IMPORTANT READS

INEQUALITY AND WEALTH-Their very existence is now the subject of political debate, sparked most recently by tax-the-rich proposals from two prominent politicians. 

MY TURN--Most Americans have been placated to the point of assuming that no group or leader could ever dupe them to the point of a complete takeover.

CLIMATE CHANGE--“It’s a disturbing discovery,” according to Pietro Milillo, a radar scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab, who co-authored a recently published study: Heterogeneous Retreat and Ice Melt of Thwaites Glacier, West Antarctica, Science Advances, Vol. 5, No. 1, Jan. 30, 2019. 

WORLD WATCH--The longest war in American history may come to an end following an agreement in principle between the US and the Taliban,

DISCRIMINATION IN PLAIN SIGHT--If racism was a school-sanctioned sport, I’d love to see the white supremacy team from Covington Catholic High School MAGAts face off against the traditional powerhouse bigots of Paw Paw, Michigan because, according to the Michigan chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, the Paw Paw Public Schools might be one of the greatest racism training programs in America. 

MILLENNIAL WATCH-There’s a strange and terrible thing I’ve noticed — and you might have too. Nobody I know under the age of 40 or so can make it anymore. That applies to people over 40 as well, of course — but as we’ll see, an economy’s fate hinges in many ways on young people. 

VIEW FROM HERE-Needless to say, what happened in our nation’s capital with the Covington High School students has become a tinderbox.

CLIMATE CHANGE-“It is time we consider the implications of it being too late to avert a global environmental catastrophe in the lifetimes of people alive today.” -- Jem Bendell. In other words, the world is coming to an end. 

VIEW FROM HERE-I find something ironic about the now viral clash between a large group of MAGA hat wearing Catholic high school students and the Native American marchers at the nation's capital.

WORLD WATCH-Over the past three decades I wrote more than two hundred articles about Israel, envisioning it to be a democratic state, independent and free, a champion of human rights, a force of unity for world Jewry, united in its citizenry, admired by its friends, envied by its detractors, and above all at peace with the Arab states and especially with the Palestinians.

WALLS AND AUTHORITARIANISM-It’s the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. Federal workers are rationing their insulin.

It seems the US is more divided than ever. Both the right and left are resorting to more radical approaches and everyone wants to talk, but no one wants to listen. 

MY TURN-There have always been diverse differences between liberals and conservatives. However, in the past, conservatives had an agenda that seemed to be more fiscally-driven, with a hint of religious undertones.

WORLD WATCH--Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s decision to call for an early election, scheduled to take place on April 9, was really nothing short of another political stunt that Netanyahu has masterfully learned to employ when the time is right and he is reasonably assured of another victory.

VIEW FROM HERE-Let's get real. Trump does not care about the federal government.

WORLD WATCH--The six Western Balkan countries —Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, and Albania, are “state captured” by corrupt politicians, linked with organized crime.

DOES TRUTH MATTER?--"Almost everything we believe comes from other people," Cailin O'Connor says. As America struggles against the phenomenon of fake news  -- with its frightening ability to fracture our society and degrade our democracy—our first impulse is often to decry the reasoning skills of our fellow citizens.

MY TURN-Hmm. Praise of dictators, campaign sexual harassment, sexist comments, socialist or nothing, adoration of Russia, Sandanista support, belief that cancer is psychosomatic? 

WHERE’S THE BACK UP PLAN?-The Donald Trump legal team has been notably unable to escape from the shadow of its client. At every step of the way, otherwise professional lawyers start to act like the bombastic, reckless President that they are trying to keep out of prison or historical infamy.

GUEST WORDS--“History,” as Mark Twain reputedly remarked, “doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes.” As we flip the calendar to a new year, Donald Trump would be well-advised to take careful heed of Twain’s maxim.

CHANNELING THE NEW YEAR--2019 will be one of the most volatile years in recent history, in more ways than one. So, what will happen? (Photos at top: From top left: Donald Trump, Nancy Pelosi, Robert Mueller, Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin (AP)