Politics
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Los Angeles Times commentary correction
EDITORS: A piece from the Los Angeles Times that moved Friday on Tribune News Service requires a correction. The article was slugged AI-FAKE-COMMENTS-COMMENTARY:LA. It moved with the headline "Commentary: Investigate the AI campaigns flooding public agencies with fake comments."
The piece mistakenly referred to a group “using AI to undermine...Read more
Editorial: Tuning out as politicians wallow in the gutter
American author Parker Palmer once wrote, “Political civility is not about being polite to each other. It’s about reclaiming the power of ‘We the People’ to come together, debate the common good and call American democracy back to its highest values amid our differences.”
His sentiments seem almost quaint amid the assault of ...Read more
Commentary: We shouldn't allow the marvels of space exploration to become passe
NASA’s Artemis II mission represents America’s audacious return to human space flight. It’s bold and breathtaking in scope. It reflects well on the capabilities of our space technology. The only problem is that it’s unclear if anyone is truly paying attention.
Consider what is involved. Artemis is the first crewed lunar space voyage ...Read more
Editorial: What the Artemis II mission means for humanity
The 10-day Artemis II mission represents a defining moment in modern exploration. Four astronauts on Monday went further into space than any crew in history as they looped around the moon. It is a daring yet disciplined mission, one that signals not just ambition, but preparation for a sustained human presence beyond Earth.
Moments like this ...Read more
Editorial: Bold rhetoric has consequences
When a leader speaks of a civilization dying “tonight,” the weight of those words does not fall lightly. Language at that level does more than describe a moment; it shapes it. It can steady a nation, or it can heighten fear, harden positions and shrink the narrow space where diplomacy still has a chance to work.
President Donald Trump has ...Read more
Editorial: For a world in search of hopeful holiday messages, Trump's profane social media rant stands out for all the wrong reasons
Last Sunday, billions of people around the world observed Easter, a holiday that celebrates Christ’s resurrection. John 20:21 records the risen Jesus’ first words as “Peace be with you.” Under the shadow of war and troubling division, three very different American leaders shared their perspectives on the day.
Pope Leo XIV, the Chicago-...Read more
Editorial: As hurricane season looms, readiness takes center stage under new DHS head
In his first Cabinet reshuffle of his second term, President Donald Trump last month ousted Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, the former governor of South Dakota, replacing her with Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma, who was confirmed by the Senate on March 23.
While Mullin holds some views antithetical to the security of ...Read more
David M. Drucker: High gas prices will haunt the GOP even if the war ends soon
There’s still more political fallout for the GOP courtesy of the Iran war: Even if the conflict ends soon, voters could be grappling with pain at the gas pump deep into midterm election season, as Republicans struggle to defend razor-thin majorities in Congress.
The influence American presidents have on oil markets is often difficult to ...Read more
Commentary: Simply holding ICE agents accountable isn't enough
Senate Democrats are absolutely right in doing everything they can, including holding up funding for the Department of Homeland Security, to impose limits on behavior by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. But it is not enough. There also must be congressional action to address the inhumane conditions in ICE detention centers and ...Read more
Michael Hiltzik: Exploring the moon while cutting NASA? Why Trump's 2027 budget misfires
The oldest, most enduring cliche about government policy is the one about how budgets are political, not fiscal, documents.
The Trump administration's budget proposal for the 2027-28 fiscal year, unveiled Friday, seems designed to set a new standard for partisan ideology as a spending standard.
You may have seen news coverage of the budget's ...Read more
Lisa Jarvis: The rural health transformation program isn't so transformational
Rural health care systems have been in crisis for decades, a situation that will become more dire when steep cuts to Medicaid kick in next year.
These communities were seemingly offered a lifeline in 2025 — a $50 billion, five-year fund focused on establishing sustainable, high-quality care for rural Americans. But as states now start to ...Read more
Stephen Mihm: Slavery's atrocities had many global masters
Two numbers — 123 and three — quickly became the focal point of reactions after the United Nations General Assembly voted to declare the trafficking of Africans in the transatlantic slave trade the “gravest crime against humanity” and affirmed the need for reparations.
They represent the nations that voted for and against the resolution...Read more
Commentary: Our NATO allies are unwilling to play Donald Trump's game this time around
Mark Rutte may not be a household name in the Chicago area or the rest of America, but the man is perhaps the only thing standing in the way of a full-blown collision between President Donald Trump and the NATO alliance.
NATO’s secretary-general has emerged as Europe’s most capable Trump whisperer, someone who can fly to Washington at a ...Read more
Editorial: What Artemis II explains about life here on Earth
Four astronauts are on a journey around the moon, a mission that offers a rare chance to see our world from a distance, and ourselves more clearly.
One of the reasons people appreciate travel is that it offers a different perspective on home. Distance has a way of recalibrating what actually is important.
Now imagine gaining such a perspective...Read more
Naomi Ishisaka: How the SAVE America Act would make it harder for you to vote
I know with all the bad news in the world right now the last thing you probably want to hear about are renewed threats to our democracy, but unfortunately the gravity is real.
In February, the U.S. House passed the so-called SAVE America Act, one of a slate of efforts to restrict access to voting nationwide through new documentation ...Read more
Editorial: Rescue mission a tribute to professionalism, ingenuity
President Donald Trump’s foes had a field day over the weekend when Iran downed two American planes, an F-15E Strike Eagle and an A-10 Warthog. But many of his critics drew precisely the wrong message from the incidents.
Aaron Blake of CNN quickly weighed in on Friday. The events, he wrote, “puncture the Trump administration’s claims ...Read more
Editorial: Medicare -- Essential in wartime, too
When Maryland Gov. Wes Moore appeared on CBS’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday, he dismissed as “nonsense” the president’s suggestion that the federal government should reconsider funding programs such as Medicare or child care during wartime. His broader point deserves serious consideration: National security and domestic stability are ...Read more
Editorial: During dark times on Earth, space provides a source of light
In ancient Greek mythology, Artemis was the twin sister of Apollo, both children of Zeus. She is joining her brother in the pantheon of American achievement and of scientific history.
This weekend, the Artemis II mission is en route to the Moon, carrying human beings on that journey for the first time in over half a century. During those years,...Read more
Editorial: A growing culture of political violence
After deadly riots swept Los Angeles in 1992 in response to a jury’s acquittal of four police officers who savagely beat motorist Rodney King, he begged for peace.
“People, I just want to say, you know, can we all get along?” King pleaded.
His poignant appeal is no less urgent now, as verbal violence overcomes civil national discourse. ...Read more
Commentary: Unspoken cost of US military is a stunning volume of pollution
What are we not talking about after a month of war in Iran? The news will continue to question the strategy or lack thereof. It will count casualties, rising prices, the remaining days until November — but what it will not tally is the egregious cost to the planet.
The numbers are dumbfounding.
An F-16 in combat consumes as much fuel in one ...Read more




















































