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Trump’s retribution campaign

Columnists

Donald Trump’s retribution campaign brings to mind Richard Nixon’s obsession with getting even with opponents. Even though it was clear his Democratic challenger would be George McGovern in 1972, Republicans broke into the DNC Watergate Headquarters, along with “dirty tricks, one of them creating a bogus diplomatic cable linking John Kennedy to the assassination of South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem in 1963. This was heavy-handed and later regarded as over the top. Dick Tuck, an old Democratic prankster, had managed to attract the ire of Nixon. Indeed, he sabotaged several ...

REAL ID

Editorials

If you’ve been putting off getting the REAL ID, you’re running out of time. There will be additional identity checks and a $45 fee at airports, for example, if you do not have one by Feb. 1, 2026. West Virginia’s Department of Motor Vehicles says only 63% of residents have the REAL ID, but that the process is not difficult. “The first time you get the REAL ID, you bring in your birth certificate and your name change documents,” said Mike May, manager of the REAL ID program for the DMV. “After that, it’s the same as a regular renewal every time.” There’s even a ...

Elder Abuse Prevention is up to all of us

Editorials

The state’s population is aging, and that growing older population is increasingly vulnerable to a number of abuses. Sometimes they fall victim to complex scams, in this digital age. Sometimes they fall prey to those on whom they should most be able to rely. WalletHub estimates elder abuse is an issue that costs more than $2.3 billion per year. But the human toll is incalculable. Certainly, policymakers do their best to put in place measures to stem everything from gross neglect and exploitation to financial abuse. But some parts of the country are doing better than others. ...

The (non-Christmas) lists

Columnists

‘Tis the season. No, not that season. It’s the season for end-of-year lists. Time magazine, which, like so much in print journalism has suffered from a loss of readers, has published its annual list called the “most influential people of 2025.” The list includes “Artists, Innovators, Titans, Icons, Leaders, and Pioneers.” Time’s “Person of the Year” is Artificial Intelligence. That might also apply to Congress. Most of the people Time considers influential I have never heard of, so they haven’t influenced me. Maybe it’s a generational thing. You may be ...

President Trump’s inflation trap

Columnists

What can Donald Trump do to stop morphing into Joe Biden? The two presidents could hardly be more different in most ways — but in the one that counts most with voters, Trump is in danger of resembling his predecessor. Americans rejected Biden and the Democrats last year because they were incensed at the lousy state of the economy. Right now, they’re not much happier with Trump’s economy. Inflation was the No. 1 concern on voters’ minds last year, and it’s still a top concern today. Trump’s team say they plan to tout “affordability” as a theme Republicans can win ...

Living in lockdown USA

Columnists

“Just FYI if you’re seeing the news right now, I’m totally safe,” a son enrolled at Brown University texted me. “I’ve been home for a few hours now and wasn’t there when stuff started to happen. Seems to be some crazy shooting near brown.” What?! I turned on CNN and saw the quaint streets of Providence’s College Hill — lined with front porches — pulsing under emergency lights that washed the cold night sky an eerie red. Nothing like this ever happens around here. Brown was put in lockdown, and so were those of us living a few blocks away on Providence’s East ...