In 2007, now deceased Venezuelan socialist dictator Hugo Chavez toyed with launching an invasion of Curacao, a Dutch-protected island just off the Venezuelan coast. That wasn’t his first military threat to a neighbor. Circa 2000, he began suggesting Venezuelan forces might intervene in neighboring Colombia, at the time fighting a narco-Communist guerrilla insurgency. Controlling Colombia […]
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New testimony reveals higher corruption in Catholic Church
WASHINGTON — For the first time, I understand how the Reformation happened. Reading the stunning letter from Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano — in which the former papal nuncio says he had personally informed Pope Francis five years ago about the serious accusations against then-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick — is both heartbreaking and enraging. If Vigano is […]
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John McCain, a man of integrity and honor
A few words about the political integrity of John McCain. Integrity was, of course, the byword of the Arizona senator, who died of brain cancer Saturday. The trait was most famously displayed in a POW camp in Hanoi when his captors, hoping for a propaganda bonanza from this son and grandson of four-star admirals, offered […]
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Trump a victim of Washington double standard
Finding someone in Washington who is nonpartisan and puts the nation’s interests ahead of their own is so rare these days that he or she, if found, might well qualify as an endangered species. But once in a while — call it the law of averages — someone speaks the truth. It happened last week […]
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The Fed needs the freedom to protect the financial system
WASHINGTON — Who lost Lehman Brothers? Could it have been saved? As we approach the 10th anniversary of Lehman’s collapse (Sept. 15), these questions won’t go away. The Lehman bankruptcy is portrayed as the pivotal event that converted severe — but familiar — disruptions in financial markets into a full-blown panic. Nothing like it had […]
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On balance, a human and a hero
The photo shows a youngish John McCain, wearing the three-day growth of beard that so many guys flash these days. The caption reads: “The Last Republican, 1936-2018.” If McCain wasn’t the last Republican, he may have been the last of what we traditional-minded people think of as a Republican. Cautious, practical, steadfast, cooperative. My kind […]
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Trump might want to try forthrightness
If it wasn’t obvious before, it should be now: President Donald Trump is in an impeachment fight. It hasn’t fully ripened yet. That won’t happen unless Democrats take the House and do so with a healthy margin in the fall. But Michael Cohen’s statement that he committed campaign finance violations at the behest of Trump […]
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The pope must follow through on call for action about abuses
WASHINGTON — Pope Francis’s recent letter to the Catholic faithful was remarkable in that the Holy Father apologized not only for the sexual abuses carried out by Roman Catholic priests but also for the coverup of that abuse carried out by Roman Catholic bishops. “The heart-wrenching pain of these victims, which cries out to heaven, […]
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Is anything different for President Trump this time?
By Ed Rogers Special To The Washington Post More times than I can remember, I have thought, “Well, President Trump has done it now.” Or I have thought circumstances swirling around Trump would potentially endanger his presidency. I have always been wrong. But with the Paul Manafort convictions and the Michael Cohen plea, is anything […]
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Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife is a 'captured' agency
Maine’s fish and wildlife resources are big business. Of fishing, hunting and wildlife watching, wildlife watching is by far the biggest. Wildlife watchers in Maine spend nearly $800 million annually, while hunters and fishermen spend some $203 million and $372 million respectively. Wildlife watching in Maine also generates some $1.3 billion in annual economic activity, […]