[Robert J. Fouser] The problem with third parties

The US presidential election campaign has entered the final sprint toward Election Day in November.The two major party candidates, Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump, are the most disliked candidates in recent memory. Two minor party candidates, Libertarian Party’s Gary Johnson and Green Party’s Jill Stein, are together projected to drain about 10 percent of votes from major party candidates, the highest percentage since 1992.  Polls show that the major party candidates are par

Sept. 27, 2016

[Jeffrey Frankel] Voting for a better US political system

The American political train has gone off the rails, and it seems farther than ever from getting back on track. There has been a lot of finger pointing, with commentators blaming issues like gerrymandering, rising economic inequality, the campaign finance system and unbalanced journalism. But the public cannot address these genuine flaws in the system directly. What they can do is tackle another fundamental problem: low voter turnout.The beauty of democracy is that, if people vote, they can effe

Sept. 26, 2016

[Editorial] Do not pardon Edward Snowden

The movement to pardon NSA leaker Edward Snowden is picking up momentum, with human rights groups, editorial boards, the Libertarian candidate for president and some former intelligence officers hopping on board. Even Eric Holder, the former attorney general, has said Snowden performed a “public service.”But to show leniency for the man now enjoying Vladimir Putin’s hospitality in Moscow would be to ignore the great damage he has done to US national security. It would also set a bad precedent.It

Sept. 26, 2016

[Michael Farren] Taxis, regulators must adapt for industry

Some dinosaurs escaped extinction at the end of the Cretaceous Period 65 million years ago by evolving into birds. Taxi companies around the United States face a similar cataclysm today -- thanks to upstart ride-sharing companies Uber and Lyft. Like the dinosaurs, taxis must adapt or die. Unfortunately, cities like Philadelphia, Los Angeles and Chicago are holding onto regulations that will seal the taxis’ fate.　Ride-sharing’s rise has been as unexpected and tumultuous as the dinosaurs’ demise.

Sept. 26, 2016

[Ann McFeatters] Trump’s arsenal of lies

 While campaigning earlier this year, Donald Trump insisted the unemployment rate in Wisconsin was 20 percent. In reality, it was about 4.5 percent then and has only dropped since. He said Wisconsin has a stagnant economy with a budget deficit of $2.2 billion. In fact, the state is on track to have a balanced budget.Lying -- they say we all do it, sooner or later. But the cost of being discovered in a lie is painfully high -- usually.Like when Hillary Clinton absurdly said FBI Director James Com

Sept. 25, 2016

[Jeffrey Robertson] The United Nations’ troubled child

In an interview on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, Foreign Minister Yun Byung-Se quite rightly questioned North Korea’s membership of the United Nations in light of its repeated violations of UN Security Council resolutions: “I think all members of the UN have to ask themselves whether North Korea is really qualified.” It is a highly pertinent question, which requires deep consideration -- and most school teachers would know why.Think of international relations as a schooly

Sept. 25, 2016

The rare ‘good guy with a gun’

The National Rifle Association likes to say that “the only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is with a good guy with a gun.” This vaporous aphorism, first intoned by NRA leader Wayne LaPierre four years ago, made an appearance this week on the NRA’s Twitter feed -- but it doesn’t quite mean what the NRA thinks.In an attack at a Minnesota mall recently, a knife-wielding assailant was shot dead by a former police chief named Jason Falconer. According to a biography on his company’s website, in addi

Sept. 25, 2016

[Eric Frazier] Economy makes strides, but Washington needs to do better

Some startlingly good economic news surfaced last week.You missed it? That’s OK. It was easy to overlook economic news amid all the deploring and “pneumonia-ing” and “birther-ing” that made up last week’s episode of the Trump vs. Clinton show.The Census Bureau’s annual report on poverty and income showed that last year, poor and middle-class Americans enjoyed their best year of economic improvement in decades. Real median household income rose to $56,500, a jump of 5.2 percent -- the largest jum

Sept. 25, 2016

[Kailash Satyarthi] The human right that keeps giving

In Ivory Coast, I once met a boy working on a cocoa farm whose only dream was someday to taste the rich brown chocolate he helped produce. And in Pakistan, I once rescued a boy who sewed footballs and wished only to play with the product of his work.In the course of more than three decades of defending children’s rights -- including rescuing tens of thousands of children from bonded labor and slavery, among them little girls who were trafficked from their homeland for sexual exploitation -- I ha

Sept. 23, 2016

It’s past time to get serious about Zika

When 21 more people were found infected with the Zika virus in downtown Bangkok recently, state and medical authorities were quick to downplay the news. They should not be so dismissive. This is far too serious an issue.　The confirmation raised concern among the public nevertheless that the virus appears to be constantly spreading further. And it added substantial weight to an earlier warning from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control that Thailand is a “red alert” country, a cl

Sept. 22, 2016

Respect for diversity getting chipped

Minorities are treated like second-class citizens in many corners of the globe. Sexual minorities are among those heavily persecuted in oppressive societies. We would not include Indonesia among them, but it is rapidly getting there. Countries that tend to suffocate their citizens are those that ram selected beliefs and values down people’s throats, and ensure that everyone abides by the rules.　Therefore, the oft repeated slogan of respect for diversity is getting increasingly chipped, undermine

Sept. 22, 2016

Give Libor Some Competition

In 2012, the London interbank offered rate -- Libor -- gained worldwide notoriety when it emerged that traders had conspired to manipulate this vital financial benchmark. Clearly, the system was broken and would have to be mended. Four years later, the repairs aren‘t finished.　Given the stakes, regulators are right to tread carefully. That said, they need to start making progress -- not so much toward mending Libor as toward creating an alternative.　Libor is constructed by polling banks on the i

Sept. 22, 2016

Everyone needs the oceans to be protected

Most people will never glimpse the vast underwater mountains and canyons off Cape Cod that President Barack Obama designated as a national monument Thursday. The same goes for the hundreds of thousands of submerged square kilometers that the UK, Ecuador, Costa Rica and other countries have just protected, and for the million square kilometers near Hawaii that Obama recently set aside.But everyone benefits when underwater tracts are put off limits to commercial fishing and mining, because doing s

Sept. 21, 2016