Although it may surprise readers of the New York Times, Wisconsin is not the only state going to the polls today. Nor is the fate of Scott Walker the only battle in the War on Blue. Six other states also vote today, and two local ballot measures in California are especially worth following.The cities of […]

The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee reached a peak today as a carriage procession carried the royal family from Westminster to Buckingham Palace, where the Royal Air Force flew over amid celebratory rounds of rifle fire from the ground.Back in 1940, Elizabeth was a young princess when it was another air force that was flying over Buckingham […]

We already know that America, Britain, France, Saudia Arabia, and assorted others are all deeply concerned about the prospect of an Iranian bomb. Add the United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency to that list: The head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog announced his agency would resume talks with Iran on Friday, and said for […]

Bloated pension and union labor costs are threatening public transportation across the country, says a story in the Wall Street Journal. Budget shortfalls have pushed transit agencies from Pittsburgh to Detroit to consider massive cuts and fare increases. Many have begged cities and states for help, but given current municipal and state budgets, there’s not much help […]

If the European banking system were the setting for a Spaghetti Western film, the settlers would be circling their wagons in preparation for an attack.What that means concretely is that around the world banks are increasingly seeking to protect their assets by cutting back on cross-border lending into other countries. Their international loans dramatically declined […]

In 1935, when the Social Security Act was passed, the average American lifespan was 61.7 years.Today, it’s 81.7.Suddenly, keeping the retirement age at 60 doesn’t make much sense. Or so says AIG Chairman Robert Benmosche, who favors increasing the retirement age to 80. An economy with a rapidly aging workforce can only survive, he argues, […]

China is playing down U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta’s recent visit to Vietnam, where he announced plans for a ramped-up U.S. military presence in the Asia-Pacific. Yesterday a spokesman at China’s Foreign Ministry called the plans for more U.S. warships “out of keeping with the times,” a blasé reaction to Washington’s new grand strategy. Similarly, Lieutenant General Ren […]

Much of the country is watching the Democrats’ attempt to save the blue model in Wisconsin’s recall election today, but in Providence, Rhode Island, it is the Democrats themselves who are taking on big blue. Mayor Angel Taveras’s proposed deal to modify the pensions of government workers in order to save the city from bankruptcy follows up […]

Roughly two weeks have passed since we last took the temperature of the presidential race, and so it’s time for another look at where the candidates stand. Using our standard method of measuring the national swing since the 2008 vote and applying that swing equally across the board to all 50 states and the District […]

Policymakers stumped about how to lower stratospheric healthcare costs should look abroad, where a number of countries are finding creative solutions to chronic doctor shortages. A new piece in the Economist profiles transformations in the delivery of medicine: But this demand for health care looks unlikely to be met by doctors in the way the past […]