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Party's Senate gamble raises questions about standards

National Columnists

The Democratic Party's approach to Maine's Senate race has sparked a debate that extends well beyond the state's borders. At the center of the controversy is Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner, whose campaign has been dogged by a series of damaging allegations and personal scandals. Reports have highlighted Platner's past online activity, including the presence of a tattoo some have characterized as Nazi-related, inflammatory comments on public forums, sexually explicit social media posts and allegations involving inappropriate online communications. Yet despite the ...

Will this be an unhappy American birthday?

National Columnists

In one month, the United States will observe its 250th birthday. It is shaping up more like a memorial service for a lost loved one than a party to celebrate something special. Rather than anticipating a happy occasion, America at 250 is increasingly characterized by anger, name-calling and scandals. Performers are withdrawing from President  Trump's Freedom 250 Great American State Fair in Washington, claiming organizers lied to them about its partisanship. Trump, who has contributed mightily to the growing divisions among us, is threatening to make a "major speech," mostly to his ...

Yesterday's Question

National Columnists

Are you planning an out-of-state vacation this summer? – Staying closer to home 26.12% – Yes, flying 14.93% – Yes but not flying 21.64% – Don’t plan a summer vacation 37.31%

Price gouging is whose problem?

National Columnists

Horrors. The profiteers running this year's World Cup are forcing fans to shell out thousands for a single ticket. But they're not. FIFA, which oversees the once-every-four-years soccer tournament, is slapping astounding prices on the tickets. No one has to buy them. This should be very obvious. That said, some products are priced in ways that understandably bring out villagers with pitchforks. Bread in 18th-century Europe, for example. Rapidly rising prices for the "staff of life" helped foment the French Revolution. The peasants demanded what they deemed a "just ...

Trump stuck between two realities

National Columnists

Normally, I worry that events may overtake a column. But not so with the Iran war. I don't worry about running afoul of a headline or Truth Social post from the president because what is said about the situation is no longer very relevant to the reality. On April 8, Nick Catoggio, my Dispatch colleague, dubbed an earlier stoppage with Iran "Schrodinger's ceasefire." This was a reference to the famous thought experiment by the physicist Erwin Schrodinger, who was trying to explain the weirdness of "superpositionality" in quantum physics. A cat in a box is both dead and alive at the ...

Keep politicians out of college sports

National Columnists

Nearly everyone who is a college sports fan, myself included, knows the state of affairs in the NCAA is one fine mess. Especially regarding football and men's basketball, the two major money-making sports, things have changed massively in the last few years — and mostly not in a good way. Elite and even above-average athletes have effectively become free agents selling their services each year to the highest bidders. Every year the school rosters are different, so there's almost no team or university loyalty. It's rent-a-player, and the big college teams are now effectively ...