New N. Korea bringing back Cold War paranoia
Over the weekend, residents of Hawaii received a terrifying emergency alert on their phones: A ballistic missile was incoming. "Seek immediate shelter," the alert warned in all-caps.
Category Archives: Opinion
How the first Women’s March inspired me to run for office in Pennsylvania | Perspective
Almost exactly one year ago, my husband and I were standing on the banks of the Alabama River taking in the storied Pettus Bridge and reading the inscription on the plaque commemorating Representative John Lewis's heroic contributions to the civil rights movement. It was there that he and others were beaten bloody in an effort to advance equality and to extend our nation's values and promises to everyone.
On Haiti and African countries*Jan. 16, 2018, 10:30 PM Ast
During the 2016 US presidential campaign, candidate Donald Trump promised to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals programme which Barack Obama, as president, had instituted in 2012. DACA allowed some individuals who had entered the country as minors and remained illegally, to receive a two-year period of deferred action from deportation.
What’s it got,
An audit by the U.S. Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction released this past week revealed that a Department of Defense task force to support economic development squandered hundreds of millions of American taxpayer dollars. The audit of the Task Force for Business and Stability Operations was first requested in 2016 by Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and then-Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., after it was reported by SIGAR that the TFBSO had spent over $40 million to build "what is likely to be the world's most expensive gas station" in Afghanistan, as Special Inspector General John Sopko put it.
Trump’s fiery first year is not all that unusual. Ask Bill Clinton
Niall Ferguson says getting mad is part of the job as the presidency can be inherently infuriating, noting that US President Donald Trump's tumultuous start has much in common with Clinton's dramatic first year in office. Clinton, of course, went on to be re-elected "Once Trump came into the Oval Office with a newspaper folded into quarters showing some story based on a leak from the White House.
The virus inside Donald Trump
"I probably have a very good relationship with Kim Jong Un of North Korea. I have relationships with people.
Sound Off for January 14: 65 other countries have border walls. Why cana t we have one?
This March 30, 2017 file photo shows a portion of the new steel border fence that stretches along the US-Mexico border in Sunland Park, New Mexico. The Trump administration has proposed spending $18 billion over 10 years to significantly extend the border wall with Mexico.
Who will advocate like King for the poor?
Thousands of marchers fill the streets of San Antonio's East Side during the city's annual Martin Luther King march and rally in 2003. Today, widespread economic segregation has replaced racial segregation, with poverty issues consigned to the margins of political discourse.
Joe Harrop: Is there an adult in the house?
In the eleven years that I have been writing these commentaries, I have never had as much material to work with as in the last few months. As I said to a friend, with all the bizarre things in the news lately it is hard to figure out just who is the adult in the room.
One gets used to being shoved aside when voting while black
As we mark what would have been his 89th birthday, it seems fitting to recall that Martin Luther King spoke to that difficulty in a 1957 speech whose words ring relevant 61 years later. "All types of conniving methods are still being used to prevent Negroes from becoming registered voters," lamented King.
With friends in high places, you, too, can prevent oil drilling
Florida is so darn special that we don't have to let BP or ExxonMobil drill oil wells offshore. That's what the Trump administration now says.
Dennis Kucinich would be agitator-in-chief in Ohio gubernatorial run: Thomas Suddes
Dennis Kucinich, former congressman, state senator, and mayor of Cleveland, speaks at Cleveland State University's Maxine Levin Goodman College of Urban Affairs last April. Kucinich said in an email to supporters this week that he plans to announce formally for Ohio governor next Wednesday.
Stefanik lacking courage and independence
Your Jan. 2 editorial touting Elise Stefanik's independence and courage begs for an alternative view. In fact, the evidence points to Ms.
President Donald Trump hailed the passage of a tax cut bill in December.
Is mainstream media slanting the news?; More discussion on retiring Barton; Cultural differences or bad behavior?; FW Christian Center needs a helping hand; Using drugs is a choice, not a medical disorder. The most dangerous threat to our democracy is failure of the mainstream news media to maintain integrity in reporting the news on a fair and impartial basis.
Better Maintenance Act a definite relief for many
HARD GOING: Many single parents battle with the costs of school uniforms and stationery.Picture: Henk Kruger/African News Agency/ANA Joy Van der Heyde's article "Maintenance Act changes a relief or a burden?" raises a number of issues around certain provisions of the Maintenance Amendment Act. Getting maintenance is an ordeal for many single parents, and all the more so at the beginning of the new school year when the costs of school uniforms, stationery and other expenses multiply.
In praise of the Trump-appointed regulators who saved us from Rick Perry’s disastrous coal plan
Energy Secretary Rick Perry's plan to bolster coal-fired and nuclear power plants was rejected by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Jan. 8. Energy Secretary Rick Perry's plan to bolster coal-fired and nuclear power plants was rejected by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Jan. 8. Perry, more famously known for his appearance on "Dancing With the Stars" and for saying, "Oops," during a GOP presidential candidate debate in 2011 when he couldn't name the third federal agency he would shut down, made an absurd pitch to revive coal usage despite the cost his plan would have imposed on utility ratepayers and the potential devastation to the environment.
Sen. Feinstein’s release of the Fusion GPS transcript gives us what…
To the editor: Sen. Dianne Feinstein is to be commended for releasing the August 2017 Senate Judiciary Committee testimony of Glenn Simpson, co-founder of Fusion GPS, the firm responsible for the research leading to the controversial dossier on President Trump. Simpson's testimony was not classified, so it should have been made public as soon as it was available.
Francis Wilkinson: Democrats should give Trump his border wall
Someone, somewhere, somehow is going to have to give President Donald Trump a piece of wall to stand in front of. It might as well be the Democratic congressional leaders Charles Schumer and Nancy Pelosi.
Michael Graham: Pot party coming to a theater near you
So, will U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions' anti-pot jackboots soon be kicking in the doors of our local pot-friendly bars, yoga studios and massage parlors? Second answer: Yes, Massachusetts Cannabis Commission rules - now in their final draft stage - really would allow pot use at recreational venues like movie theaters and massage spas. Talk about "working your joints."
Jonathan Bernstein: The good economic news of 2017
A Republican is in the White House. That means it's time for Republicans to believe that the economy is booming - and Democrats to get pessimistic about it.