WELLINGTON, New Zealand — Like Halley’s Comet that only comes around every 75 years, the resignation of a top politician from office is a rare occurrence. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has quit and not for the usual reasons of scandal or the all-purpose excuse “to spend more time with ...

How did it come to pass that public employee unions, which scarcely existed 60 years ago, have come to run public schools and myriad state and local government agencies? Answers to this question, which few people think about these days, come from Philip K. Howard’s latest book, “Not ...

Imagine that you are the parent of a 15-year-old girl and discover that her school has been concealing her daytime behavior from you. Your daughter has joined a far-right Mormon spin-off cult, believes in plural marriage, has spoken of dropping out of school to get married, and declines to ...

Proposing laws that directly contradict U.S. Supreme Court rulings might be a feel-good exercise for Michigan lawmakers. But it risks creating an atmosphere of uncertainty for residents. ìZombie lawsî are commonly known as bills that are legally on Michiganís books but are not enforceable ...

It’s easy to get lost in life’s minutiae, especially in your advancing years. Recently, I was listening to an interesting talk at the Peter White Public Library. While I was engrossed in the subject matter (nature), one small thing distracted my attention for a while. It was a ragged ...

Have you heard? The world is about to end! “60 Minutes” recently featured Paul Ehrlich, author of the bestseller, “The Population Bomb.” “Humanity is not sustainable,” he said. Why would “60 Minutes” interview Ehrlich? For years, Ehrlich said, “We are very close to a ...