Politics
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Commentary: Social Security nears the cliff. Will Americans be thrown over?
The long-promised bankruptcy of Social Security is coming into view, with the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) warning checks could be automatically cut by 20% in just six years.
Will we spend our golden years driving delivery for the golden arches?
The CBO is warning that, under current law, Social Security checks will automatically shrink ...Read more
Editorial: Democrats embrace write-off that favors high earners
Tax day is nearly upon us, reigniting the debate over President Donald Trump’s tax cuts, passed in 2017 and extended last year. In a front-page story last week, the Wall Street Journal reported that last year’s legislation is “delivering bigger refunds and smaller tax bills to high-income Democratic-leaning regions that didn’t vote” ...Read more
Abby McCloskey: I love data, but K-12 standardized tests have lost the plot
Student test scores aren’t looking good, and schools aren’t being held accountable for poor results. That’s not even considering whether the right things are being tested.
I learned this the hard way. My family is zoned for a high-performing public elementary school in Texas — one where students consistently score above average on ...Read more
Editorial: Donald Trump, poisoning the ears of American kids with every egg roll
What must it be like, we wonder, to be an American child in the era of President Donald Trump?
Prior to this president, it was long understood that presidents, be they Democratic or Republican, should avoid rhetoric unfit for a family audience. That’s not to say they did not speak of serious matters, nor that they sometimes discussed that ...Read more
POINT: Congress must embrace sensible federal guidelines
“The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing,” famously said Stephen Covey, the renowned organizational consultant.
With AI legislation, what matters most is common sense. That means first not killing, or stagnating, the benefits of AI from 50 states’ cumbersome and contradictory laws regarding AI model development and how it ...Read more
Allison Schrager: New York City can't afford both big pensions and free buses
Cities such as New York and Chicago are in deep financial trouble. Broadly speaking, they have two options: Make the difficult but appropriate choice to raise taxes and reduce the scale of government, or continue to live in a state of denial, increasing their pension obligations while also promising their residents more services.
I am sad but ...Read more
COUNTERPOINT: AI needs rules -- and states cannot be forced to wait
Congress has not enacted meaningful artificial intelligence legislation, yet some in Washington insist that states should be blocked from legislating on AI. This argument asks Americans to accept the federal government will do nothing to regulate AI, and, meanwhile, states must also do nothing.
For some, this passes as “sound governance.” ...Read more
Editorial: Don't play God with Gulf sealife
For decades, there’s been a quasi-clandestine accord about expanding oil drilling in the Gulf. Nobody wanted to go there — well, except the oil and gas companies aching to root around for black gold, and their most loyal minions in high places.
The idea of wherever-you-want drilling never made sense, for an array of reasons. Money was a key...Read more
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




















































