The obvious goes unsaid: She was right

February 3, 2020

Surely you remember the “basket of deplorables.” That was Hillary Clinton’s 2016 characterization of some Donald Trump supporters. Observers saw it as a major gaffe, and conservatives erupted in hot, “How dare you!” indignation at the idea there was anything deplorable about voting for a lying, racist, misogynistic, vagina-grabbing, deadbeat. Few people, if any, dared point out the obvious. Which is that Clinton was right. Well, welcome to déjà vu all over again. Recently on CNN, Don Lemon presided over a segment about Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who recently blew up at ...

Throwing flag over hosting a ‘Python Bowl’

February 3, 2020

For football fans, the biggest day of the year is over. For pythons in Florida, their days are still numbered. In a grotesque twist on the Super Bowl, Florida wildlife officials and Gov. Ron DeSantis promoted a spectacle called the Python Challenge Python Bowl, in which participants were encouraged to hunt and kill as many snakes as possible. Footballs made from the 750 snakes’ skins tally used during Super Bowl festivities. The python “problem” in Florida is fueled by the exotic pet industry, which encourages a capricious public to buy these animals on a whim. ...

A primer on student loan debt

January 31, 2020

As the 2020 election ramps up, student loan debt has emerged as a hot-button issue on the campaign trail, with several presidential hopefuls releasing plans to solve what they are calling a “crisis.” The size of student debt — which has roughly tripled in the last dozen years and now exceeds $1.5 trillion — is undeniably sobering, and it is an especially serious matter for students from low- and middle-income families. Our candidates are right to be talking about it. But as with other major national issues that have become topics of partisan debate, political rancor and ...

Where our trust in the news continues to live

January 30, 2020

Every Wednesday morning, James McDaniel sits along the South Main Street portion of U.S. Highway 11 (in Lexington, Va.) with a healthy stack of The News-Gazette beside him. He wears a neat white apron with the newspaper’s moniker stitched across the top. He keeps a small, folded tarp tucked away to protect the paper in case of rain, even if there isn’t a cloud in the sky. “You just never know,” he says. He also keeps a broad, never-failing smile on his face and a “hello” on his lips for everyone who passes on the street, whether they buy a paper or not. During the ...

Bloomberg is showing Democrats a good time

January 29, 2020

Democrats could use some cheering up now that their conventional politicians are locked in fierce ideological battle. The moderate Democratic majority fears that an aggressive left could saddle them with a zombie candidate sure to lose to President Donald Trump. That person could also cost them control of the House by hurting down-ballot Democrats in hard-won swing districts. Oh, happy day, then, that former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg is tapping his vast fortune to make defeating Trump central to his mission. Bloomberg is vying for the Democratic nomination, and his candidacy is ...

Kobe Bryant’s death shook us

January 29, 2020

Kobe Bryant’s death shook us. It’s what happens when people larger than life — complete with their flaws and their failings — die suddenly. Too young. Too unexpected. Too much. The news of a helicopter crash in California broke Sunday on Twitter, and everyone saw a name: Kobe. Kobe killed. And it couldn’t be right. Had to be a hoax. He was 41. An international star, familiar enough to be known by just one name, like Diana, Marilyn, Bowie. When they died, we heard, “My God, Bowie’s dead” and “Oh, Diana, such a loss” and “No, not Marilyn.” So it was Sunday. “Kobe ...