By BEN DeGROW Over the past couple years, some of the nation’s loudest opponents of school choice have been quick to fix their sights on Michigan, the home of the U.S. education secretary they eagerly vilify. They sacrifice important facts and context for the sake of perpetuating a convenient political narrative. The latest prominent example appeared in the pages of The Washington Post, offering slanted views of a program that gives Michigan families easier access to school districts outside their own. The Valerie Strauss column … [Read more...] about Attack on schools of choice unfounded
Editorial
Epstein was allowed to game the system
The Jeffrey Epstein case establishes beyond a doubt that if you’re a sexual predator, it pays to be a rich and connected sexual predator. Epstein, now dead of an apparent suicide before his accusers had their day in court, worked the system and benefited from advantages and breaks unimaginable to anyone who didn’t jet around with influential friends. The multimillionaire financier who lived in Palm Beach, Florida, and Manhattan, N.Y., used his resources to build a network of sexual predation and then used his resources to escape … [Read more...] about Epstein was allowed to game the system
Democracy won’t die if we don’t let it
By LEE H. HAMILTON Democracy’s premise is that ordinary citizens can make solid decisions on complex issues. But this basic principle and the structure of laws and practices erected over the centuries to safeguard it are being questioned as rarely before. It’s not just that political leaders in various western democracies seem to have little regard for the norms and procedures they inherited. It’s that public discourse is filled these days with warnings about democracy’s collapse. As the writer James Traub put it not long ago, … [Read more...] about Democracy won’t die if we don’t let it
Age-old gaffes
When Joe Biden says he’s running for president, he means it literally. He likes to be seen jogging around at his various campaign events. Obviously, that’s his way of showing that at 76, he’s not too old for the grueling physical and mental challenges of being POTUS. But it does raise a question: Is he aware that the bigger problem is his running off at the mouth? Now, this is not a new concern. Joe Biden, after all, taught us what a “gaffe” was — he’s been at it for a generation. He describes himself as “a gaffe … [Read more...] about Age-old gaffes
Study suggests carp would do well in Lake Michigan
If anyone among us thought the fight to keep the Asian carp out of the Great Lakes was all but won, a new report just out in recent days should put a stop to those thoughts. The University of Michigan research paper found that the species would likely flourish if it ever made it to Lake Michigan. Previous thinking held that Asian carp wouldn’t do all that well in the Great Lakes because of a drop-off in plankton, the tiny plants and animals on which bighead and silver carp typically feed, The Associated Press reported … [Read more...] about Study suggests carp would do well in Lake Michigan
Editorial Cartoon
Editorial Cartoon
Statesmanship, not hatesmanship
It has become routine: President Donald Trump spends a golfing break at one of his properties. Tragically, horrific gun massacres also have become part of the routine, two of them just the other weekend, one of them clearly the consequence of a white supremacist who had gone over the edge, armed with the most lethal handheld weapons of mass destruction. By the time the president finally emerged after sending platitudinous tweets of support for El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, he faced the assembled reporters to declare, “Hate has … [Read more...] about Statesmanship, not hatesmanship
Enough with violent white supremacists
At some point in the late 1960s, you could be forgiven for thinking that the FBI was in charge of the KKK. It conducted an operation that infiltrated, manipulated and ran the group into the ground. With violent white hate again on the rise, we should take some inspiration — even if the methods can’t be replicated — from the FBI’s past grappling with racist extremists. If there were any doubt that the country has a white nationalist problem, the shocking attack on an El Paso, Texas, Walmart should remove it. These … [Read more...] about Enough with violent white supremacists
For El Paso, Dayton and the nation: Close the gun law loophole
America’s bloody weekend — mass shootings in two cities — either becomes another moment to sigh and shrug, or it becomes the reason Washington takes action to prevent the next massacre. Which will it be? There is a direct, sensible path forward in Congress to keep guns out of the hands of some potentially dangerous people. In February, the Democratic-controlled U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill that would require a background check for all firearms purchases. The Republican-led Senate balked. Time for hearts and minds in … [Read more...] about For El Paso, Dayton and the nation: Close the gun law loophole