Line of fire: Judicial havoc is no way to run gun policy

This week, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a lower court ruling that had struck down a Pennsylvania law barring people under 21 from carrying firearms openly during declared states of emergency. It’s hard to really celebrate this as a victory given how basic common sense it is — that judges had found it proper to allow 18-year-olds to walk around with drawn firearms during emergencies strains understanding.

It’s getting harder to study fake news

Researchers who study misinformation are confronting a new problem: public scorn. And it’s not just in the form of online trolling. These scientists are losing funding, watching their research centers close down, and getting barraged with subpoenas.

Women are making strides in politics — Why it matters

The “Year of the Woman” label is too often thrown around when women break a barrier that should often be the norm. In 1992, it was used when five women were elected to the U.S. Senate. It was used in 2016 when Democrat Hillary Clinton became the first woman to lead a ticket for a major political party. We heard it again in 2018 during the so-called “pink wave,” when more than 100 women were elected to the U.S. House. There will likely be temptations to dub 2024 the Year of the Woman, especially if Vice President Kamala Harris wins the White House.

Trump’s plans bust the federal budget

The Republican Party is the party of fiscal responsibility? It’s been a laughable idea ever since presidents like Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush have pushed massive, unpaid-for, deficit-ballooning tax cuts skewed to deliver the biggest benefits to the wealthiest among us — but it’s especially ludicrous now.

Progressive politicians lose the plot on fighting terror

It’s no coincidence that anti-Israel student groups at Massachusetts colleges and across the country called for a “Week of Rage” starting on the one-year anniversary of the Oct. 7 massacre by Hamas as progressive lawmakers demanded a cease-fire.