IMPORTANT READS

GUEST COMMENTARY--Anyone feeling the need to defend Baltimore from Trump’s opinions ought to talk about what really ails that city.

POLITICS-Joe Scarborough, a former Republican Congressman cum pundit, labelled Mitch McConnell “Moscow Mitch” and it may have done more to expose McConnell as the dangerous autocratic hypocrite he is. But McConnell is just a symptom of a much larger malady, one that has been brewing for four decades – the increasing influence of money in politics and government. 

FIRST PERSON-I was born and raised in a three-and-a-half room apartment in Brooklyn. My father was a paint salesman who worked hard his entire life, but never made much money.

WORLD WATCH--As Israel prepares for the parliamentary election in September, its second in five months, most national security experts, politically savvy individuals, and academics suggest that this election may well be the most critical since the year 2000.

GUEST COMMENTARY--Trump says everyone is tired of the word racism.

ESSAY--Could Donald Trump end the Afghan war someday? I don’t know if such a possibility has been on your mind, but it’s certainly been on the mind of this retired U.S. Army major who fought in that land so long ago. And here’s the context in which I’ve been thinking about that very possibility.

POLITICS--“We are one of the wealthiest countries in the history of this world. And yet millions of adults in the United States still don’t have health insurance,” Rep. Ilhan Omar told her Minnesota constituents at a July 18 town hall.

TRUMP’S PATH TO VICTORY?-Trump's racist rant about four freshman congresswomen of color is getting a lot of play in the press and from Democrats.

RACE WAR--A racist chant against Rep. Ilhan Omar by backers of President Donald Trump during a rally in North Carolina Wednesday night was countered by an outpouring of solidarity with the Minnesota congresswoman as progressive activists, members of Congress, and ordinary Americans vowed to continue defending Omar against the right's bigoted and dangerous attacks.

WORLD WATCH--At a time when Albania was expected to make significant progress in its accession talks with the European Union (EU), some member states are unwilling to support the negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia.

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH--Over the past several weeks, the brutal terror that immigrants face at the hands of our government has come into even sharper focus. 

SOCIALISM OK FOR OUR ELECTEDS--For $3.5 trillion a year, shouldn’t we Americans have a world-class health care system? Yet while we spend the most of any advanced nation in the world to get care — more than $10,000 a year per person — we get the worst results.

OTHER WORDS-One day in late June 1865, Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas. They carried some historic news:

WHEN THEY SEE US: Not long ago, a few southern newspapers offered apologies for having vociferously opposed the civil rights movement.

WORLD WATCH-Two weeks ago, a 29-year-old Roma woman was physically attacked in the middle of the day in Kosovo, after a false accusation spread that the victim had been kidnaping children.

ECONOMY--Congratulations on that nice pay raise you got last year. A 7 percent hike — wow!

OTHERWORDS--Happy Pride month! It’s June so it’s time to bust out the rainbows and… actually, I have a lot of conflicted feelings about it.

VIEW FROM HERE--Have you ever stopped in the middle of the cereal aisle and stared blankly at the hundreds of brands to choose from?

WORLD WATCH-The phenomenon of genocide has baffled historians for many generations.

POLITICS--The youth-led Sunrise Movement staged a series of protests on Capitol Hill and across the country to demand lawmakers take urgent action on the climate crisis and back the Green New Deal. (Photo: Sunrise Movement/Twitter)

VIEW FROM HERE-According to a recent study by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Americans spend an average of 16.8 minutes a day (or 0.28 of an hour) reading on their own volition for purposes other than work or school.