It’s easy to lose count of the number of times someone has declared the death of Polish democracy; usually reports are exaggerated. Poland is large enough, diverse enough, noisy enough and liberty-minded enough to resist being dragged under a dark authoritarian blanket again. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be worried by recent developments. The erosion of democracy may be a ...

It was on August 15, 1971, and many Americans were watching television — the most popular show that evening being the Western series “Bonanza.” (Older readers will recall that it chronicled the adventures of the Cartwright family — Ben, his three sons and their Chinese cook — on their Ponderosa Ranch in Nevada.) At 9 pm Eastern time, the Cartwrights ...

It’s hard to know how much to panic over California’s dwindling water supplies. The state has never really had enough water, after all, yet lawns in Beverly Hills somehow remain perpetually green. Earlier this month, however, came a sign that life might soon be getting more uncomfortable for more Californians. On August 3, the State Water Resources Control Board voted ...