories in 10 minutes make one worthy of fame and fortune? Of course not. Profuse sweating? Lethargy? Painful gas? A diet of yogurt and water? Ah , the glamorous lifestyle of the professional eater. As you know, the weenie heard round the nation this week was number …

Written by Monica Marier on Friday July 8, 2011

Testing Can Make Teachers Cheat

The revelation of systemic cheating on tests in the Atlanta's Public Schools is sad, but not surprising. Like everyone else who follows the world of public education, I was disgusted and saddened at the report issued by the office of Georgia Governor Nathan Deal this past Tuesday. The report, …

Written by Will Barrett on Friday July 8, 2011

Chavez Distracts from Venezuela's Real Problems

The recent focus on Hugo Chavez's illness is a distraction from the real problems facing Venezuela. In 1975, Gabriel García Márquez wrote The Autumn of the Patriarch . This book mocked the dictatorships that were common in Latin America during the 1960’s and 1970’s. In his desperate attempt to …

Written by Daniela Chacón Arias on Friday July 8, 2011

Why Scalia and Thomas Won't Always Agree

Did Justices Scalia and Thomas reach different conclusions in a recent case because of how their parents raised them? Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas are both “originalists, ” which means they aspire to interpret the Constitution in accordance with its meaning as understood by the …

Written by John Guardiano on Friday July 8, 2011

The Jobs Report is Awful, but a Default is Worse

While the latest jobs report is dismal, it is no excuse for Republicans to have no plan or their own or to push for a default. The latest jobs report is truly dismal in that it shows a slight gain in jobs. However, it isn't the "death blow" or sure sign of a double-dip recession that might send …

Written by Eli Lehrer on Friday July 8, 2011

Military Must Educate Public on Budget Cuts

The military must not become partisan in the budget debate, but it should not be afraid to explain why it needs to receive funding. With President Obama and his new and highly political defense secretary, Leon Panetta, preparing to gut the defense budget , how should military officials, both in …

Written by John Guardiano on Thursday July 7, 2011

Dept. of Education Gets it Wrong on Rape Cases

Under new Department of Education regulations, people accused of rape on college campuses will have no rights to confront their accuser. It’s hard to sustain the common right-of-center critique that the Obama administration is bent on a weird Marxist/postcolonial/radical socialist agenda. I …

Written by Eli Lehrer on Thursday July 7, 2011

What to Watch in the Debt Negotiations

Here are the things to watch as the news about the debt negotiations comes out today. While we await the news from today’s debt ceiling negotiations between Republicans and Democratic leaders, news outlets are already leaking and reporting on the possible contours of a deal. But which …

Written by Noah Kristula-Green on Thursday July 7, 2011

Was Canada's Afghan Mission a Success?

So on balance, was the Afghanistan mission a success? I’d argue it made Canada's army better. As Canada prepares to quit – or at least reduce – its involvement in Afghanistan, politicians, journalists, the public and the army itself are beginning to assess whether the nine-year mission was …

Written by Peter Worthington on Thursday July 7, 2011

Here's the Way to a Deal!

Eric Cantor’s recent declaration that Republicans will look at “loopholes”is a step in the right direction but Cantor is wrong to insist that any loophole closing be met with an equal cut in taxes. Eric Cantor’s recent declaration that Republicans will look at “ loopholes ”is a step in the right …

Written by Eli Lehrer on Thursday July 7, 2011

Log Cabin Republicans Finish Off Don't Ask Don't Tell

The Log Cabin Republicans have been successful in their lawsuit to fully end the practice of Don't Ask Don't Tell. When the US Congress voted to repeal Don’t Ask Don’t Tell there was still the lingering possibility that the policy could be reinstated or the repeal would get reversed. That …

Written by Noah Kristula-Green on Thursday July 7, 2011

An Environmental Stance Can Win the GOP Votes

Stanford University released a poll suggesting that GOP candidates should reconsider pandering to the most ideologically locked-in Republican voters on climate change. Stanford University's Woods Institute for the Environment recently released the result of polls suggesting that Republican …

Written by Jim DiPeso on Thursday July 7, 2011

The Debt Limit has to be Constitutional

The Balkin-Bartlett view of the Fourteenth Amendment and the public debt is tempting. But that view seems to me very clearly wrong. The Balkin-Bartlett view of the Fourteenth Amendment and the public debt is tempting. But having read and considered Ajay's excellent blogpost , that view seems …

Written by David Frum on Wednesday July 6, 2011

Romney Goes for Expatriate Gold

Mitt Romney is holding a fundraising in London that is expected to bring in more cash than similar events by Giuliani, McCain and Obama. Mitt Romney is following in the footsteps of previous GOP presidential candidates, holding a $2, 500-per plate fundraising dinner tonight in London. The event …

Written by Nicole Glass on Wednesday July 6, 2011

How the GOP Benefits From a "Constitutional Option"

The Republicans also benefit from a decision to decide that the debt limit is unconstitutional, though the country would suffer. As Matt Yglesias suggests , one of the big reasons for the left bringing up the "Constitutional option," in which the president would override the debt ceiling by …

Written by Fred Bauer on Wednesday July 6, 2011

Will Politicians Ignore David Brooks?

David Brooks is warning the GOP to avoid a default, but will they listen to him? One of the things that has attracted me to David Brooks over the years is his willingness to not get so heated in his writing. In a time when it seems that what sells is trying to show everyone how outraged you …

Written by Dennis Sanders on Wednesday July 6, 2011

Sorry, the Debt Limit Looks Constitutional

Despite what some would hope, it looks like the debt ceiling is indeed constitutional. With negotiations over the debt limit going down to the wire, the threat of a catastrophic default looms on the horizon. In order to prevent this disaster from happening, some analysts and experts think …

Written by Ajay Ravichandran on Wednesday July 6, 2011

The Sinister Agenda of the Gaza Flotilla

The strategy to end the embargo imposed by Israel on Gaza is simple: create a clash with the IDF, portray Hamas as the victim and Israel as a bully. Is it a coincidence that the last flotilla desperately trying to reach Gaza is setting sail from Greece? While the Greek economy is imploding, …

Written by Emmanuel Navon on Wednesday July 6, 2011