Why Obama is going to visit Saudi King
This is a smart move by Obama and his foreign policy team. After all, the world’s most absolute monarchy and the world’s most powerful democracy have long been allies because…
Tag: cnnopinion
Modi and Obama’s surprising rapport
India and the United States, the two largest democracies, seem like natural allies. The kinship between their leaders, however, has been a bit of a surprise. There are, of course,…
Throw the Patriots out of the Super Bowl
That’s pretty much what New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and his coach Bill Belichick, would have us believe after their less-than illuminating press conferences yesterday. Both men claimed they…
Who killed Alberto Nisman?
Alberto Nisman reportedly knew he had powerful enemies; enemies who might kill. Still, he persevered, raising damning accusations against Iranian officials, against Hezbollah, against Argentina’s President, against people whose hands…
Time to rethink Ukraine deal
Hopes that a peace process might take hold in Ukraine this year were quickly dashed by the resumption of heavy fighting last week around Ukraine’s Donetsk airport. Now, as the…
Can Miss Universe Pageant save the world?
Yet, there I was, alone with the stunning Miss Ghana 2014, as we eyeballed each other’s outfits head to toe. Abena Akuaba Appiah, who will battle for the planet’s most…
Obama is wrong about ‘fast track’ trade policy
The voters scoffed at me, surveying their decaying porches with the decaying economy all around them. They blamed trade deals, especially the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) for the…
‘Coming out’ on climate change
Phew. But are we causing it? Oh no-no-no, says half the Senate. Forty-nine senators (full list here) voted on Wednesday against an amendment that said climate change is happening and,…
The good and bad in Obama’s tax plan
President Obama’s new tax plan includes some sensible ideas. Unfortunately, it would mean increasing taxes on saving and investment, which are key drivers of economic growth, according to various experts….
I’m a feminist and I’m against abortion
Polls taken since the Roe v Wade decision routinely show women in favor of abortion restrictions, and in slightly greater numbers than men. But how can this be? How can…
No federal case against Darren Wilson?
It now appears likely that Darren Wilson, the police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, who shot and killed Michael Brown, will never face criminal charges for his actions. The state grand…
The best way to respect guns
In case we need any reminder that gun politics can be over the top, there’s the recent report that gunmaker PARA USA regrets supplying weapons to the action flick “Taken…
It’s a child, not a choice
But a couple of months ago I got the call that all physicians dread. A fellow doctor called me, irate, saying, “You missed something!” My heart dropped and I waited…
How states are playing politics with women’s bodies
I operate the only abortion clinic in Wichita. For many of our patients, we are their last hope. A woman showed up on our doorstep recently in wrinkled clothes that…
GOP’s terrible problem with Hispanics
On the threshold of the 2016 election, the GOP is in a terrible fix over immigration. They’ve done such an effective job of alienating Hispanics over the years with their…
Syria’s simmering crisis
They may just have fled a war zone, but Syrian children on recess at the Zaatari Refugee Camp in Jordan aren’t so different from kids elsewhere. Boys run around, wrestle…
John Berman: I’m a Patriots fan — shame on me
Shame on me. If the reports are true, and somehow the New England Patriots deflated 11 balls in the AFC Championship Game, then shame on me. Screw them, and shame…
Talking about the poor is hip now
Even Mitt RomneyMr. 47%wants to “lift people out of poverty.” In a recent address at the Republican National Committee, Romney said, “The rich have gotten richer, income inequality has gotten…
Why I refuse to see ‘American Sniper’
“American Sniper” stormed the box office this past weekend with $105 million in ticket sales. Not since the Rambo movies have so many farmers and ranch hands buddy-upped to the…
Google Glass: What went wrong
In reality, of course, it doesn’t work that way. Just because you can build something doesn’t mean you should. Even if you cook up something cool and new and make…
Bobby Jindal doesn’t know what he’s talking about
Gov. Bobby Jindal has been speaking in London recently, and he startled quite a number of people in the House of Commons when he talked about “no-go zones” in Britain,…
Deflate-gate: Will the air go out of a phony scandal?
“Don’t both teams have to play with the football?” a Facebook friend of mine promptly inquired in a post, mystified as to how the New England Patriots could come under…
GOP, support Obama on taxing the wealthy
In the United States, the top 1% control more than one third of the nation’s resources. Two out of three Americans disapprove of the current distribution of income and wealth….
Obama’s uphill fight to hike taxes on wealthy
Income inequality is like the weather: Everyone talks about it, but no one does much about it. Now comes President Obama in his State of the Union Address, hoping to…
Why Beyonce’s feminism scares Huckabee
Beyonce, I’m talking to you! Daring to flash your lady parts in front of great big sign that reads “feminist?” What are you thinking? Queen Bey, don’t you realize your…
A 1965 failure that still haunts America
Then, with a Democratic administration riding high on a string of major legislative victories, including landmark civil rights and voting rights legislation, six days of horrendous rioting broke out in…
50 years later, MLK’s work is not done
But, like Dr. King, we must continue to march on. We march on toward the realization of the American Dream. We are not diverted by those who would deny opportunity…
Give the unemployed a second chance
Even though the 46-year-old mother of five has an accounting certificate and a mind for numbers, prospective employers “don’t so much as look at me because of my age or…
Can America handle the truth on race?
As we mark Martin Luther King Jr. Day this year, it’s worth asking: Can America handle either one? When Nelson Mandela became president of South Africa after the end of…
Penn State still doesn’t get it
All eyes were glued to the big guy in the gym. Red-faced and sweaty, he must have been benching more than 300 pounds. But the weights were slipping. Just as…