We are about to find out whether Democrats meant it when they lamented the loss of civility in Washington. Having won the majority in the House of Representatives in Tuesday’s election, will they cooperate with Republicans and “reach across the aisle,” or will they pander to their base, which wants President Trump’s blood? Guess which […]
Op-Eds
Posted inOp-Eds, sj-web
Maine's about-faces
One thing was certain, the school superintendent told us. Whoever we chose to succeed him would be strong in the areas in which we believed he was weak. That is the nature of regime change, he said. We were the search committee for School Administrative District 9 (Mount Blue), and our first task was to […]
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We were once enemies; now, friends
I made a new friend a few weeks ago. His name is Mr. Nghia, and he lives in a village not far from Da Nang in Vietnam. With his smooth skin, he looks 50. But he’s not. He’s in his mid-70s, and a half-century ago he was part of a Viet Cong unit that attacked […]
Posted inOp-Eds, sj-web
We can regain respect in this country, if we work at it
As I write this the midterm elections are five days away. As you read this the midterm elections will be concluded. What are the likely results of these elections? I am positive that there will be results that will be very satisfying and I am also positive that there will be some results that disappoint. […]
Posted inOp-Eds, sj-web
Policy of tough love, more services needed to address urban vagrancy
It’s appropriate that the U.N. special rapporteur devoted to adequate housing has visited encampments in Mexico City, Buenos Aires, Mumbai — and San Francisco, Oakland and Berkeley. The homeless situation in those cities and others around the country is positively Third World, a blight that shows the persistence of human folly and misery, despite what […]
Posted inOp-Eds, sj-web
Can elected officials overcome distrust? Doubtful
WASHINGTON — President Trump and Congress face a mountain of unfinished business — and chances are that most of it will stay unfinished. Of course, no one knows what will happen, and the president and congressional leaders of both parties have made the usual noises about cooperation. “There are a lot of good things that […]
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Horsemen of the Apocalypse: War and Plague
In two of Congo’s anarchic eastern provinces, War and Plague combine to inflict local horrors and seed conditions for a “breakout epidemic” with lethal regional and possibly global health consequences. Unpacking that first sentence illustrates why War and Plague in Congo are a legitimate American national security concern. The War is eastern Congo’s episodic slaughter […]
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Outrage machine has short-term memory
WASHINGTON — When the president announced that he was sending the U.S. military to help secure our southern border, he received bipartisan praise from members of Congress. The Washington Post reported that the move was seen as “smart politics.” The year was 2011, and the president was Barack Obama. The National Guard troops Obama sent […]
Posted inOp-Eds, sj-web
Democrats must come up with a workable immigration policy, fast
In recent months, the political leadership of two neighboring countries with large immigration programs issued very different messages. They would be the United States and Canada. In the United States, President Trump and his Republican allies vilified the “caravan” of Central Americans making their way toward the border. They are a gang of diseased criminals […]
Posted inOp-Eds, sj-web
The case for ending birthright citizenship
In 2004, nearly 80 percent of Irish voters decided to end birthright citizenship. In its coverage the BBC said, “The government said change was needed because foreign women were travelling to Ireland to give birth in order to get an EU passport for their babies.” In 1986, The Australian Citizenship Amendment provided that a child […]