ArcaMax

He's at it again.

The Trumps have nothing to worry about. They have federal-government insurance -- one of the best plans that money can buy, with the most options and the most comprehensive coverage.

It's good enough for the Trumps -- though they are, after all, among the very few Americans who could actually afford to pay for their own ...Read more

Old dogs teach you the meaning of love.

Judy couldn't get up this morning. She's 14, my oldest, and she's named after my best friend, who died. A brilliant idea, it seemed, at the time. I was missing her, and this would be a way to talk to her every day. The first Judy taught me not to be afraid of dogs. It sounds silly, but my mother raised ...Read more

Fifty-nine dead this time, according to the latest reports.

The collective handwringing; the thoughts and prayers; the stories of lives tragically lost crowding the news; funerals to come; politicians spouting mournful messages.

And then what? We know the answer. Then nothing.

What is wrong with us? How many more innocent people must die in ...Read more

I feel like yelling at the screen: "Stop. Just stop."

I have never felt this way about a president of the United States.

I used to like to listen to Ronald Reagan. Didn't agree with him, but he had a way about him. And I was never actually afraid of Reagan.

I had a lot of bad thoughts about George W. Bush, but at no time did I want to yell at...Read more

This week, Jews around the world will celebrate Rosh Hashana, the New Year, the high holidays.

It is a very strange time to be Jewish in America.

The first president with a Jewish daughter and Jewish grandchildren, the first Jewish "zayde" (grandpa) in the White House, has taught a new generation the lasting power of anti-Semitism. As the ...Read more

When my kids were growing up, I couldn't bear to see them cry. I always did anything I could to make it better.

I keep thinking of that as I see the pictures of the "Dreamers" and their mothers.

How can we punish these children? What are these mothers to do?

How cruel can you get?

I get as angry as the next person when I hear stories of ...Read more

Poor Gary Cohn, the Goldman Sachs banker who was standing next to Donald Trump at Trump Tower for that awful press conference in which Trump defended his statement blaming "both sides" for the violence in Charlottesville, Virginia. The president's top economic adviser, who is Jewish, reportedly told associates that he was "disgusted" by the ...Read more

It's pretty basic stuff.

Getting along with people you agree with -- or, in this era of yes-persons, people who always agree with you -- is remarkably easy.

Getting along with anyone you might venture to disagree with in an online forum or comments section, not to mention a television scream-a-thon, is so utterly impossible and beyond reason...Read more

It was bad enough when someone handed Melania Trump one of Michelle Obama's speeches to give -- again. Bad staff work, extraordinarily bad.

But who was in charge of telling her what to wear to a disaster? Or rather, who was in charge of telling her that this was just not a moment for high heels?

Who thinks "stilettos" for a hurricane?...Read more

Speaking truth to power: Nothing is more difficult, especially in politics.

In business, after all, people have contracts and stock options, and if nothing else, at least they can find similar jobs at other companies.

But there's no such thing in government. There's one treasury secretary, one head of the National Economic Council. There's no ...Read more

I could not make this up. Who would want to? Having behaved like a normal president might on Monday, condemning racism by the Klan and white nationalists, Donald Trump could not restrain himself.

In an angry exchange with reporters on Tuesday, he refused to acknowledge the gross insensitivity of his remarks Saturday and in fact returned to ...Read more

The thing about free speech is how often it's just plain wrong -- wrongheaded, factually wrong, deceitful, even. That's always been true.

And there have always been two schools of thought about what you do about it. One is that you pronounce yourself, or like-minded others, to be the ruler of the universe, and you only allow people to say, ...Read more

He lost his job before he even started, which comes as no surprise to anyone who has spent any time working in Washington. Which, of course, the president's choice for communications director had not.

The story of Anthony Scaramucci should be a cautionary tale for the Trump presidency, but there is no indication that Donald Trump has any ...Read more

"Will he be impeached for this?" people ask me every day. All that changes is what "this" is: It might be Donald Trump Jr.'s "love" for the Russians; or Jared Kushner's four meetings; or their failure to disclose such meetings; or Donald Trump's threatening to fire the attorney general and replace him with a recess appointment; or worst of all...Read more

One thing you can say for this president: You know what he is thinking, even at 6:12 a.m. on a Tuesday. He is not thinking about health care for his supporters, many of whom would lose all access if he had his way. He is not thinking about the threat of terrorism. He is not thinking about you.

He is thinking about the one and only subject he ...Read more