| Home | Blog | Ask This | Showcase | Commentary | Comments | About Us | Contributors | Contact Us |
On wiretapping | What questions should reporters be asking about the NSA domestic surveillance program? ASK THIS There are so many unanswered questions regarding President Bush’s warrantless domestic spying program. George Washington University Law School Professor Orin Kerr suggests a few that reporters should be able to find answers to. 
A tutorial | Think paper trails will make elections secure? It’s not that simple ASK THIS Roy Saltman, a longtime expert, explains the views of those who insist on a paper trail to record votes, and also the views of those who, in good faith, say there is no need for a paper trail—and that paper trails might not be useful, anyway.
A Catholic majority | Religion, politics and Judge Alito ASK THIS Religion has great relevance in contemporary American politics, but what is its relationship to Samuel Alito as a U.S. Supreme Court justice?
China wants some oil | What’s next for Canada and the U.S.? ASK THIS With Conservatives taking power in Ottawa, relations between the two countries, now at a low, could be on the mend. As Nieman fellow Bill Schiller points out, these days, because of oil, we may need Canada a lot more than Canada needs us.
And the cost is going up | Missile defense costs $10 billion a year. What do we get for that? ASK THIS Expert Philip Coyle notes that successes have been only under artificial circumstances and that in the two most recent tests interceptors didn’t even get off the ground; he urges Congress and the press to question the system.
Do politicians care? | Wall Street Journal report: In pay, 1 CEO in the U.S. equals 475 workers ASK THIS Ratio is 20 times higher than for CEOs in Britain, 40 times higher than for those in Japan. How much is too much?
The health care mess | Everyone out of the risk pool? ASK THIS Harvard scholar Rashi Fein suggests reporters explore whether Bush administration health care policies are accelerating the development of a multi-tier system of access to care. Fein is co-author of the new book, 'The Health Care Mess: How We Got Into It and What It Will Take To Get Out.'
Strategic thinking | Countering terrorism – for real ASK THIS A noted political psychologist outlines the elements of an effective counterterrorism program. But the U.S. isn’t pursuing any of them and journalists aren't writing — or even asking — about them either.
Election rights and wrongs | In some cases, it's not the voters who count, it's the counters ASK THIS As author Tracy Campbell tells it, regardless of the voting method—from paper ballots to absentee voting to electronic machines—there is a long history of election cheating in the U.S., and it is not disappearing. Campbell, an expert on the subject, offers reporters suggestions on what to look for.
Regulatory hurdle | The EU's growing impact on American business and consumers ASK THIS The European Union is increasingly setting standards that American firms must meet to remain competitive in the global marketplace. The standards affect costs and quality of life in all parts of the U.S., and deserve more notice in the press.
|
