Opinion

Tariffs, trade wars have made US farming harder

JD Vance was in Iowa last week, trying to shore up GOP support in the heartland. "We want farming to be easier in the United States of America, not harder," the vice president told the crowd in Council Bluffs. Farming is always hard but what could be making it even harder these days? Hmmm. Could it be President Donald Trump's tariffs and trade wars that have raised farmers' costs and lost them markets abroad due to retaliation? Asking for a friend in the Midwest. While Mr. Trump can claim all he wants that foreigners pay his tariffs, Deere & Co. said on an earnings call last month that ...

Editorial cartoon for Sept. 30, 2026

Almanac for Sept. 30, 2026

Today is Wednesday, Sept. 30, the 273rd day of 2026. There are 92 days left in the year. Today in history: On Sept. 30, 1949, the Berlin Airlift came to an end after delivering more than 2.3 million tons of cargo to blockaded residents of West Berlin over 15 months. Also on this date: In 1777, the Continental Congress — forced to flee by advancing British forces — moved to York, Pennsylvania, after briefly meeting in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. In 1791, Mozart's opera "The Magic Flute" premiered in Vienna, Austria. In 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicated the Boulder Dam ...

The perfect metaphor

The perfect metaphor to characterize the UN General Assembly delegates who walked out before Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke is this: “There are none so blind as those who will not see.” You can’t make people understand the truth if they choose to ignore it. The problem ...

Rebuttal to “Why did Michiganders elect El-Sayed?”

This letter is a rebuttal to a letter published on Sept. 24, 2026. The letter titled “Why did Michiganders elect El-Sayed?” takes a complicated problem and presents a simple solution: put everything under one government payer, call it “free,” and tell taxpayers they will somehow have more money in their pockets. That isn't a serious explanation of how health care works. Abdul El-Sayed is not a licensed practicing physician. He earned a medical degree but never completed a medical residency and therefore did not become a licensed practicing doctor. His public-health background ...

What's the Matter with Kansas' Senators?

The home of Dwight Eisenhower and Amelia Earhart is rarely part of the national conversation — but that could be about to change. It is becoming clear that the race for Senate this year could be a huge upset. In the 19th century, Kansas was the scene of violent clashes over slavery, which ...