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Election deniers running for office turn democracy against itself

The most chilling aspect of the Jan. 6, 2021, siege of the U.S. Capitol is that, almost two years later, the peril remains. As the House Committee investigating the horrific assault has dramatized, the attack may be a prelude to election deniers gaining a foothold to power in the midterm elections. Former President Donald Trump, far from being chastened by probes debunking his allegation that fraud knocked him from his perch in the White House, has stoked the flames that should have been extinguished long ago. What makes this conspiracy theory even more heinous is that Trump spread ...

Election 2022: Who will the voters decide to oppose?

There are many things that could be foremost on the minds of 2022 voters when they go to the polls on Nov. 8. Their choice for main issues is likely to shape which party will be most successful. Republicans are hoping they’ll choose the economy, along with crime and immigration. Secondly, their hope is that the public will blame President Biden for everything that hasn’t gone well in those areas. It’s a tradition to say that voters usually vote based on their pocketbooks. That’s likely to be true in 2022 because living expenses have outpaced income gains for millions of ...

Rethinking marijuana laws is long overdue

In issuing pardons for those convicted of simple possession, the president took a significant step toward ending years of racist treatment. President Joe Biden has taken the first steps to move beyond more than 50 years of failed drug policy. Earlier this month, the president directed his administration to begin the process that would remove marijuana from the list of the most dangerous illicit drugs, which includes heroin and LSD, and effectively eliminate a federal ban on using cannabis. It is about time. Ever since President Richard Nixon signed the Controlled Substances Act in ...

Higher Education: Support state budget, tuition freeze

The Minnesota State university system has unveiled a bold proposal to keep tuition in check and invest in labs and training aimed at meeting the huge demand for workers throughout the state. But the tuition freeze has a price tag of about $75 million and is part of a larger budget request of $350 million to the Legislature that would go toward building labs and buying equipment to meet workforce needs and train students for jobs in demand. Minnesota State Board of Trustees Chair Roger Moe knows the request is big and says the system has to “go all out.” The request dwarfs the ...

Impact of school lockdowns

The pandemic lockdowns were a policy blunder for the ages, and the economic, social and health consequences are still playing out. But the worst catastrophe was visited on America’s children, as Monday’s release of the latest National Assessment of Educational Progress shows. The 2022 NAEP test, often called the nation’s report card, found a record drop in learning across the U.S. since the last test in 2019. The tests measured proficiency in math and reading for fourth and eighth graders, and the harm from closed schools and online-only instruction is severe and ...

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 ...