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Columns

Trump turns us into villains in the world

A most American of movies, "Gunfight at the O.K. Corral," is a morality tale about what happens when intimidation goes unanswered. The Clanton gang marauds through Tombstone, flashing their guns and humiliating townspeople. Feeding on fear, their bullying escalates as decent people avoid ...

Almanac for Jan. 24, 2026

Today is Saturday, Jan. 24, the 24th day of 2026. There are 341 days left in the year. Today in history: In 1848, James W. Marshall found a gold nugget at Sutter's Mill in northern California, a discovery that sparked the California gold rush. Also on this date: In 1835, a major slave ...

Police theft via ‘civil asset forfeiture’

Did you know that in most of America, police can take your property, even if you did nothing wrong? They don't have to charge you with a crime. They don't have to take you to court. They can just say they suspect you of a crime. Then they can grab your money, your car, and sometimes, even ...

Smith defends Trump investigations at public Congressional hearing

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith defended his investigations of President Donald Trump at a congressional hearing Thursday in which he insisted he had acted without regard to politics and had no second thoughts about the criminal charges he brought. "No ...

Almanac for Jan. 23, 2026

Today is Friday, Jan. 23, the 23rd day of 2026. There are 342 days left in the year. Today in history: In 1870, approximately 200 Piegan Blackfoot tribe members, mostly women, children and older adults, were killed by U.S. Army troops under the command of Major Eugene Mortimer Baker in ...

Does Trump need a portrait of Polk?

Donald Trump has a painting of Andrew Jackson in the Oval Office, but as he tries to browbeat Denmark into coughing up Greenland, maybe he should add a portrait of a Jackson acolyte — James K. Polk. If cold-eyed American expansionism is the theme, there are fewer better representatives than ...