OP ED


Gail Collins /Big news about our really, really big debt

Gail Collins /Big news about our really, really big debt

2012-05-18 00:09:30

John Boehner says it's time to lock the grid again. Have a great summer, everybody!


The stats to watch: Unemployment rates in swing states are the best predictor of whether Obama or Romney will be our next president

2012-05-18 00:06:05

It will be interesting to see whether President Barack Obama can use an economic-success argument more successfully state by state.


George F. Will / The menace of bipartisanship: Our metastasizing entitlement state borrows money to give away

2012-05-18 00:02:37

Bipartisanship, the supposed scarcity of which so distresses the high-minded, actually is disastrously prevalent.


BWG looking for BWG: Mitt Romney and Rob Portman look like the perfect match

BWG looking for BWG: Mitt Romney and Rob Portman look like the perfect match

2012-05-17 00:24:35

The Ohio Republican who helped Mitt Romney win his state's primary seems the ideal Boring White Guy to be Romney's running mate.


Improve senior care: Pennsylvania must rethink how it cares for low-income seniors

2012-05-17 00:19:46

With more than 300,000 residents age 85 and over, Pennsylvania's senior population is the largest it has ever been, and it is growing fast.


Greece and Serbia trade places: Now Greece seems to be Europe's most troublesome country

2012-05-17 00:13:45

Two elections took place in the Balkans on May 6, and when historians look back, they may see them as a tipping point.


We all play for the T-Birds: I was on a team of misfits, but in America, everyone fits in

We all play for the T-Birds: I was on a team of misfits, but in America, everyone fits in

2012-05-16 00:18:41

When I was a kid there were no girls' softball leagues. If a girl wanted to play, she played baseball.


David Brooks / The ESPN president: Obama's postboomer manliness is keeping his campaign afloat

David Brooks / The ESPN president: Obama's postboomer manliness is keeping his campaign afloat

2012-05-16 00:15:03

Two of the nation's smartest analysts have just come out with reports on how the presidential election looks six months out.


Thomas L. Friedman / This column is not sponsored by anyone

2012-05-16 00:02:17

But so much of American life is now for sale, that it is driving us apart


Paul Krugman / This is what regulations are all about

Paul Krugman / This is what regulations are all about

2012-05-15 00:24:14

JPMorgan provides yet another case study in why banks need to be reined in


Ross Douthat / The president keeps changing the subject

2012-05-15 00:23:13

But it probably won't matter if the economy doesn't pick up


Stay out of Syria: Setting up safe zones would drag us into war

2012-05-15 00:06:21

Having proposed more than my fair share of bad ideas during more than 20 years in government service, I know one when I see it.


In the tank for Obama

2012-05-15 00:04:04

Ten clues for assessing how deep in the tank is a given news organization for President Obama.


The Next Page / Back in the U.S.S.R.: the satires of Mikhail Bulgakov

The Next Page / Back in the U.S.S.R.: the satires of Mikhail Bulgakov

2012-05-14 13:29:40

The great Russian writer first became famous for making wicked fun of Soviet foibles in the 1920s. He's still fresh as a daisy.


Kids without health care: The Affordable Care Act is helping where Pa. is failing

2012-05-14 00:14:03

The benefits of the federal law are being undermined by a health care coverage crisis that has been quietly unfolding in Pennsylvania.


George F. Will / Automotive image: A history of cars is the story of American hopes, dreams and disappointments

2012-05-14 00:10:46

The LaSalle introduced a tug of war "between the practical and the pretentious, the frugal versus the flamboyant."


Maureen Dowd / Seeking original bliss: President Obama takes too long to do the right thing

2012-05-14 00:03:40

In the end, Mr. Obama had to rip off the Band-Aid and take a stand on same-sex marriage.


The gift of the 79 bus: It would be the perfect Mother's Day present for many of the Marys in our region

2012-05-13 00:27:10

The loss of basic transit service would jeopardize many of the investments funders have made to improve the quality of life in our region.


Am I really a mom? I've helped raise seven children, but still I wonder

2012-05-13 00:26:48

How hard could it be? My mom had raised five children of her own and worked full time; therefore, so could I.


Enough Said / U.S. moms, by the numbers

2012-05-13 00:21:35

Facts that speak for themselves


The cell phone revolution: Mobile phones have empowered India's underclass

The cell phone revolution: Mobile phones have empowered India's underclass

2012-05-13 00:21:32

India has now overtaken the United States as the world's second-largest telephone market


Winning the Big Cheese: Keep an eye on the Scott Walker recall in Wisconsin

2012-05-13 00:19:01

It has implications for the presidential campaign and for public employee unions.


What do moms really want? (Hint: not brunch)

2012-05-13 00:04:55

Of course we love those macaroni necklaces. And who wouldn't want another mug? Cereal and syrup for breakfast? In bed? Bring it on!


Cutting Edge: New ideas / Sharp opinions

2012-05-13 00:04:44

Pittsburgh's 2 Political Junkies quote denunciations of President Barack Obama's announcement that he now supports same-sex marriage ...


David Brooks / More stimulus spending won't fix what ails us; fundamental reform is necessary

2012-05-13 00:03:36

The country is really divided when different people are having entirely different debates. That's what's happening on economic policy.


This is your captain: Turn off that cell phone!

This is your captain: Turn off that cell phone!

2012-05-13 00:03:20

Portable electronic devices pose a real threat to airline safety.


Paul Krugman / Easy useless economics: As Keynes said, in the long run we're all dead

2012-05-12 00:19:22

Once again, authoritative-sounding figures insist that our problems are "structural," that they can't be fixed quickly.


Saturday Diary / When great comedy was sponsored by big tobacco

2012-05-12 00:18:04

The entertainers, of course, never even hinted that cigarettes could cause cancer or other serious health problems.


First Person / Behind locked doors: There lies dementia and, sometimes, dancing

2012-05-12 00:16:52

Her husband recognizes her but is often frustrated and angry at his failed attempts to find the words he struggles to dredge from his mind.


This Modern World / The circular debate: around and around it goes ...

2012-05-12 00:09:11

This Modern World / The circular debate: around and around it goes ...


Saturday Poem / On the Eve of the Conversion of St. Augustine

2012-05-12 00:07:50

Sons ascend to adulthood seeking, rather assumingly, a path new to the landscape.


Charles Krauthammer / Echoes of '67: Israel unites to send a message to Iran and the world

2012-05-12 00:07:21

The coalition government demonstrates a political readiness to attack, if necessary.


Obama's hand was forced: Public support for same-sex marriage has risen fast

2012-05-11 00:16:28

President Barack Obama's announcement Wednesday that he now supports same-sex marriage was, in retrospect, inevitable.


'This changes everything': The president stands up for gay teens like Tyler

2012-05-11 00:13:49

This was going to be a different kind of column.


The fallacy of 'having it all': Jack Welch tells hard truths to working women

2012-05-11 00:03:36

I have advice for Julia, the Obama campaign's mythical gal who is guided through life by the nanny state: Never work for Jack Welch.


Maureen Dowd / France and its tabloid presidents

2012-05-10 00:22:57

Only amorous candidates with complicated love lives need apply


Death of a tyrant: Tomas Borge - torturer, thief, assassin - is hailed as a hero by Latin leftists

Death of a tyrant: Tomas Borge - torturer, thief, assassin - is hailed as a hero by Latin leftists

2012-05-10 00:22:20

The outpouring of praise from Latin America's left-wing pseudo-democrats showed that their hearts still long for the AK-47.


Saturday Poem / Rach II

2012-05-09 16:01:16

His lips travel this music / along her silky skin fragrance / toward her dawn, eye mirror, ...


Paul Krugman / Of broccoli and bad faith: The Supreme Court shouldn't play politics with health care

2012-05-09 16:01:15

After oral arguments, it seems quite possible that the Supreme Court will strike down the requirement that individuals buy health insurance.


Charles Krauthammer / An open mic reveals the 'flexibility' doctrine to an anxious world

2012-05-09 16:01:14

Obama assures Putin that concessions are coming Russia's way.


First Person / Hanging out with movie people

2012-05-09 16:01:13

One night a year, the cinematographers step into the spotlight


Saturday Diary / Hope endures when the young play ball

2012-05-09 16:00:11

Every year I think, "Do I really want to do this again?" and every year I do it, and I think that's my hedge against hopelessness.


The Mormon factor won't go away for Romney

2012-05-09 15:58:33

There's a reason that even those who want a religious candidate still won't vote for the former Massachusetts governor


Warm bodies won't do: Defendants deserve lawyers fully prepared to defend them

2012-05-09 15:58:32

Can a judge order a lawyer to represent a defendant on the spot, with no preparation? No.


Obama correct in not boasting about health care

2012-05-09 15:57:31

When the second anniversary of Obamacare rolled around last Friday, the White House hoped you wouldn't notice.


Thomas L. Friedman / The Mideast needs modern schools and hard truths

2012-05-09 15:57:30

It's time to rethink everything we're doing there.


E.J. Dionne Jr. / Conservative justices seem ready to rewrite health care law

2012-05-09 15:54:32

They dove into policy details as if they were members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.


God and health care: How can Rick Santorum oppose universal health care?

2012-05-09 15:53:35

I am pleased that the relationship between religion and public office has created a conversation among diverse points of view.


George F. Will / Government has no right to favor one business over another

2012-05-09 15:53:35

The courts' dereliction of duty has been presented as noble deference to popular government.


David Brooks / Universal coverage done right: Let Alexander Hamilton design our health care system

David Brooks / Universal coverage done right: Let Alexander Hamilton design our health care system

2012-05-09 15:52:27

He centralized goal-setting while decentralizing decision-making.


An un-Islamic attack on science: Driving Israelis from a conference sets back public health in the Middle East

2012-05-09 15:52:22

This is not what Prophet Muhammad would have wanted.


The man from Camp 14: Shin Dong-hyuk's life unmasks the real face of the North Korean regime

2012-05-09 15:49:38

Mr. Shin arguably has as much to teach about Korea as the cycles of negotiation, bluster and broken promises over the nuclear issue.


Calling for innovators: Our students must learn to create new technologies, not just enjoy them

2012-05-09 15:49:37

Innovation has always been the foundation of successful enterprises.


Trayvon the boy vs. Trayvon the symbol

Trayvon the boy vs. Trayvon the symbol

2012-05-09 15:47:42

He was a high school kid who got good grades and baked cookies for his cousins


George F. Will / Obamacare's contract problem

2012-05-09 15:42:47

The individual mandate is incompatible with centuries of settled law


Maureen Dowd / How Oedipus wrecks

2012-05-09 15:42:46

The complicated father-son dynamics


The importance of international aid

2012-05-09 15:42:45

Alleviating poverty and fostering stability are good for global safety and the U.S. economy


Uncap the facts: Let's stop making bottled water the bad guy

2012-05-09 15:42:44

Efforts to ban the sale of water will not have much effect on reducing the environmental impact of plastic containers.


'The Crisis of Zionism' by Peter Beinart: Is the movement losing its way?

'The Crisis of Zionism' by Peter Beinart: Is the movement losing its way?

2012-05-09 15:39:52

Peter Beinart's argument for a liberal democratic Zionism has its merits. But one of his solutions will make things worse.


The Next Page: How organ recipients remember their donors

The Next Page: How organ recipients remember their donors

2012-05-09 15:39:52

Three fortunate individuals describe their daily gratitude for the transplants that keep them going.


Romney shaken by Etch A Sketch

Romney shaken by Etch A Sketch

2012-05-09 15:39:19

The landmark toy defends himself in this exclusive interview.


Does fake violence reduce the real thing?

Does fake violence reduce the real thing?

2012-05-09 15:39:18

Violent crime keeps going down, and the usual suspects don't check out.


Enough Said / Stressed out troops: more deployments, more problems

2012-05-09 15:39:17

Facts that speak for themselves


Mike Daisey is trying to convince himself that deceiving people is OK

2012-05-09 15:39:17

The storyteller of Chinese factory workers making Apple products made me believe him even when I knew he was lying.


Cutting Edge: New ideas / Sharp opinions

2012-05-09 15:39:17

The Washington Post's Dana Milbank scorches the GOP budget proposed by Rep. Paul Ryan last week.


Why the Roberts court might save the Obama health care law

2012-05-09 15:39:16

Anywhere from one to three conservatives could vote to uphold it.


Is the health care law constitutional? / No, strike it down

2012-05-09 15:39:10

Congress doesn't have the power to force Americans to buy health insurance.


Is the health care law constitutional? / Yes, it expands liberty

2012-05-09 15:39:09

Conservatives didn't consider it unconstitutional, either, until President Obama proposed it.


Saturday Diary / The encyclopedia told me aardvark means 'earth pig'

Saturday Diary / The encyclopedia told me aardvark means 'earth pig'

2012-05-09 15:36:49

I grew up at a time when door-to-door salesmen made frequent visits to our home.


Charles Krauthammer / The day of reckoning has come for Obamacare

2012-05-09 15:36:44

Obamacare dominated the 2010 midterms, driving its Democratic authors to a historic electoral shellacking.


First Person / Trees and trees for miles: A city kid learns to love our national parks

2012-05-09 15:36:44

When I go to a park, friends say it's far away, in the middle of nowhere, with nothing to do.


Saturday Poem / For the Young Cherry Tree on Penn Avenue in the Strip

2012-05-09 15:36:43

Maybe it's the littlest ones that blossom first, / their heat so close to the skin ...


Paul Krugman / Even top Republicans now spout conspiracy theories

2012-05-09 15:36:42

Stop, hey, what's that sound? Actually, it's the noise a great political party makes when it loses what's left of its mind.


David Brooks / Obama the cagey: He's politically deft, but can he reform the government?

2012-05-09 15:32:06

Obama has entered his cagey phase. I don't mean deceptive. I mean cautious, incremental, clever, maneuvering to reduce vulnerabilities.


The rise of the secular political movement

2012-05-09 15:32:06

Nonbelievers are organizing to challenge the religious right


Olga and Alexei seek justice in Russia

2012-05-09 15:30:05

They're trying to change a system that runs on begging and bribes


Maureen Dowd / Waging a pointless war on China's dime

2012-05-09 15:30:04

Our adventure in Afghanistan costs us dearly but gets us nowhere


Gail Collins / Pity the gun lobby

2012-05-09 15:30:04

They've won so many legislative victories, there's hardly anything left to fight for


George F. Will / The glory of chaos: Unfortunately, 'progressives' would shackle progress

2012-05-09 15:30:03

America now is divided between those who find social churning unnerving and those who find it exhilarating.


Santorum backs the bishops, which is one reason he's losing the Catholic vote

2012-05-09 15:26:47

If Catholicism is measured by obeisance to the pope and the letter of Vatican law, then Rick Santorum is a very good Catholic indeed.


Health reform is working

2012-05-09 15:26:46

Repealing it would carry high human and economic costs.


E.J. Dionne Jr. / Voting by religion

2012-05-09 15:26:46

Republican voters this year are often picking candidates on the basis of religion


Nicholas D. Kristof / The filmmaker vs. the warlord

Nicholas D. Kristof / The filmmaker vs. the warlord

2012-05-09 15:23:23

Don't go after the Kony video, go after the monster Kony.


Shame on the NCAA: It makes billions off poor kids and steals food from their families

2012-05-09 15:23:17

We saw this past weekend why the NCAA basketball tournament is so thrilling as a sports spectacle and so repellent as a business.


Ed Rendell and the MEK mess

2012-05-09 15:21:39

Why are two former Pa. governors and others acting as boosters for a group listed among terrorists?


Maureen Dowd / Will the real Romney please step forward?

2012-05-09 15:21:39

Trust Mitt Romney to be on top of the latest trend of the superrich: the trophy basement.


George F. Will / High-flying corporate welfare

2012-05-09 15:21:38

The government's Export-Import Bank creates business winners and losers in a never-ending cycle.


Be fair to Pennsylvania businesses

2012-05-09 15:21:38

Misinformation and misleading terms continue to cloud a complex tax reporting issue.


The Next Page / Japan after 3/11: the reverberations

The Next Page / Japan after 3/11: the reverberations

2012-05-09 15:20:07

A year after a devastating earthquake and tsunami, Allison Hong traveled around Japan. Amid the quiet recovery, the feeling is unsettled


Obama can kill you

2012-05-09 15:20:05

He asserts breathtaking authority to murder U.S. citizens.


The writer and the president

2012-05-09 15:20:04

Nathaniel Hawthorne's observations of Abraham Lincoln stand up to the present day.


Enough Said: Best places to be a woman

Enough Said: Best places to be a woman

2012-05-09 15:19:45

Facts that speak for themselves


Weigh more, pay more: Obesity imposes costs on everyone

Weigh more, pay more: Obesity imposes costs on everyone

2012-05-09 15:19:27

So the obese ought to cover at least some of them.


OK, guys, stop having sex

2012-05-09 15:19:26

Practice the ultimate form of birth control and leave women alone.


Cutting Edge: New ideas / Sharp opinions

2012-05-09 15:19:20

Stephen Rosenfeld at AlterNet calls Pennsylvania's Act 13 a giveaway to the natural gas industry ...


Raising cyber children: Online ignorance is no longer an option

2012-05-09 15:19:19

Family therapist Miven Booth Trageser explains why.


Is Obama's cool an asset or liability?

2012-05-09 15:19:19

He doesn't buddy up to foreign leaders, but so what?


The state is shortsighted if it reduces already meager support for higher education

2012-05-09 15:19:17

Here's why it would be stealing from Pennsylvania's future.


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