POLITICO 11/02-04/12 By Michael Shank Watching television this week, as Hurricane Sandy descended on Washington D.C. and meteorologists scurried to remain atop the latest forecasting, myriad presidential election campaign advertisements were met with one major marketing competitor: the American Petroleum Institute and its various oil, coal and gas bedfellows. It […]
National Analysis
Hurricane Sandy: Time to Do Something About Climate Change
AL JAZEERA 11/01/12 By Michael Shank Watching television this week, as Hurricane Sandy descended on Washington, DC, and meteorologists scurried to remain atop the latest forecasting, myriad presidential election campaign advertisements were met with one major marketing competitor: the American Petroleum Institute and its various oil, coal and gas bedfellows. […]
Our Love-Hate Relationship with Frankenstorms and Hurricane Sandy and Why We Must End It
Huffington Post 10/30/2012 Al Jazeera 11/01/2012 By Michael Shank Watching television this week, as Hurricane Sandy descended on Washington D.C. and meteorologists scurried to remain atop the latest forecasting, myriad presidential election campaign advertisements were met with one major marketing competitor: the American Petroleum Institute and its various oil, coal […]
Folly of Freedom is Plaguing the US Right Now
FINANCIAL TIMES 10/09/12 By Michael Shank Sir, It is confounding that America’s presidential candidates, in their first debate, failed to address one of the growing epidemics killing our countrymen and women, that of gun violence (“Gun lobby pours millions of dollars into campaign to unseat Obama”, October 4). Sadly, they […]
We Must Revive the American Dream by Alleviating Poverty
US NEWS & WORLD REPORT 09/26/12 By Michael Shank David Francis is right to question “Is the American Dream Dead?” (09/25/12). By all accounts, it is. The question, then, is how to revive it. According to this month’s Census Bureau report, America witnessed a 1.5 percent decline in the real […]
Democratic Party Looks Like America
THE HILL 09/06/12 By Michael Shank Being here in Charlotte, North Carolina, for the 2012 Democratic National Convention, having watched the Republican National Convention religiously on television, one thing that is explicitly different between the two national conventions is the diversity of delegates. Walking the convention hallways, the arena stairways, […]
Tale of Two Conventions: Why Charlotte Wins Over White Tampa
Huffington Post 09/06/2012 By Michael Shank Being here in Charlotte, North Carolina, for the 2012 Democratic National Convention, having watched the Republican National Convention religiously on television, one thing that is explicitly different between the two national conventions is the diversity of delegates. Walking the convention hallways, the arena stairways, […]
Political Discourse: A Family Affair
WASHINGTON POST 09/04/12 By Michael Shank In pursuing politics in Washington, and as a senior congressional staffer, I am the odd one out in my extended family: many, if not most, of my relatives are farmers, preachers or teachers. At family reunions, consequently, like the one I recently returned from, […]
What Paul Ryan’s Economic Roadmap Means for America
POLITICO 08/24/12 By Michael Shank Working with one of House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan’s Democratic colleagues on the budget committee, as senior policy advisor to U.S. Congressman Michael Honda (D-Calif.) for several years, I know the economic picture Ryan is trying to paint all too well. It is a grim […]
Republicans and the Mennonite Vote
THE HILL 08/17/12 By Michael Shank In pursuing politics in Washington, and as a former senior congressional staffer, I am the odd one out in my extended family: many, if not most, of my relatives are farmers, preachers or teachers. At family reunions, consequently, like the one I recently returned […]