Politics
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Commentary: New food pyramid is a recipe for health disasters
The meat industry’s celebration of the Trump administration’s Dietary Guidelines for Americans should be a clear sign that these new guidelines aren’t for the people.
It’s true that “the United States is amid a health emergency,” as Secretaries Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Brooke Rollins state. However, in claiming to be an answer to ...Read more
Michael Hiltzik: Feds now admit DOGE accessed private data at Social Security
Back in March, Social Security officials swore to a federal judge that members of Elon Musk's DOGE team never had access to individuals' personal information held at the agency, and certainly could not have misused it even if they had.
The Social Security Administration has now taken all that back.
In a "notice of corrections" filed Jan. 16 in...Read more
Abby McCloskey: Republicans have ideas on affordability -- Just not conservative ones
Congressional Republicans are ideating about domestic policy. That’s a good thing. It’s too bad that few of the ideas are actually conservative.
Earlier this month, the Republican Study Committee released its “Reconciliation 2.0” framework, called “Making the American Dream Affordable Again.” The framework included ideas like: ...Read more
Editorial: Trump's use of tariffs to bully the world should be brought to heel
Given how this president is now wielding tariffs, it’s time to take away President Donald Trump’s BB guns.
We’ve been consistent in our view that the substantial increases to date under Trump in duties paid by importers are economically counterproductive and ultimately raise costs for American consumers. But the president’s tariff saber...Read more
Editorial: Why Chicago hotels have a case for taxing themselves. And why we worry
Anyone who has stayed in a hotel in a high-tax city like Seattle or New York is familiar with how that nightly $200 hotel room turns into $235 or more once numerous taxes are added.
Both U.S. states and cities from Omaha to Memphis love to smack visitors with high lodging tax rates, mostly because taxes that are not paid by locals are far less...Read more
Beth Kowitt: Target's ICE response shows corporate America's overcorrection
When Donald Trump was elected president of the United States in November 2024, corporate America took it as yet another sign that it had misjudged the political landscape. Many companies scrambled to roll back whatever remained of their DEI efforts and watered down sustainability goals. Executives apologized for past corporate activism, saying ...Read more
Commentary: My family in Iran is cut off from the rest of us. It is taking its toll
Iran has experienced many communications blackouts in the immediate aftermath of uprisings but never anything like the current one.
In one recent call, with family members all outside of Iran, we swapped stories of how we’ve gotten through previous blackouts. “The 2019 blackout occurred the same weekend I emigrated from Iran,” one family ...Read more
Commentary: I ran as a Democrat in a red state. Here's what I learned
South Dakota is a state rich in natural beauty and resources. From the granite peaks of the Black Hills to windswept prairies that stretch for miles, there is nowhere quite like home for me.
Every fall, hunters arrive to pursue the Chinese Ring-Necked Pheasant, our state bird. In days past, a different kind of hunter also frequented our state: ...Read more
Mark Z. Barabak: California is suffering truth decay. Sacramento should do something about it
California has a problem. It's not homelessness, a lack of housing or the state's increasing unaffordability, all of which have been documented at length.
It's truth decay.
If you believe that information is the taproot of knowledge and expanding personal vistas is key to learning, there's a case to be made that the great Golden State — ...Read more
Commentary: HUD is making a mess of housing policy
For months now, the Trump administration has pushed a reckless policy agenda on housing and homelessness, with particular focus on the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Instead of improving efficiency and effectiveness, these decisions by the administration and HUD have overwhelmed and confused frontline workers who rely on federal ...Read more
Commentary: Westminster's 'Best in Show' is worst for dogs
Thousands of dogs from around the globe will travel to New York for the 150th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show—a spectacle that rewards deformities and fuels an overpopulation crisis that costs millions of dogs the chance to ever know a family.
For a century and a half, Westminster has glorified exaggerated features that leave dogs struggling...Read more
David M. Drucker: Why congressional Republicans always chicken out
Stop asking me if Republicans in Congress have finally reached their limit and are on the verge of breaking with President Donald Trump. They haven’t and they’re not.
Granted, it’s a fair question.
Trump is testing just how far he can push congressional Republicans without triggering a backlash. There are his threats to take Greenland ...Read more
Evan Ramstad: Telling people to avoid Minnesota businesses doesn't hurt ICE
MINNEAPOLIS — Union and activist group leaders stirred a kerfuffle this week by pressing Twin Cities business owners to go along with an “economic blackout” on Friday to protest the ongoing crackdown by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents around the state.
Trying to do right in the face of wrong, these organizations are creating ...Read more
Editorial: FBI raid on reporter's Virginia home demands vigorous opposition
The U.S. Department of Justice’s seizure of Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson’s phone, laptops and a smart watch last week represents an unacceptable and unconstitutional intrusion on the rights of journalists. The First Amendment affords members of the media specific protections against laws infringing on their work, and court cases ...Read more
Jackie Calmes: It will be a long road back after Trump's reign of destruction
Forget all of the monarchical gold doodads and childish plaques dissing Democratic presidents that now defile the White House, thanks to President Donald Trump. Ignore his egomaniacal addition of his name on the Kennedy Center. Such travesties are easily undone once he's gone.
Alas, the same can't be said for the incalculable damage that Trump ...Read more
Anita Chabria: How's Newsom doing at Davos? Just ask Trump
What's the absolute best way to give Gov. Gavin Newsom free publicity and a worldwide audience?
Freeze him out at Davos, where the rich and powerful are meeting in the snow-capped mountains of Switzerland. The Trump administration is learning the hard way, in real time, that petty comes with a price — in this case, being laughed at by, well, ...Read more
Andreas Kluth: At Davos, the world rebalanced against a bully
Better late than never: One year into the second presidency of Donald Trump, the world has reached an inflection point, as Canada’s prime minister, Mark Carney, made explicit in his speech at an economic summit in Davos. Having tried and failed to appease Trump’s imperialist bullying, middle powers such as his own country must and will ...Read more
Editorial: Antisemitic 'Heil Hitler' song at Miami Beach club was a special form of cruelty
The apologies have begun. Great. But that’s just the starting point for what’s really needed: a community conversation in South Florida about hate speech.
In case you haven’t heard, a video began circulating last week that appears to show a group of controversial influencers partying in a Miami Beach nightclub as the club plays Kanye West...Read more
Editorial: Like day care centers, churches should be removed from our current immigration crisis
We’ve reached the point in America’s polarization story where not even churches are sacred spaces.
Protesters angry about the fatal shooting of Renee Good and the increased presence of federal agents in the Minneapolis area crossed a line when they entered Cities Church in St. Paul and disrupted Sunday worship.
Videos posted online show ...Read more
Editorial: The number of Americans who feel politically homeless is rising. Understandably so
A record 45% of American adults now identify as political independents, according to new Gallup polling — up from 33% in 1990. That’s a big change.
As the ranks of the politically homeless grow, the share of Americans who call themselves Democrat or Republican continues to shrink. That’s hardly surprising.
Both parties increasingly ...Read more




















































