No sooner had the blood dried in that Tucson parking lot and the body of 9-year-old Christina Green been lowered into the ground than "a large slice of educated America," as David Brooks put it with his usual flair for evocative language, immediately switched its attention to one of the great issues of our day: Chinese parenting vs. American... MORE»
The New York Jets are headed to a conference championship game for the second year in a row, which means that the team's blunderbuss of a coach, Rex Ryan, will have another opportunity to endear himself to the team's fans and alienate just about everybody else connected to the National Football League. That's a good thing--it's been a long time since so many people cared so much about the... MORE»
It's hardly a secret that the Obama White House and the Netanyahu government don't always see eye to eye. Nor is it a news break to note that some, perhaps even many, Americans disagree with Israeli policy on a range of issues, many of them, of course, related to ongoing tensions with the Palestinians. There have been times, especially in recent years, when the relationship between Washington and Jerusalem has threatened to become... MORE»
Schools Chancellor Cathie Black has made a point of being very visible and very audible since taking over from Joel Klein several weeks ago. We understand why. She has been trying to show her critics that she has a common touch, that she can relate to the real-life issues that the city's one million students face every day. But now is the time for Ms. Black to do fewer photo ops and less talking. Visibility hasn't exactly worked in her... MORE»
Facts always matter, but never more so than when politicians deal with issues of real consequence like health care and budget deficits. Data sets and out-year projections may make everybody's eyes glaze over, but without accurate information the end result of legislation is disaster. Today there is no way to avoid fiscal ruin and social erosion unless we can determine whether health care reform will tame or swell... MORE»
The deranged expression on the face of Jared Lee Loughner in the mug shot released by the police--taken within hours after he allegedly killed six innocent people and wounded 14 more, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords--suggests that we may never fully understand whatever illness afflicts him. The law requires us to assess his mental state and motivations, but we might do better to analyze our own... MORE»
To hear Mayor Bloomberg's critics tell it, he is an out-of-touch elitist who can't be trusted to clear the streets of snow, never mind manage the schools, balance the budget, keep neighborhoods save and develop job-creating economic policy. That's funny—hasn't the mayor been doing all those things, and more, all these years? And isn't it likely that he'll continue to do just that for the remainder of his... MORE»
As Governor Andrew Cuomo is about to find out, it takes guts to break the mold in Albany. That's why a recent move by four Democratic state senators deserves admiration and congratulations. Last week state senators Jeffrey D. Klein of the Bronx, Diane Savino of Staten Island, David Carlucci of Rockland County and David Valesky of upstate Oneida County announced the formation of their own mini-caucus in the Legislature's upper house. That means they have seceded from the Democratic Senate conference, led by the discredited John Sampson of... MORE»
There is little question that political discourse in the United States in the early 21st century will never be confused with the Lincoln-Douglas debate. Political combatants take an unseemly delight in characterizing opponents as enemies of the state, and reasonably decent public servants can expect to be labeled as pinheads and traitors, puppets of capital and apologists for terrorism.... MORE»
For all the hand-wringing over whether the gut-wrenching massacre in Tucson was the result of America's virulent political discourse, the hand-wringing itself quickly became another instance of the virulence, and then the inanity, of American political... MORE»
In their ideological zeal, the new Republicans on Capitol Hill seem eager to gamble everything -- the financial reputation of the United States, the international status of the dollar, even the chance of a worldwide depression -- on a showdown over the national debt ceiling. What has been mostly a routine if unpleasant debate in years past, with each party blaming the other for the nation's rising indebtedness, is rapidly becoming a mortal threat to economic... MORE»
Not to start the new year off on a dour note, but do you want to know why so many people have become hopeless about changing the political and economic mechanisms that rule our lives? Watch the 1969 True Grit and then go see the Coen brothers' recent remake, which has just about all the critics swooning. In the former, vital characters apply their will to the world and stories unfold within a story. In the new version, the Coens' devotion to the now happily marketable idea that life is senseless makes character, story and a convincing social reality disappear.... MORE»
In hard times, government support for the arts often seems like an unaffordable luxury, a matter of concern only to cultural elites who are out of touch with economic realities. But that's simply not true. Study after study has shown that the arts are an economic boon to world-class cities like New York. People come here to experience the best in arts and culture just as surely as they come here to gawk at skyscrapers, ride the Staten Island Ferry and visit Central Park. Culture is, in a word, an industry in places like New... MORE»
As Andrew Cuomo delivered his somber inaugural address on New Year's Day, some political observers with keen ears detected the cadence and rhythm of his father, Mario Cuomo, who soared to national prominence on the strength of his speechmaking and gift for language. Others heard in the younger Mr. Cuomo's dropped r's the well-practiced sounds of working-class Queens, a place the new governor left a long time... MORE»
To understand the depths of shame and cynicism in the partisan stalling of health legislation for 9/11 first responders, it is only necessary to recall how eagerly Republican politicians once rushed to identify themselves with New York City's finest and bravest.... MORE»
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