Harold Pollack

At least this clip is on-the-money regarding one channel to school bullying and violence…. (h/t Kevin Carey). Key and PeeleGet More: Comedy Central,Funny Videos,Funny TV Shows [Cross-posted at The Reality-Based Community]

Senator Cruz got in trouble for praising Jesse Helms the other day. In particular, Cruz is quoted as saying: “We need 100 more like Jesse Helms in the U.S. Senate.” This is a ridiculous thing to say. But the most ridiculous and indecent aspect of this story isn’t anything Cruz actually said. It’s the simple […]

Faithful readers may remember my comment in an earlier conversation with Helaine Olen regarding the financial industry’s basic dilemma: The best advice fits on an index card, which is available for free at the library. Commenter Alex M asked for the actual index card. Although I was originally speaking in metaphor, Alex’s question led me […]

Steven F. Hayward, Paul Kengor, Craig Shirley and Kiron K. Skinner wrote a strange Washington Post op-ed yesterday decrying the inspiro-pic “The Butler,” for its allegedly unkind portrayal of Ronald Reagan’s racial views. I was a little surprised by their complaints, since the Butler is quite kind to Reagan on a personal level. These authors […]

Last month, John Goodman excoriated a Wonkblog piece I wrote, which had criticized Greg Mankiw’s defense of the 1%. I argued that Mankiw fails to appreciate what we all owe each other, given our differing roles and resources in a prosperous, interconnected society. I was caring for my dad at the time, and so didn’t […]

This weekend, I read the fascinating New York Times story by Louise Story and Annie Lowrey regarding Larry Summers’ baroque financial ties to prominent banks and Wall Street firms. I didn’t detect any disqualifying details. I’d bet that Summers—unlike most politicos-actually earns his money as a board member and consultant. He seems to be carving […]

Austin dissents from my critique of the health reform proposal offered by health policy experts at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) last week. It seems useful to clarify what we disagree about and why. To be sure, ACA is an imperfect project and product. Its authors might be the first to agree that it should […]

Superstar political scientist Robert Putnam (who was a wonderful employer and informal mentor to me, too many years ago) is now writing a book about the economic and social decline of his northern Ohio hometown. He provides a web preview in today’s New York Times. It begins: My hometown — Port Clinton, Ohio, population 6,050 […]

Monday night, Bill O’Reilly delivered “an impassioned talking points memo.” As described by Foxinsider.com, O’Reilly “tackled the race problem facing America and the lack of leadership by the president to solve these issues.” Last night, O’Reilly continued the theme by haranguing Marc Morial, who leads the National Urban League to “Stop the BS!” on “black […]

I’ve taught in elite academic settings for a while now. Academic life being what it is, many of my students come from wealthy backgrounds. Children of the affluent can attend great high schools and extra tutoring. They can take unpaid internships. They can spend semesters abroad learning German. They can take an unpaid intern at […]