Dan Glickman

Much has been made of the impact that Super PACs are having on the 2012 presidential race, not least of all by me. We already know that Super PACs can enable extraordinarily wealthy donors to keep longshot presidential candidacies alive by providing enormous checks used to blanket states...

Since I last wrote about Stephen Colbert's hysterical satire of super PACs, the Federal Election Commission (FEC) disclosure deadlines have passed, and we now have a somewhat less murky picture of how super PACs are operating. The bottom line is that certain extremely wealthy people have become the...

Like the rest of America, I laughed until my ribs hurt at the antics of Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert as they brought the issue of corporate money in politics into the national spotlight. The "Definitely Not Coordinating with Stephen Colbert Super PAC," which viewers can tell you is definitely...

By Dan Glickman and Ann M. Veneman

The legislative events of last week had to surprise parents and educators who struggle to provide children with sound nutritional choices in a world often inhospitable to healthy behavior. Last Thursday night, lawmakers stripped the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) ability to limit...

As of the writing of this blog, the super committee -- 12 members of the House and Senate, which was established several months ago by Congress and the White House to come to grips with the nation's mounting and unsustainable debt -- closed up shop without reaching any agreement whatsoever.

If you want proof positive about how relatively small investments in agricultural development assistance can pay huge dividends for both developing and donor countries, then keep your eyes on the prize -- the World Food Prize, that is.

This award, which recognizes measurable contributions to...

It is amazing what a deadline can do to focus the hearts and minds of our government. In the final days of the lame-duck session, Congress passed and sent to the president a major piece of tax and economic stimulus legislation, including the extension of unemployment benefits; the repeal of...

As a Democrat, I believe that government plays a seminal role in educating our kids, building our transportation and communications infrastructure, protecting our environment, and maintaining our national defense. All are essential to a strong America. But all are impossible in a broke America.

To ensure that the federal government...

Political pundits will be cogitating for months about the long term implications of yesterday's congressional elections. But if the voice of the people illustrates anything, it is that the Americans are worried and anxious about their economic future, and want politicians to end the bickering and hyper-partisanship which has dominated...

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced on Thursday that the government will finally close a long, painful chapter in the history of American civil rights -- a chapter largely unnoticed by mainstream media, unnoticed even to many deeply involved in farm policy over the last several decades. It is now up...

Movies often are about escape and adventure. We root for the underdogs and cheer their success. Sometimes heroes beat the odds with dazzling superpowers. But many of the great cinematic stories come from a uniquely American well, where real life trumps even the best fiction and inspires us to strive...

The selection of Dr. Rajiv Shah to lead the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is a tremendous choice and one that underscores the Obama Administration's commitment to the vital role development plays in foreign policy and to the rebuilding of USAID as the strong agency the country and...

I had the opportunity this weekend to catch a movie filled with adventure, romance, suspense and period glamor. As with so many films, the story literally flew out of the pages of our history books and onto the silver screen. Hilary Swank is a revelation as "Amelia" Earhart, the barrier-breaking...

No American ever embraced the power of science to do good more than Norman Borlaug. Father of the "Green Revolution" that transformed agriculture in India, Pakistan and Mexico, he was a compassionate realist convinced that there was no way to feed more than 6 billion people without the judicious use...

The new pledge to commit $20 billion to global agricultural development, announced at this week's G-8 summit, has the potential to dramatically improve the livelihoods of more than 700 million of the world's poor living in rural areas. If realized, this would be the most significant investment in the developing...

Spring is here. That means one thing for movie fans--summer blockbuster season is upon us. Thoughts turn to Star Trek, Harry Potter, Transformers and other big action films. Spoiler alert: In the end, good prevails over evil, the world--in fact--does not come to an end and all is right in...

Financial news reporting has been in the news itself of late as Americans ask the timely question 'who knew what and when' about the state of our economy and the subsequent extraordinary burden being placed on every American as we strive as a nation to right the ship.

Amid the...

As MPAA Chairman, the last thing I'd do during Oscar season is publicly declare the best picture vote on my Academy ballot. But in addition to the extraordinary films receiving accolades on Sunday night, I recently had the opportunity to see HBO's Taking Chance. And, it is that rare film...

The selection of Leon Panetta to serve as President-Elect Barack Obama's Director of the Central Intelligence Agency is a remarkably good choice. In December 1976, Panetta and I attended our first orientation session for newly elected members of the freshman class of the 95th Congress. While we did not know...

The recent release of the film, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, about the relationship between two 8-year old boys, separated by a concentration camp fence, is a painful reminder of the horrific human toll exacted by genocide. The movie, like others of the Holocaust-era genre, leaves the viewer angry,...