Whata s in a name? One-third of voters dona t know candidates

Less than five weeks before elections that will determine control of the U.S. Congress for the next two years, about a third of registered voters do not know the name of their party's candidate for office, a Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll found. Name recognition is critical in motivating voters, is the reason candidates spend millions of dollars on TV ads and is a major factor in incumbents' advantage in fending off challengers.

7 years for Sheldon Silver

Sheldon Silver, the former speaker of the state Assembly who rose to become one of New York's most powerful politicians, was sentenced to seven years in prison Friday for his conviction on federal corruption charges. Silver, a Democrat from Manhattan's Lower East Side, had served as speaker for more than two decades, and influenced nearly every major aspect of state politics.

A Tale of Two Ryans

Yesterday I noted that Republicans now dominate many old blue collar manufacturing districts that used to tilt decisively Democratic as recently as Bill Clinton's time. And one of the Democrats who has made some noises about how the neglect of the working class in the heartland has been a mistake for Democrats is Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan, who unsuccessfully challenged Nancy Pelosi for the leadership of the House Democratic caucus after the last election.

Kearny hopes SCOTUS will hear Keegan case, has filed for rare Writ of Certiorari

It may only be a dumping ground for construction debris and certain types of wastes but its possessive owner is as loathe to give it up as if there were gold in them thar hills. In what amounts to a last-ditch effort to hold onto a 110-acre parcel at Bergen Avenue and Newark-Jersey City Turnpike known as the Keegan landfill, the Town of Kearny is pinning its hopes on the highest court in the land.

Columbia grad students go on strike to protest university’s efforts to block unionization

Graduate teaching assistants have taken on heavier workloads, but their pay rarely rises to the level of a living wage. More than a year after graduate students at Columbia University voted to unionize with the United Automobile Workers, hundreds of The students plan to stage a week-long strike during what is the university's most hectic time, when students and professors are preparing for finals and the help of graduate teaching assistants, fellows, and research assistants is critical.

Ann Coulter Spends an Evening Trashing Trump as a “Lazy Ignoramus”

Ann Coulter, the author of "In Trump We Trust: E Pluribus Awesome!" has been having near daily hissy fits over Trump's broken campaign promises. In a piece in the Daily Beast today, Coulter is no less rankled, but she's not making herself look better, either.

Student hopes for unions fading

Graduate teaching assistants at private universities had high hopes 18 months ago when a federal labor board ruled that they had a right to collective bargaining, but after the election of President Donald Trump, some schools are taking another shot at halting the burgeoning unionization movement. Columbia University announced in a university-wide email Tuesday that the school wouldn't bargain with the graduate students who voted more than 2 to 1 for union representation, and would instead appeal to a federal court.

Project Veritas founder claims Trump asked him to seek out Obama’s college records

Project Veritas founder James O'Keefe claims President Trump asked him if he could "get inside" Columbia University and retrieve college records of former President Barack Obama, according to a report Friday. Trump approached O'Keefe seeking the help of Project Veritas, a conservative group that attempts to expose media bias, to obtain Obama's college records to see if Obama claimed he was a foreign student at any point, according to a passage from O'Keefe's upcoming book obtained by CNN .

Lawsuit seeks details of Trump administrationa s policies on surveilling journalists

Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that the Department of Justice is reviewing its policy on media subpoenas as part of an effort to combat leaks. Two media organizations planned to sue the Trump administration on Wednesday for details of government policies on surveillance of journalists, which remain hidden despite the groups' public records requests.

Sex and Communism

"It doesn't cheapen the aims of this biography or the ambitions of its subject," writes Christoph Irmscher, "to describe what follows as a story largely about sex and communism." What follows is the life of Max Eastman-poet, nudist, women's suffragist, war resister, socialist editor, and finally a self-described "libertarian conservative."

Columbia U Is The Perfect Outlet For Clinton’s Post-Election Grievances

Apparently, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is considering a professorship role at Columbia University. With this Ivy League institution's tolerance for liberal activism and distracting outbursts of feminist dissent, Clinton's transition " out of the woods " and into the halls of higher learning should prove to be effortless.