(Kevyn Orr | Source: Fox News Sunday) Detroit’s bankruptcy and a high profile lawsuit in San Jose highlight a nationwide effort led by fiscal conservatives to undo the basic promise embodied in public employee pensions—a guaranteed, defined retirement benefit. If they succeed in unraveling public pensions, as they have to retirement benefits offered by private […]

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(Image source: Benoît Deniaud/Flickr/Creative Commons) Nelly was wider than she was tall (about five hands or so), and kind of a jerk. She was old, and some brat (me) was always trying to put a saddle on her and play National Velvet in her paddock. But Nelly had that infuriating and endearing quality that most […]

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The question leads from the close of Trayvon Martin’s life: What if he had been carrying a gun? In the aftermath of George Zimmerman’s acquittal in the death of Martin, many people, including President Barack Obama, have asked it. Would Trayvon be alive? Would Zimmerman? If Trayvon were a year older and licensed to carry, […]

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(Image source: Liz Cheney Facebook) It took less than 48 hours for the Republican primary in Wyoming to become the nastiest in the nation, which is quite a feat in light of the fight for Virginia’s governor. Then again, if hadn’t gotten nasty, how would you have known a Cheney was running? After all, this […]

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  In this age of mass migration, U.S. immigration policy has mixed relative openness to immigration (since 1965) with nativist hostility toward immigrants. On the state level, we have seen a wave of anti-immigrant legislation (like the Arizona “papers, please” law). On the federal level, the militarization of the U.S.-Mexico border coupled with spasms of […]

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