In the ArenaMagazine
Ten Years After: A National Disgrace
We owe a debt to our Iraq and Afghanistan war vets. Why is Washington so slow to take responsibility?
In the ArenaMagazine
We owe a debt to our Iraq and Afghanistan war vets. Why is Washington so slow to take responsibility?
In the ArenaBudgets
Washington is atwitter about Paul Ryan’s latest give-no-quarter budget. It is an absurd document, of course. But is it relevant? Probably not.
In the ArenaEconomy
There are three components to America’s growing income inequality.
In the ArenaMagazine
The country faces grave challenges. So why do Jeb Bush and Barack Obama spend so much time on small-bore maneuvers?
In the ArenaRepublican Party
All this talk of rebranding and rethinking is more a marketing exercise than a soul-search. Still, there is some interesting and substantial thinking about policy going on within the GOP.
In the ArenaEconomy
My head is filled to bursting with the great Hold Steady song: Subpoened in Texas, Sequestered in Memphis. It’s far more fun than the current idiotic man-made crisis over the sequester in DC. I’ve been ignoring this “crisis,” assuming that they’ll cut some sort of last minute deal, as they always do.
In the ArenaHealth Care
Good news? Yes. There’s been a decline in the increase of health care spending that could shrink our budget deficits in the near future.
In the ArenaBarack Obama
After the Inauguration and State of the Union, it is clear that President Obama is not a visionary.
In the ArenaPentagon
My latest print column: John McCain’s ugly cross-examination of Chuck Hagel raised some larger questions about US policy.
In the ArenaMedia
House of Cards appropriately called out the Anti-Defamation League for devaluing the currency of Anti-Semitism. (UPDATE)
In the ArenaRemembrance
Ed Koch was a giant of New York. He will not, I think, be remembered for giant breakthroughs in governance. No, he’ll be remembered for his gigantic, totally NooYawk personality.
In the ArenaCabinet
John McCain’s first round interrogation of Chuck Hagel was more about personal pique and histrionics than it was about elucidating Hagel’s views. It was a foolish and demeaning exercise.
In the ArenaRepublican Party
David Brooks has a very important column today in which he proposes a new, moderate wing of the Republican Party, standing in opposition to the Rush-Fox-Tea Party extremists. For this new political vision to become coherent, it needs three components: military domestic values, foreign policy realism, and ‘live and let live’ responsibility.