Kids shouldn’t be used as political pawns

July 2, 2019

When faced with two women who each claimed to be the mother of the same child, King Solomon announced he would slice the child in two and give half to each claimant. One woman was pleased. The other wailed in sorrow, and begged the king to give the child to her opponent. Solomon understood that the woman who wanted to save the child even though it meant she’d lose him was the true mother. There are no Solomons among us today. Children are once again being used as pawns and commodities in our immigration debate, and the adults are fighting to gain philosophical and ...

Justices saw through ploy for question

July 2, 2019

In a stunning victory for the rule of law, a bare majority of the Supreme Court agreed that the Commerce Department had not adequately justified the addition of a citizenship question to the 2020 census. But the decision says more about how poorly the Trump administration covered its tracks than it does about the court’s willingness to rein in the administration’s worst excesses. The decision handed down Thursday is procedurally complicated but will probably have the effect of blocking the addition of a citizenship question to the census. The Census Bureau was going to ask every ...

Economic independence costly

July 2, 2019

This week, let’s put down our midsummer cookout plates long enough to remember sacrifices made across generations to secure independence, peace and prosperity. We might also reflect on how British trade interference with goods like stamps and tea helped spark the Fourth of July holiday. As 2019’s trade wars drag on, perhaps you’ve noticed some signs of government interference while shopping for that cookout. Tariffs make government-favored products into winners, but overlooked products and those caught in the retaliation lose out. The new patio furniture you’re sitting ...

People don’t change due to shunning

July 2, 2019

Adam Sutton The Baltimore Sun On June 21, I woke up to the news that the president had called off a missile strike on Iran at the last minute. A missile attack that was a consequence of the Trump administration’s decision to turn away from a diplomatic agreement with Iran. In place of the diplomatic agreement, President Donald Trump has implemented a “maximum pressure” approach defined by tough economic sanctions and belligerent rhetoric that amounts to telling Iran they are a horrible country and only when they do exactly as the USA wants can we work together. Earlier in the ...

Questions he would’ve liked to ask the Democrats

July 2, 2019

The likelihood I would ever be invited to serve on a network panel questioning the Democratic presidential candidates is equivalent to an invitation to take the next trip to the moon. Still, as I tortured myself watching the two “debates,” which were not really debates, but mostly a show of memorized sound bites, I thought of unasked questions that ought to have been put to them all. Question 1: Some of you have, or had, the power to change many of the things you now say are wrong with America. Why didn’t you? Question 2 (for Joe Biden): You and Barack Obama, for a time, ...

‘Poverty naps’ in lieu of lunch?

July 2, 2019

BY COKIE ROBERTS and STEVEN V. ROBERTS When college students return to their campuses in the fall, many will face a growing problem that threatens to undermine their chances for success. Hunger. Recent surveys agree that more than one-third of college students suffer at times from bouts of food insecurity. The rate is far higher for students with an extra risk factor: belonging to a racial minority, having a single parent or being the first in their family to attend college, for example. For these students, hunger means “sitting in a classroom hoping no one hears your ...