Taliban Prisoner Swap Frees U.S. Soldier Held Nearly 5 Years  —  WASHINGTON — The lone American prisoner of war from the Afghan conflict, captured by insurgents nearly five years ago, has been released to American forces in exchange for five Taliban prisoners held at the Guantánamo Bay …

Are Reform Conservatives Serious?  —  After Lyndon B. Johnson's landslide victory in 1964 and during the rush of progressive legislation that followed, Republicans decided they needed to respond with some proposals of their own.  It was the high tide of Great Society liberalism …

Mr. Shinseki Takes the Fall  —  The resignation of Secretary Eric Shinseki from the Veterans Affairs Department was probably unavoidable, under the principle that a leader should accept full responsibility for a great scandal.  But the department's problem was not Mr. Shinseki.  It has been broken for years.

Laverne Cox Is Not a Woman  —  The world is abuzz with news that actor Laverne Cox has become the first transgender person to appear on the cover of Time magazine.  If I understand the current state of the ever-shifting ethic and rhetoric of transgenderism, that is not quite true …

Mark Zuckerberg and Dr. Priscilla Chan: Why we're committing $120 million to Bay Area schools  —  Mark Zuckerberg and Dr. Priscilla Chan for the Bay Area News Group  —  Helping improve the quality of public education in this country is something we both really care about.

Chuck Hagel: China territorial claims destabilize region  —  SINGAPORE — Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel warned an international security conference Saturday that the U.S. “will not look the other way” when nations such as China try to restrict navigation or ignore international rules and standards.

Hillary Clinton's Legacy at State Dept.: A Hawk With Clipped Wings  —  As secretary of state, Clinton was more hawkish than the White House, and at key moments was ineffectual at swinging policy her way.

Scalia's Genius and His Curse  —  When our sensibilities were fed from different sources, it used to be said that, with spring, “the voice of the turtledove has been heard in the land.”  But in these recent weeks the landscape has been filled with the sounds of “disinvitations” …

Letter of 200 Concerned Black Men calling for the Inclusion of Women and Girls in “My Brothers Keeper”  —  Posted here is the Letter of 200 Concerned Black Men Calling for the Inclusion of Women and Girls to the President's “My Brother's Keeper” Initiative.  The open letter questions …

War Nerd: What's happening in Eastern Ukraine is very simple, rational, and straightforward … What's happening in Eastern Ukraine is very simple, rational, and straightforward.  —  Russia has what it wanted—Crimea, a Russian-majority peninsula with better beaches than the rest of Russia put together …