Kate Zernike's Blog, page 31

Wisconsin Leads Way as Workers Fight State Cuts

The unrest in Wisconsin this week over Gov. Scott Walker's plan to cut the bargaining rights and benefits of public workers is spreading to other states.

Reactions to Breast-Feeding Plan Crosses Political Lines

Some Democrats agree with Representative Michele Bachmann in criticizing the first lady for a campaign to promote breastfeeding, while some conservatives are backing Michelle Obama.

Tea Party Gets Early Start on G.O.P. Targets for 2012

Supporters are organizing early, they say, to prevent what happened last year, when several Tea Party candidates split the vote in primaries.

Amy Chua: Retreat of the 'Tiger Mother'

A memoir about strict Chinese parenting reads as criticism of Western practices, but the author, Amy Chua, says some readers are missing the point.

Palin, Amid Criticism, Stays in Electronic Comfort Zone

Even some Republicans sympathetic to Sarah Palin suggested she had to step out from behind Twitter and Facebook to confront criticism that her rhetoric might have helped create a climate for violence.

Giffords Staff Is 'a Family,' Members Say

Many Congressional staffs are close, but those who work for Representative Gabrielle Giffords seem especially tightknit.

Arizona Shooting Casts a Harsh Light on the State

Arizona has shifted from a place on the political fringe to symbol of a nation whose discourse has lost its way.

Bloodshed in Arizona Shooting Puts New Focus on Vitriol in Politics

The shooting of Representative Gabrielle Giffords focused attention on the degree to which inflammatory language has become a steady undercurrent in the nation's political culture.

Going to the Source

Members of Congress read the United States Constitution aloud on the floor of the House of Representatives on Thursday. It was an apparent first, and a reflected the influence of the Tea Party movement, which has celebrated the founding document. Despite the framers' stated intentions in the preamble to the Constitution, there is little ''domestic tranquility'' when it comes to interpreting what the document means. Following is sample of some of the clauses most revered, and disputed, by advoca...

Reading Between the Battle Lines: An Annotated Guide to the Constitution

The new Republican majority has ordered that the United States Constitution be read on the floor of the House of Representatives on Thursday morning. Read along with The Caucus.