ArcaMax

An in-law, age 95 and on her deathbed, was having some final conversations. She brought up a memory of her own mother, who had lost a 2-year-old daughter to a childhood disease. When she misbehaved as a child, the elderly woman recalled, "My mother would say, 'I wish you had died instead of Alice.'" She then tried to reason that her mother, ...Read more

They are known as "stumbling stones" -- little brass tiles that for the last 30 years have been installed in the sidewalks outside the homes of Jews murdered in the Holocaust. More than 116,000 stones have been installed across Europe. It is a small thing, but an important one.

Last week, an ugly coalition in the German town of Heidenau voted...Read more

WASHINGTON -- Donald Trump is not just a bad president. "King" is too good a word for the likes of him. What Trump truly is shall be written in the end.

Andrew Johnson was the worst president we've had until now. A Southerner who was Abraham Lincoln's vice president, he took office in 1865 when the Civil War president was murdered by a ...Read more

It's the fall harvest season, when many farm stands and homes decorate with pumpkins, cornstalks and maybe even a straw man.

How to make a straw man? Easy -- stuff a couple of burlap bags with hay and dress your "man" in an old flannel shirt, overalls and a straw hat. But today's billionaires, corporate elites and other political megadonors ...Read more

"Everyone thinks they have the best dog," wrote W. R. Pursche, "and none of them are wrong." Those who've never had a dog don't get it, and you can't blame them. People who've never had a Toll House cookie likewise have every right to be ambivalent on the subject.

On the other hand, my family and I have had five Golden Retrievers over the ...Read more

It would be hard to find a more insulting offer than to exchange money for your vote. That's exactly what President Donald Trump did in announcing that if voters keep Republicans in power come the midterms, he'll send every adult citizen a $5,000 check.

Now, one would not put money on that promise. Even if Republicans do retain control of ...Read more

The Trump administration has deported over 23,000 people over the last year and a half to countries they have no relationship with, where they may not speak the language, and where they generally have no legal status. Sometimes, it deports people to conflict zones or countries where they are likely to face persecution or even torture.

The ...Read more

This week, President Donald Trump lost twice in his war against a free press. Will it stop him? Almost certainly not.

The first solid loss came on Wednesday, in a suit

Trump has brought twice against the Des Moines Register and its pollster. Their crime? Predicting that he would lose when he went on to win.

Days before the November election...Read more

In 2002, I drew a six-panel political cartoon titled "Israel vs. Palestine: Where Do You Stand?" Each panel shows a different speaker making a statement about the conflict, with a bold label underneath that sarcastically identifies the speaker's supposed position. In the first panel, a man labeled "MODERATE HONEST BROKER" says, "The Arab ...Read more

Last week, America watched as Sen. Mitch McConnell was wheeled onto the Senate floor after being absent for nearly three months following his June 14 hospitalization. Whether or not McConnell is fit to do his job is debatable. What isn't debatable is that he had access to excellent healthcare when he needed it without having to worry about ...Read more

The guy on the trash truck haws a face like an Inca god in a half-ruined temple a long way south of Tiverton, Rhode Island, where I'm writing this and watching him through the window of my home office.

Is he in the country legally?

The only way to find out is for me to go out there and shake the guy down for documents, and he's in great ...Read more

Not all of them. Some influencers simply want to persuade and perhaps help others better their lives or their community. Their subject could be politics, economics, music, health or fashion. But social media has become inundated with influencers who harm their devotees, some on purpose. Or make money off their trusting audience by endorsing so-...Read more

There were at least two notable confrontations at the U.N. this week. One was to be expected: Trump versus Iran:

"I have a big decision to make," President Donald Trump told world leaders. Will a deal be made with Iran that lets them rebuild and create a far greater country than it ever was before -- maybe one of the greatest in the Middle ...Read more

Atone, America.

The high holiday Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement, just passed us by at sundown on Sept. 21. Our country, thanks to Donald Trump, has become the scourge of the world. Nowhere was that clearer than in the United Nations General Assembly (Tuesday) where Trump asked world leaders if he should "annihilate" Iran.

Yes, he ...Read more

It's one thing for someone like me to say that the Republican Party has dived into the abyss of political delirium.

But it's another thing when the party itself confirms its collective delirium for two whole days in a made-for-TV political talk-a-thon. Their theme was: "Bring Back Joe McCarthy!"

Let's not forget what a horror McCarthyism was...Read more

Topping the chart of the truly brilliant propaganda successes those wishing Israel to disappear have achieved since Oct. 7, 2023 has been their skill in establishing the fashionable line that Israel, the victim of a genocidal invasion by those vowing genocide, is actually guilty of genocide. It doesn't get much more brilliant than that.

But ...Read more

I didn't leave my political party; my party left me. Both of them.

I've been a Democrat, and I've been a Republican. What I am now doesn't matter. The point is that a lot of American voters feel perpetually frustrated by the choices they find on the November ballot. The Democratic or Republican candidate is often chosen in low-turnout ...Read more