Jeb Bush must speak truth to GOP voters
Of course, that could have been because expectations were so low. You remember “Bush Derangement Syndrome.” When George W. Bush was president, it afflicted liberals who thought the chief executive…
Tag: cnnopinion
On LAPD shooting, take a broader view
Over the weekend, Los Angeles Police Department officers shot a man known as “Africa.” The killing was caught on video by bystanders as well as by currently un-released body-cam and…
Did ‘SNL’ ISIS skit cross a line?
It’s outrage time again. This time it’s over a “Saturday Night Live” commercial parody that aired over the weekend. The subject (take a deep breath and prepare to be shocked):…
The complicated life — and tragic death — of Boris Nemtsov
Boris Nemtsov, the Russian opposition leader slain Friday night a stone’s throw from the Kremlin, was a true original, one of the towering figures of his country’s post-communist political odyssey….
Bibi vs. Barack: It’s time for a truce
The speech itself is a terrible mistake. Arranging it without prior consultation with the White House was not only an affront to Barack Obama but to the Presidency itself. One…
Has Netanyahu gone too far?
Netanyahu is driven not only by his concerns about Iran’s nuclear threatthe topic of his addressbut also by domestic political considerations. Israel will hold its national elections just two weeks…
Nemtsov killing: A chilling historical parallel?
In Moscow on February 27, 2015, a lone gunman killed Boris Nemtsov, a former deputy prime minister and a powerful and charismatic opposition leader who stood as an alternative to…
What Star Trek taught me
All I have is a model communicator with a flip-lid that makes three different sound effects. And a Federation of Planets command badge. And the complete DVD set of the…
Buzz Aldrin: Leonard Nimoy, my fellow space traveler
Nimoy’s Mr. Spock in the original “Star Trek” television show, followed by the series of movies, proved to be a seminal, enduring and endearing character. While the late Neil Armstrong’s…
Buzz Aldrin: Leonard Nimoy, my fellow space traveler
I was saddened to learn of the passing of Leonard Nimoy, a fellow space traveler because he helped make the journey into the final frontier accessible to us all. Nimoy’s…
Time for grown-up debate on inequality
Imagine an American billionaire who is so callous that he could fly into Davos, Switzerland, for the annual World Economic Conference and announce that “America’s lifestyle expectations are far too…
Time to face facts over extremism
Our minds still try to resist the idea that someone is willing to kill another human being because of the words that he or she writes. Yet that is exactly…
Why blue/black/white/gold dress went viral
There’s a simple reason why the dress debate and the rampaging llamas in Arizona have taken over our news feeds, our conversations and our lives this weekand it has more…
Nimoy is Spock, Spock is Nimoy
Everybody on the planet knows that Gene Roddenberry created Mr. Spock, the laconic, imperturbable extra-terrestrial First Officer for the Starship Enterprise. But Mr. Spock doesn’t belong to Roddenberry, even though…
‘Old guard’ civil rights groups blew it on net neutrality
The Federal Communications Commission got it right on “net neutrality.” So did President Obama, who took a bold stand in favor of keeping the Internet free. So did leaders such…
Pilot: What keeps you safe from terror hijackings
Brooklyn? Who would have thought the latest terrorist threat would have origins in one of the oldest boroughs in New York? My mother grew up in Brooklyn. And the fact…
Why ‘Jihadi John’ is so worrying
The revelations Thursday over the identity of “Jihadi John”that he apparently grew up and was educated in Britain, and that he has a degree in computing from Westminster University in…
What terrorists are really angry about
But what we do know is that it has become common, even routine, to argue that there exists a process by which potential terrorists become “radicalized.” The concept, which has…
Say no to guns on college campuses
A bulletproof vest? The gun lobby is now pushing bills in state legislatures across the country that would allow guns onto college campuses. Here in Florida, they’re pushing a group…
What Bill O’Reilly owes America
Fox News host Bill O’Reilly, grappling with accusations that he embellished and/or fabricated reports placing him at the center of dramatic news events, tipped his hand more than he realized…
Time to silence terrorists on social media
Reports Wednesday that three men have been arrested over plans to travel from New York to join ISISand that one of them allegedly posted online about his desire to shoot…
Why Obama did GOP a favor on Keystone veto
When Barack Obama issued just the third veto of his presidency on Tuesday, of a bill allowing construction of the Keystone XL pipeline, Republicans were outraged, or at least pretended…
Judicial hypocrisy on juvenile sentencing?
As Wisconsin prepares to try two children as adults in an attempted murder case allegedly inspired by the mythical Slenderman, the prosecution of two preteens in adult court challenges our…
Don’t be soothed by Walmart pay hike
Walmart, the nation’s largest private employer, announced last week that it will raise the wages of approximately 500,000 of its employees by lifting its base wage to $10 by 2016…
I’m 53. I’ll wear short shorts if I want
So, please, fashion mags, clothing stores and Hollywood, stop with the “how to dress in your 20s, 30s, 40s and beyond” nonsense. J.Crew is the latest to inform me, that…
Ideology hurting homeland’s security
Imagine that you lived in a country that every day had to stay vigilante because of the risk of terrorist attacksphysical or of the cyber variety. Or that has faced…
Why is FDA dropping ball on ‘superbug’?
Last week, UCLA Medical Center notified 179 patients that it had potentially exposed them to a fearsome “superbug,” and urged them to get tested. The hospital accidentally infected seven people…
U.S. should keep force as option for Ukraine
If the United States wants to avoid the prospect of the violence spilling over into a broader conflict, it will need to keep the option of more direct involvementincluding the…
Why drafting Elizabeth Warren is a plus
I am not endorsing her as a candidate, at this point. But I am excited about the movement that is pushing her candidacy, unlike a whole bunch of Beltway types…
Al-Shabaab looking for attention
The Somali jihadi group Al-Shabaab grabbed headlines at the weekend when it released a video urging Muslims living in the United States, Britain and Canada to launch terrorist attacks against…