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Clean Water Act: Can’t wait another 50 years

President Richard Nixon vetoed the Clean Water Act in 1972. But Congress overrode him on a bipartisan vote, and the landmark law to reverse the toxic degradation of U.S. rivers, lakes and streams took effect half a century ago today. The law was inspired in part by the notorious 1969 Cuyahoga River fire in Ohio, in which the river itself, laden with oil and other industrial pollutants, went up in flames. The model, though, was a California clean water law adopted the same year as the fire and the destructive Santa Barbara oil spill. The federal Clean Water Act has essentially the same ...

America’s dumb energy debates

If forced to pick one main reason the Democrats are going to get routed in a month, I’d go with their crazy energy policies. In no other area is the link between their radical policies and people’s real lives as directly connected and easy to understand. Crime is close, but the crime boom is mostly happening in deeply blue cities. Law-abiding members of these communities are certainly rethinking politics. Many of them are minorities. Many Hispanic, Asian and Black Americans are repulsed by much of the university-driven radical woke agenda being pushed on them in democratic cities. ...

Minnesotans vote because the system works

We have manners enough to not obnoxiously brag incessantly about it, but as Minnesotans, we are good at voting. Facts back that up. In 2020 the state took top honors in voter turnout at 80%. And that wasn’t a fluke; Minnesota has regularly landed that top spot, including three elections in a row, according to the Secretary of State’s Office. We are lucky to live in a state that makes voting accessible and convenient. That’s not the case across the country. Twenty-seven states still don’t allow voter registration on Election Day. A registration deadline well before the actual ...

The Russian fatherland is losing the fathers

As Russian forces continue their retreat on the battlefield in Ukraine, Moscow has turned to attacking stationary civilian targets that don’t shoot back. It’s pathetic. And Russia’s failure to intimidate Ukraine through wanton destruction can be seen in the flow of the two peoples. Ukrainians who left are flooding back into their country, while young Russians head to the exits in extraordinary numbers. Over the long run, the loss of draft-age men, especially educated ones, could pose a greater threat to Russian power than declaring victory and withdrawing. “Demography is ...

Newspapers increasingly vital for democracy

“Our best defense is to have an educated populace.” So said Scott Bates, the deputy secretary of state in Connecticut, in response to new warnings that foreign countries are working to sow misinformation ahead of American elections. Fittingly, the new reports coincide with the celebration of National Newspaper Week, which ended Saturday. That the newspaper industry is facing unprecedented hardships is no secret. Ironically, it’s not because of a decline in readership – by most measures, newspapers reach more readers than ever in history. The challenge stems from the move ...

A move to make prison phone calls free

Imagine having to go into debt to stay in touch with a loved one — all while fearing for their safety and well-being. That is the grim reality facing 1 in 3 families of incarcerated people in the United States, thanks to the sky-high costs of phone calls from prison. So it is welcome news that California has moved against this cruel situation. Last month, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed a law to make all phone calls from state prisons free. Now it’s time for other states, and Congress, to act. It can cost staggering sums for people in prison to communicate with the outside world. ...