At the U.N. General Assembly last week, President Joe Biden told the world again that America is back at the table. He championed global cooperation as the only way to address today’s global challenges, making clear that it not only benefits the international community but is essential for A…
Two of America’s toughest problems can be tempered with one solution.
It was the kind of news story that would have been utterly shocking ... before March of 2020, anyway. An everyday occasion normally associated with joy — a baby shower — pivots into a squabble over something trivial. In this particular saga, which took place last weekend in a Pittsburgh subu…
On the surface this seems reasonable. If people like credible news, expert opinions and fun videos, these algorithms should identify such high-quality content. But the wisdom of the crowds makes a key assumption here: that recommending what is popular will help high-quality content “bubble up.”
It makes all the sense in the world: If someone is accessible, easier to contact, then it is not much of a reach to assume that we can easily establish and maintain a connection with that person, right?
George W. Bush’s best moments as president came nine days after his worst, nine days to wade through the horror and toxic disbelief, nine days to sort out the origins, meaning and terrifying implications of a nearly unimaginable morning that went into history as its own numerical shorthand, 9/11.
Whether you are religious believer or an atheist, it’s galling to realize that some people are feigning religious objections to COVID-19 vaccines to avoid compliance with mandates. And since the law requires that religious beliefs be “sincere,” it’s tempting to argue for strict policing of t…
It was after dark at the border, and a U.S. Border Patrol agent used his body to shield a migrant father and child in his custody from Anthony Agüero, a Jan. 6 Capitol rioter who was trying to film them to spread QAnon-style propaganda about child sex trafficking at the border.
As the risk of severe climate change rises, and efforts to reduce carbon emissions ramp up, serious thought must also be given to the movement of people that climate change stands to provoke. This migration looks to be disruptive, but it may also significantly affect the long-term economic c…
Folks always say there’s an episode of “The Andy Griffith Show” for everything. I think I’m starting to believe them.
Washingtonians have repeatedly said “no” to an income tax. And historically, the Washington Legislature has followed the will of the people by not imposing income taxes. In 2021, that all changed.
Many reactions to COVID-19 can be explained by one simple concept: intertemporal substitution. Its awkward name notwithstanding, the idea helps to make sense of many behaviors that otherwise might appear irrational.
The American Immigration Council reported that roughly 44.7 million first-generation Americans lived in the United States earlier this year. Within this population, there were approximately 2 million more women than men. Despite making up about 14 percent of the U.S. population, first-gen Am…
Whether Texas’ anti-abortion law survives inevitable Supreme Court scrutiny, it may already have done irreparable damage to what was once known as the conservative movement — despite delivering a crucial part of that movement its greatest win.
The 2020 census results made a splash in mid-August with this clear message: A declining number of people in the United States identify themselves as white, and the shift is happening faster than many had predicted. But all the justified focus on the “browning” of America obscured a second s…
On a rainy Thanksgiving night in 2019, Jihad Muhammad, 62, was standing by a crosswalk on Adams Boulevard near West View Street when he was struck by a white Audi whose driver sped off, leaving him lying on the street.
Among last week’s harvest of factoids I unearthed looking for other factoids is that next month — Oct. 7, to be precise — marks the 25th anniversary of the birth of Fox News.
Texas Republicans just handed back to Democrats the mid-term election advantage President Joe Biden has spent all year squandering.
A symbol is anything that stands for, or represents, something else. Symbols encourage people to go beyond the original purpose and create a connection that can cross psychological boundaries, cultures or politics. Anything can be a symbol, even a building or part of a building. Symbols of s…
Generally, I’m not impressed by descriptions of current phenomena in terms of the past. Donald Trump as the modern incarnation of Hitler? The comparison seems far-fetched. It either takes Trump too seriously or Hitler too lightly.
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