Politics
/ArcaMax
Mark Z. Barabak: Fight or find common ground? Oregon race a referendum on the direction of Democrats
Kurt Schrader, a seven-term congressman from central Oregon, has belittled Nancy Pelosi, defended Donald Trump and voted against many of the Democratic Party's top priorities.
Still, he insists he is "a solid Democrat" and the very sort who can not only help the party retain its thin-ice majority in the House in November but also end the ...Read more

Commentary: Reversing Roe will make American democracy harder to fix
If the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, as the recently leaked draft opinion suggests, arguments over how to regulate abortion will move from the courts to the legislatures, in Washington and 50 state capitals. Many critics of the decision, and even some of its defenders — I find myself in both camps — say this is where the debate ...Read more

Editorial: Senator's goofy bill against Disney is just another daffy populist stunt
Once upon a time, it was the activist left that wanted to rip private property from private entities, and it was conservatives who sought to prevent such attacks on free enterprise. But that was when conservatives still believed in their own stated principles. Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., has once again demonstrated how much he doesn’t. His ...Read more

Editorial: Vaccines during pregnancy? Here's reassurance
A new analysis in a prestigious journal offers timely reassurance about the COVID-19 shots' safety and effectiveness to a vitally important but vaccine-hesitant group: expectant mothers.
Making safety judgments for two is a daunting responsibility during pregnancy. Mothers-to-be are cautious about medications, food, alcohol and cigarettes and ...Read more

Commentary: Reversing Roe will make American democracy harder to fix
If the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, as the recently leaked draft opinion suggests, arguments over how to regulate abortion will move from the courts to the legislatures, in Washington and 50 state capitals. Many critics of the decision, and even some of its defenders — I find myself in both camps — say this is where the debate ...Read more

John M. Crisp: The inextricable link between abortion and religion
There’s something admirable in the consistency of abortion’s most ardent opponents.
If a fertilized egg is a full-fledged human life, its destruction is indeed no different from the murder of a post-natal person. Thus, a proposed Louisiana law that classifies all abortions as homicide has a logical consistency difficult to gainsay.
If a ...Read more

Doyle McManus: Ron DeSantis is setting the agenda for the GOP, and Democrats should worry
The most intriguing politician in the Republican Party is an uncharismatic governor who's trying to make the GOP's culture war appealing to suburban mothers.
Ron DeSantis, the 43-year-old governor of Florida, has been on a tear. Originally a tea party-style fiscal conservative, he's embraced a series of hard-edged positions that have boosted ...Read more

Editorial: New York must convene opioid settlement board as soon as possible
A silent killer stalks New York state, ruining lives, destroying families and terrorizing communities, to the tune of more than 13 deaths a day on average over 2021. Its name is opioid abuse, and its death toll is growing. A report this week from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said drug overdose deaths nationwide rose 15% last ...Read more

Editorial: Florida's book rejection frenzy has right-wing kookiness written all over it
In the deepest corners of the right wing, the belief exists that teachers, textbook writers and publishing companies are conspiring to indoctrinate children. It starts with softening students up by talking about feelings. Then, their unsuspecting minds can be shaped to believe in climate change, COVID-19 vaccines, evolution and — worst of all ...Read more

Editorial: The day could be approaching when Supreme Court rulings are openly defied
The breakdown of U.S. Supreme Court legitimacy may already have begun as the public perception of the court morphs from one of respectful observances of the law as interpreted by the nation’s top judicial scholars to a view of them as little more than political hacks in black robes. Various states, including Missouri, are on record openly ...Read more

Commentary: Outdoor cats are more dangerous than you think
Many news stories stress that our ecosystems are under assault by Burmese pythons and Asian carp. This leads people to conclude that it is the less charismatic fauna such as reptiles and fish that are the most threatening of invasive species.
Proposed amendments to the Lacey Act that the U.S. House passed Feb. 4 seem to perpetuate this ...Read more

Commentary: COVID-19 cases among TSA officers shows effects of end to federal mask mandate
On April 18, a federal court judge ended the federal transportation face mask mandate, deeming it an overstep of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention authority. Almost immediately, airlines responded by making face masks on flights optional. The White House continues to urge travelers on all modes of transportation (air, rail and public ...Read more
Jay Ambrose: The abortion debate is really about love v. misery
It has been around for half a century, Roe v. Wade has, and besides this Supreme Court ruling facilitating something like 62 million abortions, it has generated a vast number of arguments in its defense. One of the most frequent insists that a woman has the irrefutable right to control her own body.
There’s a problem here, namely that a ...Read more

Commentary: Draft opinion striking down Roe brings 'fire to this fight once again'
The now infamous Supreme Court draft opinion by Justice Samuel Alito, repealing Roe v. Wade, is not just a shameful ransacking of a 50-year-old precedent, it is an epic assault on the fundamental right of women to participate as equals in American society.
Roe is not just about the medical procedure of abortion and protecting women’s health ...Read more

Commentary: Working in a clinic taught me to celebrate patients, no matter their prognosis
As an oncologist who often works with patients walking the thin line between life and death, I am always humbled by working in the clinic. It’s where I constantly realize that my troubles are incomparable to the pain that my patients experience. However, the more I am humbled, the more I discover there is to learn. The more I learn about ...Read more

Commentary: We're losing the fight against superbugs, but there's still hope
As parents, we inherently want to protect our children. We tell them stories with happy endings and reassure them that there aren’t monsters hiding under the bed.
But there’s an enemy living among us that poses a fatal threat to kids and adults alike — and we’re simply not doing enough to stop it.
These enemies are “superbugs” — ...Read more

Ramesh Ponnuru: Republicans can extend their midterm inflation advantage
Inflation is likely to be the most powerful issue working for Republicans in this year’s congressional elections. Public concern over it has been rising fast. Republicans can plausibly blame the administration of President Joe Biden for making the problem worse by spending too much money on a pandemic stimulus program he pushed through ...Read more

Fabiola Santiago: DeSantis tries to rig elections by gerrymandering, but Florida judge says, hell no!
Everyone familiar with basic Florida law knew that Gov. Ron DeSantis’ decision to manhandle the redistricting process for political gain violated the Florida Constitution.
But DeSantis went ahead anyway and used his office to draw congressional district map lines, blatantly favoring Republicans and disenfranchising the state’s Black voters....Read more

Gustavo Arellano: Heed the warnings of this palm tree, a 200-year-old drought survivor
About 200 years ago, a palm tree was planted in downtown Los Angeles.
The fan palm was originally from the Southern California desert, a newcomer to the city like so many who would arrive later. And like so many who settled here, this young migrant prospered while adapting to the changing times.
It grew up as humble landscaping for a home on ...Read more

Trudy Rubin: Save Odesa to save the world from hunger and high food prices
When Russia sent hypersonic missiles into a shopping center in Ukraine’s elegant port city of Odesa on Monday, it was literally attacking the world.
Ukraine is known as the “breadbasket of Europe” and a global grain exporter. Eighty percent of its wheat used to ship from Odesa until Russia began blockading this major Black Sea port and ...Read more