Editorial

Not every attempt by Republicans to protect the integrity of the vote amounts to voter suppression. Likewise, not every proposal from Democrats to make voting easier will open the floodgate to fraudulent ballots. If the two sides could accept those premises, then perhaps they could merge their electoral reform efforts in Michigan in a way that restores trust in the process. While Democrats point out there's no evidence of widespread fraud in the 2020 election, there remains considerable suspicion, based on the … [Read more...] about Strive for bipartisan election protections

President Joe Biden is so committed to bipartisan cooperation and fact-based governance that he’s launched an ignorant and incendiary attack on the new Georgia voting law. Biden says the new law is “Jim Crow in the 21st century” and “an un-American law to deny people the right to vote.” It’s now practically mandatory for Democrats to launch such unhinged broadsides. Elizabeth Warren, accusing Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp of having stolen his 2018 election victory over Democratic activist Stacey Abrams (a poisonous myth), tweeted, “The … [Read more...] about The lie of Georgia voter suppression

Jim Crow is not a real person. He’s a fictional character invented by a white guy for demeaning performances in minstrel shows. But for generations of black Americans, Jim Crow is very real and ever present in their lives. It evolved into the name given to whites’ grudging end to slavery, or almost end to slavery. That is, if you consider an end to slavery separate accommodations — drinking fountains, restrooms, lunch counters, hotels ... as if you’re dirty or less than human — separate and substandard schools, racially segregated … [Read more...] about The other J-C

The U.S. Department of Education has not yet granted Michigan a free pass from testing accountability, and it shouldn’t. After a year of unprecedented disruptions, families deserve honest information about how their schools are doing. Standardized tests are the best way to gauge that performance, and while state education officials — including the Michigan Department of Education and the State Board of Education — have put their efforts into seeking a waiver from federally required annual tests, this isn’t the right … [Read more...] about Feds shouldn’t give Michigan free pass from tests

At least it’s permissible to question the conclusions of federal law enforcement again. During the Russia investigation and afterward, officials like FBI Director Christopher Wray were put on a pedestal by Democrats and the media. Now, Wray has occasioned sharp Democratic dissent by stating that the horrifying murder spree at Atlanta-area spas that killed six Asian American women wasn’t racially motivated. Tammy Duckworth, the Democratic senator from Illinois, said in response to Wray that she wanted to see a deeper … [Read more...] about Facts ignored in attacks on Asian Americans

By LEE H. HAMILTON There’s not much question where the Biden administration’s domestic priorities lie. Getting the pandemic health crisis under control and moving past its attendant economic crisis were always going to be the first order of business for the new White House. It’s what comes afterward — where the administration wants to head, how the American people respond, and what Capitol Hill does with it all — that will give us a sense of whether the country is ready for the kind of change Biden is signaling he wants to … [Read more...] about Where domestic policy seems headed

Which is it: Are the police inherently thuggish, brutish enforcers of a racist America? They have been accused of being complicit in the deaths of so many minorities, particularly from the Black community, like George Floyd. Or are they the protectors of America’s democracy, like the heroes and victims in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol? Who are we as a country? Not what are we, but who are we? Do we bounce from festering hatred of one demographic group to another? A hatred that explodes into violence at the behest of one … [Read more...] about The split personalities

The White House can’t say it didn’t know this was coming. When we look at the crisis at the border — and yes it is a crisis — we’re reminded of former Secretary of State Colin Powell’s famous Pottery Barn analogy. You break it, you own it. Citing an internal document, NBC News reports that border agents in the Rio Grande Valley are releasing adult migrants and families from custody before they have been given dates to appear in court. More troubling, many aren’t being asked for contact information, a flawed ad hoc response to … [Read more...] about President Biden shares blame for the border crisis

Joe Biden has signed what may well end up being the biggest accomplishment of his presidency, an enormous $1.9 trillion COVID relief bill. With his other priorities likely to molder in the Senate, the spending will probably stand as a signature statement of Biden’s approach to governance — and it should be a damning one. The legislation is a misnomer; it is neither a COVID nor a relief bill. Only a tiny portion of the spending in the bill goes toward vaccinations and other priories directly related to the pandemic. Much of … [Read more...] about COVID relief bill: bad policy, bad faith

How is the first hundred days of a presidency like Valentine’s Day? Valentine’s is a Hallmark concoction; the first hundred days is a news concoction — a reason for papers, magazines, broadcasters, narrowcasters, social media and anti-social media to ramp up entire sections of their papers and fill the screen with graphics and analyses that have catchy titles like “Biden His Time — 100 Days.” It’s arbitrary, particularly since, to quote then Vice President Joe Biden whispering in President Barack Obama’s ear as he signed health … [Read more...] about Presidential cliches