opinion – News Stories About opinion - Page 25

David R. Francis: Washington Needs a Real Populist to Shrink the Wealth Gap

We Need a Real Populist
in Next Election

OPINION

Mar 15, 2011 1:15 PM CDT

We Need a Real Populist in Next Election

America's wealth gap has spiraled out of control: David Francis

(Newser) - With the gap between rich and poor Americans exploding—and hardly anyone talking about it—what Washington needs is a “genuine populist,” writes David R. Francis in the Christian Science Monitor . Some quick facts: The wealthiest 1% “took 23.5% of the nation’s income in 2007,...

Juan Williams: Here's the True Problem With NPR

opinion

Mar 15, 2011 10:44 AM CDT

Juan Williams: Here's the True Problem With NPR

Arrogant, elitist leaders ruining a 'once-great brand'

(Newser) - The departure of NPR CEO Vivian Schiller shines a light on the network’s key problem: its "ingrown and arrogant" leaders, who have "lost sight of journalism as the essential product of NPR," writes Juan Williams in the New York Post . Those at the top think they're...

Budget 'Crisis'
Is Made-Up

EJ DIONNE

Mar 14, 2011 1:52 PM CDT

Budget 'Crisis' Is Made-Up

It's an 'arresting metaphor' to push ideological agenda

(Newser) - We keep hearing that “we’re broke”—a good way for politicians to make a deceptive case for cutting taxes on the rich and cutting social programs. But the fact is, “we’re not broke,” writes EJ Dionne in the Washington Post . “Yes, nearly all...

Budget Cuts: Trim Foreign Aid By Vastly Expanding It, Poll Says

We Want to
Cut Foreign Aid—
and Expand It

OPINION

Mar 7, 2011 1:59 PM CST

We Want to Cut Foreign Aid— and Expand It

Americans think it's 25% of the budget. In fact, it's 1%, and it works: Ken Hackett

(Newser) - Americans think foreign aid should be the first casualty of budget-trimming, a poll shows—but we also want it to be 10 times what it is now. That’s because most Americans think foreign aid makes up a quarter of the federal budget, and want to cut it to 10%....

GOP Cuts Would
Destroy Recovery

paul krugman

Mar 4, 2011 12:48 PM CST

GOP Cuts Would Destroy Recovery

House Republicans relying on 'Confidence Fairy' with job-killing measures

(Newser) - We’re finally clawing our way up from the bottom of the very deep hole that is the recession: Unemployment has dipped amid a "virtuous circle of rising incomes and improving finances." Yet House Republicans are pushing spending cuts that would send us right back down again, writes...

'Runt Month'
February Gets
No Respect

OPINION

Feb 28, 2011 12:43 PM CST

'Runt Month' February Gets No Respect

Philip Hill offers a way to fix the problem: change the calendar

(Newser) - February has consistently gotten the short shrift among calendar months: It was among the last months to be invented, in 700 BC, its mere 28 days sandwiched between months named for powerful gods—while it "commemorates a pagan fertility and purification festival celebrated by flogging women with animal skins,...

Michael Bloomberg on Wisconsin: Cut Labor Costs, Not Union Rights

Bloomberg:
Cut Labor Costs,
Not Union Rights

Opinion

Feb 28, 2011 11:55 AM CST

Bloomberg: Cut Labor Costs, Not Union Rights

Governments can benefit from collective bargaining, he writes

(Newser) - As states like Wisconsin face crippling budget deficits, it’s fair for them to scale back on labor costs—but not labor rights, Michael Bloomberg writes today in the New York Times . What needs updating is “government’s relationship with unions,” not the unions themselves. “Organizing around...

Oops:
Huckabee
Defends
Gay Marriage

OPINION

Feb 25, 2011 12:11 PM CST

Oops: Huckabee Defends Gay Marriage

By complaining about troubles of out-of-wedlock kids: Ruth Marcus

(Newser) - In attacking gay marriage, Mike Huckabee inadvertently offered an excellent defense of it, writes Ruth Marcus. He went from criticizing President Obama’s decision not to defend the gay-marriage ban to pointing out the difficult “economic reality of out-of-wedlock children.” The fact is, “gays and lesbians are...

Why Mitch
Daniels Should
Run in 2012

david brooks

Feb 25, 2011 11:45 AM CST

Why Mitch Daniels Should Run in 2012

He's got a handle on debt and a record of substance: David Brooks

(Newser) - Here’s a name that should be among the GOP frontrunners for 2012: Mitch Daniels. The Indiana governor says there’s an “excellent chance” he won’t run—but he “would be the party’s strongest candidate,” writes David Brooks in the New York Times . He “...

Wisconsin Battle
About Power,
Not Budget

paul krugman

Feb 21, 2011 12:27 PM CST

Wisconsin Battle About Power, Not Budget

Gov. pushing oligarchy as unions seek democracy: Paul Krugman

(Newser) - Wisconsin’s battle over union rights shares a key element with the protests in Egypt: In the end, it’s all about power, writes Paul Krugman for the New York Times . Gov. Scott Walker’s team is trying to make his state, and eventually the entire country, "less of...

Nir Rosen Should Be Ashamed—but Not Ruined

OPINION

Feb 18, 2011 1:34 PM CST

Nir Rosen Should Be Ashamed—but Not Ruined

Lara Logan tweets were disgusting, but media must learn to forgive

(Newser) - Nir Rosen’s thoughtless tweets about Lara Logan were “grotesque”—but they shouldn’t “eclipse an often-heroic career” of “intrepid” war reporting, writes Michelle Goldberg in the Daily Beast . Indeed, today’s media “has an awful way of reducing us all to the worst thing...

GOP's Health Reform
'Analysis' Is Assault on Logic

paul krugman

Jan 17, 2011 4:16 PM CST

GOP's Health Reform 'Analysis' Is Assault on Logic

They don't really believe it will kill jobs, writes Paul Krugman

(Newser) - In their effort to repeal health care reform, the GOP has produced “some numbers and charts to wave at the press”—but they’re not part of any “rational discussion,” writes Paul Krugman in the New York Times . Their figures are, in fact, part of the...

Palin, Media Need
to Get a Divorce

OPINION

Jan 17, 2011 11:45 AM CST

Palin, Media Need to Get a Divorce

Their mutual infatuation has gone too far: Ross Douthat

(Newser) - It’s time for the media to end its Palin infatuation—and for Sarah Palin to end her media obsession. The need for a divorce was never more clear than last week, when controversy bubbled up over Palin’s "crosshairs" map and her subsequent "blood libel" speech, writes...

Plan in Iowa to Impeach
Judges Is Dangerous

OPINION

Jan 7, 2011 1:24 PM CST

Plan in Iowa to Impeach Judges Is Dangerous

Op-ed: Activists angry over same-sex ruling are going too far

(Newser) - Throughout US history, “no matter how controversial the case, no state or federal judge has been impeached for an opinion issued from the bench,” writes Bert Brandenburg in the Washington Post . But now, activists in Iowa want to impeach the justices who voted to allow same-sex marriage in...

Texas's Busted Budget
Shows Failure of GOP Theory

paul krugman

Jan 7, 2011 12:04 PM CST

Texas's Busted Budget Shows Failure of GOP Theory

Paul Krugman: State faces huge hole over taxes-are-evil mantra

(Newser) - To all appearances, things were going great in Texas until recently. Gov. Rick Perry even boasted of a surplus in the billions in his re-election run. For conservatives, it was a shining example of good fiscal practice: never raise taxes; use only spending cuts to balance the budget. Now, though,...

With 9/11 Bill, Jon Stewart
Steps Off the Sidelines

OPINION

Dec 21, 2010 1:27 PM CST

With 9/11 Bill, Jon Stewart Steps Off the Sidelines

Christopher Beam: Now the question is, will he stay there?

(Newser) - Jon Stewart has always maintained he's a comedian, not a politician or an activist. But his stalwart advocacy of the 9/11 first responders bill—he may have single-handedly saved it—looks different. Stewart labeled the non-passage of the bill “an outrageous abdication of our responsibility” to the 9/11 responders....

Fox News Viewers 'Most Misinformed,' Study Finds

Dec 17, 2010 5:00 PM CST

Fox News Viewers 'Most Misinformed,' Study Finds

Network's fans most likely to believe certain falsehoods

(Newser) - University of Maryland researchers have deemed Fox News viewers the "most misinformed," Mediaite reports. The researchers, who asked a number of questions about hot-button issues in the 2010 election, found Fox News viewers—regardless of political affiliation—were more likely than viewers of other networks to believe, for...

Keith's 'No
Journalist'—
Let Him Donate

Meghan McCain

Nov 8, 2010 11:22 AM CST

Keith's 'No Journalist'— Let Him Donate

Trouble is 'thin line' between journalism, commentary: Meghan McCain

(Newser) - Keith Olbermann shouldn’t have been taken to task for donating to Democrats because he’s not a journalist—he’s a commentator, argues Meghan McCain in the Daily Beast . But the kerfuffle spotlights a key issue as the lines between entertainment, journalism, and commentary blur: News outlets need to...

Time for
Big Business
to Squash
Tea Party

ROBERT REICH

Nov 1, 2010 2:55 PM CDT

Time for Big Business to Squash Tea Party

Corporate America must battle extremism

(Newser) - Big business may see the Tea Party as harmless, or perhaps even helpful, but it's time to “take a closer look:" the movement’s aspirations aren’t in its interests, writes Robert Reich in the Christian Science Monitor . Some 60% of Tea Partiers want, for example, to dump...

China Needs to Grow Up,
US Needs to Wise Up

paul krugman

Oct 18, 2010 1:21 PM CDT

China Needs to Grow Up, US Needs to Wise Up

The story of rare earth minerals has many lessons, writes Paul Krugman

(Newser) - When Japan detained a Chinese fishing boat captain whose vessel had collided with two of its Coast Guard ships, China cut off its access to rare earths, the essential minerals on which China has a near-monopoly. For Paul Krugman, this highlights two concerns: First, that the US let “unreliable”...