Do you ever wonder why Trump supporters continue to send money to Donald Trump, much of which is used to pay his legal bills? Perhaps this little play will help you better understand the mindset of loyal Trump donors. The scene: Don and Debbie Smith live in Hugo, Oklahoma, one of only two states which […]

Maine will hold a rare and possibly historic vote in November. The U.S. is increasingly focused on the role and rights of consumers, who drive the economy. The upcoming vote on the future of the state’s largest electric utilities will not only affect Maine but could send a message across the country. Voters will decide […]

I realize such headgear has fallen out of style in our self-esteem-obsessed culture, but maybe I should belatedly don a dunce cap. You see, one of my first columns (nearly 25 years ago) was a snarky dismissal of the nascent homeschooling movement. I know at least two nice families who are homeschooling this year, so […]

The infirmities of aging have been much debated as they apply to recent presidents, but mostly ignored when it comes to the U.S. Senate, where there’s evidence of actual disability. The most prominent example is Diane Feinstein, the California Democrat who made the apparently unwise decision to run for reelection in 2018 to a fifth […]

by Tom Purcell, August 14, 2023 Declining attention spans have reached epidemic levels. That’s what Adam Brown, co-director of the Center for Attention, Learning and Memory at St. Bonaventure University in New York, tells Time. That’s certainly the case with me. As I struggled to write the first three paragraphs of this column, I searched […]

THE CONVERSATION — Wildfires, pushed by powerful winds, raced through Lahaina, Hawaii, on Aug. 8 and 9, 2023, leaving a charred and smoldering landscape across the tourist town of about 13,000 residents that was once the capital of the Kingdom of Hawaii. At least 99 people died, Hawaii officials said. Others were rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard after going […]

Voracious popular culture connoisseur that I am, I have been avidly following the drama surrounding pop icon Lizzo. As an academic who teaches race, gender and sexuality studies, the story has all the intersectional elements that make for a riveting story. Over the past couple of weeks, the Grammy award winning artist known for her […]

In a red Ohio referendum this week, forced-birth reactionaries got blown out by a whopping margin of 430,000 votes. No word yet on whether Roe v. Wade killer Donald Trump has aspirationally asked Republican election officials to find 430,001 votes. To fully appreciate what just happened in Ohio – where an anti-abortion ballot gimmick was […]

by Peter Roff, August 13, 2023 Recent and expected Supreme Court rulings regarding the authority of federal regulators have put the regulatory bureaucracy in the spotlight. Too many of them have the power to make or break industries. Some, like the U.S. International Trade Commission, are begging to have their wings clipped. Its mission is […]