The New Republic

Education Secretary Arne Duncan has picked his first of what will probably be many fights with Congress over education. In an interview with the Associated Press yesterday, he said he supported continuing Washington, D.C.'s voucher program, a federal pilot project that gives poor students money to attend private schools. And the fight is now: This week the House is reviewing a plank in a new spending bill to essentially kill the program, which started when the GOP controlled Congress. READ MORE >>

In today's slide show, below, Katie singles out South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint for being one of Congress' most inane twitterers (twits?). Well, Katie, I beg to disagree. If DeMint were so inane, how come he just signed a big ol' book deal? From Publishers' Lunch: READ MORE >>

Slowly but surely, Politico's Jeanne Cummings has morphed her "Pit Boss" column from a gilded gossip sheet to a right-wing echo chamber. Or worse--because unlike much of the mainstream media these days, she's not so much repeating the GOP line as distilling it. Last week, in a piece titled "Class Warfare Returns to D.C.," she wrote, READ MORE >>

According to Robert Samuelson in this morning's Washington Post, the heart of the housing crisis isn't foreclosures, but the lack of demand, driven by the self-fulfilling expectation that prices have further to fall. But "the Obama administration," he writes, "essentially ignores this problem, though it can be addressed." READ MORE >>

I don't mean to pile onto the United Nations, but this hardly helps it make the case for managing the world's problems: Staff are scouring corridors to try to locate valuable art works that have gone missing as the United Nations prepares to vacate its New York headquarters for a four-year, $2bn renovation.The lost items include a sculpture by Jos READ MORE >>

From a press release just received from the Competitive Enterprise Institute: A rally to Celebrate Coal! and Keep Energy Affordable will be held in front of the Capitol Power Plant on Monday, March 2nd, from 1 to 3 PM, the Competitive Enterprise Institute announced today.  Celebrate Coal! and Keep Energy Affordable is designed to counter the negative propaganda of Capitol Climate Protection’s protest scheduled for the same time in a park near the Longworth and Rayburn House Office Buildings. READ MORE >>

Apropos of the MoMA show on Martin Kippenberger (crazy German artist from the 1980s and '90s) and the write up by Holland Cotter in today's New York Times, indulge me in a little personal anecdote. READ MORE >>

The Washington Post may always be second fiddle to the New York Times, but it's giving the Gray Lady a run for her money in one area: inane social profiles. A few days ago it was bloggers who watch cooking shows and unemployed lobbyists trying to date (what, can't afford bottle service?). READ MORE >>

While sifting through the new budget--I know, I know, exciting stuff--this caught my eye: READ MORE >>

Architecture critic Ada Louise Huxtable implicitly raises an important question in her Wall Street Journal column today: What will the billions in construction and renovation funding now coursing outward from Washington mean for architectural preservation--and in particular for the as-yet-unloved, not-yet-landmarked landmarks of mid-century brutalist architecture?  READ MORE >>