Progressive

Should We Curb Air Pollution From Air Travel?

NATIONAL JOURNAL 09/08/14 By Clare Foran, Ben Geman and Jason Plautz WHAT INSIDERS ARE SAYING SHOULD WE CURB AIR POLLUTION FROM AIR TRAVEL? Should EPA regulate air pollution from the airlines? If so, how strict should the rule be? What are the challenges and risks involved, and how could a […]

Fossil Fuel Divestment Works in Slowing Global Warming

HUFFINGTON POST 09/02/14 By Michael Shank and Julia Trezona Peek Once the lone province of climate scientists, the chorus warning of the costs of inaction on climate change grows larger daily, from former United States Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, who warned Washington this summer of the coming climate bubble, to […]

Five Best Friday Columns

THE WIRE 08/15/14 By David Ludwig Elizabeth R. Beavers and Michael Shank in The New York Times on why American police forces are too militarized. Beavers and Shank write that the reaction to protests in Ferguson after the death of Michael Brown demonstrate that U.S. police forces have been over-equipped […]

Get the Military Off of Main Street

NEW YORK TIMES 08/15/14 By Michael Shank and Elizabeth Beavers WASHINGTON — FERGUSON, Mo., has become a virtual war zone. In the wake of the shooting of an unarmed black teenager, Michael Brown, outsize armored vehicles have lined streets and tear gas has filled the air. Officers dressed in camouflage […]

What Can Washington Do About Militarized Police Forces?

CBS NEWS 08/15/14 By Stephanie Condon Washington lawmakers let out a collective gasp on Thursday after seeing startling images of police officers decked out with combat gear and tanks to respond to largely peaceful protesters in Ferguson, Missouri. While there may have been some looters and violent individuals among the […]

Dear Congress: Take Your Power Back

US NEWS & WORLD REPORT 05/29/14 By Michael Shank and Elizabeth Beavers It’s time to end the president’s ability to wage nearly limitless war. Congress finally appears to be realizing that it has been providing neither checks nor balances to the president’s war powers for the last 13 years. While […]

Can TTIP Live up to its Promises?

ATLANTIC 05/09/14 By Neil Thompson The Friedrich-Ebert Foundation invited two opposing speakers to debate the merits of TTIP. An important point to come out of the argument was both agreed it should not be set in stone once signed. It is meant to be a living document, subject to a […]

A Budget for Working America

THE HILL 04/04/14 By Michael Shank and  Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.) To hear corporate America tell it, our economic recovery is going great. The top 1 percent of earners saw their incomes grow by 31.4 percent from 2009-2012. Oil companies are seeing record profits. Unfortunately, that’s not the recovery — […]

How to Save the American Dream

CNN 03/14/14 By Michael Shank and US Congressman Alan Lowenthal Editor’s note: U.S. Rep. Alan Lowenthal (D-Calif) serves on the House Foreign Affairs and Natural Resources Committees.  Michael Shank is associate director for legislative affairs at the Friends Committee on National Legislation and a senior fellow at the JustJobs Network. […]