A new term for reform of schools  —  Here's Whoopi Goldberg on America's schools today: “To me, bad teachers don't do anybody any good.  So the unions need to recognize that parents are not going to stand for it anymore.”  —  Here's New York Times Columnist Frank Bruni …

Joan Rivers being brought out of medically induced coma as family considers lawsuit over botched procedure: sources  —  The comedian's only child, Melissa Rivers, said in a statement Sunday that she is keeping her ‘fingers crossed.’ A source tells the Daily News that there is a concern …

The True Story Of How One Man Shut Down American Commerce To Avoid Paying His Workers A Fair Wage  —  Note: The following is adapted from the author's forthcoming book, Injustices: The Supreme Court's Nearly Unbroken History of Comforting the Comfortable and Afflicting the Afflicted.

Florida Man At ‘Shoot Straight’ Gun Range Wounds Himself And A Friend  —  A man ended up shooting himself and his friend when he tried to unjam a 9mm semi-automatic handgun at a shooting range on Sunday, police in Florida said.  —  According to the Orlando Sentinel, the men …

The Medicare Miracle  —  So, what do you think about those Medicare numbers?  What, you haven't heard about them?  Well, they haven't been front-page news.  But something remarkable has been happening on the health-spending front, and it should (but probably won't) transform a lot of our political debate.

Uber Meets Liberalism Uber Alles  —  There are days when I wonder whether Salon is for real, or whether it's an elaborate gag, similar to the theory that all of Paul Krugman's and Tom Friedman's columns are actually written by a bunch of madcap interns at the Heritage Foundation wondering …

Banning Russian-made AK-47s sets off a U.S. buying frenzy  —  Imports of the weapon were halted as part of sanctions against Moscow  —  Thirty-six hours after the Obama administration banned importation of the classic brand of AK-47 assault rifles as part of sanctions against Russia …

Libyan militia uses vacated U.S. Embassy in Libya as swim club  —  (CNN) — Libyan militia members have apparently turned the abandoned U.S. Embassy in Tripoli, Libya, into a water park, judging by amateur video posted to YouTube on Sunday.  —  The video, which reflects the anarchy …

Happy Labor Day.  Are Unions Dead?  —  An interview with Rich Yeselson, labor strategist and expert … Are unions dead?  —  No.  —  Explain, please.  —  Their power has declined enormously, obviously, but unions, especially the largest ten or so, are still significant American institutions.

Americans detained in North Korea speak to CNN, ask for U.S. help  —  Pyongyang, North Korea (CNN) — Three Americans detained in North Korea spoke out about their conditions and pleaded for U.S. help in interviews with CNN.  —  Kenneth Bae, Matthew Todd Miller and Jeffrey Edward Fowle …

Chris Christie's Trip to Mexico Doubles as a Foreign Policy Test  —  A few days after Russian forces invaded Crimea, touching off a diplomatic crisis, Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey was asked at a confidential meeting of Republican activists how he would have handled the situation differently from President Obama.

Why Won't Endangered Democrat Senate Candidates Repudiate Their Todd Akin?  —  SHARES  —  There are a whole bunch of Democrats running for Senate this year, though in this case “running” seems to mean running as far away as possible from failed liberal messiah Barack Obama.

Anti-Labor Day  —  I'm pretty sure I've mentioned here before the profound effect of spending my most formative childhood years in a place that was sort of a monument to capital's war on labor.  LaGrange, Georgia, in the early 1960s was a textile company town ruled economically …