From the Left
/Politics
/ArcaMax
For the Beneficiaries, Losing Obamacare Would Truly Suck
Donald Trump last week posted an item on Truth Social that broke new ground for incoherence. What got his fingers fumbling on the keyboard was Joe Biden's being out in the country warning Americans that another presidential term for Trump would cost them their health care.
Trump wrote, "I'm not running to terminate the ACA, AS CROOKED JOE ...Read more
Breaking the Mold: Gender Discrimination in the Airline Industry
As a child in New Jersey, I grew up hearing stories of my mother's flight attendant days in South Korea. A few stuck out to me even at a young age -- such as hearing she needed to maintain a certain weight to get into the flight attendant program and that she had to quit her job once she got married. I couldn't understand why my mother had to ...Read more
Census Forms Are Changing Again -- Because We Are
On his HBO show “Real Time,” comedian Bill Maher recently went after Democrats for “pandering” to minority groups for votes.
Poking holes in political posturing is right on brand for Maher, who turns sarcasm into an art form. That’s why I watch him sometimes when I feel my sunny optimism needs a dose of tough realities. Besides, even ...Read more
Trump’s 5-Step Fascist Plan
On Friday, Trump posted a video featuring an image of President Biden hog-tied — with hands and feet bound together.
Trump has previously posted doctored photos and videos depicting him physically attacking Biden, such as hitting Mr. Biden with golf balls.
It’s all part of Trump’s 5-step fascist plan.
In a previous column, I laid out ...Read more
What's Left 8: Health Care Is a Human Right
Learning is a societal and individual good. American businesses, however, have weaponized higher education into an overcredentialization racket that coerces millions of young people to borrow hundreds of billions of dollars in tuition, room and board, often to study subjects in which they have little interest, for the chance to be hired for a ...Read more
A License to Lie
Where does a lawyer draw the line between zealous advocacy of a client's cause and using his standing as a lawyer as a license to lie? A California State Bar judge ruled this week that former Chapman Law School Dean John Eastman crossed that line in his representation of Donald Trump's efforts to invalidate the 2020 election.
"It is true that...Read more
The Things I Used To Do, Lord, I Won't Do No More
My father spent the last 13 years of his work life at a sporting goods company, where he was an assistant department head.
When he retired, 34 years ago, he had full and complete rights to a pension of $241.86 a month. He died five years later, and my mother received $241.86 a month for the next 34 years.
And that was my father's life, that ...Read more
Riding to the Rescue: Republicans May Save Us From Trump
You can’t make this stuff up. Donald Trump, who’s tried unsuccessfully to sell everything from steaks to sneakers … Donald Trump, who’s already been found liable of sexual abuse and will soon start trial on charges of paying hush money to a porn star to keep their sexual romp secret from voters … That same Donald Trump is now hawking ...Read more
On Exactly What Team Was Ronna McDaniel Playing?
Ronna McDaniel's conduct following the 2020 election was shocking enough, but NBC's decision to hire her as a paid political analyst almost topped it. The blowback from the company's own commentators prompted the executives to turn around and send McDaniel packing.
The problem for NBC and its decidedly liberal MSNBC news channel wasn't that ...Read more
The Supreme Court, Justice Breyer and Abortion
It might just be a coincidence that former Justice Stephen Breyer's new book had its official publication date on the same day the court heard argument on the biggest abortion case since Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, which overruled Roe v. Wade. In his important new book, "Reading the Constitution: Why I Chose Pragmatism, Not ...Read more
Haiti’s Tragic History Just Keeps Repeating Itself
In Haiti, history repeats itself — repeatedly.
And for what remains of Haiti’s troubled government, history seems to keep getting worse.
Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry and Kenyan President William Ruto signed an agreement in early March to fast-track a long-delayed deployment of Kenyan police officers to confront spiraling violence in ...Read more
Cherry Tree Therapy for the House GOP?
Washington's pink cherry blossoms, a spring sight for sore eyes, are about to be whacked. The Park Service says 150 trees must be cut down to build a new seawall round the Tidal Basin, where the marble Jefferson Monument perches perfectly on the water.
That calls up the legend of young George Washington and his famous line: "Father, I cannot ...Read more
Should We Be Polite as the GOP Stomps on Our Democratic Rights?
When a fox attacks a hen house, is it uncivil for the hens to raise a ruckus?
Two Supreme Court justices say it is. Elevating collegiality above social justice, right-wing extremist Amy Coney Barrett and progressive jurist Sonia Sotomayor have jointly been hailing America's top court as a model of genteel political discourse, claiming that ...Read more
The Bibi Bogeyman: Democrats' Feeble Wobble on Hamas Risks Sinking Biden
You can blame Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for plenty of things, and plenty of Israelis do. These include his cynical maneuvering to avoid being held to account on criminal charges, his alliances with nut jobs in his coalition government and the gross negligence that left Israel vulnerable to Hamas' invasion of Israel and its ...Read more
There Is No Shame in a Cancer Diagnosis
News that Catherine, Princess of Wales, has been diagnosed with cancer set off a pointless argument. One side complained that the royal family had not been forthcoming with the truth behind her long hospitalization. The other held that Catherine has a right to privacy and is under no obligation to make her medical condition public.
Both ...Read more
Communities Should Reject Surveillance Products Whose Makers Won't Allow Them To Be Independently Evaluated
American communities are being confronted by a lot of new police technology these days, a lot of which involves surveillance or otherwise raises the question: "Are we as a community comfortable with our police deploying this new technology?" A critical question when addressing such concerns is: "Does it even work, and if so, how well?" It's ...Read more
Is it An Electric Car or a Bidenmobile? Greening of Transportation Gets Political
When you think about it, there’s not much rational reason for electric vehicles to be a partisan political issue. But, as we all should know by now, election-year politics do not have to be rational. They only have to reflect what the players think will win.
That helps to explain why electric cars, trucks and SUVs have become a hot issue ...Read more
How to Deal with the Trump Threat
The 2024 general election is now underway.
Like most of you, I’ve found myself immersed in many conversations about the threat to our nation — and the world — posed by Donald Trump.
Just to be clear, I’m not talking about conversations with Trump supporters. I’m referring to conversations with people who are fully aware of the damage...Read more
Israel, the Hermit Kingdom
"The world is kind of deserting Israel right now," Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) remarked after meeting with members of the pro-Israel lobby American Israel Public Affairs Committee. "So they're worried about that."
Their concern is warranted. Less than six months after Hamas attacked on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 people with brutality that sparked ...Read more
Chuck Schumer and the Democratic Left
Who was Sen. Chuck Schumer speaking to when he denounced Benjamin Netanyahu and urged Israel to hold new elections to replace him? And who was he speaking for?
Don't get me wrong. I'm no fan of Netanyahu's. Not one bit. When the history of Oct. 7 is finally written, Hamas will rightly be blamed for unspeakable evil. It was their doing and ...Read more