New York Times

It’s a damning report because it says America has endangered itself by allowing both its manufacturing sector and its infrastructure – like dams, roads and bridges -- to deteriorate. more »

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A funny thing happened on the way to the news cycle the past two weeks when the issue of education -- specifically, public schoolteachers and student loan relief -- maintained a presence on the political stage. more »

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Last week in Florida there was an important victory for progressive Democrats that not many Democrats know about. Even worse, most Democrats may not even be aware why this was a victory. more »

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Although it's a bit early to know for sure, let's hope that 2012 is the year that the economic policies known as "austerity" finally crashed and burned. more »

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Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, notorious for his flip-flops on a broad array of issues, seems to maintain this tendency when he's addressing policies governing education and public schools. more »

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One good thing you can say about 2011 is that it is a year in which lots of wrong-headed undertakings finally came to their ignominious conclusions -- including, among others, the Iraq War, the Gadhafi regime, the presidential candidacy of Donald Trump, and "The Oprah Winfrey Show".

Also among the train-wrecks is undoubtedly our failed national education policy, No Child Left Behind. more »

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As the Occupy Wall Street movement spread across the nation last week, politicians in D.C. more »

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Much in the same way that September ushers in a new football season every year regaled by a bombast of armchair quarterbacks analyzing "the game," the month also brings on yet another Back to School Season with a chorus of commentators declaring their prescriptions to "fix our schools." Unfortunately, too often the rhetoric of these two orations sounds an awful lot alike. more »

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Efforts by those who never want to hear someone say, “Bye-bye American manufacturing,” converged coincidentally to make June Buy American month.

First, at the forceful urging of U.S. Sen. more »

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Before President Obama announced Bin Laden's death the big topic in Washington was the deficit. Pundits and politicians alike eagerly anticipated a possible "bi-partisan" budget-cutting deal forged by "selfless" Republicans and Democrats. Deficits will be the hot topic again after the excitement dies down. But Bin Laden's death is a timely reminder of what happened the last time Washington's leaders and pundits reached a "bi-partisan consensus."

Then, as now, we were told that their consensus viewpoint was clearly and objectively correct. Then, as now, dissenting voices were marginalized, mocked, or ignored. Then, as now, the media credulously took the biased statements of interested parties for the objective voice of reason. Then, as now, many politicians were either too fearful or self-serving to speak the truth. And then, as now, we were told that the consensus idea was bigger than the petty distinctions of "left" and "right."

What did we get for all of that? The war in Iraq. And then, as now, the ones being celebrated for their "courage" and "sacrifice" won't be the ones to pay the price.

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