There were actually two shocking things about the Rob Porter story. The obvious one was that President Trump kept a man known to have physically attacked both ex-wives and a former girlfriend as his staff secretary. The other was that Hope Hicks, occupying the high-ranking job of Trump’s communications director, thought it OK to become […]
Op-Eds
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Claims in the Nunes memo can't be overlooked
WASHINGTON — After House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes, R-California, sent his memo laying out potential abuses of the FISA process by the FBI to the White House, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-California, demanded that he be removed as chairman. Nunes was “deliberately dishonest” in pushing to release a “bogus memo,” Pelosi declared, and had “disgraced […]
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America faces complex threat environment
On February 13, U.S. Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats appeared before the Senate Intelligence Committee and discussed his just-released “Worldwide Threat Assessment of the U.S. Intelligence Community” report. That document synthesizes what U.S. military and civilian intelligence analysts, cyber warriors and counter-intelligence experts regard as the “sobering” (a word Coats used) threats to the […]
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Founders warned about the dangers of debt
In “Hamlet,” Shakespeare pens one of the most familiar lines — and best advice — ever written. Before Laertes leaves for Paris, his father, Polonius, tells him: “Neither a borrower nor a lender be…” We have ignored that advice for far too long, which is why the U.S. national debt is $20 trillion with more […]
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White House fails on domestic violence issue
I am a child of domestic violence. As a boy, I couldn’t fall asleep until I heard my father return from his nocturnal ramblings. I’d listen hard, trying to gauge his mood from the tone of his voice, trying to determine if it was safe to close my eyes. Some nights, it was. Other nights, […]
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Expanded spending produces enormous deficits
WASHINGTON — Well, we just kicked the can down the road again — to quote former President Barack Obama, who developed into an expert can-kicker during his eight years in the White House. The bipartisan budget agreement reached last week by Congressional leaders is nothing if not a huge evasion of responsibility. Neither party will […]
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Past indiscretions haven’t hurt Trump
Kirsten Gillibrand, dubbed the #MeToo senator by “60 Minutes,” wants President Donald Trump’s scalp. “I think he should resign,” she told the TV program, “and if he’s unwilling to do that, which is what I assume, then Congress should hold him accountable. We’re obligated to have hearings.” Gillibrand has been clearing the decks for this […]
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New federal tax law is an abomination
Would someone kindly replace Nancy Pelosi as a spokesperson for Democrats? The House minority leader’s riff on the tax bill as “crumbs” for average Americans bombed on two fronts. One was her snide and preachy tone. The other was linking “crumbs” to $1,000-or-better bonuses that a few companies said they will distribute out of their […]
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Trump right to push for prison reform now
It didn’t seem to fit in President Trump’s State of the Union address, perhaps something tossed in at the last minute, like a garnish. But there it was: “As America regains its strength, opportunity must be extended to all citizens. That is why this year we will embark on reforming our prisons, to help former […]
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In Trump they trust
So apparently this is now Republican Party doctrine: You can’t trust the news media. They’re biased. You can’t trust the CIA. They’re hacks. You can’t trust the Justice Department. It’s unfair. You can’t trust the FBI. It’s disgraceful. But you can trust Donald Trump. Notwithstanding the bankruptcies, the fraud settlement, the admitted sexual assaults, the […]