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On Trump’s comments about a possible third term

When Republicans took control of Congress in 1947, they were still angry that President Franklin D. Roosevelt had won a fourth term in 1944, and they set out to pass a constitutional amendment to limit future presidents to two terms. John Jennings, Republican of Tennessee, stood on the House floor and said a 22nd Amendment was necessary to prevent a dictator from taking over the country. “Without such a limit on the number of terms a man may serve in the presidency, the time may come when a man of vaulting ambition becomes president,” Mr. Jennings said on Feb. 6, 1947. Such a man, ...

‘N’ in SNAP means nutrition

SNAP, or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as food stamps, is one of the nation’s largest welfare programs. And, like all welfare programs, it is massive, it has grown prodigiously over the years and it is inefficient. One glaring issue, which is gaining attention as a result of new Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Make America Healthy Again campaign, is the kinds of foods that recipients of SNAP funds can purchase. And here we have convergence of bodily health and fiscal health. The “N” in SNAP stands for nutrition. The ...

Push for equal rights, against quotas

“It is the policy of the United States to eliminate the use of disparate-impact liability in all contexts to the maximum degree possible to avoid violating the Constitution, Federal civil rights laws, and basic American ideals.” Those words, the operative section of “Restoring Equality of Opportunity and Meritocracy,” one of several executive orders President Donald Trump issued on April 23, mark a giant step forward for equal rights under law, the motivating principle behind ratification of the 14th Amendment in 1868 and passage of the Civil Rights Act in 1964. Unhappily, ...

Finding your people makes life better

When you know where you belong, it’s easier to be yourself. As an adult with autism, Sara Lamb’s search for belonging has been a long road, which is why I wanted to talk to her. Sara described herself as “quirky” and “shy.” When she attended public school as a child, she felt like a “lone wolf.” She said, “I just didn’t have a lot of lasting friendships.” Sara was homeschooled in high school and wasn’t diagnosed with autism until she was 16. It was Sara’s Aunt Amber who first considered autism a possibility after watching the 2010 biographical film “Temple ...

Trade war endangers national security

Each F-35 Lightning II aircraft contains more than 900 pounds of rare earth elements. Each Virginia-class submarine has 9,200 pounds. Permanent magnets made from these materials are used to make Tomahawk missiles, Predator drones and the Joint Direct Attack Munition series of smart bombs. Almost all of this material comes from China. The country accounts for nearly all of the world’s processing of heavy rare earths — whose critical magnetic and optical properties are vital for defense systems. It also produces about 90 percent of rare earth magnets, used in everything from electric ...

Right ends, wrong means

President Donald Trump has identified real problems, but he’s abusing his power in trying to correct them. Perhaps the most frustrating thing about being a conservative critic of Trumpism is that you often start by agreeing with Trumpworld about ends while disagreeing about means. This pleases nobody. The left, broadly speaking, considers the ends as illegitimate as the means, and the pro-Trump right thinks that if you’re against the means you really don’t desire the ends. I’m against the abuse of power, even for my own “side.” For instance, I’ve argued for decades ...