Politics, Moderate
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Malcolm-Jamal Warner's Death: A Reminder to Make the Most of Our Lives
Those of us who grew up watching "The Cosby Show" as teens in the 1980s were extremely saddened to learn of Malcolm-Jamal Warner's tragic drowning in Costa Rica while on vacation with his family. Warner held iconic television status among Gen X, as he was most beloved for his role as Theo Huxtable on the pioneering sitcom created by Bill Cosby. ...Read more
Lawmakers Wonder Why a Mountain Climber Was Prosecuted for Climbing a Mountain: Two Members of the House Judiciary Committee Say the Case Against Michelino Sunseri Epitomizes the Overcriminalization That the President Decries
When mountain runner Michelino Sunseri climbed and descended Grand Teton in record time last September, he posted information about his route on social media. According to the National Park Service and the Justice Department, Sunseri thereby implicated himself in a federal misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail.
Although the NPS ...Read more
'Noah': A Riveting Production of the Biblical Story
My church recently celebrated our pastor's 75th birthday with a trip to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, to view the musical "Noah," produced by Sight & Sound Theatres. We boarded a chartered bus from Columbus, Ohio, for a six-hour trip of fun and fellowship through the country's heartland. It had been several years since I had been on a bus, and I have...Read more
Trump Caught in His Own Trap
A new poll, on a matter that adamantly should not be decided by untutored public opinion, finds that 79% of Americans believe all of the documents relating to the Epstein case should be disclosed. A shocking result? Not quite. Ask Americans, who've been hearing wall-to-wall accusations about secret sex abuse cabals, celebrity client lists and ...Read more
Ravaged by Floods, Texas Deserves Compassion -- but So Did California After Wildfires
SAN DIEGO -- I'm the product of a mixed marriage. My parents are both Mexican American, but they were born on what sometimes seem like different planets.
I'm a lifelong Californian, who has spent all but a dozen of my 58 years living in the Golden State. I share those roots with my father, who was born in Central California in 1941.
But I'm ...Read more
The Real Reason for Ditching the TSA's Shoe Rule: The Widely Resented and Ridiculed Policy, Which the U.S. Was Nearly Alone in Enforcing, Never Made Much Sense
The Transportation Security Administration did not officially start requiring travelers to take off their shoes at the airport until August 2006. That was nearly five years after Richard Reid unsuccessfully tried to ignite explosives in his sneakers on an American Airlines flight from Paris to Miami.
The fear of Reid copycats was the ...Read more
A Personal Tribute to David Gergen for an Exceptional Life of Service
SAN DIEGO -- Good mentors can teach us a lot, except how to say goodbye.
One of mine -- who entered my life a quarter century ago as one of my graduate school professors and who I was later fortunate to call "friend" -- schooled me both in and out of the classroom.
Even now, I hear his gravelly voice in my head offering a gentle scolding: "...Read more
Attention Ruben Navarrette Editors: The 8Th Graf References Language That Some Readers May Find Offensive. Thank You. -- Creators
ATTENTION RUBEN NAVARRETTE EDITORS: THE 8TH GRAF REFERENCES LANGUAGE THAT SOME READERS MAY FIND OFFENSIVE. THANK YOU. -- CREATORS
Trump's Immigration Crackdown Creates Mayhem and Madness. Here's What We Can Do.
SAN DIEGO -- It feels as if California has a new state motto that boils down to just four words: "What can we do?"
As a Mexican ...Read more
The Trump Administration Says Its Speech-Based Deportation Policy 'Does Not Exist': The Government's Lawyers Also Say That Supposedly Nonexistent Policy Is Perfectly Consistent With the First Amendment
In a case that went to trial in Boston this week, the Trump administration argues that its policy of arresting, detaining and deporting international students for expressing anti-Israel opinions "does not exist." The government's lawyers also maintain that the supposedly nonexistent policy is perfectly consistent with the First Amendment -- a ...Read more
Slouching Toward Fascism, Trump 2.0 Has Stopped Making Sense
SAN DIEGO -- What does political analysis sound like when it comes from Generation X? For one thing, it can be set to 80s music.
Talking Heads probably hoped that a Trump presidency was a trauma that Americans would only have to experience Once in a Lifetime.
No such luck. The sequel isn't even six months old, and already, many critics agree...Read more
The Great American Experiment Carries On
The findings of a Gallup poll released at the end of June showed a higher percentage of people feeling less proud to be American. There was a stark division along partisan lines, which, given the Free America protests against President Donald Trump's policies on immigration, Medicaid and his spending cuts, is not surprising. Using a random ...Read more
Despite It All I'm Still a Patriot
On the eve of our nation's 249th birthday, a Gallup poll finds that only 58% of Americans feel "extremely" or "very" proud of their country. This is a new low in the 25 years Gallup has been asking this question, and the reasons are not hard to divine. We are led by a monomaniacal vulgarian who endangers all we hold dear -- all while enjoying ...Read more
For Many Americans -- and Especially Mexican Americans -- a Somber Fourth of July
SAN DIEGO -- Well, this Fourth of July weekend will be awkward.
As we mark the end of the first month of the Trump administration's occupation of Los Angeles -- which is centered around an un-American crackdown on Latino immigrants, and anyone who looks like them, by masked men who won't identify themselves, don't act like police and get ...Read more
Trump's 'Giant Win' Does Not Validate His Unconstitutional Birthright Citizenship Order: Tellingly, the President Avoided Defending His Dubious Interpretation of the 14th Amendment at the Supreme Court
When the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against "universal injunctions" last week, President Donald Trump hailed the decision as a "GIANT WIN" for his administration. Trump added that "the Birthright Citizenship Hoax" -- by which he meant the conventional understanding of the 14th Amendment -- also had been "hit hard," albeit "indirectly."
That ...Read more
Did Trump Win Over Hispanic Voters, or Did Harris Repel Them? Both.
SAN DIEGO -- It's been nearly eight months since the 2024 presidential election, and Americans are still debating what happened, why it happened and what it means that it happened.
The Pew Research Center recently provided more grist for the mill when it released an extensive study of nearly 9,000 voters conducted in the weeks following the ...Read more
Social Media's Pervasive Influence Cannot Be Ignored
A plethora of lawsuits, involving more than 1,800 plaintiffs, have been filed against social media companies, including ByteDance, Meta Platforms, Snapchat and Google, within the past two years. We are now seeing some progress being made toward litigation, as 11 social media addiction cases have been selected for test hearings by U.S. District...Read more
As Trump Continues To Terrorize Los Angeles, the Question Remains: Who Are These Masked Men?
SAN DIEGO -- As they try to tell the complicated story of what has been happening for the last three weeks on the streets of Los Angeles, the media have been making a big mistake.
Reporters, anchors and columnists need to stop accepting at face value the increasingly dubious claim that these are, in fact, "ICE agents" who are snatching from ...Read more
The Rationale for Deporting Mahmoud Khalil Is Alarmingly Vague and Broad: Marco Rubio's Nebulous Invocation of Foreign Policy Interests Is Bound to Have a Chilling Impact on Freedom of Speech
Mahmoud Khalil, the first target of President Donald Trump's crusade against international students he describes as "terrorist sympathizers," was released from custody on Friday after more than three months of detention. But the Trump administration is still trying to deport Khalil, a legal permanent resident, based on his participation in ...Read more
A Country in Crisis
When I read the shocking news of the assassinations of Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark, along with the attempted murders of state Senator John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, it felt like watching a tragic political thriller unfold in real time. The Hoffmans miraculously survived 17 horrific bullet hits. We've learned ...Read more
Our Homegrown Extremists
The suspect in the Minnesota murders, Vance Luther Boelter, has been charged, for now, with second-degree murder. He allegedly killed two people, Melissa and Mark Hortman, in cold blood, and shot and wounded two others. According to Minnesota police, he showed up at the homes of at least two other people who were on his 45-person hit list (...Read more