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In just over a week, Ohio voters will decide on Issue 2, a referendum on whether to keep a recently enacted law which “limits collective bargaining for public employees in the state.”  Recent polls show decidedly more public opposition to this law than support for it, with a 57-32 pro-repeal split in a Quinnipiac poll […]

This week, the New York Times reported that Turkey has begun to actively support the Syrian Free Army by providing shelter in a camp guarded by the Turkish military. From the Times: Turkey is hosting an armed opposition group waging an insurgency against the government of President Bashar al-Assad, providing shelter to the commander and […]

Monkey Cage readers Emily Ritter of the University of Alabama and Scott Wolford of the University of Texas-Austin send along the following: News emerged yesterday that Seif al-Islam Gadhafi has been in “indirect” contact with the International Criminal Court over the terms of a possible surrender, seeking a guarantee that he wouldn’t be sent back […]

You don’t need to psychoanalyze the American people to figure out that they tend to prefer the party they belong to.

The sentence that spawned super-PACs. Super-PACs and the shadow party system. But see Jon Bernstein. Too many men destabilize the world.  [Hat tip to Daniel Lippman] Blame testosterone. [Hat tip to Dot Smith]

On the more particular topic of free trade agreements, Matthew Yglesias posts today on how US free trade agreements aren’t so much about free trade any more. The trade deal was supposed to be a political vehicle for overcoming special interest politics, but it’s really just become another venue for interest group politics. … The […]

Layna Mosley, at UNC, argues yes in today’s New York Times. Research I conducted over the last several years with the political scientists Brian Greenhill and Aseem Prakash suggests that trade with developed nations helps developing countries expand labor rights themselves. Why? International trade gives producers incentives to meet the standards of their export markets. […]

Hermain Cain’s somewhat unusual ads have inspired some to come up with all-time lists of bizarre political ads from the U.S.. I wonder if we could use the collective wisdom of Monkey Cagers to find some of the most bizarre political ads across the globe. I accept nominations in the comments and via e-mail. I […]

I just wanted to clarify Josh’s post on the baseball “world series” for our non-American audience. Josh was not writing about the improbable run that the Dutch national honkbal team made last week to defeat Cuba, the US, and others to become the first European world champion in baseball since 1938. No, Josh was referring […]