Leonard Pitts Jr.: Has our democracy hit an iceberg?

Well, let’s put it like this: For a representative government to function requires at least two political parties that, while offering competing visions, both occupy the same reality and play by the same rules.

This country no longer has that.

Rich Lowry: How to decimate police forces in 2 easy steps

(W)hen we need more cops in response to rising crime, we are getting fewer. This is like cutting back on firefighters while a wildfire is raging or reducing the size of the Army while it is fighting a war. No rational person would want smaller forces right now, yet the elite culture, leftist politicians, and obnoxious street protestors are conspiring to shrink them.

Gil Steward: East Auburn needs more speed enforcement

My wife and I are retired, and we often sit out by Route 4 in East Auburn and watch the traffic in the evening with our golf cart. We see a lot of nice old cars, and a lot of folks we know who drive by and blow the horn. We are between Roy’s Golf […]

Cartoon for Friday, June 25

In rebuttal: Seri Lowell: Democrats have backed anti-racism measures in recent years

Cal Thomas validates two major points made by teachers of critical race theory and anti-racism (“Democrats need a day of atonement,” June 23). First, history is important. Thomas lists many historical events that have resulted in huge cumulative disparities in familial wealth and social capital between whites and people of color. The logical conclusion is […]

Bob Drake: Marijuana laws, penalties need revision

I read the two side-by-side articles June 16 of one person sentenced to six years for a marijuana violation, and another person with four felonies who was sentenced to five years. How can the courts justify sentencing (and keeping people in prison now) for growing, processing or selling a product now sold at dedicated retailers […]

In rebuttal: David Griffiths: Trump supporter lacks facts in Biden attacks

I had been looking forward to writing letters to the editor about something — anything — other than Donald Trump. But thanks to the kowtowing Republican Party, he’s still with us. And his supporters continue falling in line with fact-free attacks on his successor. Take the case of letter writer Joan Villani (June 19), who […]

Susan Lea: Cardinals should think again before judging others

I have a question for the United States Council of Catholic Cardinals. In 2004, when more than 4,000 Catholic priests were found to have molested or abused more than 10,000 young people, were those priests prohibited from receiving communion, were they even punished or just transferred to other parishes? Do the Catholic cardinals think we […]

Austin Bay: Obama-Biden retreads prepare to kowtow to Tehran’s brutal hangman

The plan of action? Inaction in the face of Tehran’s calculated violence is more apt. Team Obama-Biden failed to penalize the Iranian regime’s covert and overt violent troublemaking, a grievous flaw given Iran’s violent behavior worldwide.

Cartoon for Thursday, June 24