ArcaMax

The decline in religiosity in America is oft-noted and well-documented, as survey upon survey demonstrates. Gallup reports that while 44% of Americans said in 2000 they attended services weekly, by 2023 that figure had dropped to 32%. The percentage of Americans who identified with a particular religion likewise fell during that period.

But ...Read more

At least six congressional Republicans are demanding a radical fix in the 2017 tax law targeting residents of high-income states. If they don't get it, they may sink Donald Trump's tax-and-spending package, his "one big beautiful bill."

And who can blame these reps from New York, New Jersey and California? At issue is the unfair cap on the ...Read more

President Donald Trump has been pushing mass deportations, aggressive law enforcement measures and a sweeping expansion of the death penalty as the path to public safety -- all while cutting the very programs that actually make communities safer.

Voters aren't buying it.

New research from the American Civil Liberties Union, conducted in ...Read more

It's the perfect Trump story, one that tells you everything. It begins, as so many of them do, with a candidate whose qualification for high office is appearing on Fox News, proving once again that talking about something on television -- and looking good -- is not the same thing as actual experience.

In this case, Dr. Janette Nesheiwat, a ...Read more

The philosopher Nigel Warburton shrugged: "Users of slippery slope arguments should take skiing lessons -- you really can choose to stop." But slippery slopes are a thing precisely because people often choose to keep cruising along until they smash into Sonny Bono's tree.

Critics from both parties describe Donald Trump's behavior and policies...Read more

Last weekend I visited my aunt and uncle. Their 30-plus acres tucked into the foothills of Appalachia has been my place of refuge for more than 20 years. It's where my husband proposed to me, and it's where we return to again and again with our son. Last weekend, we enjoyed the birds and played in the garden, weeding, mulching and identifying ...Read more

I saw a priest in the coffee shop Wednesday morning.

He was wearing a cassock, the long black robe with buttons down the front that Catholic priests wore everywhere until Vatican II.

The cassock might mean he's what they call a "trad Catholic," which is short for "traditional Catholic" and means you act the way every Catholic did in 1964, ...Read more

Democrats are deep in debate over the age of their older leaders. Some need replacement, according to younger Democrats who want to replace them. And in some cases, they are right.

But these arguments turn toxic when they equate age with capability. Ageism is bad politics, especially when you look at the age of the electorate.

David Hogg, ...Read more

On Tuesday, Thom Tillis, a Republican senator from North Carolina and a key vote on the Senate Judiciary Committee, announced that he would not support the nomination of one of the most over-the-top Trumpers (I know, that's saying a lot) Ed Martin to be the U.S. attorney for Washington. Tillis told reporters that he had let the White House ...Read more

On May 3, 2024, Roger Fortson was on a video call with his girlfriend when a knock came at his door. Fortson, a 23-year-old Black man, was a Senior Airman in the U.S. Air Force, stationed in Florida. Okaloosa County Sheriff's Deputy Eddie Duran had responded to a domestic disturbance call at the apartment complex. Building staff directed him ...Read more

Scene: walking in Washington at dusk, looking around an old market neighborhood made new again. I'm coming from a book talk, searching the lively sidewalks for the Metro station.

A guy sees my shop bag and asks what book I'm reading. I show him: "Uncharted: How Trump Beat Biden, Harris and the Odds in the Wildest Campaign in History." Chris ...Read more

Donnie Trump -- what a joker, huh?

Remember his promise to end Russia's war against Ukraine on Day One of his presidency? No joke, he bragged: "It'll be done within 24 hours. You watch."

Well, here we are at Day One Hundred, with the war still raging. So, President Donald Trump either lied ... or failed. But The Donald had a Joker up his ...Read more

Hard to believe, but President Donald Trump seemed to be just making it up this past week, selling Americans the line that the bad economic news was, in fact, good economic news. Ever the real estate salesman and historically practiced at the art of con-artistry, he claimed that the collapse of financial markets since his inauguration, negative ...Read more

May is usually the best month for florists, Mother's Day being a big reason. But Donald Trump's tariff war is raining pain on their bestselling season.

Pierson's Flower Shop and Greenhouse in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, expects customers to dial back on purchases because of higher prices forced by tariffs.

"We ship a lot from Europe, we ship a lot ...Read more

In the first 100 days of President Donald Trump's second term, we've seen a whirlwind of executive orders, policy proposals and media commentary that have left many of us questioning the future of our democracy. It can be hard to separate what's truly important, what's fact and what can be done to safeguard our rights. We believe that an ...Read more