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Category Archives: Columns
Forty-Five Foiled Terror Plots Since 9/11 – The Daily Beast
As counterterrorism officials investigate a new ‘credible’ terror threat, records show there have been at least 45 jihadist terrorist-attack plots against Americans since 9/11—thwarted by intelligence work, policing, and citizen involvement. John Avlon reports. As news of a new “credible” … Continue reading
The MLK Whitewash
As he is rightly honored every year, it’s easy to forget that Dr. King was once reviled as a Communist and a threat to America. John Avlon on why the old attacks are a warning for today’s politicians. This Martin … Continue reading
Posted in Featured Columns
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David McCullough on Reading History as Resistance
We’ve had inexperienced and irresponsible presidents before. We’ve had populists and people who weren’t regarded as remotely the best and the brightest. We’ve been always saved by some combination of character and honesty and, above all, a respect for our … Continue reading
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American Way: What We Didn’t Learn After Newtown – The Telegraph
Here’s the thing about shock. It fades. Certainly not for the families of the 20 children who were gunned down at Sandy Hook Elementary School one year ago. But for the rest of us, who recoiled in horror at the … Continue reading
Vaclav Havel’s Heroic Politics of Truth and Responsibility – The Daily Beast
It is a small irony of history that playwright, prisoner, and Czech president Vaclav Havel died on the same day as North Korean dictator Kim Jung-il. But the world that Havel helped shape had reduced Kim Jung-il to a strange … Continue reading
Jimmy Breslin, the Greatest Deadline Artist – The Daily Beast
The great ones don’t age. You can pick up almost any Jimmy Breslin column from his prime and it reads clean. The punches land with precision. He’s fearless. Funny as hell. And he can break your heart. Line up your … Continue reading
Ed Brooke: The Senate’s Civil Rights Pioneer and Prophet of a Post-Racial America – The Daily Beast
Ed Brooke was a man ahead of his time—a pioneer of the civil rights movement and a prophet of a post-racial America that is still beyond us. And like all prophets, he was under-appreciated by his country, his community, and … Continue reading
How the Party of Lincoln was Left Behind on Civil Rights – Real Clear Politics
Abraham Lincoln would be amazed by this race – but not for the reason you might think. In an under-remarked historic irony, the political party that long defended slavery and racial segregation has become the first to nominate an African-American … Continue reading
Exclusive: Congressional Ethics Probe Adds to Michele Bachmann’s Political Woes – The Daily Beast
The Hindenburg. The Titanic. Michele Bachmann. Eighteen months ago, the Minnesota House member was considered an unlikely but undeniable Republican rising star, winning the Iowa straw poll that unofficially begins the primary season. Today, she is embroiled in a litany … Continue reading
Did Rick Santorum Win the Iowa Caucuses, Not Mitt Romney? – The Daily Beast
Incorrect precinct numbers from one Iowa town, and a 20-vote misallocation to Mitt Romney, casts his eight-vote victory in question—along with his claim to be the only candidate to win both Iowa and New Hampshire. Did Rick Santorum win the … Continue reading
Posted in Columns, Featured Columns
Tagged 2012 Elections, Elections, The Daily Beast
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Fulton Fish Mart’s Poets And Ghosts – NY Sun
“Every now and then, seeking to rid my mind of thoughts of death and doom, I get up early and go down to Fulton Fish Market,” wrote Joseph Mitchell at the opening of his story “Up in the Old Hotel.” … Continue reading
What Independent Voters Want – The Wall Street Journal
Independent voters, once a political afterthought, are now the largest and fastest-growing segment of the American electorate. This shift led to the nomination of two candidates who ran against the polarizing establishments of their own parties, while preaching the need … Continue reading
Posted in Columns, Featured Columns
Tagged Independent Nation, Independent Voters, The Wall Street Journal
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How Corporate Citizens Can Stop Fake News and Hate News—and Help Save Quality Journalism in the Process
We vote for president every four years, but we vote with our wallets and eyeballs every day. Bill O’Reilly’s sudden fall from cable news supremacy happened because over 60 advertisers—under digital grassroots pressure—decided that they couldn’t be seen supporting him … Continue reading
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Soundtrack to Economic Anxiety – Politico
In a fall defined by market chaos, the long road of the campaign has ended up in uncharted economic territory — amid voters’ competing emotions of anxiety, aspiration and anger. After the spring primaries’ reversals of fortune and the hot … Continue reading
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What Macron Can Teach America: It’s Time for Center-Left and Center-Right to Unite
In a time of Trump and deepening populist polarization in both parties, the idea of a radical centrist revolution seems as unlikely as it does quaint. But in 15 months, Emmanuel Macron has created a powerful counter-narrative in a time … Continue reading
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Ode to the Independent Bookstore – The Daily Beast
In September, the final Borders stores closed, adding to the funeral pyre of big-box stores content providers that went before them, like Tower Records? or Virgin Megastores. Some people believe it is only a matter of time until all bookstores … Continue reading
The Absurd Impeachment Feedback Loop – The Daily Beast
Impeachment is the final fantasy for obsessive hyper-partisans. But some Democrats are exploiting the craziness as a fundraising call to arms. Silly season has started—and both parties are trying to fund-raise off the fringe. One-third of Americans now say that … Continue reading
Border Kids Crisis—Impotent Congress – The Daily Beast
The alleged urgency of the problem is inspiring no action on Capitol Hill. But the failure to deal with the influx of Central American children isn’t inevitable—it’s driven by fear. Cynicism passes for wisdom in Washington. And despite the urgent … Continue reading
The GOP’s Crump Cancer
Donald Trump and Ted Cruz are two faces of the same phenomenon—the rise of conservative populism with a mean streak—empowered by the GOP’s purge of the center-right. When asked to assess the presidential prospects of Donald Trump and Ted Cruz, … Continue reading
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Donald Trump’s ‘American Carnage’ Inaugural
It started to rain right as President Donald J. Trump started speaking. And with the rain came the darkest inaugural address Americans have ever heard from a new president. Inaugural addresses usually are written with an eye toward the sweep … Continue reading