Author: Lance Garrison
The Manhattan district attorney’s case against Donald Trump has unfolded like a north-of-the-border telenovela, with lurid tales of sex, spankings, hush money and silk pajamas, as well as the occasional detour into the editorial practices of supermarket tabloids. But the case, provocative as it has been, may turn on something a great deal more mundane than the testimony.The key question the jurors will soon be considering is a straightforward one: Did the former president “cause” the creation of false business records? The prosecution has answered half of that question. There’s no reason to doubt the records were false. But the…
Gail Collins: Gee Bret, our first presidential debate — coming soon! Next month, in fact.Bret Stephens: If President Biden gets through the debate without committing a gaffe, he’ll surpass expectations. If Donald Trump gets through it without committing a felony, he’ll surpass expectations.Gail: Was sorta hoping for a little more down time to mull important issues like the gold bars found in the home of Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey. Or hey, even the dead worm in Robert F. Kennedy Jr’s brain.Think we’ve got to refocus?Bret: I bet a lot of people read about the brain worm and thought,…
In sickness and health, in public scandal and with convenient finger-pointing.
Operation Protective Edge, in the summer of 2014, was the deadliest Israeli military campaign in the Gaza Strip since 1967 until the current war. More than 2,200 Palestinians were killed, 1,391 of them civilians, according to the Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem. Many soldiers who took part in the operation have told Breaking the Silence that very little was required by their commanders to label a person an enemy combatant. Two unarmed women walking in an orchard, talking on their phones, were suspected of scouting Israeli forces — and were killed, one soldier told us. After a commander ordered their…
To the Editor:Re “What a Year on Ozempic Taught Me,” by Johann Hari (Opinion guest essay, May 12):As an internal medicine physician for over 40 years, I am in agreement with Mr. Hari that current obesity patterns are driven by diets laden with processed foods and short on fruits, vegetables and whole grains. I also like the idea of treating obesity as a medical condition rather than a moral failure or sign of weakness.Individuals can decide about Ozempic and similar drugs taking into consideration the known benefits and risks as well as the unknowns. These are not easy decisions, and…
The right attacks colleges and universities as leftist and woke. Progressives castigate them as perpetuating patriarchy and white privilege. The burdens of these culture war assaults are compounded by parents worried that the exorbitant costs of higher education aren’t worth it.No wonder Americans’ faith in universities is at a low. Only 36 percent of Americans have confidence in higher education, according to a survey by Gallup last year, a significant drop from eight years ago. And this was before colleges and universities across the country were swept up in a wave of protests and counter-protests over the war in Gaza.But…
It’s not Joe Biden’s poll numbers that worry me, exactly. It’s the denial of what’s behind them.Among likely voters, Biden is trailing Donald Trump by one point in Wisconsin and three points in Pennsylvania. He’s ahead by a point in Michigan. Sweeping those three states is one route to re-election, and they’re within reach.Still, Biden is losing to Trump. His path is narrowing. In 2020, Biden didn’t just win Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. He also won Arizona, Georgia and Nevada. Now he’s behind in those states by six points, nine points and 13 points in the latest Times/Siena/Philadelphia Inquirer poll.…
Tears are sacred. They express sadness, communicate joy, signal need and expunge stress. The very act of crying offers us more than just release; it can offer us clarity.Yet we live in an era when public crying is not just undervalued but actively mocked. Collective displays of sadness are dismissed as empty posturing, and emotional breakdowns are turned instantly into memes. The alienation and isolation of online life has made expressing shared sadness nearly impossible.Which is why we need to bring back the tear-jerker.Remember tear-jerkers? An entire category of movie dedicated to enlisting Hollywood’s best talent in an effort to…
I can’t remember when I’ve been more disturbed by a criminal trial than I have been by the Manhattan trial of Donald Trump. The prosecutors are painting a vivid picture of Trump as a vile and dishonest person, and the daily pilgrimages of Republican politicians to the Manhattan courthouse, in spite of horrific testimony against Trump, demonstrates that the party has a broken soul.At the same time, the underlying legal theory supporting the prosecution’s case remains dubious. The facts may be clear, but the law is anything but — and that could very well mean that the jury convicts Trump…
To the Editor:Re “2024 Was the Year That Finally Broke College Admissions,” by Daniel Currell (Opinion guest essay, May 5):While Mr. Currell effectively lays out the current admissions climate, the sunny last-minute outcomes for the two applicants he follows undermine his otherwise valid critiques.While Ivy was rejected by her early decision school, she was admitted to her second choice, Dartmouth, an Ivy with a 6 percent acceptance rate. Rania, though disappointed with her Barnard rejection, also found herself a terrific outcome at Wesleyan, another highly acclaimed school, with a free ride to boot.Both of these outcomes are extreme positive outliers…