Featured Commentary category, Page 25
Cal Thomas: Lessons of 1925 for 2025
Political and other prognosticators are busy as usual predicting the future. Never mind calculating how wrong they have been in the past, our desire to know what’s coming sometimes overcomes sound thinking, ignorance of history and an understanding of human nature. Recall the number of times climate alarmists predicted we...
Chip Minemyer: Tired Sandusky taunts further insult victims of abuse
Why does chirping about a scandal that broke more than 13 years ago still give fans of Penn State’s football opponents such glee? A grand jury indictment in November 2011 accused former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky of sexually abusing young boys in his care. In 2012, he...
Marc Champion: Europe needs to swiftly fulfill its aid pledges to Ukraine
A note to Europe’s leaders: When it comes to sending sufficient aid to help Ukraine end Russia’s invasion, if not now, when? In October, I visited and wrote about a critical mine at Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine, which had become the primary focus of Russia’s efforts to maximize the territory...
Carl P. Leubsdorf: A look ahead to what might happen in 2025
My prediction that President Joe Biden would drop out was a rare bright spot among last year’s not totally serious predictions. Undaunted, I try again by looking ahead to 2025: January — House reelects Speaker Mike Johnson on third ballot after he agrees to make Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene assistant...
Peter Morici: Biden’s gift to Trump — golden opportunity to supercharge the economy
President-elect Donald Trump returns to Washington with a golden opportunity to continue the country’s accelerated economic growth. Over the past eight years, U.S. GDP has increased 2.5% annually. This surpasses the 1.9% growth during the Bush-Obama years but trails the 3.2% performance of the Reagan-Bush-Clinton era. The current growth rate...
Allison Schrager: Make daylight saving time permanent? U.S. economy says yes
President-elect Donald Trump’s latest promise is to eliminate daylight saving time, which would mean putting the U.S. on standard time year-round. Billionaire DOGE bosses Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, meanwhile, seem to want to make daylight saving time permanent. Is this just a miscommunication? Or is the incoming administration as...
David M. Lantigua: At 88, Pope Francis dances the tango with the global Catholic Church amid its culture wars
Jorge Mario Bergoglio was 17 years old when he first received his vocation to become a priest. It happened on Sept. 21, 1953 — the beginning of spring in Buenos Aires — during a spontaneous visit to the confessional, or what Catholics call the sacrament of reconciliation. This spiritual turning...
Point: The top 5 moments of 2024
For those on the right side of the political aisle, 2024 was a mixed bag. On the one hand, we had to trudge through the final year of Joe Biden’s disastrous presidency while fighting tooth and nail to prevent the administration from inflicting further economic carnage. On the other hand,...
Counterpoint: 5 signs our country isn’t lost
On the one hand, there’s no sugarcoating how progressives feel at the close of 2024: rough. Donald Trump won back the White House with a campaign that was openly bigoted and fascist. And from President Joe Biden’s backing of Israel’s ghastly war in Gaza to his ill-fated decision to seek...
John Wozniak: Seniors deserve alternatives to opioids for pain relief
In recent years, I have watched people I know try to navigate our health care system while seeking treatment for pain or recovering from surgery, and it has opened my eyes to the complexities and frustrations patients face when trying to access appropriate pain management. And it’s why I strongly...
Rachel Locke: Climate of fear is driving local officials to quit
Threats and harassment are pushing some politicians out of office, scaring off some would-be candidates and even compelling some elected officials to change their vote. Those are some of the conclusions of a new two-year study I led on political violence in Southern California. Rising threats against public officials is...
Jennifer Selin: What does the U.S. attorney general actually do?
Shortly after former Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz withdrew from consideration to serve as U.S. attorney general, President-elect Donald Trump announced he would nominate Pam Bondi for the position. A former Florida attorney general, Bondi also worked for Trump as a defense lawyer during the first of his two impeachment trials....
Michael J. Zoosman: Will Biden become another Pontius Pilate this holiday season?
This year, the Jewish and Christian winter holidays are in cosmic synchrony. The evening of Dec. 25 — Christmas Day on the Gregorian calendar — falls on the 25th day of the Hebrew month of Kislev — the first night of Hanukkah on the lunar calendar. These popular festivals in...
Cal Thomas: Oh, Christmas tree!
When Washington politicians speak of a Christmas tree this time of year, they are not referring to an actual tree. It means they’ve loaded up a bill with another kind of “green,” the kind that’s decorated with money. The “bipartisan” bill passed just before midnight last Friday, minutes before a...
Smitha Vishveshwara: What connects us in this polarizing moment through space and time and humanity
Reeling from a divisive and turbulent election season, many of us seek spaces of solace, light, unity and worship as we turn toward the winter holidays. The cosmos and its reflection within us harbor such spaces. By viewing and embracing scientific insights through the lens of humanity, you form a...
Dan Rodricks: Luigi Mangione and where we are now
In February 1992, chicken magnate Frank Perdue received a pie in the face from a protester in a chicken costume during a meeting of the University of Maryland Board of Regents in Baltimore. Perdue was founder, president and CEO of one of the nation’s largest poultry processors. More than that,...
Cal Thomas: Biden-Trump, the worst transition ever
The soon-to-expire Biden administration is behaving as if an invading foreign power is about to take over and the house must be burned down to keep the “invaders” from succeeding. In the past few weeks, the cynicism meter has ticked up several notches because of the decisions made by the...
Kathryn Anne Edwards: The influencer economy exposes a 70-year problem for women
The holidays are upon us, and more than ever the burgeoning influencer economy is having an impact on what consumers buy. Few reliable statistics can be found concerning the influencer profession, but several studies suggest the industry is dominated by women in their homes selling products related to the personal...
James Densley, Jillian Peterson and David Riedman: Here’s what is so unusual about the Wisconsin school shooting — and what isn’t
The Dec. 16 shooting at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wis., shocked the nation, not only for its horror but for its unique profile. This time, a teenage girl opened fire inside her school, killing a teacher, another student and apparently herself, and injuring six others. Although female school...
Rep. Jesse Topper: We can stop the pinch who stole Christmas
It is a few days before Christmas and across the commonwealth, Pennsylvania families are busy looking for last-minute holiday gifts, planning for family gatherings and engaging in charitable efforts to help those in their communities during the holiday season. However, this season is another stark reminder that every Pennsylvanian is...
Stephen Lind: People thought ‘A Charlie Brown Christmas’ would fail. Sincerity powered its success.
It’s hard to imagine the holidays without “A Charlie Brown Christmas.” The 1965 broadcast has become a staple of the season for many generations. But this beloved TV special almost didn’t make it to air. CBS executives thought the 25-minute program was too slow, too serious and too different from...
Cheryl Towers and Nancy Weinstein: Time to add ERA to Constitution
History is watching and equality is on the line in the United States. Women and men all over the country are working hard to request that President Joe Biden contact the National Archives for publication of the Equal Rights Amendment in the Constitution, but this movement has received little coverage...
Adriane N. Irwin: 28 miles to the nearest pharmacy? For many, that’s the only option
Pharmacies in the United States are closing at an alarming rate. The ACT Pharmacy Collaborative, a partnership between community pharmacy networks and academia, reported that 244 pharmacies closed in just the first six weeks of 2024. Rite-Aid has closed 500 stores, CVS will close another 300 stores by the end...
Elias Wondimu: Not another revival of Band Aid’s ‘Do they know it’s Christmas?’
On Nov. 25, Band Aid released the “ultimate remix” of “Do They Know It’s Christmas?,” the rock charity single from 40 years ago that, in addition to whatever good it has done, also broadcasts a narrative that undermines an entire continent’s dignity and agency. The recording has raised millions for...
Evan Ramstad: Anger and debate over health care will continue after Thompson’s killer is sent away
The arrest in the slaying of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was the first step to putting his killer behind bars, though it won’t end the power struggle in health care illuminated by public reaction afterward. Another wave of criticism rose against Minnesota- based UnitedHealthcare, the nation’s largest health insurer, and the...
