POLITICO 08/24/12 By Michael Shank Working with one of House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan’s Democratic colleagues on the budget committee, as senior policy advisor to U.S. Congressman Michael Honda (D-Calif.) for several years, I know the economic picture Ryan is trying to paint all too well. It is a grim […]
Huffington Post 08/23/2012 By Michael Shank In pursuing politics in Washington, and as a former senior congressional staffer, I am the odd one out in my extended family: many, if not most, of my relatives are farmers, preachers or teachers. At family reunions, consequently, like the one I recently returned […]
THE HILL 08/17/12 By Michael Shank In pursuing politics in Washington, and as a former senior congressional staffer, I am the odd one out in my extended family: many, if not most, of my relatives are farmers, preachers or teachers. At family reunions, consequently, like the one I recently returned […]
Huffington Post 08/13/2012 Al Jazeera 08/21/2012 By Michael Shank Look past the boyish, small-town Wisconsin charm, the incredible commitment to physical fitness, and the impressive clarity in communicating fiscal conservatism, and what does America get with the Paul Ryan vice president pick? Having served as a senior policy advisor to […]
Huffington Post 08/10/2012 By Michael Shank On the heels of the Sikh Temple shooting in Wisconsin, the U.S. Department of Education is hosting its third annual Federal Partners in Bullying Prevention Summit this week, which is fortuitously timed and desperately needed. Without question, the alleged Sikh temple shooter, Wade Michael […]
THE HILL 08/09/12 By Michael Shank On the heels of the Sikh temple shooting in Wisconsin, the U.S. Department of Education is hosting its Third Annual Bullying Prevention Summit this week, which is fortuitously timed and desperately needed. Without question, the Sikh temple shooter, Wade Michael Page, a self-proclaimed skinhead, […]
Al Jazeera 08/09/2012 By Michael Shank The US needs more stringent background checks, more data on guns, an assault weapons ban – and more social capital. The real problem with the gun debate, nearly three weeks after the tragic Colorado theatre shooting and now just days after the tragic Wisconsin […]
FINANCIAL TIMES 08/04/12 By Michael Shank Sir, The real problem with the US gun debate is that polling questions are frequently framed as gun rights not as gun safety (“It is plain wrong to see the gun lobby as Svengali”, July 28). Few Americans want their rights stripped, but most […]
Huffington Post 07/27/2012 By Michael Shank One week after the Aurora theater shootings in Colorado and our government has been utterly lackluster in its response. Will Americans be safer going forward? Likely not. Why? Because while President Barack Obama has mentioned that assault weapons belong in the hands of US […]
WASHINGTON TIMES 07/25/12 By Jennifer Harper THE COST OF AURORA “Why must the tragic Colorado theater shootings stimulate a debate on more than mere gun control? Not simply because, or however remarkable the fact that, violent mass killings — whether in Columbine, Virginia Tech or now Aurora — tend to […]