ArcaMax

I went down to the demonstration at the Washington Monument, surrounded by a multitude with signs, chants and oh so many causes under the bleak spring sky. In this setting I had a sudden epiphany: Protests are not only to send a message to the ruler golfing in Florida.

No, the point of gathering is to know there are others with you, like you,...Read more

With the erasure of 10% of Americans' retirement savings in 48 hours last week, the anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination on April 4, 1968, was entirely eclipsed.

President Donald Trump, the self-professed hero of ordinary Americans, marked the evaporation of ordinary Americans' retirement plans with his customary empathy, ...Read more

On Jan. 6, 2021, Donald Trump sent his thugs to the U.S. Capitol where they proceeded to smash up "the people's house." Trump refused to admit that he had lost the 2020 election. He called the assorted vandals "patriots" and surrounded himself with men and women of low character. That should have been enough to disqualify him for another term ...Read more

After President Donald Trump issued an executive order restricting access to gender-affirming medical care for transgender people under 19, many hospitals nationwide abruptly cut off treatment for trans youth. This sent thousands of families scrambling, with some even wondering if they needed to leave the country to protect their family's ...Read more

She is a self-styled Islamophobe, a proud white nationalist and a conspiracy theorist. She called 9/11 an "inside job." She has been banned from Facebook, Instagram, Twitter (pre-Musk), PayPal, Uber and Lyft, among others, for hate speech and posting misinformation. She has been banned from events and had her press credentials suspended for ...Read more

Everyone should have known what was about to happen when Donald Trump announced huge global tariffs under the slogan "Make America Wealthy Again." Like "Make America Healthy Again," which accompanied the return of deadly measles, the cheery tagline for Trump's trade war foretold ruin -- which has arrived at warp speed.

Within hours, the ...Read more

Is anti-Zionism antisemitism? Before Hamas attacked Israel, American voters had not arrived at a consensus. They hadn't thought much about it. Asked whether the two terms were synonymous, 62% of respondents to a Brookings Institution poll taken seven months earlier said they didn't know. Fifteen percent replied yes, and 21% said no.

For the ...Read more

Mattie Jones turned 92 at the end of March. Friends, family, state senators and our U.S. congressman filled the First Congregational Methodist Church to celebrate her. I first met Mattie Jones a year ago when she spoke to a racial justice class designed for white allies. Jones is a civil rights icon in Louisville, Kentucky.

At the end of her ...Read more

"Last words" used to be a popular concept. The idea was that, at the moment of your death, you were supposed to say something meaningful. They said the last words of Napoleon were, "France. The army. Head of the army. Josephine."

Josephine was Napoleon's first wife, so his last words show him either digging down to what he really loved or ...Read more

"Move it back to the states," Donald Trump says about education, about FEMA and, as will probably happen, about Medicaid. What that would mean to Americans depends on what state they live in. As the federal government moves forward on this, it's a good bet that high-income states can handle the changes better than low-income ones.

Yes, it's ...Read more

According to Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, "The White House, in coordination with the Department of Justice, has dismissed more than 50 U.S. attorneys and deputies in the past few weeks."

One of those dismissed was Adam Schleifer, a career prosecutor in Los Angeles with an outstanding reputation as a fair and effective ...Read more

WASHINGTON -- Read it and weep.

I mean the newspaper. Every single day, it brings tidings of despair to those who cherish the civilian institutions and agencies of this -- yes -- beloved and beautiful capital.

The Institute of Peace was closed, Gestapo-style, within view of the Lincoln Memorial. The Smithsonian, America's free storyteller, ...Read more

Texas: What the Hell?

Once again, my state's GOP hierarchy is leading the nation in creative ways to increase corporate power over people's rights. This time, lawmakers are rushing to protect corrupt executives from legal challenges by their own shareholders!

Their law would ban rank-and-file owners of corporate giants from suing their CEOs ...Read more

State and local officials play direct and crucial roles in shaping and safeguarding our civil rights and civil liberties, especially amid the Trump administration's ongoing attacks. These offices and officials -- governors, state legislatures, attorneys general and mayors -- influence countless parts of our daily lives but, most importantly, ...Read more

Last week's disclosure that the Trump administration officials responsible for keeping us safe from our enemies resemble reckless frat boys may have been shocking, but it wasn't surprising. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was already regarded by most members of Congress as profoundly unsuited for that position. This was because of his obvious ...Read more

There's much spinning over the grave lapse in national security captured in that group chat outlining a planned bombing raid on the Houthi militia. It goes that it was not that big a deal because the mission was a success. It was not OK. It was lucky.

The late-night comedians and "Saturday Night Live" had a good time turning the event into ...Read more