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What a credible poll might look like

National Columnists

The headline in The Washington Post said: "Trump disapproval reaches new high, Post-ABC-Ipsos poll finds." The sub headline read: "Democrats now hold a five-point advantage in support for Congress, up from two points in February." We've seen similar polls before. Many conservatives believe they are conducted in a way that discourages Republican voters and encourages Democrats. They are right to be suspicious. Just 2,500 people responded to the pollsters. The list of issues to which the polled responded are job as president (negative 62 percent); cost of living (negative 76 percent); ...

Productive things often happen without government

National Columnists

Data centers are big buildings full of machines that process what we do on our phones and computers. AI requires even more computing power, so companies are eager to build more data centers. The usual suspects are freaking out. "We must stop it!" says Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. "Slow it down!" demands Sen. Bernie Sanders. Data centers do use lots of power, and water to cool them down because their computers generate heat. One center can use as much power and water as a small town. Last year, protesters blocked or stalled at least 48 projects. One fired 13 ...

When political violence erupts

National Columnists

A heavily armed California man was caught trying to storm the White House correspondents' dinner April 25 with the apparent intent to kill the president. It didn't take long for Washington to start arguing. The argument about hypocrisy isn't about mere inconsistency. The point of the accusation is to say that condemnations of violence are insincere. "Your team says it's against violence" or "your side says my side encourages violence" but just look at what your language inspired! The hypocrisy is bipartisan. Indeed, for two decades now, it seems that whenever political violence ...

Fed chairman plans to stay on reserve board

National Columnists

Fed Chairman Jerome Powell announced last week that he's going to remain on the Federal Reserve Board until 2028 even as he by law surrenders his chairmanship. The announcement came even after President Donald Trump agreed to drop his unwise lawsuit against Powell for funding a $2 billion new Taj Mahal building down the street from the White House. Powell will be the first Fed chair to stay on the Fed's Board of Directors in 50 years. This isn't the way it's done. It's bad form. Only once did he come within spitting distance of his inflation target. February 2021 was the only ...

Ruling will promote corrupt electoral maps

National Columnists

The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. cautiously praised the hard-won Voting Rights Act of 1965 as a "great step forward" toward removing obstacles that kept Black Americans from voting. It was. But last week, in striking down a voter redistricting map in Louisiana, the U.S. Supreme Court has taken that embattled law and the movement that marched and campaigned for it on a disastrous step backward. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker expressed the sentiments of many Americans, particularly Democrats, saying of the high court ruling, "It is an attack on a crown jewel of our democracy." As an ...

Who is monitoring debt?

National Columnists

People of a certain age will recall a lyric from the Tennessee Ernie Ford song "Sixteen Tons": "Another day older and deeper in debt." I thought of that song as Secretary of War Pete Hegseth asked Congress to approve a $1.5 trillion budget for fiscal year 2027 to put the military on what he called a "wartime footing." Hegseth says the Pentagon needs the money for more drones, munitions and modernized systems. Though President Trump has denied it, bragging that we have the strongest military in the world, it would appear that the Iran conflict has significantly depleted U.S military ...