WASHINGTON — On its 20th birthday, the best that can be said of the euro — the European currency used by 19 countries — is that it has survived. Two decades after being introduced in 1999, it has not achieved its central goals: increasing economic growth and strengthening public support for European political institutions. In […]
Op-Eds
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The irrational allergy to the wall
It’s a wonder that Democrats haven’t staked out a negotiating position demanding the destruction of already-existing barriers along the U.S.-Mexico border. Their opposition to President Donald Trump’s border wall (or, more properly, his so-called wall) is now so total as to be nearly indistinguishable from opposition to any serious infrastructure at the border at all. […]
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A list of the 10 worst things President Trump did in 2018
WASHINGTON — In his second year in office, President Trump did many positive things and, on Friday, I offered my list of the 10 best things Trump did in 2018. But he also did a lot of bad things that ranged from cringeworthy to catastrophic. Here are the 10 worst: 10. His comment about “sh–hole” […]
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Rethinking asylum/refugee policies
Headlines from the Portland Press Herald report that asylum seekers from Africa and Central America are arriving in “droves,” overwhelming Portland city services. It seems that Maine is unique and now famous for its generosity, providing benefits that no other state provides. But fewer than 22 percent of asylum seekers nationwide are found eligible for […]
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Decision on Brexit still in question
LONDON — To Brexit, or not to Brexit, that is the question (apologies to Shakespeare). The answer to whether the UK will pull out of the European Union as a majority of voters favored in a 2016 referendum will be decided this month. Maybe. Prime Minister Theresa May told Parliament that debate on the deal […]
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A good insurance policy
The slow return of daylight in early January usually sparks hope. This year, not so much. At least politically. For whatever reasons, pundits see a tough year ahead. The left is heartened by new majorities in Augusta and Washington, but Donald Trump is still president. The right is heartened by a stronger majority in the […]
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What House Democrats should do with their majority
By Jonathan Bernstein Bloomberg opinion The Democrats took over the House majority on Thursday with more women, more ethnic and religious diversity, and the same leadership team that’s been in place for a long time. They have a very liberal caucus, though it includes members from swing districts who likely won’t want to compile very […]
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Biotech advances bring tough choices
A new medical device may change almost everything we think about making babies. It may also sweep away the current controversy over abortion while creating new ethical dilemmas. We speak of the artificial womb. Also called a biobag, an artificial womb is a big plastic sack filled with synthetic amniotic fluid. A tube going into […]
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Jackson movie captures essence of World War I
The filmmaker Peter Jackson deserves more than an Oscar; he deserves a medal. What the director of the “Lord of the Rings” and “Hobbit” movies has done with his World War I documentary, “They Shall Not Grow Old,” is more than restore archival film; he has restored the humanity of men caught up in one […]
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2018 brought small steps toward peace between North and South Korea
As 2018 began, Kim Jong Un’s North Korean dictatorship was touting its ICBMs. Many weapons analysts believed North Korean ICBMs could strike Seattle and San Francisco. As 2018 began, North Korean leaders routinely threatened South Korea, Japan and the U.S. with nuclear attack. In January, Kim claimed would soon deploy nuclear warheads. Propaganda is one […]