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How can you tell a charity from a political front?

posted to Democracy in America on Mon 20th May 13

THE New York Times had a nice discussion group the other day between legal experts on how to solve the problem of 501(c)(4)s. Basically, this category of non-profits is supposed to cover groups like the Sierra Club, the NRA, and the AARP, which have clear public-benefit
Uncontrolled demolition

posted to Democracy in America on Fri 17th May 13

SYRIA has been in a state of civil war long enough that it's now beginning to disintegrate, reports Ben Hubbard of the New York Times. His lead paragraph reads like a dispatch from the Wars of the Roses, or a trailer for a new season of Game of Thrones.The
Pointless, punitive and permitted

posted to Democracy in America on Fri 17th May 13

A REPORT released earlier this month by the Census Bureau found that in 2012, for the first time, voting rates of black Americans exceeded that of whites: 66.2% of eligible black voters cast ballots in the last presidential election, compared with 64.1% of

Six questions for Bruce Bartlett

posted to Democracy in America on Sun 25th Jul 10

Democracy in America Bruce Bartlett on the deficit, economy and VAT R.M. | WASHINGTON, DC On the economy, the deficit, and the chance that America will one day have a VAT Images: IT'S difficult to classify Bruce Bartlett politically. He has worked on the
You put the load right on me

posted to Democracy in America on Tue 5th Apr 11

PAUL RYAN'S plan to replace Medicare with a system of vouchers for seniors to buy health care on the private market has only been vaguely described, as of this writing. But there is one thing about it that's fairly clear, regardless of what's in the details
Japan and the economics of natural disaster

posted to Democracy in America on Wed 16th Mar 11

JAPAN is in tragic disarray after last week's massive earthquake and subsequent tsunami. Nature may be cruelly unpredictable, but people are just cruel. Every time there is a catastrophe abroad, American opinionators use the prospect of reconstruction as an

Noted for March 20, 2013

posted to Grasping Reality with Both Hands: Economist Brad DeLong's Fair, Balanced, and Reality-Based Semi-Daily Journal on Tue 19th Mar 13

Scott Lemieux: Well, If It Affects Me, Thats Different!: "Rob Portman has decided that hes only comfortable denying fundamental rights to strangers: 'Sen. Rob Portman has renounced his opposition to gay marriage, telling reporters from Ohio newspapers Thursday
Dreaming of a Nonwhite Conservative Base

posted to Beat the Press on Wed 28th Nov 12

Republicans might deny most forms of science, but after this past election, they at least recognize polling realities. The demographic trajectory of the country spells doom for the GOP in future national elections, unless they figure out a way to buck the trend
Republicans Return Romney's "Gift"

posted to Beat the Press on Fri 16th Nov 12

After kowtowing to every conservative whim during the presidential campaign, Mitt Romney could have eased into retirement, maintaining the moderate, nice-guy image he cultivated during the final month of the campaign. Alas, rich uncle moneybags needed to bash