Opinion

Trump may overplay his hand with economic threats

Three moves in the last week have exposed the limits of Donald Trump’s economic bullying. The US slapped 50% tariffs on another $20bn of Canadian goods – then threatened the same rate on the cars, trucks, parts and steel that America Inc depends on. On Monday, the Treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, menaced Iran’s trading partners with exclusion from the US financial network, hoping that coercion can deliver what months of war have not. And as the costs of war, tariffs and pro-billionaire tax cuts helped send US bond yields higher, the Treasury stepped in to tame long-term rates. ...

Use of Flock cameras amounts to surveillance

The more we hear about Flock cameras, the less we like them. These cameras, positioned along roadways across the state and country, read license plate numbers in passing vehicles, reporting that and other information in real time to centralized data bases that law enforcement and others can access and share. Some police -- certainly not all -- neighborhood associations and private property owners argue the cameras, often powered by an attached solar cell, help find the bad guys and that they are, in essence, no different than an officer sitting on the side of the road keeping an eye on ...

Ditching Net Zero

What a difference a few years make. Not long ago, politicians said climate change was going to kill us, so we must move to "net zero" emissions. This is theoretically possible. Since vegetation removes carbon, we could get to net zero by burning fewer fossil fuels. Governments everywhere ...

Almanac for Aug. 28, 2026

Today is Friday, Aug. 28, the 240th day of 2026. There are 125 days left in the year. Today in history: On Aug. 28, 1963, during the March on Washington, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech before an estimated 250,000 people in front of the Lincoln Memorial. Also on this date: In 1845, the first issue of Scientific American magazine was published; it remains the oldest continuously published magazine in the United States. In 1862, the Second Battle of Bull Run began in Prince William County, Virginia, during the Civil War; the Union army retreated ...

Editorial Cartoon for Aug. 28, 2026

Americans and Canadians are losers in the escalating trade wars

The 50 percent tariffs announced Monday by President Donald Trump on all cars, trucks, automotive parts and steel from Canada would crush manufacturers in the United States and raise prices in both countries. The silver lining is that Trump said these import taxes would not take effect until Jan. 1, leaving time for negotiators to disarm an economic land mine. A bilateral deal appeared close last week before talks broke down at the 11th hour. Neither Trump nor Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney wants to look as if he’s succumbing to bullying from the other, so the escalation has been ...