Commentary
By GEORGE PYLE | The Salt Lake Tribune
Last Updated May 5, 2017 07:04PM
[Video: A wild night out with Scarlett Johansson.] It’s a joke attributed to various wags and wits from years past. Winston Churchill. George Bernard Shaw. Lord Beaverbrook. Groucho Marx. A man at a fancy dinner party says to the woman …
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Holly Richardson: Sending people back into the shadows
Last week, Silvia Avelar-Flores ran to the craft store with her 8-year-old daughter to pick up supplies for a birthday party. There, an ICE officer who had been stalking her — I mean “surveilling” her — for three days arrested her in the parking lot. Her infraction? Overstaying a visa her parents go... Last week, Silvia Avelar-Flores ran to the craft store with her 8-year-old daughter to pick up supplies for a birthday party. There, an ICE officer wh...
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Op-ed: Proposed Medicaid cuts threaten children and require more analysis
Our congressional leaders face a rare opportunity to course-correct in a way that directly saves lives. With all the debate about health care reform and the proposed American Health Care Act (AHCA), our representatives can ensure our most precious resource — the health of our children — is a priorit... Our congressional leaders face a rare opportunity to course-correct in a way that directly saves lives. With all the debate about health care reform a...
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Op-ed: What Bears Ears is really like
There are lots of articles about Bears Ears National Monument but very few describe what it’s actually like to be there. I’ve been exploring this area for well over 20 years. This is a national issue and few people in the country have any concept of what is actually there. Here is a description of a... There are lots of articles about Bears Ears National Monument but very few describe what it’s actually like to be there. I’ve been exploring this area... -
Catherine Rampell: What do Bigfoot and moderate Republicans have in common?
WASHINGTON • For years, reports of a mythical figure have lingered in Washington and reverberated through congressional districts around the country. Its legend is spread by talking heads, donors, even many of us in the news media. This is the Myth of the Moderate Republican. To be sure, among the g... WASHINGTON • For years, reports of a mythical figure have lingered in Washington and reverberated through congressional districts around the country. ...
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Rich Lowry: Party of Lincoln should keep Old Hickory at arm’s length
Donald Trump is trying to do for Andrew Jackson what Lin-Manuel Miranda did for Alexander Hamilton. Trump, like Miranda, is out to restore the reputation of a great American figure once threatened with removal from U.S. currency. Trump doesn’t have the cultural pull of the writer and star of “Hamilt... Donald Trump is trying to do for Andrew Jackson what Lin-Manuel Miranda did for Alexander Hamilton. Trump, like Miranda, is out to restore the reputat...
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Op-ed: Don’t undermine the independence of Utah’s judges
Robert Gehrke’s recent call for recall elections for judges warrants a brief discussion about the importance of an independent judiciary in Utah. Gehrke made his proposal following criticism of Judge Thomas Low who, when sentencing Keith Robert Vallejo, who had been convicted of 10 counts of forcibl... Robert Gehrke’s recent call for recall elections for judges warrants a brief discussion about the importance of an independent judiciary in Utah. Gehr...
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Op-ed: Bill will help to keep Utah’s children safe
On behalf of the YMCA of Northern Utah and the Y Movement throughout the country, I wish to express my sincere appreciation for Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, and his leadership in sponsoring the bipartisan Child Protection Improvements Act of 2017. Hatch’s commonsense proposal provides youth-serving org... On behalf of the YMCA of Northern Utah and the Y Movement throughout the country, I wish to express my sincere appreciation for Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Ut...
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Washington Post Editorial: What the Paris agreement means
President Donald Trump is getting closer to exiting the Paris climate agreement. According to reports emanating from the White House, the president’s top lawyer shifted the internal debate last week. More meetings are to come. Yet the choice ought to be an easy one: Staying in the Paris accord is co... President Donald Trump is getting closer to exiting the Paris climate agreement. According to reports emanating from the White House, the president’s ...
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Jennifer Rubin: The big downside to tax reform
If Republicans ever get on with tax reform legislation, they might want to rethink their and the president’s approach, which mirrors 1980s-style tax reform. They want to lower rates and reduce deductions on both the corporate and individual sides of the tax code, which will start a gusher of red ink... If Republicans ever get on with tax reform legislation, they might want to rethink their and the president’s approach, which mirrors 1980s-style tax r...
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Noah Smith: There’s a lot to like about cutting corporate taxes
Bloomberg View columnist Tyler Cowen received quite a bit of criticism for his endorsement of President Donald Trump’s proposal to cut the federal corporate tax to 15 percent from 35 percent. But Cowen is broadly right — lowering the tax is a good idea. One reason is that corporate taxation isn’t th... Bloomberg View columnist Tyler Cowen received quite a bit of criticism for his endorsement of President Donald Trump’s proposal to cut the federal cor...
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Francis Wilkinson: Comey’s calculations favored Republicans
Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey told a Senate hearing on Wednesday that he faced an ugly choice during the final days of the 2016 election. He could choose either “speak” or “conceal.” He could reveal that the previously concluded investigation into Hillary Clinton’s emails had ... Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey told a Senate hearing on Wednesday that he faced an ugly choice during the final days of the 2016...
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Dana Milbank: Now we know: Bill Clinton cost his wife the presidency
WASHINGTON • So now it can be told: Bill Clinton cost his wife the presidency. Almost three hours into a hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, FBI Director James Comey shed new light on his decision to go public about his agency’s investigations into Hillary Clinton’s emails, first... WASHINGTON • So now it can be told: Bill Clinton cost his wife the presidency. Almost three hours into a hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee on ... -
E.J. Dionne: Jimmy Kimmel’s philosophy lesson
Washington • Those of us in the world of column-writing and policy wonkery ought to be humbled: It often takes a celebrity, preferably a comedian, to break through with an argument that transforms public understanding. In particularly successful cases, the celebrity demolishes conventions and blurts... Washington • Those of us in the world of column-writing and policy wonkery ought to be humbled: It often takes a celebrity, preferably a comedian, to ... -
George F. Will: A president who does not know what it is to know
Washington • It is urgent for Americans to think and speak clearly about Donald Trump’s inability to do either. This seems to be not a mere disinclination but a disability. It is not merely the result of intellectual sloth but of an untrained mind bereft of information and married to stratospheric s... Washington • It is urgent for Americans to think and speak clearly about Donald Trump’s inability to do either. This seems to be not a mere disinclina... -
Michael Bloomberg: Quit conning coal communities
“We need to keep it open so we have jobs.” Those are the words of a retired miner, explaining why the local mining operation is so important to his community. But he wasn’t talking about a coal mine in Appalachia. He was referring to a local asbestos mine — in Russia. Through the 1970s, the United S... “We need to keep it open so we have jobs.” Those are the words of a retired miner, explaining why the local mining operation is so important to his co... -
Op-ed: Jason Chaffetz’s dishonorable dereliction of duty
Anyone who has taken an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States is bound by duty. Members of Congress take that oath, as do members of the military. My West Point training reinforced early and often the relationship between the concept of duty and my oath to support and defe... Anyone who has taken an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States is bound by duty. Members of Congress take that oath, as do m... -
Washington Post Op-ed: The simple reason Republicans are stuck with Obamacare
Republicans have settled on a bold, new strategy for not replacing Obamacare. They’re making the moderates in their caucus kill their plan instead of the ultra-conservatives. And it’s working! Now this plan might seem strange when Republicans have spent the last seven years acting like Obamacare was... Republicans have settled on a bold, new strategy for not replacing Obamacare. They’re making the moderates in their caucus kill their plan instead of ...
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Alyssa Rosenberg: The Trump-Duterte bromance, and the ghastly realities of wars on drugs
During his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination, Donald Trump boasted that “I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn’t lose voters.” On the 100th day of his presidency, Trump invited Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who has said that he used to ... During his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination, Donald Trump boasted that “I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot someb...
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Leonard Pitts: The Groveland Four get a little justice
The Groveland Four finally received a little justice last week. Nearly seven decades after a white woman in Central Florida leveled a false charge of rape, the state legislature apologized for what was done to four young African-American men as a result. For 16-year-old Charles Greenlee being hung n... The Groveland Four finally received a little justice last week. Nearly seven decades after a white woman in Central Florida leveled a false charge of ...
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Catherine Rampell: Spend more and stick it to the poor
Washington • Who says President Trump isn’t a policy genius? He’s figured out a clever way to spend more government money just to stick it to poor people. His innovation has to do with the intricate interplay of Affordable Care Act subsidies. Obamacare has two major kinds of subsidies designed to ma... Washington • Who says President Trump isn’t a policy genius? He’s figured out a clever way to spend more government money just to stick it to poor peo... -
Garrison Keillor: Late night driving, right-hand thinking
All last week I got to drive around Minnesota late at night, drifting through the little towns, just me and the truckers out on the road and Merle and George and Emmylou on the radio. I was doing a little dog-and-pony show around my home state and I like driving at night. Less traffic, more romance.... All last week I got to drive around Minnesota late at night, drifting through the little towns, just me and the truckers out on the road and Merle and... -
Washington • The New York Times reports that President Trump’s aides were “stunned” that he invited Philippine strongman Rodrigo Duterte to the White House. I’m stunned that anybody would be stunned. In style, if not in scope, the two men are brothers from another mother. Both have employed foul lan... Washington • The New York Times reports that President Trump’s aides were “stunned” that he invited Philippine strongman Rodrigo Duterte to the White ...
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Alexandra Petri: ‘Donald Trump’s Civil War’ by Ken Burns
“I mean, had Andrew Jackson been a little later, you wouldn’t have had the Civil War. He was a very tough person, but he had a big heart. He was really angry that he saw what was happening with regard to the Civil War, he said, ‘There’s no reason for this.’ People don’t realize, you know, the Civil ... “I mean, had Andrew Jackson been a little later, you wouldn’t have had the Civil War. He was a very tough person, but he had a big heart. He was reall...
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Rich Lowry: On Obamacare, Republicans vastly over-promised
Republicans have put on a clinic on over-promising during the past several years. Even if you were paying only very little attention, you would have gotten the distinct impression over the past four election cycles that the GOP was unalterably committed to repealing and replacing Obamacare. It didn’... Republicans have put on a clinic on over-promising during the past several years. Even if you were paying only very little attention, you would have g...
