WASHINGTON TIMES 02/17/12 By Michael Shank By lifting the gun purchase limit, the state of Virginia can expect to see a lifting of its violence limits as well (“Va. Senate votes to repeal one-gun-a-month law,” Web, Feb. 6). Virginia already has one of the highest rates of availability of small […]
AL JAZEERA 02/04/12 By Michael Shank and US Congressman Steve Cohen (D-TN) As the Republican candidates depart the southeast United States to head to Nevada, one topic seems to have escaped their attention entirely: a credible economic cure for what ails the states where they’re waging their campaigns for president. […]
ROLL CALL 01/25/12 By Michael Shank and Melissa Powell With last month’s climate talks in South Africa postponing specific carbon cuts until 2020, it is clear that something more than mere nation-state commitments will be needed to counter climate change and reduce global warming. With nations reluctant to recommit to […]
WASHINGTON POST 01/24/12 By Michael Shank It is ironic that Amish and Mennonites — arguably some of the least politically active Christian sects in America — settled in some of the most politically important regions of the country, in states that are critical for their primary caucus value or swing […]
PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER 01/12/12 By Michael Shank and US Congressman Michael Honda (D-CA) Homicide, other violent crimes, incarceration, policing, and guns are costing this country hundreds of billions of dollars, and millions of jobs, every year. According to conservative estimates by the Institute for Economics and Peace, if the United States […]
THE HILL 12/21/11 By Michael Shank and US Congressman Michael Honda (D-CA) In light of Congress’s failure to wrestle up short-term cost-cutting measures for our country, we must not lose sight of longer-term concerns about the sustainability of our deficits, debts and, ultimately, our budgets. While we tempt deadlines now, […]
CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR 12/19/11 By Michael Shank What makes for a peaceful society? Hot spots from Congo to the Middle East would benefit from such knowledge. But so would the United States, which, at home, isn’t always so harmonious and abroad, is still at war in Afghanistan. The Institute for […]
FINANCIAL TIMES 11/23/11 By Michael Shank Sir, With reference to “Come on – Cuba needs help, not hindrance to progress” (November 18): as illuminated in a 98-page report this month from the Center for Democracy in the Americas, Cuba’s recent economic reforms are indicative of a new resolve. President Raúl […]
ROLL CALL 11/01/11 By Michael Shank and J.J. Messner With the excitement about Moammar Gadhafi’s downfall beginning to fade, Libya’s new management has begun governing and reconstructing the war-torn nation. Plenty of attention is being paid to the governance angle: Is the National Transitional Council a legitimate, representative body? When […]
THE GUARDIAN 10/05/11 By Michael Shank The huge costs of social deprivation make the US poorer, even as the top 1% gets richer. Fix that and you fix the budget deficit On the heels of the US government’s announcement that personal income of Americans has dropped for the first time […]