Plank
What Those Glowing Obits Didn't Tell You About Joe Allbritton
Politico’s fawning obituary of banker and media magnate Joseph Allbritton was predictable, given that his son Robert is the newspaper’s publisher. According to the obit, Allbritton senior was “genial and easygoing,” “often gave charitable gifts anonymously to avoid publicity,” and had “an uncommon gift for making numbers come alive in his imagination.” READ MORE >>
The Fiscal Cliff Coloring Book: Fun for Grownups Too!
If you’re like me, and/or are a child, you know almost nothing about the dreaded “fiscal cliff.” And that's fine: We can't all be policy wonks (what a nasty, brutish and short world that would be). Thankfully, there is now a special edition coloring book for those of us with more important things to do than worry about cliff diving, cliff jumping or Clif Bar eating. READ MORE >>
The ‘Heroic’ Mayor and His Local Haters
Recognizing Disaster: Please, Mr. President, Don’t Intervene in Syria
"Right to Work" Isn't a Civil Right. But Unionizing Should Be
The adoption of so-called "right to work" legislation in Michigan, of all places, represents an historic setback for organized labor. First, Republicans went after public employees in the birthplace of public unions, Wisconsin. And now they have taken the fight to private employee unions in the cradle of modern industrial unionism. Conservatives are right that, if they can win in Michigan, they can win almost anywhere. READ MORE >>
Soak the Middle Class! In Praise of Higher Taxes on Everybody
Bad Odds: Online Gaming Would Only Widen Tribal Inequality
On a recent Wednesday morning, under the gaze of a mounted bison head, Native American tribal leaders filled the Senate Indian Affairs Room for their annual legislative summit. They'd been there many times before, asking for fixes to the laws that govern their existence. This time, however, brought more than the usual sense of unease. READ MORE >>
Too Big to Jail: Our Banking System's Latest Disgrace
You can be forgiven if you watched the Department of Justice’s announcement yesterday of a $1.92 billion settlement with HSBC with a sense of disappointment--and déjà vu. The event checked all the boxes in a theatrical routine that has become all too familiar. Descriptions of breathtaking misconduct involving the facilitation of massive drug trafficking and transactions with rogue terror-sponsoring nations? Check. READ MORE >>
Is Egypt's Political Rift Beyond Repair?
Last night, the scene in front of Rabaa Al-Adawiya mosque in Cairo's Nasr City felt like an enormous Islamist block party. A six-lane boulevard had been shut down and was crammed with thousands of bodies supporting President Mohammed Morsi. They waved Egyptian flags with religious slogans like “There is no God but God and Mohammed is his messenger,” while eating popcorn and drinking tea. READ MORE >>
