WASHINGTON — There was a brief moment after Donald Trump’s election when it was conceivable to ask whether he would strive to be a “uniter” or a “divider.” The moment passed quickly as Trump made it clear that he does not intend to abandon the style of politics — insulting and divisive — that got […]
Op-Eds
Posted inOp-Eds, sj-web
North Korea's criminal reality is intolerable
North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un and his vicious Pyongyang regime are on rampage, this time combining cold-blooded sibling murder with ballistic missiles and nuclear threat. On February 13, assassins murdered the dictator’s half-brother, Kim Jong Nam. The hit team found their quarry in Malaysia, at the Kuala Lumpur airport. Initial reports echoed spy novel […]
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Posted inOp-Eds, sj-web
Can Democrats rise to Trump's challenge?
WASHINGTON — The most striking aspect of the vast and swiftly organized movement against Donald Trump is how little it had to do with the Democratic Party. Whoever is elected to chair the Democratic National Committee this weekend should draw two conclusions from this, and they are in tension. First, the anti-Trump effort, while broadly […]
Posted inOp-Eds, sj-web
Can Democrats rise to Trump's challenge?
WASHINGTON — The most striking aspect of the vast and swiftly organized movement against Donald Trump is how little it had to do with the Democratic Party. Whoever is elected to chair the Democratic National Committee this weekend should draw two conclusions from this, and they are in tension. First, the anti-Trump effort, while broadly […]
Posted inOp-Eds, sj-web
Trump coverage pushes media resurgence
Donald Trump’s tweet about the media’s being “the enemy of the American people” was a classic distraction — in this case, from questions swirling around his team’s troubling ties with our Russian adversaries. While the FBI, CIA and Senate Intelligence Committee investigate, a few thoughts on how news sources under Trumpian attack should respond. When […]
Posted inOp-Eds, sj-web
What happens when fear overwhelms reason
Imagine this. You are a boy, living in a child’s blissful unaware. You are not terribly different from other kids. Maybe you play stickball in the street and pretend to be Joe DiMaggio. Maybe you listen to “The Lone Ranger” on the Philco. Maybe you’re crazy for Superman. Maybe it’s a good life. Then comes […]
Posted inOp-Eds, sj-web
Major media hungry to destroy Trump
The traditional media have decided not to take President Trump’s insults lying down. After what may be the strongest — and to his supporters — most thrilling takedown of journalists by any president, Editor and Publisher magazine featured this headline: “Newspapers Aim to Ride ‘Trump Bump’ to Reach Readers, Advertisers.” They may hate him, but […]
Posted inOp-Eds, sj-web
Carbon tax provides workable start
WASHINGTON — By all means, let’s have a carbon tax. It’s the best way to deal with global climate change. It would require Republicans and Democrats to compromise — a good thing — and would provide revenues for a government that desperately needs more revenue. Fine. But let’s not pretend that a carbon tax is […]
Posted inOp-Eds, sj-web
A word or two about my mother-in-law
NEW YORK — We buried one of my heroes recently. She was my mother-in-law. In the case of Helen Boyle, hero might be a form of understatement. Rather than begin with gushing words and bloated adjectives, permit me to recite just a few facts about her 85 years on this earth. She lost her father […]
Posted inOp-Eds, sj-web
Changes in immigration laws will help Maine
The state of Maine suffers demographic challenges, ranking annually as having one of the oldest populations in the nation. As our population ages, our work force is expected to decline. Those demographics mean that Maine will need a large influx of people to meaningfully grow its population and work force. Yet we are largely missing […]