Commentary

Comment: Congress cleared way for Trump’s tariffs; in 1977

The final hurdle for Trump’s tariff whims hangs on how the Supreme Court rules on two cases.

Comment: Quick action on Trump’s ‘one big’ bill faces headwinds

Even if split in two, enough opposition divides even Republicans on tax cuts, the debt ceiling and more.

Comment: Trust and Carter receive their eulogies

Carter once promised he would never lie. Trump’s second term proves how little such declarations matter.

Comment: Blaming everything but climate change for wildfires

To listen to Trump and others, the disasters’ fault lies with a smelt, DEI and government space lasers.

Comment: 5 questions Democrats must answer in 2025

The party needs to evaluate its leaders and check them against what the electorate truly supports.

FILE - Old-growth Douglas fir trees stand along the Salmon River Trail, June 25, 2004, in Mt. Hood National Forest outside Zigzag, Ore. The results in early 2023 from the government’s first-ever national inventory of mature and old-growth forests identified more than 175,000 square miles of the forests on U.S. government lands. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File)

Comment: The struggle over the Department of Everything Else

The Secretary of Interior leads an agency tasked with managing public lands, resources and Tribal affairs.

FILE - Old-growth Douglas fir trees stand along the Salmon River Trail, June 25, 2004, in Mt. Hood National Forest outside Zigzag, Ore. The results in early 2023 from the government’s first-ever national inventory of mature and old-growth forests identified more than 175,000 square miles of the forests on U.S. government lands. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File)

Comment: Disaster relief no place for political football

President-elect Trump should buck his history of delaying aid to counties that voted against him.

Comment: Investors will sit at end of line for Boeing’s rebound

Boeing can rebuild culture and company, but shareholders shouldn’t count on big dividends for awhile.

Comment: King’s call to fulfill dream still ours to heed

Join in a two-day celebration and commitment to service with events in Everett on Jan. 19 and 20.

Comment: Meta’s rule changes put America first on global soapbox

Aiming to please the incoming U.S. president, the changes may not sit well with other countries.

Comment: Whooping cough vaccine needs more promotion

At the same time pertussis cases are increasing, vaccinations have declined. Those are bad trends.

Comment: A torch passed even as a flame is extinguished

The importance of ritual, following the death of a president, serves the nation and honors the man.

Comment: Deportation is one thing; preventing return another

For many who could be deported, the dangers of ‘home’ countries and lure of the U.S. are worth the risk.

Comment: What Democrats should take from rise of podcasts

In reaching out to nontraditional voters, the party has to resist narrowing its message to fit its mores.

Comment: What Musk, X’s critics misunderstand about free speech

Musk isn’t bound by the same rules that apply to the government. But he should be held to his own rules.

Comment: As AI changes nature of work, adjust pay for labor

Low-skilled jobs will become more common and will need more middle-class standards of compensation.

Comment: What U.S. needs is a Department of Effectiveness

Musk can achieve the efficiency he promises not by breaking government but by working with it.

Comment: Don’t believe hype on these three workplace trends

The headlines about return-to-office, AI and DEI may not fully explain the context regarding each.

Comment: What Trump’s second term may mean for press freedoms

Trump is likely to resume a campaign against leaks of government secrets, and those who publish them.

Comment: You may not want crony capitalists delivering your mail

Talk of privatizing the U.S. Postal Service needs to outline just what the service would look like.