Politics
“Starting on day one, we will end inflation and make America affordable again, to bring down the prices of all goods.” That’s what candidate Donald J. Trump said in August while stumping in Montana. By now you know the Consumer Price Index increased 3% in January over a year
Politics
Wrecking ball, bull in a China shop, disrupter, Constitution-buster — choose your own metaphor. Just about everything President Donald J. Trump has unleashed in the first three weeks of his second term is what he said he would unleash. He was not kidding. He was prepared. Call it shock and awe,
Politics
Among a plethora of ideas flowing from the hyperactive mind of President Donald J. Trump, the U.S. “owning” Gaza is among the worst. Before I continue, to calm the MAGA wolves who are baring their fangs, here is a partial list of things he has done right: Enforce the
Politics
President Donald J. Trump’s first week was pretty damn good. He kept promises by signing a flurry of executive actions, as he promised. You may not like them, but he ran on them and followed through. Promises made, promises kept. His inauguration day was also a triumph with him
Immigration
I see a strange, unlikely parallel between the promise of churches to resist deportation of “migrants” (correct term, illegal residents) and the action of churches 60 years ago to protect civil rights protestors. The crucial difference is the civil rights protestors of yore were trying to demand federal law, while
Politics
In a generally forward-looking, brusque, and patriotic inaugural address, President Donald J. Trump went off the rails toward the end, making promises that were unenforceable, silly, or dangerous. Unenforceable is his desire to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America. He can call it the Gulf of
Guns
Not to pick on the Philadelphia Inquirer, but I will use a recent story to illustrate confirmation bias. The headline of the story read, “The LGBTQ people buying guns for self-defense,” and the top of the story makes its position clear when it quote a 23-year-old trans woman identified only
Politics
His book, “War,” says Bob Woodward, “presents the efforts and decisions to try to prevent war, and where war came, to avoid escalation.” Really, the book should be titled “Wars,” because while the central focus is Ukraine, the war provoked by Russian wannabe Czar Vladimir Putin, much of the book
Immigration
I was watching an MSNBC discussion show Friday morning, with all four panelists agreeing, vociferously, that Donald J. Trump was “anti immigrant” and his deportation plan would inevitably lead to “separation of families.” This can get deep fast because the courts have ruled that while adult illegals can be held
Humor
Continuing with a conversation with God going back a quarter of a century. Your Favorite Columnist: Let’s start with the biggest topic in the news. God: Saquon Barkley? He’s a God-send to the Eagles, I know. You’re welcome, and I don’t even give him an extra
Anti-Semitism
I once wrote, with sincerity, that Philadelphians divide their time between bragging about Philly, and trashing it. As a columnist, I’ve done more of the latter. Because problems seem to have a longer lifetime than achievements. Some columnists, like the famous Herb Caen, wrote what he called a series
Immigration
As part of my continuing scoreboard on Inquirer corruption of journalist norms, the Thursday edition carried yet another Open Border editorial mildly disguised as a new story. The piece runs 23 paragraphs, it quotes four supporters of illegal immigration, although it never ever uses the word “illegal,” and offers not