commentary

They were droning on about drones the other day in Washington. The Senate Intelligence (ha-ha) Committee was grilling CIA chief-designate John Brennan on the use of unmanned aircraft during his...

We should not accept the statist premise that most government spending helps people. Government spending is not just wasteful or inefficient, but all too often serves to crush the private...

Joe Gandelman: Scoops that’ll bust this town wide open FORT STOCKTON, Texas — The journalistic cliche is that someone comes running into a newsroom, shouting: “I’ve got a story that’ll...

“The report said people are getting dumber — at least I think that’s what it said, but the big words kept throwing me off.” “Ah, yes, you speak of a...

There’s no doubt President Obama is using the so-called Washington Monument maneuver in the fight with Republicans over sequestration budget cuts. It’s a time-honored tactic of bureaucratic warfare: When faced...

Gov. Mark Dayton portrays his budget as transparent, free of gimmicks and protecting middle-class Minnesotans. Look closely, however, and his plan is lacking on all counts. The shortcomings are most...

Separating satire from real news requires an advanced degree these days. When Jon Stewart becomes the most trusted newsman for millennials, the line between the evening news and The Onion...

“Obama’s proposed voting commission under partisan fire from both sides.” That recent headline in The Washington Post is hardly a surprise. Virtually every reasonable idea in the capital these days...

Our political vocabulary is changing all the time. Words that loom large in one generation’s national public discourse can almost totally disappear in the next. Take the word “segregation.” A...

Prepare for the end of food safety as we have known it. For a breakdown in public order. For little children languishing in ignorance. If only Edward Gibbon were here...

Tuesday night was the Motion Picture Academy-sponsored dinner in Beverly Hills, honoring the directors and producers of this year’s five nominated films for Best Documentary. The dinner was an occasional...

Relax. It’s not necessarily the flu making you confused and feverish. Could be spatter from that big, thick, juicy, new, improved Civil War infecting the Republican Party. Yes, again. The...

From what little I can remember from when I remained awake in high school and college, William Shakespeare loved mistaken identities, crossed purposes and scheming villains. Shakespeare would have loved...

If there’s one thing I’ve learned, there’s no shortage of well-meaning people who want the world to be a better place. But, without the willingness to roll up your sleeves...

A brief moment Feb. 13 showed why President Obama can’t win when it comes to the Keystone XL pipeline. In front of the White House, protesters led by actress Daryl...