John Thelin, an education professor, writes about the increase in noninstructional spending by colleges and universities.    

Bo Jones, the president and chief executive of MacNeil/Lehrer Productions, discusses change at the TV program.    

A reader who grew up in the 1970s discusses the city survival skills that have served him well.    

At their core, are America’s problems primarily economic or moral?    

Dr. Steven J. Corwin of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital says how people look at organ donation must change.    

The chief executive of a digital education company calls for digital literacy initiatives to bring millions of Americans online.    

The 'death panel' is a new beast, with god-like powers. Congress should repeal it or test its constitutionality.

A fence built along the border with Mexico will stand as a permanent embarrassment to the United States.

His job approval among people under age 30 dropped 17 points over the past month.

For many Republicans, the border will never be secure enough.

The Fed sees a slightly better economy but its stimulus will continue.

Auditors say HHS isn't close to being ready to launch in October.

The upturn proves just enough to allow lawmakers to think they might be able to avoid making painful concessions, at least until after they run for reelection.It almost seems like distant history now, but it was really just a few short months ago that President Obama and Senate Republicans, spurred by fear of fiscal chaos, did the unthinkable: They went out to dinner and talked civilly about the possibility of a "grand bargain," a compromise that would shrink the deficit through revenue increases and long-term spending cuts.

In less than a human lifetime, we've come to regard the Internet as an end unto itself, bigger than any of us, even its creators. This makes Evgeny Morozov uneasy, worried that we've opened the gates to a techno-Trojan horse. The Belarus-born cage-rattler just wrapped up two years as a visiting scholar at Stanford, in the belly of the beast, and his new book, "To Save Everything, Click Here," asks us to question the Internet's authority to challenge authority, and our willingness to endow it with virtues and powers beyond our own.

Laws restricting abortion, divorce and gay rights mask Russia's real problems.The Kremlin has just issued a 12-year plan to address Russia's demographic crisis — that is, its high mortality rate and low birthrate. Buoyed apparently by a recent rise in the birthrate — 1.9 million Russian children were born in 2012, compared with 1.2 million in 1992 — the country has announced that it will give bonuses to families that have more than two children and will provide better healthcare, housing and education for families.

UC campuses have been too slow in returning Native American bones and artifacts.In 1974, Berkeley's distinguished anthropologist Robert Heizer issued a public mea culpa for the practices of his profession in treating "California Indians as though they were objects." In particular, he apologized for the "continued digging up of the graves of their ancestors."

Elected in part through Iranian conservatives' inability to unify behind a single candidate, Hassan Rowhani represents a compromise on the part of voters. But storm clouds are already apparent.By electing Hassan Rowhani, the moderate candidate, to be its next president, the Iranian people have in effect reached a provisional compromise with the nation's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and the ultraconservative establishment.

One thing that comes through in former National Security Agency contract employee Edward Snowden's remarks so far is his affection for a set of ideals that rises above nations.It would make things so much easier for everyone if Edward Snowden were working for China.

The sentencing this week of a boater who killed a 10-year-old boy highlights the fact that for too many people, an afternoon of water recreation is an occasion for drunken revelry.    

The U.S. Supreme Court took the easy step when it ruled yesterday that the state of Arizona must "accept and use" the form prepared by the federal Election Assistance Commission to register voters. The harder question is just what "accept and use" means. Arizona was perfectly willing to accept the mandatory federal form for voter registration. It just wanted proof of citizenship, as well. Can a state require you to prove that you are eligible to vote, that you meet the state voter- qualification requirements?    

Conference committee might just workConference committee to hash out pension reform might just work    

Instead of unionizing and then protesting, labor unions are protesting first.    

Tribune columnist Eric Zorn and Anders Lindall, spokesman for the local chapter of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and the We Are One Illinois union coalition, have an e-mail dialogue about state pension reform.    

The world is choosing sidesA civil war that ends with Assad triumphant and still in power would be a monumental victory for Iran. And Russia. And Hezbollah. The rebels can use some help.    

All men are by nature equal, But differ greatly in the sequel. A quarter of a millennium later, that couplet from a colonial American almanac defines an urgent challenge. Modern society increases how, and the predictability of how much, people differ in the sequel. Read full article >>    

CHICAGO -- If there’s one thing public policy researchers fear, it’s that they’ll share a finding with the potential to oversimplify a complex, wide-ranging issue. Such has been the case with a recent Brookings Institution blog post — “Is Starting College and Not Finishing Really That Bad?” — by Michael Greenstone and Adam Looney. Read full article >>    

In the debate over U.S. intervention in Syria, there is a striking, almost bizarre mismatch between ends and means. We want to defeat a ruthless and powerful regime, rescue a country from civil war and usher in a new democratic political order. But those seeking this outcome also believe firmly that we must never consider committing U.S. soldiers to the fight. “The worst thing the United States could do right now is put boots on the ground in Syria,” Sen. John McCain said recently. Read full article >>    

Critics are correct when they argue that President Obama doesn’t have a strategy for military victory in Syria. The reality is that, despite his decision last week to arm the opposition there, Obama is still playing for a negotiated diplomatic transition. Read full article >>    

The future of immigration reform is, for now at least, not up to House Speaker John Boehner. It is in the hands of a group of moderately conservative Republican senators who have to decide whether their desire to solve a decades-old problem outweighs their fear of retaliation from the party’s right wing. Read full article >>    

The tea party returned to Capitol Hill on Wednesday, but this time the don’t-tread-on-me crowd trod upon one of its own. Much of the scene was familiar: the yellow flags, the banners protesting tyranny and socialism, the demands to impeach President Obama and to repeal Obamacare. But there was a new target of the conservatives’ ire: Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and his “amnesty” plan for illegal immigrants. The loathing of this onetime darling of the movement — Rubio rode the tea party wave to office in 2010 — could be seen in the homemade signs on the East Lawn of the Capitol proclaiming, “Rubio RINO” (Republican In Name Only) and “Rubio Lies, Americans Die.” Rubio antagonism became a main theme of the event, held by Republican Reps. Steve King (Iowa), Louie Gohmert (Tex.), Michele Bachmann (Minn.) and other opponents of the bipartisan Senate immigration legislation that Rubio negotiated. Read full article >>    

Bosnia offers imperfect model.

A roundup of opinion online about what Obama should do.

Country's advances must not be used as bargaining chips during peace talks with Taliban.

I remain wary of an escalation in American involvement.

We asked our Twitter followers for their opinion on possible peace talks among the U.S., Afghanistan and the Taliban.

Why you should worry about government's data grabs.