Ruth Marcus:: Is any politician culpable?
In the narrative of every political scandal comes the accountability moment. New facts slow to a trickle, and the next, insistent demand becomes: Who is being held accountable? This is often a dumb...
View ArticleASA boycott holds Israel accountable
It took Palestinians 56 years living under brutal Israeli military repression to reach the point of calling for a boycott of Israel. However, it took practically nothing, just an endorsement of the...
View ArticleEditorial: Even security has limits
THE ISSUE:The president outlines a plan to rein in, somewhat, the NSA's data gathering.THE STAKES:The details, still to come, affect our security, and our liberty. President Barack Obama's...
View ArticleThomas Friedman: Rebuild Syria's resiliency
In the 1970s, I got both my bachelor's and master's degrees in modern Middle East studies, and I can assure you that at no time did environmental or climate issues appear anywhere in the syllabi of my...
View ArticlePublicly finance elections
Four years ago this week, the Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United unleashed a torrent of private money from the very wealthy into American politics. And just as suddenly, the vast majority of...
View ArticleEditorial: Reversing a silly prank
THE ISSUE:On his last day, the outgoing Saratoga Springs mayor filled 20 vacancies.THE STAKES:The appointees and the new mayor should look at this as an opportunity to put community before politics....
View ArticleAsk, before throwing money at educaiton
Gov. Andrew Cuomo in his recent State of the State address said that excellent teachers should be paid up to $20,000 a year more and be used to mentor new teachers. No argument here. Excellence should...
View ArticleDavid McCumber: Silence surrounding NSA is finally ending
''The sensational way in which these disclosures have come out has often shed more heat than light."That assessment by President Barack Obama of news reporting National Security Agency abuses leaked...
View ArticleRex Smith: The talk of Davos, from a local view
Once again this year, I was not invited to Davos, the Swiss mountain resort where people usually described as "the elite" have gathered this week for the World Economic Forum. I'm OK with failing to...
View ArticleNotable quotes of the week
"In all my life, I have never seen a finer group of extremists in one room. While we are here, before we are asked to leave the state, let's make the best of it." — Westchester County Executive Rob...
View ArticleThomas Friedman: Arab world alone can cure its ills
If you're confused about all the turmoil in the Arab world and asking how the United States should respond, I find it useful to consider three questions:1) Why is it that the Arab awakening country...
View ArticleMaureen Dowd: Wild West of weed flies really high
So you want to get high in a high-end way in the Mile High City.You could call Dale Dyke and his wife, Chastity Osborn, a massage therapist, who run Get High Getaways. They gutted their brick house in...
View ArticleKathleen Parker: Huckabee came so close to getting it right
Washington We know what Mike Huckabee meant. Sort of. Kind of. But, really?Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor and Republican presidential candidate, talk-show host and erstwhile Baptist preacher,...
View ArticleEDITORIAL: LONG STORY SHORT
Not the best word choiceWe get what Gov. Andrew Cuomo meant. It's how he said it that's the problem.Speaking on a radio show, the Democratic governor declared that extreme conservatives — those, he...
View ArticleA war of many colors
Although the Civil War is often described as the "War between the Blue and Gray," it was actually a conflict of many colors.When the war started in 1861, there were Northern regiments that wore gray...
View ArticleEditorial: Just politics, Mr. Cuomo?
THE ISSUE:The governor brushes off legislation to let localities accept or reject a casino.THE STAKES:What he calls mere politics is people wanting a say in their hometown's destiny. Gov. Andrew Cuomo...
View ArticleCasey Seiler: Looking for the price tag
If you liked it, Beyonce notes, you shoulda put a ring on it. If you support public financing of campaigns, you shoulda put a price tag on it.The latter sentiment was shared by several advocates I...
View ArticleCity should keep large trucks off South Troy's streets
Business drives the economy, and South Troy — a residential neighborhood with families, seniors and schools — has an industrial zone on the Hudson River. While that zone can be a great economic...
View ArticleCut state red tape and save
Last Tuesday, the Times Union criticized the state Senate majority coalition's effort to reduce duplicative government regulation and trimming red tape for New York businesses. As the co-leader of the...
View ArticleRichard Brodsky:: Governor leans right, splits left
The battle is on, and politics moves to the spotlight. Gov. Andrew Cuomo set the stage, starkly and clearly. Now our democracy will try to make a decision. That's much harder than it sounds.Cuomo has...
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