Black Friday isn’t what it used to be
Black Friday was once a hallmark celebration of American consumerism. Lately, it has lost some of its thunder.
Holding the match: GOP stands by as Trump lights political violence
It took no time at all for Donald Trump to again begin attacking the law clerk of Manhattan state Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron after an appellate court stayed Engoron’s gag order against the former president in the ongoing case over fraud in Trump’s real estate business. The defendant assailed Engoron in personal terms, calling him “politically biased” and “a disgrace.”
The Senate is getting less democratic by the minute
Democrats and the independents who caucus with them will be playing defense in 23 of the 34 Senate seats on the ballot in the 2024 congressional elections. Four of the 23 are in swing states that Joe Biden won narrowly in 2020. Three are in states that Donald Trump won in both 2016 and 2020.
This Thanksgiving, stuff yourself with gratitude
As people across the country prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving, a Doris Day quote comes to mind: “Gratitude is riches and complaint is poverty.”
Your Views for November 22
Foster youth need help and support
Biden policy on Iran is an utter mess
Iran is getting richer and increasingly dangerous during the Biden presidency. This has enabled the country to more aggressively arm its Middle East terrorist proxies who seek to destroy Israel.
If this economy is Biden restoring American Dream, what do nightmares look like?
The holidays are around the corner and in this economy, that means Americans will either stretch budgets as best they can, go into debt or go without.
Your Views for November 21
Thoughts and ideas about homelessness
Cease-fire now. The killing in Gaza must stop
It has become impossible to distinguish between Israel’s decidedly non-surgical operation against Hamas militants in Gaza and the indiscriminate killing of Palestinian civilians. When so-called humanitarian pauses in the bombardment and ground operations are too brief to realistically permit innocents to flee, or when there is no place for non-combatants to go that is not also in the line of fire, such pauses are so deficient as to be meaningless.
Convict Santos now
Less than an hour after the House Ethics Committee published their extensive report on the elected fraudster from New York, Con(gress)man George Santos took to Twitter to claim that he will not be running for a second term next year. Don’t believe him. Don’t believe anything this schnook says, since everything is a lie.
Congressional dysfunction puts the nation’s fiscal reputation at risk
The credit rating agency Moody’s on Nov. 10 lowered its outlook on the United States from “stable” to “negative” in the latest knock to the country’s fiscal stewardship. Though the White House and other federal leaders decried the change, is it any wonder investors have soured on the country’s long-term prospects? The federal government spent weeks careening toward a shutdown — again.
Your Views for November 19
More should be done to help vets
The Biden campaign needs to pivot to marijuana
As President Joe Biden looks to boost his reelection campaign and lousy poll numbers, there’s one policy position that is popular with voters, could help unite Democrats and would leave Republicans scrambling to respond. It’s time he come out in support of legalizing recreational use of marijuana.
Irwin: Data needs to be understood in context
There are any number of famous phrases about the relationship of knowledge and power:
When it comes to disdain for Democracy, Trump has company
It makes perfect sense to treat Donald Trump as the most immediate threat to the future of American democracy. He has an ambitious plan to turn the office of the presidency into an instrument of “revenge” against his political enemies and other supposedly undesirable groups.
Nikki Haley, Big Sister: Speech, even anonymous speech, must be protected, not banned
In the name of national security, former South Carolina governor and current Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley wants to use government authority to ban anonymous speech on social media platforms. “Every person on social media should be verified by their name,” she told Fox News.
The 10 Freeway closure is an opportunity to make public transit shine
Los Angeles is a city where the closure of a one-mile stretch of freeway triggers a state of emergency.
Trump’s dangerous ‘vermin’ speech would have been at home in Nazi Germany
It is a full-time job to call out every one of Donald Trump’s lies and efforts to divide this nation, but his “vermin” address on Saturday deserves special attention.
Sen. Scott’s exit leaves Haley as the only rational Trump alternative
Given Donald Trump’s stubborn standing atop polls of Republican voters, there may be no more meaningless exercise in futility right now than even talking about the rest of the GOP presidential field, let alone tentatively backing one candidate in that field.
Debunking the myth of a shoplifting crisis
Target recently announced that it was closing nine store locations because of “organized retail crime.” The term, which is often used interchangeably with “organized retail theft,” is being used more and more to describe viral videos of what’s often seen as “brazen” theft taking place in retail stores like Walgreens, CVS and Target. But what does it mean exactly? And does it actually describe a real trend or is it a myth propagated by corporations and the media?