Politics
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Patricia Lopez: Chicago's ICE raids aren't just about crime or even immigration
It should be obvious by now that President Donald Trump’s deliberately aggressive incursions into blue cities are not about curbing crime, but about exercising raw power. Militarizing Immigration and Customs Enforcement, attempting to federalize National Guard troops and issuing threats to jail opponents — these are not the actions of a ...Read more

Joe Battenfeld: Pro-Hamas protesters need to find a new chant
The “free Palestine” movement needs to find a new chant after President Donald Trump brokered a peace deal between Israel and Hamas, triggering the withdrawal of Israeli troops and the release of all living hostages held by the terrorist group.
It must be frustrating for the Trump haters to see the images of the president getting thunderous...Read more

Robin Abcarian: Should therapists be allowed to tell gay kids God wants them to be straight?
I had a difficult time reading the gut-wrenching accounts from the parents of gay children who are part of the Supreme Court case about conversion therapy bans and freedom of speech.
All claim their family relationships were seriously damaged by the widely discredited practice, and that their children were permanently scarred or even driven to ...Read more

Commentary: The masking of ICE agents is indefensible
Last month, a federal judge observed that masked figures were creating terror on American streets — not criminals but agents of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement. “Law enforcement in the United States has usually been performed in the open,” wrote Judge William G. Young, a Ronald Reagan appointee to the U.S. District Court in ...Read more

Editorial: Trump merits accolades for remarkable accomplishment
The initial phase of President Donald Trump’s Middle East peace plan moved forward Monday as Hamas released 20 hostages who had been held since its barbaric attack of Oct. 7, 2023. The terror group also returned the bodies of four slain captives, while Israel completed a pullback of forces after a ceasefire went into effect Friday.
Trump ...Read more

Editorial: The benefit of declaring war is over, even if it's not
Most people think that anyone who first states a price in a negotiation is dealing themselves a losing hand. But sophisticated negotiators will tell you the opposite is usually true.
Whoever gets to speak first gets to “anchor” the price, to set the context for all future negotiations, which then are forced to use that as a base. Even if it...Read more

Mark Z. Barabak: She won a landslide election. But Trump and Jeffrey Epstein have her stuck in limbo
Last month, in a special election, voters in southern Arizona chose Adelita Grijalva to succeed her late father in Congress.
The outcome in the solidly Democratic district was never in doubt. The final tally wasn't remotely close.
Grijalva, a Tucson native and former Pima County supervisor, crushed her Republican opponent, 69% to 29%.
The ...Read more

Allison Schrager: A zombie economy could be America's future
Over the next decade, the U.S. economy will face two big challenges: higher interest rates and AI-generated disruption. Each invites the same solution: policies to keep rates below their market level.
The strategy, also known as yield-curve control, is tempting, and it may even provide an immediate boost to the economy. But messing with rates ...Read more

Editorial: China rare-earth move highlights American vulnerabilities
Stocks plunged nearly 900 points on Friday after China opted to break out a flamethrower in its ongoing trade dispute with the United States. President Donald Trump had little choice but to respond.
Chinese officials announced last week that, starting in December, foreign interests must obtain a license to export any product containing more ...Read more

Commentary: Donald Trump declares a new dawn in the Middle East. The reality is a little more complicated
As President Donald Trump was flying to Jerusalem for a short trip to the Middle East, he issued a declaration of victory: The conflict that has been tearing Gaza apart for the last two years is now in the history books. “The war is over, you understand that,” Trump bellowed to reporters on Air Force One Sunday.
He was even more effusive on...Read more

Commentary: Where local prosecutors have failed, the federal government has stepped in
America’s cities are in crisis.
From Washington to Chicago to Portland, violent crime has surged, leaving Americans fearful and fed up. Carjackings in broad daylight. Smash-and-grab robberies. Terror in train stations. For too long, soft-on-crime policies have turned our once great urban centers into a wasteland of failed ideology.
What ...Read more

Commentary: From Nixon to Trump -- How scandals reshape power, not justice
The American political system flatters itself with tales of enduring resilience. We are told that each scandal is a crucible, a test from which the republic emerges tougher, wiser, and better fortified. The institutions bend, the story goes, but they do not break. The narrative is comforting because it suggests that corruption is always self-...Read more

Commentary: The new talk -- The need to discuss AI with kids
“(I)t is a massively more powerful and scary thing than I knew about.” That’s how Adam Raine’s dad characterized ChatGPT when he reviewed his son’s conversations with the AI tool. Adam tragically died by suicide. His parents are now suing OpenAI and Sam Altman, the company’s CEO, based on allegations that the tool contributed to his ...Read more

Editorial: Brandon Johnson says the quiet part out loud about the CTU
“I believe Rahm Emanuel referred to the Chicago Teachers Union as a socialist conspiracy,” Johnson said Wednesday. “Did I get the words? But little did he know there was no conspiracy. We were just doing it.”
Doing socialism, in other words. Johnson made these remarks at an event promoting American Federation of Teachers President Randi...Read more

Commentary: Why the fight over Jimmy Kimmel matters for us all
There are moments in a nation’s cultural life that feel, at first, like passing storms—brief, noisy, and soon forgotten. But every so often, what begins as a squall reveals itself as a warning: a sign that something far bigger is at stake.
The initial cancellation of Jimmy Kimmel by Disney, along with the coordinated blackout from network ...Read more

Editorial: US automakers, stop hiding behind trade barriers and compete with the Chinese
When the federal government’s electric-vehicle tax credits expired on Sept. 30, Hyundai made its move. The Korean automaker knocked as much as $10,000 off the price of its EVs in the U.S., more than making up for the taxpayer-funded $7,500 credit the GOP canceled years ahead of schedule in its “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.”
So, were ...Read more

Lorraine Ali: Conservatives want an 'All American' alternative to Bad Bunny's Super Bowl show. Can you say Hispanophobia?
Remember when snack choices fueled the most contentious debates around Super Bowl halftime? Cheetos versus Doritos. Hot wings versus garlic knots. And who the hell brought carrot sticks?!
Now Turning Point USA, the far-right organization founded by slain MAGA activist Charlie Kirk, has presented its followers with more tough choices: Who should...Read more

John M. Crisp: Some good news on climate change (sort of)
As oceans rise, glaciers melt and some parts of the world flood while others bake in drought, good news about climate change is scarce. Thus, a report last week from Ember Energy Research is worth noting.
Ember is an energy think tank registered in England and Wales. It makes no secret of its aim “to accelerate the clean energy transition ...Read more

Editorial: Only US pressure can turn Gaza ceasefire into real peace
More than two years after they were seized by Hamas militants in the brutal Oct. 7 attacks, the 20 remaining living Israeli hostages have finally been released. U.S. pressure made the breakthrough possible. It will be just as vital to reaching a longer-lasting peace.
After several days of talks last week, negotiators in Egypt cemented an ...Read more

Commentary: How Lou Gehrig's life taught me to fight for Prop. 50
I have ALS, an incurable and fatal disease. There’s a good chance I will die within a few years.
But my spirit feels optimistic. My game is in the middle innings — lots of time left.
Baseball is an apt metaphor because ALS is “Lou Gehrig’s disease.” The legendary New York Yankee died from it. Despite his condition, he told his fans, ...Read more