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Teen's case should be considered on its merits

National Columnists

The system failed Karmelo Anthony – he stabbed someone to death and is going to jail for it. If this doesn't strike you as an injustice, you haven't been paying attention to the voices defending the 19-year-old who was just sentenced to 35 years in prison for murdering another teenager at a high school track meet in Texas two years ago. The case has garnered national attention entirely for its racial angle. Anthony is Black, and his victim, Austin Metcalf, was white. But there is no evidence that race played a role in the incident, and if both young men had been white or both ...

Platner wants redemption, others want refund

National Columnists

Democrat Rep. Ro Khanna conceded at a rally for the Maine senatorial candidate that Graham Platner's actions have not been sterling. Voters considering Platner don't like his "shameful" actions against women, the Californian said, but "they are willing to extend him grace and redemption." Maine Democrats have just chosen Platner to challenge five-term Republican Susan Collins in November. Maine is a purple state, and Collins is a moderate by current Republican standards. But here's the problem for Platner: Redemption is a theme in religion whereby someone who has committed ...

How to change Supreme Court in one easy step

National Columnists

In 2016, the conservative writer Mike Anton made a galvanizing case for Donald Trump in his famous "Flight 93" essay, arguing that the stakes in the contest between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton were existential. His contention that a Clinton win would cement Democratic electoral dominance forever, such that Republicans needed to charge the cockpit or die, was implausible at the time, and seems more so in retrospect. If Hillary had won in 2016, in all likelihood, she would have been gone in 2020, washed away by the pandemic just like Trump was. This time, though, really might be ...

City on map for cyber intelligence

National Columnists

Western Pennsylvania's leadership in AI, robotics and cyber intelligence companies that work with the Department of War was reinforced recently. Qintel was selected for an $84 million contract with the United States Cyber Command to deliver a threat intelligence solution in support of full-spectrum cyber operations. Qintel also just announced it will be part of the inaugural Pennsylvania Defense and Innovation Summit in the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle, which Sen. David McCormick (R-Pa.) is hosting in July. The two-day conference convenes CEOs, investors and senior ...

Economist unveils blueprint for managed poverty

National Columnists

Writer and philosopher Ayn Rand was often accused of inventing cartoonish villains. Rogues like Ellsworth Toohey in "The Fountainhead" would scheme to seize the global economy's commanding heights in pursuit of a distorted sense of justice. But the people who hold such ideas don't just appear in cartoons or in Rand's novels. Enter Thomas Piketty and company. In early June, Piketty – the French economist whose work on inequality has made him something of a rock star even while being serially challenged for methodological errors, data imputations and cherry-picked baselines ...

Let love resonate instead

National Columnists

Most times when I'm invited to speak at a conference, someone introduces me by reading the short bio provided. But this past week at the Southeastern Writers' Association Conference, my friend, the Georgia judge and novelist Lori Duff, introduced me. She started off by warning she might embarrass me, then proceeded with the most generous and warm introduction I've ever received. What a gift to hear how your friend sees you. Not that long ago, I would have struggled to listen. I would have made self-deprecating jokes to not appear arrogant or uppity. Self-worth is something I'm ...