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Ripple effects of the Rev. Jesse Jackson’s vision of Black economic power

Having covered the Rev. Jesse Jackson for more than a half-century, I have an insider's understanding of why thousands of people lined up to wait patiently last week in Chicago to pay their final respects to the departed civil rights icon. Jackson knew when and how to defy power, but he also ...

SOTU showcases a gelded Congress

The president wasted no time getting to his lies. It started in the first minute, when he claimed that: "When I spoke in this chamber 12 months ago, I had just inherited a nation in crisis, with a stagnant economy, inflation at record levels, a wide-open border, horrendous recruitment for ...

The price of perfect nihilism

When President Donald Trump first announced that he had ordered the Pentagon to attack fishing boats and speedboats on the high seas which he said carried dangerous drugs destined for willing buyers in the United States, many of us who monitor the government for its indifference to the ...

Supreme court throws out Trump tariffs and upholds Constitution

So much for the notion that the Supreme Court, with its 6-3 majority of justices appointed by Republican presidents, was going to be a rubber stamp for Donald Trump. That is a frequently voiced charge by partisan Democrats, and a fear of many ambivalent voters who find many of Trump's policies ...

The disgraceful ravings of Candace Owens

Joe McCarthy was famously undone by the rhetorical questions at a 1954 congressional hearing: "Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last? Have you left no sense of decency?" If the same queries were directed to Candace Owens at such a forum, she'd sail on unperturbed — since she has no ...

So you want to be a plumber

The skilled trades have become hot of late. That has many young people dropping plans to attend college. Meanwhile, some desk-bound professionals are said to gaze longingly at nearby construction sites. They daydream about trading spreadsheets for tool belts. They imagine becoming plumbers, ...