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The France riots are not what MAGA says they are

Polls being what they are, Republicans and their supporters must be feeling a bit like the condemned Frenchmen who rode to the guillotine during the Reign of Terror. It's fitting, then, that they are seizing on unrest in France as a desperate campaign gambit. "The Riots in France Are a Warning ...

Almanac for Oct. 27, 2026

Today is Tuesday, Oct. 27, the 300th day of 2026. There are 65 days left in the year. Today in history: On Oct. 27, 2018, a gunman shot and killed 11 congregants and wounded six others at Pittsburgh's Tree of Life synagogue in the deadliest domestic attack on Jews in U.S. history; authorities said the suspect, Robert Bowers, raged against Jews during and after the rampage. (Bowers was convicted and sentenced to death in 2023.) Also on this date: In 1787, the first of the Federalist Papers, a series of essays calling for ratification of the United States Constitution, was ...

Our failed Constitution

"The natural progress of things is for liberty to yield, and government to gain ground." — Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) The U.S. Constitution was ratified to create and to restrain the government. It established boundaries beyond which the government may not venture, even when it invokes ...

Almanac for Oct. 26, 2026

Today is Monday, Oct. 26, the 299th day of 2026. There are 66 days left in the year. Today in history: On October 26, 1881, four lawmen, including Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday, exchanged gunfire with five outlaws, killing three of them, in the "Shootout at the O.K. Corral" in Tombstone, Arizona. Also on this date: In 1774, the First Continental Congress adjourned in Philadelphia. In 1825, the Erie Canal opened in upstate New York, connecting Lake Erie and the Hudson River. In 1861, the legendary Pony Express officially ceased operations, giving way to the transcontinental ...

Almanac for Oct. 24, 2026

Today is Saturday, Oct. 24, the 297th day of 2026. There are 68 days left in the year. Today in history: On Oct. 24, 1945, the United Nations formally came into existence as the Charter of the United Nations, ratified by 51 nations, took effect. The date is now observed as United Nations Day. Also on this date: In 1537, Jane Seymour, the third wife of England's King Henry VIII, died 12 days after giving birth to Prince Edward, later King Edward VI. In 1861, the first transcontinental telegraph message was sent by Chief Justice Stephen J. Field of California from San Francisco ...

New houses shouldn’t be built on the workers’ backs

Arguments over immigration can be smart or misguided, but they are always complicated. Let's start with an annoying one. Donald Trump's ramp-up of immigration arrests has hit the construction industry, much of whose labor force is undocumented. Employers of such workers are blaming the raids ...