More impressive than the size of the cheese was its eloquence. Painted on the red crust was the inscription: “Rebellion to tyrants is obedience to God.” The cheese was a gift from religious leaders in western Massachusetts. It may seem surprising that religious leaders would be praising Jefferson, given that his critics had just months […]
Steven Waldman
Steven Waldman is chair of the Rebuild Local News Coalition, cofounder of Report for America, and a contributing editor at the Washington Monthly.
Posted inMagazine
Getting Religion
After describing how society fell apart in the 1960s, ’70s, and ’80s (rising crime rates, illegitimacy, etc.), Francis Fukuyama asks, “Are we fated to slide into ever-increasing levels of social and moral disorder, or is there reason to expect the disruption is merely a temporary condition?” One has the feeling that Fukuyama started work on […]
Posted inMagazine
In Search of the Real Three Little Pigs
I’ll huff and I’ll puff and I’ll make you pick up your trash…
Posted inUncategorized
How Washington Tries to Strangle Even the Best Ideas
The inside story of how a bill became a law shows how the capital’s self-interested forces nearly derailed one of the most important reforms since the GI Bill.
Posted inMagazine
Group Therapy: The Answer to Merit Pay
A few years ago I came upon a small company that seemed to provide a strong rebuttal to the Monthly’s longtime support of merit pay. Instead of basing salaries on individual performance, it paid everyone the same— clerical workers, professionals, sales reps, accountants, even the artists. The exception was the owner and his assistant, but […]
Posted inSeptember 1988
The Committee That Couldn’t Shoot Straight
The Iran-contra committee preened before the televison lights, dished out immunity, let lackluster lawyers lead the charge—and let North & Co. off the hook.
Posted inUncategorized
Governing Under the Influence
Washington alcoholics: their aides
protect them, the media shields them.
Posted inSeptember 1987
Making McKinley Sexy
Gore Vidal’s fiction is fun and accurate. Too bad his non-fiction is reckless and annoying.
Posted inJuly 1987
The Best and Worst of American Unions
The words of Samuel Gompers, founder of the American Federation of Labor, have often been cited to summarize everything that is wrong with unions: “What does labor want? More!” More wages even when profits are declining. More benefits even when generous compensation is pricing products out of competition. More work rules that stifle productivity. More […]
