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Raise for Congress shouldn’t be radioactive

Leonard Pitts is on vacation. his column will resume on July 8. A plan by House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer, D-Md., to engineer a pay raise for members of Congress — whose salaries have been frozen at $174,000 since 2009 — has run aground, at least for now. It’s a reminder that pay increases for elected officials, no matter how modest, are politically radioactive. They shouldn’t be. Ideally, even populist-minded citizens would recognize that members of Congress should be adequately compensated and that their pay should be increased from time to time to reflect ...

Should we believe she’s even leaving?

You’ll be forgiven if the first thought that crossed your mind at the news that Sarah Huckabee Sanders is quitting as President Donald Trump’s press secretary was, “Oh, does she still work there?” You’ll also be forgiven if the second thought was, good riddance. Sanders stepped into the muck-filled shoes left behind by Sean Spicer in July 2017, and deftly continued with lies, half-truths and aggressive attacks on the media. Which, of course, is just exactly what her boss wanted her to do. Sanders stopped giving press briefings — near-daily events in previous ...

Despite policies, renewable energy capacity exceeds coal’s

You probably didn’t notice, but April marked a threshold for the nation. For the first time, our capacity for creating electricity from renewable sources crept past that for coal. Yes, that’s a good thing. Not good enough, mind you, to save us from the worst effects of climate change from global warming, but it’s further evidence that we’re at least moving in the right direction. And that comes despite President Donald Trump’s inane insistence that the nation drill more, burn more and export more fossil fuels — including his doubled-down promises to single-handedly ...

A belated letter to Dad for Father’s Day

Because the dead don’t leave forwarding addresses, Dad, I’m not sure where to send this, but I’m writing anyway in celebration of Father’s Day. I’m once again proving your point: I’m relentless if I’m determined to make it happen. So you died a few years ago. So what? That doesn’t mean we no longer have a relationship. Life and death aren’t all that easy. I continue to talk to you in my head, although perhaps less regularly than I did when you first passed away. A dozen years ago, I saw you and heard you on every block in New York City. Every Italian or Jewish ...

How outrage should work in real time

Brian Boyle Los Angeles Times Jon Stewart returned to TV last week just as we left him: Sitting behind a desk, clicking his pen as he carefully crafted an argument and called for justice. It could’ve been a monologue aired on any episode of “The Daily Show.” Almost. But instead of Comedy Central, Stewart appeared on our screens via C-SPAN. Instead of laughter, he instilled despair; his one-liners now cutting to our hearts rather than our funny bones. He’s still angry as ever, but he’s moved from the peanut gallery into the front row. We should take notes: This is what ...

‘Economic patriotism’ gone crazy

Elizabeth Warren wants to put CEOs in prison even when they have not committed a crime, and here is a kick in the face of half of what we stand for, although a matter of minute media concern. Reporters, of course, may get more interested if she decides they should be incarcerated for innocence. Warren is not yet Joe Biden when it comes to polls, but when it comes to craziness she is Bernie Sanders. This thing about CEOs has to do with a company doing some wrong as a consequence of the deeds of other employees and the top guy therefore being held negligent, not as a civil but as a ...