National Analysis

McCain’s Two Wars

Foreign Policy in Focus 01/15/2008 By Michael Shank For many Democrat voters, John McCain represents the least bad Republican presidential candidate on the ballot. Democrats not wanting the Bible in the White House are disinclined toward southern Baptist Mike Huckabee, and those not wanting a doubled-in-size Guantanamo or an immigrant-free […]

Huckabee: Heroic Conservative?

Foreign Policy in Focus 12/26/2007 By Michael Shank Standing in prime position in the final weeks of pre-primary campaigning, Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee seems poised to potentially rout his two major contenders, candidates Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney in the upcoming caucuses. There is reason for Huckabee’s recent rise […]

Congress’s Goals on CAFE, Biofuels Don’t Go Far Enough

THE HILL 12/06/07 By Michael Shank Coinciding with the United Nations climate change conference in Bali this week, Congress remains mired in energy bill deliberations. And it appears that foreign leaders abroad are the more formidable fighters against global warming. In the article “New groups get in ring as energy […]

Steer Concerned Celebrities Instead of Stifling Them

FINANCIAL TIMES 11/01/07 By Michael Shank Sir, Gideon Rachman (“The aid crusade and Bono’s brigade”, October 30) has it right: it is better to have rock stars roiling for debt relief than resorting to hotel room romping. Yet Mr Rachman sides with the cynics on celebrity campaigning by taking issue […]

Pioneers Can Secure Our Future

RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH 09/13/07 By Michael Shank and US Representative Roscoe Bartlett (R-MD) Russia, Canada, and the United States are rushing to the North Pole in a pioneer-like land grab for an estimated 25 percent of the world’s unknown oil and gas reserves. One wonders when we will learn. Oil and […]

Wal-Mart is Walking the Walk on Sustainability

FINANCIAL TIMES 09/12/07 By Michael Shank Sir, With reference to “Soft soap? Why the greening of Wal-Mart may hinder the way to a sustainable world” (September 10): it should be a soft sell for the unconverted. Preaching with no less flair than a southern Baptist preacher, Arkansas’ Wal-Mart is leading […]

Wal-Mart is Walking the Walk on Sustainability

Financial Times 09/12/2007 By Michael Shank Sir, With reference to “Soft soap? Why the greening of Wal-Mart may hinder the way to a sustainable world” (September 10): it should be a soft sell for the unconverted. Preaching with no less flair than a southern Baptist preacher, Arkansas’ Wal-Mart is leading […]

Plenty of Candidates, Yet No One to Vote for

Arab News 08/22/2007 By Michael Shank The winner of the 2008 United States presidential election is going to be the most expensive candidate ever. Estimates gauge that the road to the White House will have cost a total of $1 billion. What else is unprecedented about the 2008 Oval Office […]

A Chance to Improve Mental Health Services for Virginians

Richmond Times-Dispatch 08/14/2007 By Michael Shank and Sandra Cheldelin Virginia Tech’s tragedy remains a stark reminder for those working in emergency medical services — particularly in mental health — that existing detection and response systems are dysfunctional. As exemplified all too painfully in the case of Tech’s Seung-Hui Cho, the […]