[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

[Other View] A Republican carbon tax

Some Republicans have grown tired of fighting the rest of the world on climate change.　As economists, religious and military leaders, ordinary Americans and even oil companies have joined the push to lower greenhouse gas emissions, Republicans have, for the most part, resisted. But now, a group of conservative economists and former Republican officials are recommending their party reverse course -- dramatically. The US, they say, should enact a nationwide tax on carbon emissions. It’s a smart id

Feb. 12, 2017

[Justin Fox] The bureaucrats’ legitimacy crisis

These are interesting times to be a federal bureaucrat. You know, in the “may you live in interesting times” sense.　President Donald Trump’s executive order on immigration unleashed a wave of dissent in the State Department -- and a warning from White House press secretary Sean Spicer that dissenters should “either get with the program or they can go.” US Rep. Patrick McHenry, a member of the House Republican leadership, sent a letter to Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen last week demanding tha

Feb. 12, 2017

[Los Angeles Times] Appeals court rightfully blocks travel ban

Thank God that at least part of the US government is functioning as it ought to. On Thursday, a three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a temporary freeze on the president’s misguided ban on travel from seven mostly Muslim countries and his suspension of refugee resettlements.　Ostensibly, President Trump wants to suspend the refugee program and freeze immigration from the seven countries in order to give his administration time to review how the government vets visa and asyl

Feb. 12, 2017

[Other View] Plain on Ukraine: US policy needs to become unambiguous

What is happening in eastern Ukraine is gaining attention for two reasons: the likely financial involvement in Ukraine’s affairs by President Donald Trump and some of his close advisers, and the fact that fighting there has resumed between US-backed Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed Ukrainian separatists.　US support of Ukrainian government forces and Russian support of Ukrainian separatists is troubling. The conflict continues to evolve into a proxy war between Russia and the United States. Th

Feb. 9, 2017

[Jonathan Bernstein] Donald Trump, paper tiger

Republicans in the US Congress and others in the party are apparently concerned that President Donald Trump, or perhaps voters besotted with the president, will target them should they oppose him. The truth is Trump has yet to demonstrate any kind of impressive capacity for inflicting political damage. 　Oh, yes, Trump is clearly capable of tweeting all sorts of nasty things about those he considers his enemies. He won‘t address their arguments; he’ll level petty, personal attacks. No doubt those

Feb. 9, 2017