Why farmers are standing up against free trade
My mom stood next to my grandfather, both of them crying as he emptied the bulk tank and dumped his milk in protest.
FTC ban on noncompetes is a victory for the US economy
It’s easy to understand why the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is so upset about the Federal Trade Commission’s decision to ban noncompete agreements. The problem for businesses is not that they will lose trade secrets or valuable investments in workers to competitors. It’s that they just lost bargaining power to workers — and that’s exactly what the FTC intended.
Letters to the Editor for April 27
Foreign aid package isn’t about peace
Point: Perverting God’s word for politics is a sin
In March, former President Donald Trump began hawking a “God Bless the USA” Bible online for $59.99, a King James Version that also includes the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence and the Pledge of Allegiance.
Counterpoint: Bible blasphemy or act of godliness?
Donald Trump was recently accused of “Bible blasphemy” for selling a version of the Bible, which prompted me to write this article on his motivations for such an act. Is this truly blasphemy? Or is it a way to encourage his followers to study the Holy Scriptures to “Make America Great and Godly Again”?
Westside Stories: Who pays for slavery?
Here’s a question for you.
Letters to the editor for Thursday, April 25, 2024
Prepare an advance health care directive
Caitlin Clark’s paltry $76K salary shows WNBA players deserve more money
Before we launch a GoFundMe page for Caitlin Clark, who will make a comparatively paltry $76,535 as a WNBA rookie this season, consider that the basketball phenom is poised to sign an eight-figure endorsement deal with Nike that will include her own signature shoe.
Call in the carrier pigeons: Repeatedly raising the price of stamps doesn’t work
It’s hard to keep track of ever-increasing stamp prices. This month, the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) proposed hiking stamp prices in July from 68 cents to 73 cents, a 7.4% increase. In January, USPS hiked the price of first-class Forever stamps from 66 cents to 68 cents. Six months earlier, the agency raised prices from 63 cents to 66 cents. And six months before that, stamp prices increased from 60 cents to 63 cents. Postal leadership claims that these painful pricing changes are necessary to get the USPS back into the black. But, according to a new report by the non-profit postal watchdog “Keep US Posted,” this revenue-raising gambit is sorely misguided. The USPS cannot solve its dire fiscal issues by gouging hard-working taxpayers and consumers.
Should Donald Trump’s jury really remain anonymous?
What are we to make of the anonymous jury in former President Donald Trump’s criminal trial in New York? The practice has long had its critics.
Sleepwalking into civil war
If you’re searching for insight into the likelihood of a second American civil war, you won’t find it in “Civil War,” a film written and directed by Alex Garland and currently in theaters.
Acquitted of the crime, but still does the time
Students are taught in civics class that, under the American justice system, a defendant may be convicted of a crime only if a jury finds him or her guilty of the charged offense “beyond a reasonable doubt.” What’s rarely mentioned, however, is that federal law allows judges to ignore a not guilty verdict and sentence men and women to prison for illegal activity of which they were acquitted.
Stop saying ‘immigrants do jobs Americans don’t want to do’
The deaths of six immigrant workers in the collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge on March 26 sparked the kind of collective empathy that usually follows tragic events. President Joe Biden was among the many who offered his prayers. In news reports, the men have been called “kindhearted,” “humble” and “heroes.”
Letters to the editor for Tuesday, April 23, 2024
Man’s self-immolation raises more questions
Joe Biden should commit to presidential debates
Joe Biden famously ran a basement campaign during his successful 2020 presidential bid. But he emerged to participate in two debates with his opponent, Donald Trump. Will he agree to share the stage this fall? He’d better.
No debate about it: A fitting end to the ridiculous impeachment of Alejandro Mayorkas
The 49 Senate Republicans spent Wednesday afternoon furiously sputtering that they weren’t allowed to debate if Alejandro Mayorkas, the secretary of homeland security, duly and formally impeached by the House, should be tried in the upper chamber.
Fighting back against library book bans
Abill recently passed by the West Virginia House of Delegates is one of the latest attempts to censor educational materials. If the measure becomes law, it would make librarians and other educators criminally liable for showing obscene materials to children who are not accompanied by an adult. Librarians and teachers could then face felony penalties, up to $25,000 in fines, and even up to five years in jail.
USC got it wrong in canceling valedictorian’s speech. Here’s what the school should do now
USC’s decision to rescind valedictorian Asna Tabassum’s invitation to speak at its commencement no doubt resulted from a range of pressures from inside and outside the university, particularly the outcry over the student’s expressions of support for Palestinians. Provost Andrew T. Guzman wrote that he acted in the face of “substantial risks relating to security and disruption at commencement.”
Letters to the Editor for April 20
More funding needed to serve the homeless
Making sense of the ‘wage gap’
What’s behind the wage gap between men and women?