 |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| Today we are leading the newsletter with a column from former President Barack Obama. He discusses voting issues and calls on Congress to protect voting rights. He also supports President Joe Biden's stance on ending the filibuster. |
| |
| By Barack Obama |
| When I spoke at John Lewis' memorial service two years ago, I emphasized a truth John knew better than just about anyone. Our democracy isn't a given. It isn't self-executing. We, as citizens, have to nurture and tend it. We have to work at it. And in that task, we have to vigilantly preserve and protect our most basic tool of self-government, which is the right to vote. |
| At the time, various state legislators across the country had already passed a variety of laws designed to make voting harder. It was an attack on everything John Lewis fought for, and a challenge to our most fundamental democratic freedoms. |
| Since then, things have only gotten worse. |
Today's Editorial Cartoon |
 | | Marc Murphy, UA TODAY Network | | USA TODAY Network | |
| |
| |
| By Nat Malkus |
| Despite omicron pushing COVID-19 case counts to three times last winter's peak, there is good news about the nation's schools. |
| News stories about Chicago's schools closing were reported across the nation after a teachers union vote against returning in-person last week. (Students returned to in-person instruction Wednesday). |
| Such narratives risk overshadowing the most important education story happening now: Schools are open. |
| The best available data shows that more than 5,400 schools closed or went remote during the first week of January because of COVID-19. In a nation of nearly 100,000 public schools, that means the vast majority, about 95%, are operating in person and on schedule. |
| |
| By Tim Swarens |
| It's easy to get discouraged and fall into cynicism as we struggle under a pandemic that will not end, an economy that leaves behind too many Americans, and a political culture that grows more toxic by the year. |
| But we can find comfort and inspiration in our personal and collective history. And know that hard times present opportunities to build a better future. |
| My father was born as World War I raged and the Spanish Flu pandemic began. My mother was born in the immediate aftermath of both conflagrations, which together killed more than 70 million people. |
| Before they finished elementary school, the stock market had crashed and America was plunged into the worst economic crisis in its history. When my father graduated from high school in 1936, seven years deep into the Great Depression, the national unemployment rate averaged 16.9%. |
Other columns to read today |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
No comments:
Post a Comment