government

A California Columnist in Arab Spring’s Court

How The Golden State Can Strengthen Its Democratic Stride By Watching Tunisia Take Its First Step

Living in an exceptional place is hard work. Especially when your place needs big changes.

Californians know this well. We feel such an obligation to live up to our reputation as “The Great Exception” among U.S. states, as the writer Carey McWilliams famously called us, that we routinely embrace novel schemes that other American places run from, like a $70 billion high-speed rail project.

People in Tunisia, where I spent last week, know the pressures of exceptionalism too. The North African country of 11 million is where the Arab Spring began four …

by Joe Mathews |

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What The Americans Gets Right About Spying and Intimacy

At the End of Its Third Season, the Best Show on TV Keeps Its Friends Close and Its Enemies Very Close

by Jacob Brogan |

With the close of its third season, The Americans, Joe Weisberg’s twisty spy drama, remains the best show on television. It’s not excellent because it’s often thrilling—though it is—but because …

Why Janet Yellen Still Needs to Be Patient

In Today’s Global Economy, Even the Mighty Federal Reserve Isn’t in Charge

by Andrés Martinez |

Sometimes my parenting slackens—say on vacation—and Sebastian gets accustomed to staying up late, taking too much screen time, and passing on his veggies. Pulling him back to normalcy from this …

Why Are D.C. Politicians Sweet on California?

Lefties and Righties Are Calling the Golden State a National Model. It’s Flattering—and Misguided.

by Joe Mathews |

Dear Washington, D.C.,

I know that your politicians will say anything to get elected and your wonks are perpetually grasping at straws. But I find it hard to believe how many …

What Makes Sriracha Stink

It’s Not the Sauce. It’s Cities Like Irwindale.

by Joe Mathews |

News item: A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge last week ordered the Irwindale, California plant that produces the highly popular “rooster sauce” Sriracha to cease operations until it can …

What’s in the Closet of the U.S. Government?

The ‘Lavender Scare,’ a 40-Year Purge of Government Workers Suspected of Being Gay or Lesbian

by Josh Howard |

Bruce Forbes couldn’t believe his good luck. He had spent nearly 10 years as a Foreign Service officer with assignments from Palermo to Prague, but when he was appointed vice …


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