[Robert B. Reich] Trump's war on courts, press and states

With congressional Republicans in the majority in the US Congress and unwilling to cross Donald Trump, the job of containing Trump’s incipient tyranny falls to the three remaining centers of independent power: the nation's courts, its press and a few state governments.　Which is why Trump is escalating attacks on all three, seeking to erode public confidence in them.　After federal Judge James Robart -- an appointee of George W. Bush -- stayed Trump’s travel ban, Trump leveled a personal attack on

Feb. 16, 2017

[Dan K. Thomasson] Dear Donald, take a breath

We know it’s not easy being you, Mr. President.　Even the guy you nominated to the Supreme Court, your first attempt at building a solid conservative majority there, has taken a shot at you.　Everybody knows by now that Judge Neil Gorsuch of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals found your remarks about some of his fellow jurists “demoralizing and disheartening.” And it’s obvious there are times you think being president trumps (pun intended) everything else, including the judicial branch of government

Feb. 15, 2017

[Chicago Tribune] Pastors and politics: How to revise the rules against campaigning by churches

Donald Trump would once have been thought an unlikely champion of religious freedom. But he staked out his claim at this year’s National Prayer Breakfast, vowing to liberate churches to use their voices in political campaigns. His administration, he promised, would “get rid of and totally destroy the Johnson Amendment and allow our representatives of faith to speak freely and without fear of retribution.”　If you’re not familiar with the Johnson Amendment, join a big club. It’s an obscure tax law

Feb. 15, 2017

[David Ignatius] Michael Flynn‘s star burns out

A strange and circuitous path led Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn toward his fateful telephone contact in late December with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak, and the flameout of what had been a distinguished military career. Military and intelligence colleagues who served with Flynn describe him as a brilliant tactician whose work in the shadowy Joint Special Operations Command a decade ago didn’t prepare him for broader challenges as head of the Defense Intelligence Agency, from which he was removed i

Feb. 15, 2017

[Letter to the Editor] Effective way to deal with N. Korea

I just would like to thank The Korea Herald for publishing the Feb. 7 opinion piece “Amnesty for NK officials Kim’s strategic nightmare,” as I believe its message was very relevant and significant to Koreans. I hope the Korean government implements what is suggested there and achieves swift unification between the North and the South before the international world or media comes between us Koreans. I am the compiler of Robert Park’s book “Voice: Stop Genocide!” and I was glad to find Park’s rece

Feb. 15, 2017

[Desk Column] Trump’s vision of America

Trump’s vision of America By Kim Hoo-ranWatching the evening news could be harmful to your health. Really.Local news is plastered with coverage of the ongoing independent counsel investigation into influence-peddling by President Park Geun-hye’s confidante Choi Soon-sil and the Constitutional Court’s impeachment trial of Park. The snowballing allegations of extortion by Park and Choi, of wrongdoings by Blue House aides and government ministers, including the drawing up of a “black list” of “anti

Feb. 15, 2017

[Justin Fox] Voters don't like cutting corporate taxes

On Sunday, Swiss voters rejected a reduction in corporate tax rates by a 59 percent to 41 percent margin.Some of the factors that drove their decision were unique to Switzerland and this particular referendum. The tax change had been forced on Swiss politicians by the European Union and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, which don’t like the preferential treatment the country has been giving to multinational corporations with operations there. It was a complicated proposa

Feb. 14, 2017

[Gina Barreca] What can you do with an English major?

College students have always worried about the “big talk” they might need to have with their parents.In 1847, a student at the University of Pennsylvania might have had to explain to his parents that he joined one of the literary societies, which, on the eve of the Civil War, debated the role of slavery while pistols lay on the lectern.In the 1960s, college students were worried about their parents discovering they were having sex.In the 1970s, college students worried that they would have to te

Feb. 14, 2017

[Robert Prentice] Politicians lie, but Trump has taken it to new level

Hillary Clinton lied. It’s one of the reasons she’s not president today. Of course, I lie too. And so do you. Probably yesterday, in fact. And probably again tomorrow.Psychologists know that as humans, we often tell lies, mostly little ones. As humans, it’s what we do.Politicians speak a lot, so they lie more than the rest of us, and they speak publicly, so they get caught more. Because politicians lie and routinely get caught doing it, Americans have become accustomed to a certain level of dish

Feb. 14, 2017

Campus free speech under attack

The violence that erupted at UC Berkeley last week during the protest of a planned speech by Breitbart News editor Milo Yiannopoulos, known for his conservative and decidedly politically incorrect views, was a sorry display and a blow to free speech.It is ironic that such a demonstration took place at the birthplace of the Free Speech Movement during the 1960s. The demonstration began peacefully, with up to 1,500 protesters expressing their opposition to the conservative journalist and speaker.

Feb. 13, 2017

[Kara Alaimo] When the fake news is about your company

Fake news on social media stymied the presidential campaign of Hillary Clinton. Now, businesses are wondering what they should do if they’re targeted next.For some, it’s too late. Pepsi’s chief executive never told Trump supporters to “take their business elsewhere,” but websites still falsely claimed she did. Coca-Cola had to deal with bogus reports that a “clear parasite” in Dasani bottled water had sent hundreds to the hospital. And in December, a 28-year-old man drove six hours to a Washingt

Feb. 13, 2017

Will Trump’s cabinet challenge Trump?

Because we don’t think we’ve done so before, let us use the words “quiet” and “successful” in a sentence that references the Trump White House:　Two of President Donald Trump’s cabinet picks got off to -- here it is -- quiet, successful starts in their positions, reinforcing the notion that business-as-has-been-customary just might be a viable expectation for elements of this peripatetic administration. Stay with us here:Do you recall all the Obama Cabinet members who pushed back at the president

Feb. 13, 2017

[The Sacramento Bee] Trump’s conflicts are a scandal waiting to happen

President Donald Trump used his official Twitter account Wednesday to bash Nordstrom for “unfairly” dropping daughter Ivanka’s clothing line. “Terrible!”　First lady Melania Trump sued a British newspaper for $150 million this week, claiming that a retracted story could cost her an “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” to launch a multimillion-dollar brand.　Looked at separately, they’re merely the latest eyebrow-raising moves in our new Trump world. But start connecting the dots and it’s a pattern of

Feb. 12, 2017