It usually takes me a day to tap out a rough draft of this column, and I spend the next morning wrestling it into publishable form. The other five days of the week I devote to novel-writing. Stephen King says we writers need to read to learn their craft: “If you don’t have time to read, you ...
Among the lesser-known holes in the Constitution cut by the Patriot Act of 2001 was the destruction of the “wall” between federal law enforcement and federal spies. The wall was erected in the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978, which statutorily limited all federal domestic ...
Back in the day of telephone books, the Washington, D.C., Yellow Pages contained more than a dozen pages of “associations,” a code word for lobbyists. They included associations for tort reform, one for buses and even an association for snack food. I don’t recall an association that ...
Each spring, as tassels are turned and degrees are conferred, college graduates across the country celebrate the culmination of years of study, sacrifice and — inevitably for many — debt. Against this backdrop, the idea of student loan forgiveness is touted by many as a compassionate and ...
Having served six years in the North Dakota Senate and another six years in Congress, I can say from experience it’s rare to work on tax policy that helps those who need the most relief first, while also providing the greatest relief to those who pay the most taxes. But that’s exactly ...
SNAP, or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as food stamps, is one of the nation’s largest welfare programs. And, like all welfare programs, it is massive, it has grown prodigiously over the years and it is inefficient. One glaring issue, which is gaining attention as ...