ArcaMax

Where is Barack Obama? Democrats had been frustrated that their charismatic former president had gone silent on MAGA's march of mayhem. Where is that smooth, persuasive voice?

It has risen. Obama has spoken, and Democrats would do well to take in the message.

"You could be as progressive and socially conscious as you wanted," Obama sternly ...Read more

Donald Trump recently wrote on Truth Social: "Our great Farmers and people in the Hotel and Leisure business have been stating that our very aggressive policy on immigration is taking very good, long-time workers away from them, with those jobs being almost impossible to replace."

Let's get the obvious out of the way. Trump is heavily ...Read more

The president is doing his best to inflame passions within and at California. Calling in the National Guard against the governor's wishes is a provocation. Sending in Marines to add drama to his show is an insult as well as incitement. The Marines are not a fashion accessory. They are trained to confront foreign threats, not in policing the ...Read more

The hot-selling book "Abundance" is written by liberals who bash liberals, or more precisely, try to make them feel guilty. Sure, authors Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson shed some blame on conservatives for why America doesn't build as easily as it used to. But it's those liberals in expensive cities, the authors insist, who are callously ...Read more

What do you do about Joni Ernst? The Republican senator from Iowa is being mocked by liberal media and beyond for her snarky response to a question about cuts in Medicaid: "We all are going to die."

That clumsy remark has been skewered for its insensitivity, but its greater significance lies in the bigger issue. Ernst answers to Donald Trump ...Read more

Elon Musk may have thought that dropping more than $250 million into Trump's reelection campaign would have bought permanent affection from the president. No, it was a show of obeisance that labeled Musk as one to be played. Besides, in Trump's dog-eat-dog view of wealth, the far-richer Musk may have needed cutting down to size.

Trump knows ...Read more

Wyoming is the second windiest state, after Nebraska. It's obvious why the wind power industry is investing $10 billion there. And it's hard to see why any state politician would oppose this. But some have. Wyoming is one of those fossil-fuel producing states in which so-called conservatives feel obligated -- or are paid -- to stop competition...Read more

First off, let's drop the Republican claim that not extending Trump's 2017 tax cuts is a tax increase.

Many of these tax cuts were purposely designed to expire and for a sneaky reason. Making them permanent would have hiked the bill's cost by more than $1.5 trillion over 10 years. Add to that the interest payments tied to the higher borrowing...Read more

Donald Trump's whirlwind visit to Qatar was certainly an extravaganza: "Red and lavender carpets. Arabian horses. Glitzy chandeliers. Camels. Sword dancers," according to The New York Times.

Sounded like a night at Studio 54.

Back on Main Street USA, things looked less fabulous. Trump's tariffs have been menacing the nation's retailers, ...Read more

As I flew into Omaha for the first time, the only thing visible from my descending plane was cornfields. You could even see the tassels. I was wondering, where is the city?

There certainly was a city, with a world-class medical center, famous zoo and great nightlife. Old school steakhouses mixed with Persian and Asian restaurants. Anyone who ...Read more

At least six congressional Republicans are demanding a radical fix in the 2017 tax law targeting residents of high-income states. If they don't get it, they may sink Donald Trump's tax-and-spending package, his "one big beautiful bill."

And who can blame these reps from New York, New Jersey and California? At issue is the unfair cap on the ...Read more

Democrats are deep in debate over the age of their older leaders. Some need replacement, according to younger Democrats who want to replace them. And in some cases, they are right.

But these arguments turn toxic when they equate age with capability. Ageism is bad politics, especially when you look at the age of the electorate.

David Hogg, ...Read more

May is usually the best month for florists, Mother's Day being a big reason. But Donald Trump's tariff war is raining pain on their bestselling season.

Pierson's Flower Shop and Greenhouse in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, expects customers to dial back on purchases because of higher prices forced by tariffs.

"We ship a lot from Europe, we ship a lot ...Read more

Most remarkable about the recent Canadian election is that patriotism rather than raw economic interest propelled voters to resist Donald Trump. Canadians rejected the MAGA-fied Conservative Party, despite an economy suffering from anemic growth and high housing costs, all pinned on Justin Trudeau's Liberal Party.

Trump's devastating tariff ...Read more

I have been deep in conversation with ChatGPT, asking all kinds of questions. Are there direct flights between the U.S. and Queretaro, Mexico? Will Apple give me credit for a 2014 iMac? What color goes with teal? What was France's GDP in 1998?

My fascination with ChatGPT has become a household joke. "All right, Froma," we imagine Chat saying....Read more

It feels strange talking about the world's richest man, only 53 years old, in the past tense. But that somehow seems appropriate for Elon Musk, who weeks ago was considered Donald Trump's co-president. Now he's clearly falling off that high perch, just as Tesla, his star asset, reports net income cratering by 71%.

Musk was undoubtedly a ...Read more

Many in the Democratic base are frustrated that their party isn't pounding away at Donald Trump over his attacks on the rule of law, academic independence and decency. That's not quite the case. Democrats and others opposed to the president's toxic agenda are seeing some success in the courts.

In Congress, however, Democrats currently have ...Read more

Let's cut to the chase. Most of Donald Trump's threats against Ivy League colleges are an attempt to divert attention away from an economy heading into crisis.

The trade war is producing economic and foreign policy nightmares. Despite the DOGE show, budget deficits are projected to rise further under Republican rule. The stock market is ...Read more

Donald Trump's defenders have taken great offense to suspicions by Democrats and others that the Trump family and its close circle are doing insider trading to profit from market convulsions. There's no "proof," they say.

It's true that there's been no proof so far, but there's surely enough smoke to warrant an investigation. Problem is, the ...Read more

This trade war with Canada is not the first. Forty-five years ago, Maine potato farmers piled rotten potatoes at their state's borders with New Brunswick. Blocking nine crossings, the Mainers accused Canada of unfairly subsidizing its potato growers, thus driving down the prices they could get.

The Maine potato industry had problems other ...Read more