Politics
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Nolan Finley: Those battlin' Republicans are back at it
Republicans should be enjoying a blissful post-election honeymoon, if only they could stop bickering long enough to bask in that loving feeling.
Instead of building on the coalition that carried Donald Trump back to the White House and the GOP to full control of Congress, the party is doing what it did in 2016, driving out anyone who fails a ...Read more
Editorial: Suspected killer Mangione is not a hero -- stop treating him as one
Luigi Mangione, the accused killer of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, is being hailed by many as a hero.
There’s something profoundly wrong with that.
From the time of Thompson’s murder on a Manhattan street caught in surveillance camera photos, to snippets of Mangione’s alleged movements while on the run, online praise for Mangione...Read more
Editorial: 'Ghost gun' in CEO's murder highlights an industry custom-made for crime
The murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Manhattan has spotlighted the fury that many Americans feel toward the nation’s dysfunctional health insurance system.
It has also tapped a profane undercurrent in national discourse today that makes otherwise rational people think it’s acceptable to express such fury with dehumanizing ...Read more
Commentary: Goodwill for all this holiday season
When I was a kid, going to the mall for our family’s annual Christmas shopping trip was an event. We looked forward to it every year. But the joy of those outings came to an end when one year, a horse who was hauling shoppers around the icy parking lot in a carriage stumbled and collapsed. Heaving and wide-eyed, the horse was in obvious ...Read more
Editorial: Syria's dictator falls victim to Hamas' grave miscalculation
Thank Israel’s resolve for helping to topple Syria’s dictatorship.
Over the weekend, rebel forces succeeded in running strongman Bashar Assad out of Damascus. After his father ruled for 30 years, Assad took over in 2000 and ran Syria “with an iron fist that crushed all dissent and relied heavily on the country’s feared security forces,�...Read more
Noah Feldman: Why the Naval Academy gets to keep affirmative action
In 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down affirmative action in private and public university admissions. Now a federal district court has upheld essentially the same practice as used by the U.S. Naval Academy. Although that might seem inconsistent, it isn’t. The Supreme Court specifically exempted the military academies from its ruling, and...Read more
Commentary: Time to reassess how NFL penalties hold back offenses
The NFL season is well past the halfway point, with eyes focused on the 2025 Super Bowl in New Orleans, now just two months away.
The Detroit Lions and the Kansas City Chiefs have set the standard for excellence this season, despite some recent nail-biters, with both sporting near-perfect records. Close behind are teams like the Minnesota ...Read more
Commentary: 28 miles to the nearest pharmacy? For many, that's the only option
Pharmacies in the United States are closing at an alarming rate. The ACT Pharmacy Collaborative, a partnership between community pharmacy networks and academia, reported that 244 pharmacies closed in just the first six weeks of 2024. Similarly, Rite-Aid has closed 500 stores, CVS will close another 300 stores by the end of the year and Walgreens...Read more
Commentary: How Starbucks became my coffee shop of last resort
I’ve always had an ambivalent relationship with Starbucks. But especially post-pandemic, the java juggernaut has become my coffee shop of last resort. And I’m not alone — U.S. sales in the latest quarter were down 6% compared with a year earlier.
The company’s new chief executive recently sketched out a rescue plan that includes ...Read more
Commentary: I'm a longtime family caregiver. It makes me a better person
Thirty-one years ago, my husband, Bruce, and I took on the role of a lifetime. I became the legal guardian, and Bruce the caregiver, for my nephew Dan Bivins, who was 7 years old at the time and born with Down syndrome. That still stands as one of the luckiest days of my life.
Dan has since come far toward taking care of himself and living a ...Read more
Commentary: Not another revival of Band Aid's 'Do they know it's Christmas?'
On Nov. 25, Band Aid released the “ultimate remix” of “Do They Know It’s Christmas?,” the rock charity single from 40 years ago that, in addition to whatever good it has done, also broadcasts a narrative that undermines an entire continent’s dignity and agency.
The recording has raised millions for humanitarian aid but has also ...Read more
Adam Minter: College football's new playoff is already a loser
The College Football Playoff spent a decade inviting just four teams to play for a national championship.
It was an exciting concept. But it was too often mired in angry arguments about the criteria the selection committee uses to select the bracket. So, hoping to quell the controversies this year, the CFP expanded to 12 teams and added complex...Read more
Editorial: Rivian bailout looks like Biden's Solyndra
It’s a lot easier to give a multibillion-dollar loan to a failing company when you’re doling out other people’s money.
Late last month, the Biden administration announced it would provide a $6 billion loan to Rivian Automotive, an electric vehicle company. The money will help the company build a previously planned Georgia factory. Those ...Read more
Allison Schrager: The Oxford curriculum that American universities need
Of all the hallowed American institutions that have experienced a loss in public esteem over the last few years, perhaps none has suffered a bigger drop than higher education. Whether the explanation is sky-high tuition, grade inflation, moral confusion or, lately, the milk and cookies for students anxious about the election, the most egregious ...Read more
Editorial: 'Trump-proofing' -- Elected leaders must step up to protect vulnerable communities
Two days after the election, California Gov. Gavin Newsom called for a special legislative session focused on “Trump-proofing” the state from the onslaught of expected attacks on a host of issues including reproductive rights, the environment, and immigrants.
“We won’t sit idle,” said Newsom, as lawmakers have proposed funding for ...Read more
Editorial: Missouri lawmakers cannot be allowed to 'unravel' the voters' will on abortion
Missouri’s voters have spoken on abortion rights. They declared on Nov. 5, by an unambiguous margin, that the state’s constitution now guarantees women complete control over their own reproductive decisions prior to fetal viability. Period, end, full stop.
Yet it comes as no surprise that some Republican lawmakers are already filing ...Read more
Editorial: An assassin, not a hero -- Accused murderer Luigi Mangione should not be admired
The cold-blooded killing of Brian Thompson allegedly at the hands of Luigi Mangione is being spun by way too many people as some sort of courageous blow against corporate greed by a handsome folk hero whose shirtless picture has gone viral online.
Let’s be clear here: Mangione isn’t a champion of the people. He isn’t Robin Hood. What he ...Read more
Editorial: Legislation to keep kids safe online cannot wait
What is U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson waiting for? Months ago, the Louisiana Republican was handed broadly popular legislation to protect children from the harms of social media. But he vowed this week not to allow a vote in his chamber until Donald Trump is sworn in as president and a new Congress convenes. Stalling the protections is wrong ...Read more
Commentary: Understanding Taylor Swift, the Movement, through her numbers
The name Taylor Swift draws almost everyone’s attention. A modern-day music icon, her concerts are marketing dreams, selling out everywhere they are performed. Though her music is listened by people across multiple demographics, her relationship with Travis Kelce, the two-time Super Bowl winning tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs, has ...Read more
Editorial: Energy Department playing loose with taxpayer cash
Nevadans have a familiarity with the Department of Energy’s bureaucratic fumbling. See: Yucca Mountain. A new audit of the agency now provides more fodder for Elon Musk’s cost-cutting initiative.
Last month, the Office of the Inspector General released an Energy Department overview for fiscal 2024. It found $1 billion in wasteful and ...Read more