Charles Krauthammer: Obama's denial strategy
WashingtonBarack Obama's 949-word response on Monday to a question about foreign policy weakness showed the president at his worst: defensive, irritable, contradictory and at times detached from...
View ArticleNew rules limit use of e-cigarettes
The following appeared in a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette editorial:Being large and ponderous, the federal government tends to move slowly but glaring problems can rouse it to action. That is what happened...
View ArticleGovernor's past record of reforms
Liberals have attacked Gov. Andrew Cuomo for the Legislature's failure to enact enhanced disclosure of legislators' outside income and a new public campaign financing system. Remarkably, the...
View ArticleEditorial: War of words on scaffolds
THE ISSUE:The decades-old debate over New York's Scaffold Law continues.THE STAKES:Without legitimate data, there will be little chance for meaningful discussion. Opponents in the debate over New...
View ArticleMany count their blessings after Mount Everest disaster
The following appeared in a Chicago Tribune editorial:"There were many, many fine reasons not to go, but attempting to climb Mount Everest is an intrinsically irrational act — a triumph of desire over...
View ArticleDavid Brooks: Drive to compete intensifies
Every year, researchers at UCLA do a survey of incoming college freshmen. These surveys, conducted for more than four decades now, show how the life cycle has changed in the past couple of...
View ArticleN.Y. adding to federal problem
In March, the New York Legislature overwhelmingly passed and, last month, Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed into law the National Popular Vote bill, which aims to create a system that elects the president by a...
View ArticleEditorial: Backstage at the Capitol
THE ISSUE:The public's right to know is getting shoved aside again by the Cuomo administration.THE STAKES:Emails, text messages and the like are as much a part of the record as any official memo. As a...
View ArticlePut politics aside and get to the truth about Benghazi
The following appeared in a Dallas Morning News editorial:Twenty months ago, in the heat of a presidential campaign, a U.S. ambassador and three other Americans were killed in Benghazi, Libya. The...
View ArticleElectorate needs a say in casinos
Capital Region communities are now experiencing the frustration of top-down government at its worst: The expansion of casino gambling in upstate New York as provided in the flawed Proposal One bill...
View ArticleMaureen Dowd: And the hit just keeps on coming
Washington Monica Lewinsky says she would meet me for a drink.I'm game.In her new meditation in Vanity Fair, Monica mashes Hawthorne and Coleridge, proclaiming that she's ready to rip off her...
View ArticleEditorial: Prayers and tolerance
THE ISSUE:The U.S. Supreme Court has affirmed the right to start public meetings with a prayer.THE STAKES:It must be conducted in a way that respects the beliefs of everyone involved. The U.S. Supreme...
View ArticlePut medical pot on GOP priority list
I believe good policy makes good politics.There are many issues state legislators must resolve in coming weeks. Lowering taxes, job creation, education — these critical issues are important as we work...
View ArticleGlobal pressure follows Nigeria's lax kidnap response
The following appeared in a Chicago Tribune editorial:It wasn't the first time or the last. It was only the most brazen.Armed terrorists stormed a boarding school in northern Nigeria on April 14,...
View ArticleThomas Friedman: New energy bargain is needed now
Up to now, Russia's president, Vladimir Putin, has been playing a weak hand in Ukraine very well. I mean, how strong are you when your allies insist on wearing masks? But Putin thinks he knows his...
View ArticleKathleen Parker: A civilized society eschews executions
Washington When Lady Justice takes a count of bleeding hearts outside the execution chamber, she won't find mine among them.I am no passionate opponent of the death penalty. I am rather a...
View ArticleEditorial: Feds step up on oil safety
THE ISSUE:Two federal agencies have issued orders trying to regain some control over the crude oil overflowing our rails and ports.THE STAKES:Public health and safety gain from these steps. The...
View ArticleCuomo's energy plan is worthy of praise
When you're right you're right, and Gov. Andrew Cuomo is right about sparking a power revolution in New York. I've criticized the governor over fracking. I live in New York with my wife and three...
View ArticleRex Smith: Treasures worthy of a fight to save
You get to a point in life when you're more interested in disposing of stuff than acquiring it. So I can't explain why the old brown backpack was still there this week when I went looking for a way to...
View ArticleEditorials: Long story short
Transparency scores win in pension names caseThe state's highest court has ruled that the names, but not the addresses, of retirees who receive public pensions must be disclosed according to New...
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