Category: Opinion

Eight years later, a Yes, we cana became a Yes, he dida

Those who hate Barack Obama rant about all the awful things he’s done, while those who like him praise all the great things he’s done. Obama himself is understandably concerned about edifying his legacy, which will be attacked with relish by the new president and the Republican-led Congress.

California Focus: Did Obama deportations cost Dems the White House?

With the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump now only weeks away, and the fall election receding into the rear view mirror, one thing becomes ever more clear: The scope of the Latino vote majority Democrats needed and expected to get was significantly less in 2016 than in many earlier elections. And while outgoing President Barack Obama has spent some of the last few weeks skirting this fact by whining about how Democrats didn’t turn out, the diluted Latino vote very possibly means he cost his party the White House.

The twin tragedies of Syria and Myanmar

A heart-wrenching photograph of the lifeless body of a 16-month old boy, washed up on the shore of the Naf river, was recently published on CNN. The headline read, “‘The Rohingya Alan Kurdi’: Will the world take notice now?” The name of the boy in the picture is Mohammed Shohayet, a Rohingya refugee, who drowned along with his mother, uncle and three-year-old brother.

Editorials from around New England

Republican congressmen made a troubling move on Monday, voting in a private meeting to severely weaken the House’s independent ethics panel one day before the new GOP-led Congress was set to get to work. Republicans sought to make the non-partisan Office of Congressional Ethics subject to oversight by the House Ethics Committee, which is run by lawmakers, the very people the Office of Congressional Ethics is meant to police.

COMMENTARY: Hypocrisy behind Julian Assange’s hero turn

Donald Trump’s, Sarah Palin’s and Sean Hannity’s embrace of Julian Assange – who has made a career of illegally obtaining and releasing documents damaging to American interests – is not just a puzzling policy shift. It is the triumph of ideology over, well, every other principle or commitment.

Trump opponents find an ally: Republican incompetence

For 10 years, Republicans have waited for their chance to govern, and finally the voters handed them the car keys: unified GOP control of Congress and the White House. But the moment the starter’s flag dropped Tuesday, the opening day of the 115th Congress, the eager majority seized the wheel of power, hit the gas – and immediately lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a guardrail.

Today in History: Jan. 5, 2017

On Jan. 5, 1957, President Dwight D. Eisenhower proposed assistance to countries to help them resist Communist aggression in what became known as the Eisenhower Doctrine. In 1905, the National Association of Audubon Societies for the Protection of Wild Birds and Animals was incorporated in New York State.

Today in History: Jan. 5, 2017

On Jan. 5, 1957, President Dwight D. Eisenhower proposed assistance to countries to help them resist Communist aggression in what became known as the Eisenhower Doctrine. In 1905, the National Association of Audubon Societies for the Protection of Wild Birds and Animals was incorporated in New York State.

Reagan’s lesson to Trump: Listen to the lawyers

The last time progressives were this alarmed about a presidential transition, there were just two “Star Wars” movies, “Dallas” was the most-watched show on TV, and Ronald Reagan, dismissed by many as an actor and an extremist, was about to become commander-in-chief. At the time, I was a young lawyer in the Department of Justice, fortunate enough to witness important aspects of Reagan’s first year up close.

Reagan’s lesson to Trump: Listen to the lawyers

The last time progressives were this alarmed about a presidential transition, there were just two “Star Wars” movies, “Dallas” was the most-watched show on TV, and Ronald Reagan, dismissed by many as an actor and an extremist, was about to become commander-in-chief. At the time, I was a young lawyer in the Department of Justice, fortunate enough to witness important aspects of Reagan’s first year up close.

Editorial: Kill the death tax

The 115th U.S. Congress has hit the ground running , but there is a piece of legislation that should be a slam dunk. U.S. Rep. Mac Thornberry, a Clarendon Republican and the Texas Panhandle’s longtime lawmaker, made his first bill of the session the Death Tax Repeal Act.

Your Turn: Jan. 5

Father Eric Ritter blesses Bexar County Sheriff-elect Javier Salazar and wife Sarah Salazar during the investiture ceremony Sunday at the Bexar County Courthouse. A reader wonders if the new sheriff will launch a resurgence of Democratic “good ol’ boys” in the department.

No time to go soft on Russian sanctions

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Dec. 30 that Russia will not be expelling U.S. diplomats in response to a new round of US sanctions. Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Dec. 30 that Russia will not be expelling U.S. diplomats in response to a new round of US sanctions.

Gaslighting and the Left’s War on Reality

Donald Trump’s victory over one of the most powerful political machines in American history has given mainstream America the opportunity to turn America onto a sensible course. The success or failure of that turnaround, however, depends largely on the ability of mainstream Americans to see through the left’s longstanding use of a vile political tactic known as gaslighting.

Commentary: Trump should target defense waste

Donald Trump has an opportunity to chart a new course for Republicans on defense spending — a course that would combine GOP hawkishness with a budget-cutter’s approach to Pentagon waste. Although falling as a percentage of the federal budget, defense is still the federal government’s largest single non-entitlement spending item — about 16 percent of the budget in 2016.

Commentary: So long to dump things politicians said

And while it’s unnerving having an unpredictable motormouth running the show, as we plunge into 2017, we should at least rejoice in having a chance to mothball a lot of ridiculous statements made over the past 12 months by politicians who should have known better. Let’s never hear again the phrase “basket of deplorables,” which Hillary Clinton unfortunately used to describe Donald Trump supporters.

Put an end to gerrymandering

As it turns out, state legislative Republicans who have claimed that electoral fraud is rampant in Pennsylvania are right. They are dead wrong in identifying the source of the contagion, however.

A Trump tweet that doesn’t spark outrage in Chicago

President-elect Donald Trump ‘s tweets often trigger what is now commonly referred to as Trump Derangement Syndrome, or TDS. You’ve seen the symptoms: the wailing and shrieking of tortured liberals; their references to Hitler and the end of days or whatever dark prophecies can be tweeted with two left thumbs.

Opinion: A ‘precap’ for 2017

Jan. 20 – Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts looks on as Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey administers a 140-character version of the oath of office to the nation’s 45th president. Mar. 22 – CNN expands its roster of paid Trump apologists to include David Buono, the head golf professional at Mar-a-Lago.

Rebuilding foreign policy consensus

Last week, President Obama expelled 35 Russian diplomats from the United States by citing the US intelligence assessment that Russia had used cyber attacks to intervene in the elections last November. Watching Barack Obama and Donald Trump battle it out on Russia and Israel over the year end, one is reminded of the increasingly contentious Indian discourse on external relations.

Today in History: Jan.

In 1893, the U.S. Postal Service issued its first commemorative stamp to honor the World’s Columbian Expedition and the quadricentennial of Christopher Columbus’ voyage. In 1921, religious services were broadcast on radio for the first time as KDKA in Pittsburgh aired the regular Sunday service of the city’s Calvary Episcopal Church.

Today in History: Jan.

In 1893, the U.S. Postal Service issued its first commemorative stamp to honor the World’s Columbian Expedition and the quadricentennial of Christopher Columbus’ voyage. In 1921, religious services were broadcast on radio for the first time as KDKA in Pittsburgh aired the regular Sunday service of the city’s Calvary Episcopal Church.

Fear the well to 2016

As usual, the year’s end brings reflections and ruminations on what was and what is to be. This time around, however, it feels as though an era is coming to an end.

What Others Say: Trump must learn nuance of foreign policy

In a solemn recent ceremony, Shinzo Abe became the first Japanese prime minister to visit the memorial at Pearl Harbor that honors the nearly 2,400 service members killed in his nation’s sneak attack 75 years ago that plunged America into World War II. He didn’t apologize, but offered condolences – just as Barack Obama did in May, when he became the first sitting U.S. president to visit the memorial in Hiroshima to those killed in the 1945 atomic bombing that hastened Japan’s surrender.

Thomas L. Friedman: Netanyahu Makes Trump His Chump

For those of you confused over the latest fight between President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu of Israel, let me make it simple: Barack Obama and John Kerry admire and want to preserve Israel as a Jewish and democratic state in the Land of Israel. I have covered this issue my entire adult life and have never met two U.S. leaders more committed to Israel as a Jewish democracy.

Commentary: Safety net faces dire threats from Trump, GOP

Poor Americans are facing the gravest threat to the federal safety net in decades as President-elect Donald Trump takes office accompanied by a Republican-controlled Congress. The risks to essential benefits for tens of millions of low- and moderate- income Americans include losing coverage extended to them by the Affordable Care Act , threats to the fundamental structure of the Medicaid health-insurance program for the poor, and further reduction of already squeezed funding for scores of other important programs serving the most vulnerable Americans.

2017: Staten Island’s future begins now

It all starts with the new American president. Republican Donald Trump is set to take the oath of office as the nation’s 45th chief executive in a couple of weeks, the first time we’ve had a new occupant of the Oval Office since 2009.

Congress must act on voting rights

President-elect Donald Trump greets Sen. Jeff Sessions, Trump’s picks for attorney general, during a thank you rally in Ladd-Peebles Stadium on Dec. 17 in Mobile, Alabama. In Sessions, Trump has found an ally to curtail minority voting rights.

White births, migration explain why Texas remains a red state

Erika Jaramillo, center, and others hold signs supporting Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton during a Democratic National Convention watch party in San Antonio on July 26. In Texas, where 39 percent of the population is Hispanic, Democrats have been shut out of statewide elections for decades. That is likely to occur for decades to come if the statistic bear out.