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Freedom movement became about welfare

The 36 million who watched President Donald Trump’s address to Congress also watched as Congressional Black Caucus member, Rep. Al Green, shook his cane and shouted at the president. When he refused to desist, Speaker Mike Johnson ordered him removed from the chamber. Two days later, in a bipartisan vote, the House censured Green. The Congressional Black Caucus stood in firm support of Green’s actions and, in their own move to disrupt, CBC members sang “We Shall Overcome,” an anthem of the Civil Rights Movement, as Johnson read the censure on the House floor. When they ...

Celebrating resilience of immigrant mothers

My mother-in-law was born on a small ranch in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, in 1951. After her mother died from illness, my mother-in-law crossed into Brownsville, Texas, during the Charro Days Fiesta. She was 13, undocumented and alone. I’ve written about my mother-in-law’s journey before. However, in light of Donald Trump’s immigration policies and his attempt to end constitutionally protected birthright citizenship, it is important to share her story once again. The Charro Days Fiesta is celebrated annually in Brownsville, Texas. This year it ran from Feb. 27 to March 1, but ...

The universities are next

Trump is following Putin’s, Xi’s, and Orban’s playbook. First, take over military and intelligence operations by purging career officers and substituting ones personally loyal to you. Next, subdue the courts by ignoring or threatening to ignore court rulings you disagree with. Intimidate legislators by warning that if they don’t bend to your wishes, you’ll run loyalists against them. (Make sure they also worry about what your violent supporters could do to them and their families.) Then focus on independent sources of information: the media and the universities. Sue media ...

Don’t fall for decarceration plans

There’s trouble ahead for New Yorkers distressed about crime levels. New York City’s Democratic establishment, including leading mayoral candidates and the City Council majority, are determined to downsize or eliminate the city’s jails altogether. They’ve drunk the decarceration Kool-Aid — and they’re convinced that jails do more harm than good. But the facts prove them wrong. Prisons keep the rest of us safe, because criminals behind bars can’t commit more crimes. A City Council hearing last week on criminal justice was straight out of fantasy land. Council member ...

Homer Simpson gloss on tariff philosophy

There’s a classic episode of The Simpsons in which Homer gets a gun. He thinks his awesome gun is great for everything: home defense, opening beer bottles, whatever. When Marge says she doesn’t want a weapon in the house, Homer replies, “A gun is not a weapon, Marge, it’s a tool. Like a butcher knife or a harpoon, or ... or an alligator. You just need more education on the subject.” How Homer thinks about guns is not all that dissimilar to how Donald Trump thinks about tariffs. Or if you want an even more dated pop culture reference, the Trump administration talks about ...

Reparations are a bad idea

A new law, buried inside an otherwise obscure piece of federal legislation, permits the Washington, D.C., City Council to establish a commission that will give “reparations” to descendants of enslaved people who can demonstrate how slavery and Jim Crow laws have negatively affected their lives. Talk about a high bar. The 12-member commission - yet to be appointed - will include a “social justice expert,” which should tell you all you need to know about its likely liberal slant. According to reporting by The Washington Times, the reparations will come from government ...