A new phrase, “supply shock,” entered the lexicon of the global oil business this week when the International Energy Agency reported that unexpectedly rapid growth in tight oil production from North Dakota and Texas is leading to profound changes in the global energy markets. U.S. oil production which grew by [...]

Efforts to reform our current immigration system are likely to dominate congressional agenda for the next few months. To most objective observers from across the political spectrum, it is clear that our current system is outdated, flawed, and inefficient. About 11 million people reside in the U.S. without legal status, [...]

Homophobia remains deeply ingrained in many parts of the world. Some of the worst offenders are petroleum-producing nations. The deluge of oil money leads to corruption, an embrace of fundamentalism, and stunts growth in culture, politics, science, and education. These combustible ingredients lead to human rights violations and create particularly [...]

Since the end of my innocence, when I became a teenager, I have been fascinated by the character traits that make me up. Some come from my father – my discipline, my fierce determination, and, of course, my hardheadedness – while my free-spirited and high-flying idealism come from my mother. [...]

This week, Republican leadership in the House brought forth legislation entitled “the Working Families Flexibility Act, H.R. 1406.” The title, however, is greatly misleading. A more accurate name would be the Employer Flexibility Act, because the bill would give employers the flexibility to deny their workers overtime pay. H.R. 1406 [...]

Lest people be deluded and confused, the dividing line in American politics and policy making today is not Democrat versus Republican. Instead, it is investment versus austerity, and seldom in the nation’s history has the contrast been more stark. The contrasting approaches have been there from the day the last [...]

Since the sad events at Newtown, Connecticut, our country has been refocused on gun control. I am disappointed that no progress on limiting weapons with enough firepower to kill dozens of people, or on trying to make it harder for potentially dangerous people to obtain guns, but, as they say, [...]

Just a few weeks ago, Nike made the landmark announcement that they would financially back and feature an out member of the LGBT community throughout their universe. In the statements that I read, Nike was fairly clear that they were interested in a professional athlete from a team sport. The [...]

This week, President Obama will travel to Mexico to visit with President Enrique Peña Nieto, elected to office in December. During his two-day visit, the presidents will discuss a wide range of topics, from expanding our increasingly robust and diverse economic relationship to a host of bilateral, regional and global [...]

Don’t be fooled. Even in this day and age, the ordeal of “coming out” for a gay person can be, and more often than not is, traumatic. In his Sports Illustrated interview out this week, NBA professional basketball player Jason Collins tried to put in words both the anguish of [...]