President Obama paused while making a statement Wednesday at the White House about the IRS scandal.

AFP/Getty Images

President Obama paused while making a statement Wednesday at the White House about the IRS scandal.

Big Government is watching you

What the Benghazi-IRS-AP scandals suggest — and what victims of drone strikes and people such as Aaron Swartz might testify — is that protections like the Bill of Rights are inadequate. By Tom Keane

JOAN VENNOCHI

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2013/05/19/BostonGlobe.com/EditorialOpinion/Images/Joan_Vennochi_150px-594.jpg Leadership vacuum may be root cause of Obama’s scandals

It’s as if Barack Obama thinks of himself as the average, outraged citizen, not as the president with the power to set high standards of behavior for everyone who works for him.

Jay Gatsby’s mansion, as envisioned by Baz Luhrmann.

Peter S. Canellos

Sliding off the ‘Gatsby Curve’

Like today’s America, “The Great Gatsby” is conflicted about the disparities that surround it, but not entirely sure they’re such a bad thing.

JOANNA WEISS

What should a shirt cost?

There are global implications to fast fashion; low-price, low-quality goods have to exact a cost somewhere, and, recently, it was in Cambodia and Bangladesh.

Editorial

Partisan agendas obscure effort to learn from Benghazi attack

The lessons of Benghazi shouldn’t be obscured by Republican efforts to inflict maximum political damage on former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton or Democratic efforts to defend her.

Editorial

Flu vaccines: An end to pandemics?

With the right coordination and price, drug maker Novartis’s technology could see the end of flu pandemics altogether.

Editorial

Tax preparation: Fees for service

Governor Deval Patrick has proposed legislation that would ban the fee firms charge for their help, a proposal lawmakers should reject.

dan wasserman

Editorial cartoons by Dan Wasserman

A look at the most recent illustrated viewpoints from Globe editorial cartoonist Dan Wasserman.

Previous columns

RENÉE LOTH

Immigrants — the lifeline of a town

Laws that would give illegal immigrants new ways to assimilate will help them to open businesses, create jobs, and save ailing communities.

Editorial series: Open up Boston

editorial | open up boston

For answers to housing woes, look to vibrant Davis Square

Transit-friendly areas like Somerville’s Davis Square allow for the emergence of reasonably priced housing, something that’s vital for the growth of Eastern Mass.