In This Story
From the Washington Post:
Here’s the Inside Story on How Congress Failed to Rein in Big Tech
The prime suspect in this legislative murder mystery is Big Tech itself. In terms of lobbying, advertising, public relations and stepped-up campaign contributions, the four companies spent an estimated $250 million to kill the various bills. In financial terms, that represented about 1/10 of 1 percent of their combined annual profits. On a political scale, it was an overwhelming show of force.
—Steven Pearlstein
From The Irish Times:
‘Every Aspect of Life in the US Has Been Beyond Anything I Could Have Hoped For’
At college level in the US compared to in Europe, sport is really well resourced. My two years of graduate school and eligibility in the NCAA passed in a blur, culminating in my graduation with a Master’s in Public Administration in May 2023.
—2023 MPA Graduate Grace Furlong
From Foreign Affairs:
The Global Economy’s Future Depends on Africa
What new engine of growth will fill the role that China has played in the last 40 years? India is often touted as the “next China,” but that remains an unlikely prospect because India will soon face many of the same demographic constraints now hobbling its fellow Asian giant. Instead, the world will have to look to the continent of Africa.
—Jack A. Goldstone and John F. May
From the National Interest:
Getting Smart About Dividing America’s Adversaries
It would be beneficial for the United States if it could drive wedges among its various adversaries. And there are numerous disagreements and tensions among them that might provide Washington with opportunities for doing so. At present, though, the United States does not seem able—or even willing—to do this. Why?
—Mark N. Katz
From the Hill:
Trump’s ‘Swamp-Draining’ Ambition Builds Upon Jimmy Carter’s Reforms
He achieved the most far-reaching transformation of the federal government in 100 years by replacing the eight-page Pendleton Act with the 131-page Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 (CSRA).
—Frank T. Manheim
From Foreign Policy:
The World’s Immigration Policies Are Outdated. Here’s How to Catch Up.
The European commissioner for home affairs, Ylva Johansson, said that the sinking may be the “worst tragedy ever” in the Mediterranean Sea, also warning that such journeys have increased sevenfold compared to last year.
—Justin Gest
From Stat News:
Gain-of-Function Research Is About Much More Than Dangerous Pathogens
However, focusing exclusively on this one type of research has created deep rifts across key communities that balance innovation with safety and security in the life sciences. These rifts have made it almost impossible to have necessary, productive conversations to address global problems while ensuring such work is done safely and securely.
—Saskia Popescu, et. al
From the Hill:
Student Test Scores Are Down, and It Isn’t Just Because of COVID Shutdowns
In sum, COVID was a problem, but the pandemic should not blind us to the deeper-seated problems that preceded the COVID school shutdowns.
—David J. Armor, et. al
From the Sentinel:
Cleaner, Cheaper Alternatives Available
I agree with my colleague, this is a call to action. However, our electricity challenge is one that we know how to solve with cheaper, cleaner technology. We need regulators and commissioners to start doing their job and approving interconnections, not doubling-down on expensive, dirty generators, to make this transition happen.
—Joel Hicks
From Newsweek:
What Putin Gets Wrong About the West and What It May Cost Him
So long as Putin remains in power, he will continue his war against Ukraine and his hostility toward America and the West. But Putin won't remain in power. And as the lack of opposition to the Wagner mutiny showed, the possibility of his being ousted is real.
—Mark N. Katz
From the Richmond Times-Dispatch:
When Youngkin Weans the GOP from MAGA, His Party Wins
This isn’t the first time Youngkin has gone against the grain of Trump’s MAGA base and urged Republicans to cast early absentee ballots. He did it in the run-up to his 2021 election, even holding campaign rallies near early polling stations to encourage supporters to go inside and vote.
—Mark J. Rozell
From the Messenger:
Affirmative Action Debate Hinges on What Americans Think It Means
Do Americans believe that race should be taken into account in university admissions? Yes and no. Yes when it comes to outreach policies. No when it comes to preferential treatment.
—Bill Schneider
From Afghanistan Explainer:
Afghanistan and the Fallacy of Benevolent Dictatorship
The Taliban regime is religiously extreme, ethnically exclusive to Pashtuns, politically centralized, and gender apartheid to women. The historical, ethnic, and cultural realities and evidence of the country tell a very opposite narrative. Consequentially, considering the given arguments, neither dictatorship nor benevolent dictatorship is compatible with Afghanistan.
—Master of Political Science student Shahir Sirat
From First Things:
During the 1990s, it was commonplace to write triumphalist obituaries of communism. Now we know better. For while the USSR was deservedly placed on the ash heap of history, the Marxist-Leninist template never entirely disappeared. Instead, it discovered new ways to tyrannize and survive.
—Colin Dueck
From E-International Relations:
Post-Putin Russia: Five Potential Pathways
Something truly drastic would have to happen which would literally force him to change course: the collapse of Russian armed forces in Ukraine, rebellion within the regular state security forces (not just Wagner, or what remains of it), or his own downfall. Until then, Putin is most unlikely to voluntarily alter any of these policy priorities.
—Mark N. Katz
From American City and County:
How Can Local Governments Regulate Generative AI—Just Ask ChatGPT
While serving as a useful outline, sound policy development requires greater levels of details and specifics. Here, policy development is still very much in the hands of humans. Clearly there is so much more to learn about AI and ChatGPT, but judging by its initial response to the question asked, this technology is already way ahead of humans.
—Alan R. Shark
From the Washington Examiner:
Labor Unions Are Losing Their Grip on Corporate America
In many ways, labor unions have put themselves out of a job. Hard-fought battles in decades past have led to labor laws that protect all workers, no union required. In recent years, unions have also found their brands tarnished. One prominent member of the AFL-CIO, the United Auto Workers union, was the subject of a multiyear federal investigation that landed multiple executives, including two union presidents, in prison.
—Jeffrey Joseph
From the Atlantic Council:
Is Russia Really Siding with the UAE Against Iran?
Why would Moscow do this? One possibility is that Russia, which is under punitive international sanctions, hopes to beef up its exports to and investments from the UAE and other GCC states—something that Iran cannot provide due to its economic difficulties exacerbated by Western sanctions.
—Mark N. Katz
From the Messenger:
Biden’s Kennedy Problem: The Appeal of a ‘Tough Liberal’
Nevertheless, Kennedy may be poised to hand President Biden an embarrassing setback in the 2024 New Hampshire Democratic primary. The reason is resentment among New Hampshire voters for Biden’s move replacing New Hampshire with South Carolina as the first 2024 primary.
—Bill Schneider