by John L Micek

Do Boricua College, Bluefield State University, Elizabeth City State University, and Mississippi University for Women sound familiar to you? They are all part of Washington Monthly’s list of the best 25 colleges and universities in 2025. Over the ..

October 10, 2025

Shutdown drags on: Top ten cartoons of the week

The government shutdown grinds forward, with no end in sight and no deal on the horizon to bring together Republicans and Democrats. In other words, it's a mess, which isn't exactly new for Washington. Gary McCoy's shutdown cartoon, featuring a stude..

October 9, 2025

The Peacemaker in chief

Making Sense By Michael Reagan It was fun watching Kaitlin Collins of CNN the other day as she marveled at Donald Trump’s boundless energy and accessibility. Collins recently said Trump – unlike his sleepy and media-shy predecessor -- hardly eve..

Save our cryptids

Legend has it a fearsome beast roams the Pine Barrens, a beast with a horned head and goat hooves. Its screams are enough to make one’s blood run cold. It’s said to attack unsuspecting campers. It is the Jersey Devil, and like other cryptids, it..

October 8, 2025

Do you believe in coincidences?

Tyrades! by Danny Tyree “Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world, she walks into mine.” - Humphrey Bogart in “Casablanca.” I am perturbed by the recent rash of interviewees who enlighten mere peons with the blanket declarat..

Hope for civility?

Civility is making headlines again — that lack of it, that is. Recent surveys by workplace-research firms, such as Sogolytics and the Society for Human Resource Management, suggest that nearly half of Americans have witnessed or experienced incivi..

October 6, 2025

Dolce vita! Celebrating Columbus Day all month

I grew up calling myself “Italian.” I never used “Italian-American,” partly because it’s fairly obvious that I am American and also because I didn’t want any grief from the tedious people who say things like “Why do you hyphenate yours..

MAGA has perfected the unrepentant lie

Politicians have been lying since the dawn of our formerly vibrant democracy. Random examples abound. John Adams and his pamphleteering surrogates said that Thomas Jefferson if elected would shut down all the churches. JFK tried to pump up his anti-..

October 5, 2025

Shutdown circus: Top ten cartoons of the week

What's left to say about the government shutdown and our broken politics in the nation's capital? Because Republicans and Democrats can't get together to accomplish the most basic task of keeping the federal lights on, tens of thousands of government..

October 2, 2025

Trump is unique among presidents

Even President Donald Trump's millions of critics cannot deny one central aspect of his character that has kept him at the forefront of U.S. presidential politics for more than a decade: Trump takes all questions, even from the most hostile reporter..

Game on

We should replace all political debates with a high-stakes game of Twister. It would be highly entertaining and significantly more representative of the candidates’ positions. Hear me out. Political debates are both dull and stuffy. Or maybe it’..

Shut down the shutdown hysteria

Making Sense By Michael Reagan It's almost like the news media is trying to get us to hide under our beds in fear. From CNN to USA Today to Fox and beyond, all we hear is, “There's a shutdown! There’s a shutdown!” Of course there’s a bloody ..

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