We are at a very special time of year. Thanksgiving has passed and we are nearly to Christmas. Thanksgiving was a time to remember how God has blessed us in the past and Christmas will be a time to remember how God blessed us with the birth of Jesus Christ to be the one who […]
Op-Eds
Posted inOp-Eds, sj-web
The true tax gap may go as high as $12 trillion
WASHINGTON — When historians examine President Trump’s tax program, they will surely be struck by a large and momentous contradiction. Although the nation faces endless budget deficits — and although the president purports to speak about the future — his tax program does little or nothing to curb long-term deficits and, arguably, might make them […]
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The inescapable politics of 'Star Wars'
By Ishaan Tharoor The Washington Post Last year, ahead of the release of the “Star Wars” film “Rogue One,” Disney chief executive Bob Iger made an emphatic claim when asked about the movie’s message: “Frankly, this is a film that the world should enjoy. It is not a film that is, in any way, a […]
Posted inOp-Eds, sj-web
Press caught in blatant anti-Trump bias
It’s a wonder that President Donald Trump devotes so much time to discrediting the press, when the press does so much to discredit itself. The media’s errors over the past week haven’t been marginal or coincidental, but involved blockbuster reports on one of the most dominating stories of the past year, Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation. […]
Posted inOp-Eds, sj-web
Challenges ahead for American intelligence agencies
In October 2003, former Secretary of Defense and former CIA Director James Schlesinger observed that “major organizational change (in American intelligence agencies) is not the salvation. I would submit the real challenge lies in recruiting, fostering, training and motivating people with insight.” Insight. Sounds arcane, mysterious, rare, tough to describe to human resources directors much […]
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Congress shouldn’t wait to protect the ‘dreamers’
The following appeared in Wednesday’s Washington Post. Quick, name a major public policy issue on which overwhelming numbers of Americans are united. Stumped? (Granted, it’s a short list.) Here’s one answer: allowing “dreamers” — young undocumented immigrants brought to this country as children — to remain in the United States if they pass background checks, […]
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Politicians, public faced with a choice
In September 1862, a group of Chicago ministers sent a “memorial” (or long letter) to President Abraham Lincoln in which they made a theological argument for the elimination of slavery. Lincoln had also heard from Southern clergy who used the same scriptures to justify slavery’s preservation. In response, Lincoln wrote the Chicago group with words […]
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Whom do we thank for today's strong economy?
A president deserves partial credit for a strong economy. The current economic numbers are good, so to the extent that gratitude is due, let us offer it. Thank you, President Obama. The economic gauges have been improving steadily for the eight years of the current recovery. Barack Obama was president for seven of them. As […]
Posted inOp-Eds, sj-web
Welfare programs gain, defense loses
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon and the welfare state have been locked in brutal combat for decades, and the Pentagon has gotten clobbered. Protecting the country was once the first obligation of government. No more. Welfare programs — Social Security, Medicare, food stamps and other benefits — dwarf defense spending. As a result, we have become […]
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Bannon's garbage case for Roy Moore
In his Alabama appearance for Roy Moore, Steve Bannon turned in an intellectually and morally putrid performance even by his standards. There is a partisan case for voting for Moore, which is simply that Republicans can’t afford to lose a Senate seat and Moore’s failings must be ignored or rationalized away for the larger good […]