The Obama administration was right when it insisted that the capture and release of 10 American sailors by Iran showed the benefits of a cooperative relationship with Tehran. The crux of the arrangement is simple: The Iranians agree to humiliate us (and pursue their long war against the United States and their hegemonic ambitions in […]
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Kasich denies reality of motherhood
The one good thing about Ohio Gov. John Kasich’s campaign for the presidency is that he provides many opportunities to point out to the rest of the country what we here in Ohio have known for too many years. The man is no moderate. One of the ways he proves this, over and over again, […]
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Whole slice of history has been forgotten
Nikki Haley’s 44th birthday is this week. You would think her a little old for fairytales. But a bizarre, little-reported remark the South Carolina governor made last week suggests that, age notwithstanding, Haley lives in Fantasyland, at least insofar as American history is concerned. The comment in question came the day after her Tuesday night […]
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Hillary’s voter support takes nosedive
“Slip slidin’ away Slip slidin’ away You know the nearer your destination The more you’re slip slidin’ away.” — Paul Simon It’s happening again. The “inevitability” of Hillary Clinton’s presidential candidacy may not be so inevitable after all. Unlike eight years ago when Barack Obama beat her for the Democratic nomination and ultimately won the […]
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Social media: Helpful and hurtful
NEW YORK — Thomas Jefferson often argued that an educated public was crucial for the survival of self-government. We now live in an age in which education takes place mostly through new platforms. Social networks — Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. — are the main mechanisms by which people receive and share facts, ideas and opinions. […]
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Obama’s State of the Union — a cupboard of ideas laid bare
WASHINGTON — President Obama’s Tuesday night address to Congress was less about the state of the union than the state of the presidency. And the state of this presidency is spent. The signs of intellectual exhaustion were everywhere. Consider just three. After taking credit for success in Syria, raising American stature abroad and prevailing against […]
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Of snacks, taxes and plantations that disband
The Return of the Snack Tax From hot cocoa to roasted nuts, advent of the new year has ushered in a sales tax on these and hundreds of previously exempt food items. Though the expanded levy still exempts grocery basics, the changes are a reminder that ever since Mainers first considered imposing a sales tax […]
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Ambassadors serve in many dangerous places
When Thomas E. McNamara arrived in Colombia as U.S. ambassador in 1988, he encountered a hit list issued by narco-terrorist Pablo Escobar. “I was No. 1,” he recalls. “Ambassadors tend to get that kind of attention.” On a different mission to confer with Lebanese government officials, McNamara was greeted with “a welcome-to-Beirut mortar and artillery […]
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China’s economic stability in question
WASHINGTON — The China bubble has burst. No one ever believed that China’s economy would grow 10 percent annually forever, but the retreat from double-digit growth has been faster than expected and underlies the country’s stock market turmoil and its global repercussions. China is such an economic colossus that a few percentage points shaved off […]
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Speech was valiant effort to combat anger
WASHINGTON — The most venomous part of the Republican Party has seized control of the national dialogue. This forced President Obama to use his final State of the Union message on Tuesday to battle against intolerance, anger, pessimism and despair. Even more tellingly, the Republican designated to reply to him, South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, […]