Columnists

Is democracy in trouble?: Wednesday, May 22, 2013; OTHER VOICES:; E.J. Dionne; We know American politics are dysfunctional. But it’s worth asking if there is something especially flawed about our democracy.

The second-term scandal plague: Wednesday, May 22, 2013; OTHER VOICES:; Doyle McManus; What is it about presidents’ second terms that makes them seem so scandal-ridden? Simple: The iron law of longevity. All governments make mistakes; all governments try to hide those mistakes. But the longer an administration is in office, the more errors it makes, and the harder they are to conceal.

Inequity in state’s spending on roads is a joke: Tuesday, May 21, 2013; WHERE I STAND:; By Brian Greenspun; Connecting the dots in Carson City is a fool’s errand. Enter the fool. Sen. Debbie Smith has bottled up Senate Bill 322 in her committee despite a previous unanimous vote to move it to the floor for passage. But why?

It’s about news, not espionage: Tuesday, May 21, 2013; OTHER VOICES:; Eugene Robinson; The Obama administration has no business rummaging through journalists’ phone records, perusing their emails and tracking their movements in an attempt to keep them from gathering news.

The dynamic effects of immigrants: Tuesday, May 21, 2013; OTHER VOICES:; Renee Loth; I am reading a page one story in The New York Times about a dying suburban town that has been transformed by the energy and optimism of Hispanic immigrants.

Real scandal of Benghazi: Monday, May 20, 2013; OTHER VOICES:; Trudy Rubin; Yes, Virginia, there is a Benghazi scandal.

When governments go bad: Monday, May 20, 2013; OTHER VOICES:; David Brooks; Government, Clinton Rossiter once wrote, is something like fire: “Under control, it is the most useful of servants; out of control, it is a ravaging tyrant.”

Our Legislature needs to step up and get the job done: Sunday, May 19, 2013; WHERE I STAND:; By Brian Greenspun; I have been one of those Nevadans who believed that the Legislature should meet no more than every two years and for no more than a specific amount of time. The theory has been that when forced to do the work, legislators will get it done and leave the good people of Nevada alone the rest of the time. I was wrong.

Many benefits of energy efficiency: Sunday, May 19, 2013; OTHER VOICES:; Fred Schmidt; NV Energy has demonstrated that it can help its customers cut energy waste. NV Energy spent $267 million on energy efficiency programs during 2007-12 — programs that have enabled households and businesses to lower their electricity use by 1.9 billion kilowatt-hours per year. This amount of savings is equivalent to the electricity use of 34,000 typical Nevada households.

Marriage equality a conservative ideal: Saturday, May 18, 2013; OTHER VOICES:; Ken Mehlman; What do Vice President Dick Cheney, Gen. Colin Powell, former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, Clint Eastwood and more than 130 top officials from the Reagan and both Bush administrations have in common?

The loss of Americans' trust: Saturday, May 18, 2013; OTHER VOICES:; George Will; Leaving aside the seriousness of lawlessness, and the corruption of our civic culture by the professionally pious, this past week has been amusing. T

Low-wage workers rebel against modern Gatsby: Saturday, May 18, 2013; OTHER VOICES:; Dorian T. Warren; “Great Gatsby,” meet Raise Up Milwaukee. And New York. And Chicago. And St. Louis. And Detroit.

Military’s record on sexual assault has gone from bad to worse: Friday, May 17, 2013; OTHER VOICES:; Robin Abcarian; Another day, another military sexual assault scandal.

On the plus side for Obama ...: Friday, May 17, 2013; OTHER VOICES:; Gail Collins; Let’s try to come up with some positive thoughts about the recent political fortunes of the Obama White House.

Save the leopards, save Yemen: Friday, May 17, 2013; OTHER VOICES:; Thomas Friedman; Arriving in Yemen last week, I had an experience I’d never had before. I drove from the airport into Sanaa, the capital, on the main thoroughfare, through a raging torrent of water.