Democracy requires fair voting processes and clear rules. It’s healthy and necessary to debate the best system for conducting elections, but it is unfair to change the rules once the outcome is known. For that reason, Bruce Poliquin’s recent lawsuit against ranked choice voting was misguided, and his efforts to change the result of Maine’s […]
Op-Eds
Posted inOp-Eds, sj-web
Why do we want to be just like Europe?
Many years ago when the price of gasoline went to $1 per gallon, I can remember being told how fortunate we were since the price of gasoline in Europe was well over $2 per gallon. I guess we are still supposed to be fortunate since the current price of gasoline is around $2.50 per gallon and I […]
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Posted inOp-Eds, sj-web
Urban-rural chasm defines new Western political divide
NEW YORK — For Steve Bannon, the way to create an enduring populist majority is to combine forces on the left and right. That’s why he was in Italy earlier this year, where parties representing those two sides joined together in a governing alliance. That’s why Bannon hopes to wean some of Bernie Sanders’ supporters […]
Posted inOp-Eds, sj-web
There's a word for the Democrats' negotiating strategy: Insanity
WASHINGTON — Good news for the incoming House Democratic majority! They have something President Trump really, really wants: money to build a border wall. Trump is desperate for this money. Mexico won’t give it to him. Only congressional Democrats can. Without their consent, he can’t deliver on one of the key campaign promises he made […]
Posted inOp-Eds, sj-web
Corporate debt levels seen as cause for concern
WASHINGTON — Pay attention to the financial markets. If the Great Recession and 2008-09 financial crisis taught us anything, that was it. Until then, the Federal Reserve had focused mainly on fighting inflation and unemployment. What we learned is that overborrowing, shaky mortgages and inflated stock and home prices could also plunge the economy into […]
Posted inOp-Eds, sj-web
Britain's exit from EU a major mess
Shakespeare famously wrote of the “sceptered isle” of Britain acting as a moat “against the envy of less happier lands.” Lately, the less happier lands are winning in a rout. Britain is suffering a political meltdown as it struggles to make good on a historic vote in 2016 to leave the European Union. The decision […]
Posted inOp-Eds, sj-web
Never easy to maintain ties with tyrants
WASHINGTON — In recent days, many have sought to contrast President Trump with President George H.W. Bush. But there is one area where Trump is channeling his inner George H.W. Bush — and not in a good way. His response to the murder and dismemberment of Jamal Khashoggi in a Saudi consulate echoes Bush’s handling […]
Posted inOp-Eds, sj-web
Few people are even remotely prepared for elder care
It often starts off easy. For me it did. An elderly friend needed some help with food shopping and dealing with the cable company. He has no family to speak of, and his close friends have died. Pushing 90, his thinking had obviously slowed, but he could still shave, bathe and dress. So I volunteered […]
Posted inOp-Eds, sj-web
Media were not kind when Bush was alive
Before George H.W. Bush fades from memory into the darkness of history books, one more point needs to be made. It is about the contrast between how most of the major media treated him when he was president and how they mostly (but not completely) did a turnaround during their coverage and commentary of his […]
Posted inOp-Eds, sj-web
Income stagnation — real or politics?
WASHINGTON — We in the media have a problem. Actually, it’s a big problem for all of us. We have become addicted to the notion that, except for the top 1 percent or the top 10 percent, the incomes of most Americans have stagnated for decades. The problem is that, at best, this is an […]