Sally Steenland: Working and still poor

  A few weeks ago, one of my favorite Washington, D.C. restaurants was celebrating its 35th anniversary with a special deal: a three-course dinner for $35. Since entrees at this particular restaurant run in the $35 to $40 range, the deal was too good to resist. So I made reservations, had a delicious meal with a friend, and felt incredibly satisfied as I paid the bill.

  At work the next day, some of my colleagues were talking about another anniversary—one that marked five years since Congress last raised the minimum wage. My colleagues discussed a campaign they were helping to launch called “Live the Wage,” a challenge inviting people across the country to live on $77 for food, transportation, and entertainment—similar to the budget of a minimum-wage worker—for a week. A person working full time at a minimum-wage job earns $290 a week—after taking out housing costs and taxes, that leaves about $77.

Jacob G. Hornberger: The Drug War is finished

  The drug war is finished. Kaput.  It’s now just a matter of time when the federal government calls an end to this evil, immoral, destructive, and racist government program.

  This week the New York Times became the latest addition to those calling for an end to the drug war, with an editorial entitled “Repeal Prohibition, Again.” That was followed by two more editorials written by members of the NYT editorial board, one entitled “Let States Decide on Marijuana” by David Firestone and the other “The Public Lightens Up About Weed” by Juliet Lapidos.

Steve Flowers: Inside the Statehouse: The emergence of Ryan De Graffenreid

  If race was a major issue in 1958, being the racist candidate in 1962 was the only way to be elected governor in Alabama. With this issue in hand and Wallace’s love for campaigning and remembering names, he would have beaten anybody that year.

The Ryan budget in sheep’s clothing?

  House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) recently put forward a plan to overhaul our nation’s safety net. Among other things, Rep. Ryan proposes consolidating multiple safety net programs into a single grant in a select number of states in the name of granting localities and community institutions greater flexibility. But while Rep. Ryan paints his plan as embracing bold, new reforms, his proposals are either another version of his radical budget—a wolf dressed up in sheep’s clothing—or a complete about-face on his commitment to balance the budget. Ryan can’t have it both ways.

Chad Donohue: The Zero Effect

  “Despite evidence that grading as punishment does not work and the mathematical flaw in the use of the zero on a 100-point scale, many teachers routinely maintain this policy in the mistaken belief that it will lead to improved student performance.” -Douglas B. Reeves

  With all of the emphasis on change in education, it makes sense to look at our grading practices for some possible answers. The use of zeroes for missing work is a good place to start.

Gene Policinski: Examining the new importance of ‘where’ we speak

  When we say something that might be threatening, how much does where we say it matter?

  The U.S. Supreme Court agreed in June to examine that question from a new angle – the increasingly popular method of online comments and posts on social media, as distinct from directed or face-to-face exchanges.

  The First Amendment generally shields us from being punished for what we say, but there are exceptions, among them what is called a “true threat.”

Sheldon Richman: In forein affairs, not doing anything is the thing to do

  The heartbreaking violence in the Middle East, Ukraine, and elsewhere carries many messages, but here’s one Americans shouldn’t miss: The United States — no matter who the president is — cannot manage world conflict. The corollary is that when a president tries to manage it, things will usually get worse. Foresight is always defective, and tragic unintended consequences will prevail.

  The foreign-policy “experts” in both major political parties, and the intelligentsia generally, think otherwise. No matter who holds power, we can expect the opposition to complain that the chief executive poorly anticipated and thus improperly responded to world events.

Missing the point: The real impact of native mascots and team names

  The debate over the racist name and mascot of the professional football team based in the nation’s capital, the “Redskins,” has reached a fever pitch in recent months. Fifty U.S. senators signed a letter urging the National Football League, or NFL, to take action and change the name. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office recently canceled several of the team’s trademarks because they were disparaging to American Indian and Alaska Native, or AI/AN, people and communities. And several media outlets across the country have stopped printing and using the name, including the San Francisco Chronicle, Slate, and The Seattle Times.

Steve Flowers: Inside the Statehouse: The rise of George C. Wallace

  The 1962 Alabama governor’s race really began in 1958. The governor’s office and the race for it was the big show in Alabama politics in that era. Being a U.S. Senator was secondary in Alabama politics. Governor is still probably the most important and glamorous political position today, but it certainly was at that time.

  Television had not come into its own. Most Alabamians did not own a television. There were no southern major league baseball teams to follow, such as the Atlanta Braves who were still in Milwaukee at that time. The closest team was the St. Louis Cardinals and they were miles away and not really in the south. The Grand Ole Opry was only on the radio on Saturday night. Therefore, southerners had to include politics as a prime source of their entertainment.

Michael Josephson: The Greyhound Principle

  Racing dogs are trained to chase a mechanical rabbit that always goes a little faster than the fleetest dog. This causes them to run faster than they otherwise would.

  Companies that annually set overly ambitious performance objectives for their employees employ this greyhound principle. To a point, it works. Most people achieve more when expectations are set high.