Politics
/ArcaMax
Editorial: ICE shooting should be mourned -- and investigated
The simple question that Army lawyer Joseph Welch posed to Senator Joseph McCarthy in 1954 — “Have you no sense of decency?” — helped end a witch hunt that was tearing the country in two.
The question seems almost quaint now, given the vitriol that routinely infects US politics. And yet, in the aftermath of the killing of a Minneapolis ...Read more
Commentary: Trump's rhetoric of exaggeration hurts democracy
One of the most telling aspects of President Donald Trump’s political style isn’t a specific policy but how he talks about the world.
His speeches and social media posts overflow with superlatives: “The likes of which nobody’s ever seen before,” “Numbers we’ve never seen,” and “Like nobody ever thought possible.” This ...Read more
POINT: How America changed after Trump's return
In just 12 months since President Donald Trump returned to the Oval Office, the difference in the country is unmistakable. Americans can feel the change in the tone of public debate. They can see it in the renewed confidence of people who spent four years wondering whether anyone in Washington still spoke their language. They can also hear it ...Read more
Commentary: I've been the 'doctor on board' during an in-flight emergency. Airlines need better medical kits
Every holiday season, millions of Americans hop on a plane to visit friends and family. Most people are anxious about flight delays and cancellations, but as an emergency room physician, there’s one announcement I dread the most: “Is there a doctor on board?” My reluctance isn’t due to any potential inconvenience or legal liability, but ...Read more
Michael Hiltzik: Trump is demanding a 10% cap on credit card interest. Here's why that's a lousy idea
A few days ago, President Donald Trump staked a claim to the "affordability" issue by demanding that banks cap their credit card interest rates at 10% for one year.
Actually, Trump announced that in effect he had imposed the cap, a claim that some news organizations accepted as gospel.
So let's dispose of that misconception right off: Trump ...Read more
Anita Chabria: ICE can't be trusted. Can California force accountability?
Before Minneapolis was left to mourn the death of Renee Good, there was George Floyd.
Same town, same sorrow, same questions — what becomes of society when you can't trust the authorities? What do you do when the people tasked with upholding the law break the rules, lie and even kill?
California is pushing to answer that question, with laws ...Read more
COUNTERPOINT: The 'Trump effect' is a bust for the working class
President Donald Trump returned to the White House with a signature promise: to be a “champion for the American worker” and launch a “golden age” for domestic manufacturing. By the end of year one of his second term, Trump’s rhetoric hasn’t matched economic reality. As working-class families increasingly struggle to make ends meet, ...Read more
Commentary: Those who execute military orders carry all the risk
The dispute between Sen. Mark Kelly and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is being told as a simple morality play. On one side, the claim that Kelly crossed a line and deserves punishment. On the other, the insistence that Kelly is a hero beyond reproach and that the administration’s response is villainy. Both frames are comforting. Both are ...Read more
David M. Drucker: The dubious art of explaining what Trump 'really means'
Prominent Republicans insist on treating President Donald Trump like a child or a clueless old man, telling Americans that he does not mean what he says — despite the commander in chief making quite clear he means exactly that.
Trump’s threat to use military force to seize Greenland from Denmark, a U.S. ally via the North Atlantic Treaty ...Read more
Commentary: Trump's strategic strike in Venezuela creates opportunities for US energy dominance
“Operation Absolute Resolve” successfully dismantled illegitimate President Nicolás Maduro’s dangerous narcoterrorism regime and created valuable opportunities for the U.S. economy — fueled by the oil sector.
The Trump agenda prioritizes unleashing American energy, which includes maximizing domestic production of traditional ...Read more
Marc Champion: Iran's Khamenei is now ruling by naked power alone
There are few moments as clarifying as a true crisis and Iran’s revolutionary, Islamist regime is in the depths of one. So what are we learning?
One revelation from the recent wave of protests concerns the nature of the governing structure that Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has shaped and overseen for all but 10 of the Islamic Republic’s 46 ...Read more
Editorial: The Silver State bests the Golden State -- again
Talk is cheap. Moving isn’t. That’s why it’s worth looking at state-by-state migration patterns.
U-Haul recently released its annual report tracking one-way customer transactions. The top-ranked states have the highest percentage of in-migration compared with out-migration based on U-Haul rentals.
While not a comprehensive measure of ...Read more
Editorial: Trump's phony attack on the Fed: President is playing with fire with Powell probe
Donald Trump’s henchmen (in this case, henchwoman) are at it again, this time ginning up a phony criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jay Powell in much the same way that they’ve tried against Trump antagonists Jim Comey and Tish James. Those persecutions were horrible precedent in their own right, but this, signed off on by the...Read more
John Rash: Trump threatens Greenland -- and by extension, NATO
Since NATO’s 1949 founding, the Soviet Union and then Russia have sought to counter, if not conquer, the alliance. Remarkably, despite the invasion of Ukraine degrading Russia’s defense and diplomatic standing, Moscow’s malevolent objective may finally be in reach.
But not because of pressure from the Kremlin. Rather, from the White House...Read more
Editorial: With Powell probe, Trump's abuse of the criminal justice system hits a new low
One of the most insidious aspects of the Trump era is how quickly the public gets used to what should be unacceptable scenarios — such as the use of federal criminal prosecutions for political retribution.
Having already watched as Trump’s Justice Department launched baseless, vengeful criminal cases against former FBI Director James Comey ...Read more
Commentary: One of our original freedom fighters is missing from the Garden of American Heroes
A list of 250 names has been proposed for the federal government’s new Garden of American Heroes, but one of our earliest revolutionaries is not included.
Po’pay, a 17th-century Native American leader from what is now New Mexico, is honored with one of the 100 statues in the U.S. Capitol’s Statuary Hall Collection but is not on the list ...Read more
Commentary: What hard times make possible
Crises’ crucibles often forge potent alliances. Before the American Revolution, John Adams steadfastly welcomed any and all “terrible news” of British despotism. “The worse, the better,” he invariably remarked, knowing that the crown’s attacks on liberty would unite the colonists.
World War I’s trials channeled Progressive Era ...Read more
Joe Battenfeld: Marco Rubio emerging as trusted point man in Trump world
Secretary of State Marco Rubio – once derided by Donald Trump as “Little Marco”– has emerged as the trusted point man riding shotgun on Trump’s mechanical bull of a foreign policy – from taking Greenland to dealing with a dangerous Iran.
No secretary of state in recent history has had to deal with so many crises and hot spots all at...Read more
Lisa Jarvis: The Dry January experiment is working
As New Year’s Eve approached, I found myself mulling over something that in all my previous adult years would have been unthinkable: What if I didn’t drink? Sure, I had a lovely bottle of champagne chilling in the fridge. But I’d already planned on having Dry(ish) January. Wouldn’t it be great to wake up in 2026 fully rested and with a ...Read more
Editorial: Trump's efforts to control the Federal Reserve put the US economy in jeopardy
Donald Trump was elected twice on a slogan to make America great, but nearly everything he does makes the country worse.
Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill increased U.S. debt and boosted health care costs. His tariffs have raised prices, while cuts to regulations have left workplaces more dangerous. Trump has also weakened higher education, slashed ...Read more




















































