ArcaMax

Everyone should have known what was about to happen when Donald Trump announced huge global tariffs under the slogan "Make America Wealthy Again." Like "Make America Healthy Again," which accompanied the return of deadly measles, the cheery tagline for Trump's trade war foretold ruin -- which has arrived at warp speed.

Within hours, the ...Read more

Is anti-Zionism antisemitism? Before Hamas attacked Israel, American voters had not arrived at a consensus. They hadn't thought much about it. Asked whether the two terms were synonymous, 62% of respondents to a Brookings Institution poll taken seven months earlier said they didn't know. Fifteen percent replied yes, and 21% said no.

For the ...Read more

Mattie Jones turned 92 at the end of March. Friends, family, state senators and our U.S. congressman filled the First Congregational Methodist Church to celebrate her. I first met Mattie Jones a year ago when she spoke to a racial justice class designed for white allies. Jones is a civil rights icon in Louisville, Kentucky.

At the end of her ...Read more

"Last words" used to be a popular concept. The idea was that, at the moment of your death, you were supposed to say something meaningful. They said the last words of Napoleon were, "France. The army. Head of the army. Josephine."

Josephine was Napoleon's first wife, so his last words show him either digging down to what he really loved or ...Read more

"Move it back to the states," Donald Trump says about education, about FEMA and, as will probably happen, about Medicaid. What that would mean to Americans depends on what state they live in. As the federal government moves forward on this, it's a good bet that high-income states can handle the changes better than low-income ones.

Yes, it's ...Read more

According to Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, "The White House, in coordination with the Department of Justice, has dismissed more than 50 U.S. attorneys and deputies in the past few weeks."

One of those dismissed was Adam Schleifer, a career prosecutor in Los Angeles with an outstanding reputation as a fair and effective ...Read more

WASHINGTON -- Read it and weep.

I mean the newspaper. Every single day, it brings tidings of despair to those who cherish the civilian institutions and agencies of this -- yes -- beloved and beautiful capital.

The Institute of Peace was closed, Gestapo-style, within view of the Lincoln Memorial. The Smithsonian, America's free storyteller, ...Read more

Texas: What the Hell?

Once again, my state's GOP hierarchy is leading the nation in creative ways to increase corporate power over people's rights. This time, lawmakers are rushing to protect corrupt executives from legal challenges by their own shareholders!

Their law would ban rank-and-file owners of corporate giants from suing their CEOs ...Read more

State and local officials play direct and crucial roles in shaping and safeguarding our civil rights and civil liberties, especially amid the Trump administration's ongoing attacks. These offices and officials -- governors, state legislatures, attorneys general and mayors -- influence countless parts of our daily lives but, most importantly, ...Read more

Last week's disclosure that the Trump administration officials responsible for keeping us safe from our enemies resemble reckless frat boys may have been shocking, but it wasn't surprising. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was already regarded by most members of Congress as profoundly unsuited for that position. This was because of his obvious ...Read more

There's much spinning over the grave lapse in national security captured in that group chat outlining a planned bombing raid on the Houthi militia. It goes that it was not that big a deal because the mission was a success. It was not OK. It was lucky.

The late-night comedians and "Saturday Night Live" had a good time turning the event into ...Read more

The White House press secretary accused him of being an "anti-Trump hater," a "propagandist in the mainstream media," and of trying to sell a Signal "hoax." The president called him a "sleazebag."

President Donald Trump was reportedly furious, not at his own team but at the press, calling the investigation a witch hunt and The Atlantic, owned...Read more

American popular culture, ever promoting the myth that we live in the land of the free and the brave, wants us to believe that we stand up to bullying. Even if bravery is in short supply at times, like during McCarthyism, someone like attorney Joseph Welch ultimately comes to the rescue. Breaking the spell, the First Amendment hero stands strong...Read more

Mercury Stardust visited my local library last weekend to talk about her New York Times No. 1 bestselling book "Safe and Sound: A Renter-Friendly Guide to Home Repair." The TikTok star and "Trans Handy Ma'am" is a transgender woman and home repair expert who serves her video tutorials with a side of social justice and humor. I'm glad I got to ...Read more

Two days ago, I went out to get trash bags because I needed trash bags, a prescription because I needed a prescription and cookies because I like cookies.

The kind young woman behind the drugstore counter handed me my prescription in a little white bag, stapled shut.

"Do you want a receipt?" she asked.

I go to one of those drugstores where ...Read more

Thomas Jefferson referred to the U.S. government as a "common house" that provided the people protection and stability. Donald Trump is trying to evict Americans from that comfy home by making it hard to get benefits that should be thought of as a right.

Witness the slashing of basic government services in the name of deficit reduction, or ...Read more