Opinion

President Trump’s recent trip to Britain and Normandy brought north many stark contrasts. Contrasts between the way most people behaved during the WWII years and now. Given the number of years between then and now, there should be differences — of course. But the nature of some of the contrasts ought to give us pause. […]

You may not be ready for next year’s presidential and congressional elections, but in political time, they’re coming up fast. Even politicians who aren’t running for president are crafting their stump speeches. Which means that at some point you’re almost certain to hear someone announce, sternly, “I. Will. Not. Compromise.” And if you’re there in the

Well, my grandchildren, it all began many years ago with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC). She got herself elected back when Donald Trump was president. AOC mounted an attack on cauliflower. She said that growing cauliflower in community gardens is a “colonial approach” and the reason communities of color oppose environmentalist movements. I forgot. You lil’ ones

I’m lucky enough these days to be in regular touch with young people — students — who are interested in public service. I find hope in their quality, energy, and motivation, and they press me to think more deeply about what it takes to pursue a life in the public realm. In trying to answer that

“I’m still ugly,” sniffed the young woman. Her words come to mind when good news about our economy emerges. They were part of a talk by a famous motivational speaker. He made a simple point: How we see reality depends on what lenses we choose to look through. For instance, when we view a cloudy

For victims of heinous crimes whose perpetrators are behind bars, parole hearings can be traumatic. The state can do more to protect victims and families of victims from undue suffering by passing Ramona’s Law. The bill extends the maximum time that certain violent felons are reconsidered for parole by the state parole board from two

It was less than 30 years ago when the Americans with Disabilities Act passed Congress and was signed into law by President George H.W. Bush. The law prohibits discrimination and guarantees that people with disabilities have the same opportunities as everyone else. Since that time, many changes have been instituted and gradually, access and technology

There are many reasons why Congress finds itself hamstrung in Washington, D.C. and discounted by the people it serves at home. These include long-term trends over which it has little control — the political polarization of the country; the oceans of money that get dumped into the political process; and, the push by successive presidents

The Trump economy continued to roar ahead with 263,000 jobs created in April 2019 — 236,000 of those jobs in the private sector. The unemployment rate dropped 0.2 percent to an almost shocking 50-year low at 3.6 percent.  When coupled with the just-announced first-quarter Gross Domestic Product (GDP) estimate of 3.2 percent inflation-adjusted, annualized growth, the

[Recently], I was speaking to a group of students and decided to start with a point-blank question: Is Congress doing a good job? About 100 people were in the room, and not a single one raised his or her hand. So, I asked the question a different way: Is Congress nearly or completely dysfunctional? Most