Politics
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George Skelton: Newsom needs to stop kidding around. He's running for president
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — No outsider politicians venture into sultry South Carolina in July unless they are running for president.
Certainly not a West Coast politician. Especially a California governor who lives in delightful Marin County near wonderful cool beaches. A governor who could easily vacation at spectacular Big Sur or hike a ...Read more

Robin Abcarian: A new film about the Ohio State wrestling team sex abuse scandal indicts those who looked away
For more than 30 years, Fred Feeney refereed matches for the Ohio State University's powerhouse wrestling team.
Unlike the dozens of young men whose athletic scholarships depended on staying in the good graces of the team doctor, Richard Strauss, who could withhold permission for them to compete, Feeney didn't have to persuade himself that what...Read more

Mary Ellen Klas: Georgia Republicans have gone full 'knives out'
The MAGA-world blow-up over the Trump administration’s about-face in handling the Jeffrey Epstein files isn’t the only conspiracy-fueled dispute splintering Republicans. Another feud is playing out in the state of Georgia, where a group of ultraconservative Republicans that rose to power with the backing of a wealthy financier is at war with...Read more

Commentary: RFK Jr. is making America sick again. Republicans need a cure
It’s not too late for Senate Republicans to begin correcting the worst mistake they’ve made this year: confirming Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as secretary of Health and Human Services.
In just a few months, Kennedy has helped bring a pox upon the country — and until Republicans get serious about holding him accountable, more Americans will die...Read more

Editorial: Stephen Colbert roasted bosses and took risks. Bravo
Paramount Global, the parent company of CBS, did its best to preempt the angst over its canceling of “The Late Show With Steven Colbert,” saying from the start that this was “purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night.”
It’s incontrovertible that the late-night network audience is declining and aging as ...Read more

Editorial: Make it clear that Floridians hate the idea of a black-bear massacre
Despite a thundering chorus of opposition, state wildlife officials seem determined to go through with its plan to slaughter dozens, maybe hundreds, of Florida black bears this December.
Because nothing says “Merry Christmas” more than a chaotic, unsporting bloodbath featuring one of the state’s most beloved mammals.
Final approval of ...Read more

Commentary: If Haiti has become more violent, why end Haitians' temporary protected status in the US?
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced last month that temporary protected status for about 5,000 Haitians would end Sept. 2, five months earlier than planned. The Trump administration has cited flawed and contradictory assessments of conditions in Haiti — which, make no mistake, remains unsafe.
Although a U.S. district court ...Read more

Commentary: Why neophyte mayors need steady hands on the wheel
Public school teachers and state lawmakers fill important roles in a civil society, but those jobs hardly prepare their occupants for the daunting challenges and complexities of running a big city with millions of residents, tens of thousands of public employees and multibillion-dollar budgets.
That sobering reality helps explain why Brandon ...Read more

Editorial: The many faces of Josh Hawley are on full display in Medicaid cuts
In 2004, Democratic Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts, discussing his position on funding for Mideast military operations, infamously explained to an audience, “I actually did vote for (the funding) before I voted against it.” Kerry’s craven attempt to have it both ways on a controversial issue cemented his reputation as the quintessential ...Read more

Commentary: Kids in camp? Nope. Got a summer schedule? Nope. Cue the mom guilt
“How’s your summer?” a mom asked from across the living room at a baby shower in June. She was standing with a small group of other moms of my daughter’s classmates whom I hadn’t seen since school ended almost a month earlier.
“It’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me,” I replied, honestly.
From across the coffee table,...Read more

Mark Z. Barabak: Here's why Jeffrey Epstein's tangled web is conspiratorial catnip
These are salad days for the likes of Joseph Uscinski, who spends his time peering down rabbit holes and poking in the dark spaces where weird and woolly things grow.
There are loads of conspiracy theories out there, the granddaddy of them all being the conjecture surrounding John F. Kennedy's assassination. But most tend to fade and be ...Read more

Noah Feldman: ICE deportation plans betray a post-Holocaust promise
A new memo outlines plans by Immigration and Customs Enforcement to deport potentially thousands of immigrants to countries that are not their own. The Trump administration’s assiduous efforts to send people to places like Libya and South Sudan are clearly intended to scare noncitizens, both those in the U.S. and those who might contemplate ...Read more

Commentary: Grow the economy? Not with these immigration restrictions
According to the White House and congressional Republicans, the new budget law will spark economic growth of more than 3%. Reaching that goal, however, will be made far more difficult by a provision they see as central to the law: the $150 billion-plus it adds to immigration enforcement. The administration’s agenda of sharply lower immigration...Read more

Matthew Yglesias: Bipartisan outrage over Epstein is just what America needs
The controversy over the mysterious “Epstein Files,” which President Donald Trump’s administration first pledged to release and then decided not to, has Democrats back in touch with one of America’s great political traditions: anti-establishment conspiracy theories. Not only is this good for the party, it is also — dare I say it — ...Read more

Robin Epley: Tick tock, Kamala -- California's getting tired of waiting. Are you in or out?
California is not a consolation prize for losing the presidency, and a Kamala Harris run for governor isn’t going to inspire an electorate that is fed up with the Democratic Party’s staid-and-afraid status quo.
That being said, if Harris is going to run for governor of California — good God, get on with it already.
The former Vice ...Read more

Martin Schram: Trump's ultimatum – a source revealed
President Donald Trump was tightly wound and unspooling with rapid rambling and redundancy, in his Oval Office event. He was working hard to convince a doubting world that he’s finally getting tough with America’s Number One enemy, Russian leader Vladimir Putin, who he always told you was his friend.
On our news screens, last Monday, we saw...Read more

Editorial: Should Florida cut property taxes? This state may offer a cautionary tale
Homeownership has long been a hallmark of the American dream. And property taxes are part of being a homeowner. Recently, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has floated the idea of eliminating property taxes.
For Floridians who are homeowners, the end of property taxes seems like a dream come true. But the question is: At what cost?
That’s the ...Read more

Commentary: Even if you think Sean Combs is guilty, his conviction should give you pause
The verdict against Sean “Diddy” Combs early this month sent shock waves through the feminist community. Despite harrowing testimony and video evidence of violence, jurors acquitted him of sex trafficking and racketeering. Combs and his team celebrated, while many Americans mourned the death of #MeToo.
There was some consolation for those ...Read more

Editorial: At a Coldplay concert, a kiss cam catches a cuddle and ruins lives
If only the couple caught canoodling Wednesday night on the Jumbotron at the Coldplay concert in Foxborough, Massachusetts, had simply done what everyone else does in those moments at the arena or the ballpark: Thrown their hands in the air, cheered, hooped and hollered.
Then they likely would have escaped attention afterward, and Coldplay ...Read more

Commentary: Trump and history
As we approach the 250th anniversary next year of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence and the Revolutionary War that ensued, many Americans will look to the past, eager to understand how fewer than 3 million people residing in 13 colonies along the East Coast would, in two and a half centuries, become a vibrant and thriving nation ...Read more