The $20 billion proposed merger between U.S. cellular carrier Sprint/Nextel and Japan’s SoftBank seems like a good match. Sprint would partner with one of the most dynamic cellular companies in the world, whose latest claim to fame is the Advanced Extended Global Platform (AXGP), the fastest mobile broadband network serving Tokyo and other Japanese cities. But Sprint has another suitor, the TV satellite provider DiSH Network. DiSH would actually offer Sprint shareholders more money than SoftBank, and offer significant synergies that benefit consumers.

Yet there is more to this than innovative platforms, synergies and returns for shareholders. There is the potential for a SoftBank-acquired Sprint cellular network to serve as a convenient transmission path for malware and spyware, courtesy of SoftBank’s Chinese business partners or their government.

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The Senate began its confirmation hearings for Commerce Secretary nominee Penny Pritzker Thursday. If confirmed, it is vital that Pritzker promote growth in our ever-evolving, fast-paced innovation economy.
 
It’s been reported that the Internet economy accounted for approximately $68.2 billion in 2010. By 2016, that number could pass $100 billion. But there are many challenges to maintaining and growing this success, and this is where Commerce needs to focus its efforts.

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Every year, I serve thousands of tourists and residents of the Washington, D.C., area who are visiting the Air and Space Museum, one of the most popular attractions maintained by the federal government.
 
But this week, I went on strike, and I’d like to tell you why.

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In these times of budget cutbacks and sequestration, knowing how each tax dollar is spent is more important than ever.

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Americans don’t expect us to agree on every proposal to address the student debt crisis, but they certainly want us to be honest in staking out our positions.
 
Sadly, that’s not what they’re hearing in Washington. Many of my friends on the other side of the aisle have started to play a cynical game. Today the House passed a Republican proposal that will actually make college much more expensive for borrowers.

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Independent community pharmacists are not just a source of prescription drugs and medication counseling, as important as those are. They also offer patients an access point to healthcare, particularly in underserved rural and low-income, inner city areas. 

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“You have cancer.”

Those are powerful words that unfortunately far too many people have heard. Thanks to preventative screenings and medical advances, we are seeing a decline in deaths related to certain cancers. However, melanoma is not one of them and in fact; it is on the rise and has been over the last 40 years. As we recognize May as Skin Cancer Awareness Month, we must also recognize that according to the American Cancer Society, 9,480 people are expected to die of melanoma by the end of this year. That is unacceptable.

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Even an act as terrifying and damaging as 9/11 is no excuse for engaging in torture.

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It’s a stunning admission: the Internal Revenue Service targeted conservative groups for special scrutiny in the run-up to the 2012 election. But equally stunning is who the IRS wasn’t targeting: a federally funded labor union front group that was boasting publicly of its lobbying activities while failing to report them to the IRS’s bookkeepers.