opinion

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The 'Slippery Road' of Unending, 'Unbearable' Pain

Melanie Thernstrom explores the 'travesty' of navigating chronic pain for WSJ

(Newser) - At the center of the Brian Thompson murder is suspect Luigi Mangione , whose "evolution from valedictorian to vigilante may never be fully understood." But Melanie Thernstrom thinks Mangione's "bleak inner reality" can be partly explained by his chronic back problems, which caused "unbearable pain" that...

'Heinous Hues' of This Color Make It the Worst
'Heinous Hues' of This
Color Make It the Worst
OPINION
Jan 4, 2025 1:45 PM CST

'Heinous Hues' of This Color Make It the Worst

Sorry, but purple just doesn't do it for Fast Company creative director Mike Schnaidt

(Newser) - Serving as creative chief for a major publication means you must have a discriminating eye for color—and in Mike Schnaidt's eyes, the color purple is as "confused" as they come. "Let me count the heinous hues: plum, lilac, orchid, lavender, violet, mauve. Barf," writes the...

Carville Doubles Down on His Famous Rule
Carville Doubles Down
on His Famous Rule
OPINION
Jan 2, 2025 8:52 AM CST

Carville Doubles Down on His Famous Rule

'It was, it is, and it always will be the economy, stupid'

(Newser) - The James Carville of 2024 got it wrong in his election prediction of a Kamala Harris victory. Had he listened to the James Carville of 1992 , he might have gotten it right. "It was, it is, and it always will be the economy, stupid," the political consultant writes...

Exposing the 'Irrationality' of Nuclear Deterrence

Beatrice Fihn calls on ordinary people to challenge myths around nuclear weapons

(Newser) - The threat of nuclear weapons—"catastrophic destruction, potentially wiping out hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians and spreading radioactive contamination across borders and generations"—is terrifying. But "nuclear weapons are remarkably inefficient tools of war"—"they are clumsy, expensive, and lack practical military utility,"...

The Scandal of 2024: A Coverup for Biden
The Scandal of 2024:
A Coverup for Biden
OPINION
Dec 27, 2024 9:31 AM CST

The Scandal of 2024: A Coverup for Biden

Peggy Noonan argues concealing president's true mental state is 'Democratic Party gospel'

(Newser) - Looking back on 2024, Peggy Noonan has no doubt of the scandal of the year: "the decline of Joe Biden's mental acuity" and what she says was a coverup by White House staff. The Wall Street Journal columnist claims President Biden "has been in apparent cognitive decline...

Ex-Wife of Ariana Grande's New Beau Has Some Thoughts
Ex-Wife of Ariana Grande's
New Beau Speaks
ESSAY
Dec 20, 2024 9:53 AM CST

Ex-Wife of Ariana Grande's New Beau Speaks

Lilly Jay talks breakup of her marriage 'in the shadow of my husband's new relationship'

(Newser) - As reports surfaced of a relationship between Wicked co-stars Ariana Grande and Ethan Slater last summer, there was much focus on when Grande had separated from her husband, Dalton Gomez, and when Slater had split with his wife, Lilly Jay. Now, we have more detail from Jay herself. "I...

Ex-Cigna Bigwig: I Left Insurer After 'Crisis of Conscience'
Ex-Cigna Exec: What I Saw
'Shook Me to My Core'
OPINION
Dec 18, 2024 12:55 PM CST

Ex-Cigna Exec: What I Saw 'Shook Me to My Core'

In op-ed for NYT , Wendell Potter talks of time with health insurer, leaving due to 'crisis of conscience'

(Newser) - The gunning down of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson has busted open an often-angry conversation about the state of health insurance in the United States, and now, an ex-exec with one of the country's biggest insurers is adding fuel to that fire. "What I saw made me quit,"...

Who's to Blame for High Health Care Costs? 2 Takes

Journalist points to overpaid doctors, doctor to the 'waste' of private insurance

(Newser) - One of the most talked-about policies in the national conversation around insurance is Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield's decision in Connecticut, New York, and Missouri to deny claims for anesthesia for surgeries that went longer than a set time limit. It was greeted with huge uproar before the insurer...

Guys, Welcome to the 'Pink Collar' Workforce
Guys, Welcome to the
'Pink Collar' Workforce
OPINION
Dec 12, 2024 9:45 AM CST

Guys, Welcome to the 'Pink Collar' Workforce

We should embrace men taking on caregiver jobs traditionally done by women, per NYT op-ed

(Newser) - When it comes to evolving over the past six decades or so, "Plastic Woman" ("American women who made miraculous social progress in the 20th century") outpaced "Cardboard Man" ("American men who stalled out"), according to two archetypes described by Jessica Grose in an op-ed...

Pelicot Wore Sunglasses 'to Protect Herself.' No More

BBC essay describes Frenchwoman as 'global icon of courage and defiance' as husband stands trial

(Newser) - Throughout the rape trial of Gisele Pelicot's husband, Dominique Pelicot , and the dozens of other men of sexually assaulting her while she was drugged unconscious, the world has seen the Frenchwoman go through a series of stages—from "serene grandmother, to anguished and shame-haunted rape victim, to fearful...

Paul Krugman's Final Column: We're in a 'Grim Place'

Nobel-winning NYT economist laments losing optimism of the past, says to rebuff 'kakistocracy'

(Newser) - After nearly a quarter century, Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman has decided to wrap up his opinion column in the New York Times, with a final one dropping on Tuesday —and he's using it as "a good occasion to reflect on what has changed over these past...

In Academia, 'Professors Are Bad at Politics'
College Professors Need
to Back Off of Activism
OPINION
Dec 9, 2024 11:29 AM CST

College Professors Need to Back Off of Activism

Case Western Reserve instructor Michael Clune says that 'professors are bad at politics'

(Newser) - For the past decade, Michael Clune has "watched in horror" as professors in higher education have hurtled toward what he calls an "existential crisis"—academics who've morphed into what he calls activists, with "nearly every scholar now [justifying] their work in political terms." Writing...

A Millennial Admits: Sappy Christmas Films Aren't Terrible

NYT columnist Amanda Hess is surprised to find she's 'aged into the bad Christmas movie'

(Newser) - If you've ever scoffed at the treacly looking Christmas movies churned out annually by the likes of the Hallmark Channel and Netflix, refusing to become an old cat lady (or lad) sobbing over a rom-com, take comfort that "old" isn't the only demographic that these type of...

'If Ever There Was a Case for Clemency, This Is It'

Hugh Hurwitz calls for pardons for those on home confinement under CARES Act

(Newser) - As President Biden considers pardons for more perceived targets of President-elect Trump, he should not forget the 1,500 vulnerable former federal inmates on home confinement, who risk returning to prison under Trump. That's according to Hugh Hurwitz, former assistant director at the Bureau of Prisons, who was involved...

He Picked Up a Gun at Age 11: 'Biggest Regret of My Life'

Writing for NYT , inmate Christopher Blackwell says that regret he's felt has helped move him forward

(Newser) - The New York Times' latest guest essayist isn't a high-powered politician or CEO—Christopher Blackwell is an inmate serving a 45-year sentence for robbery and murder, a consequence for a life of crime and violence that he now traces back to the first time he picked up a pistol...

Brooks: We Need to Rethink the College 'Meritocracy'

Atlantic writer David Brooks says we need to rethink our current admissions system

(Newser) - For two decades during the World War II era, James Conant was president of Harvard, which is when he and other college administrators decided to eliminate "admissions criteria based on bloodlines and breeding and replace them with criteria centered on brainpower." The resulting "meritocracy" isn't without...

People Are Bidding Adieu to 'Long Boozy Nights'
People Are Bidding Adieu
to 'Long Boozy Nights'
OPINION
Nov 30, 2024 8:00 AM CST

People Are Bidding Adieu to 'Long Boozy Nights'

Writing for WSJ , Katie Roiphe says this new 'sober-ish' lifestyle may not be such a bad thing

(Newser) - Say goodbye to those "long boozy nights" of yesteryear. That's according to Katie Roiphe, a college professor who observes for the Wall Street Journal that, as we head into the holiday season, she's noticed more "sober-ish" people around of late—meaning folks who haven't gone...

Mom Discovers Phone Rules for Child Apply to Her, Too

Slate's Molly Mulshine doesn't let her toddler use devices, but her own use was becoming an issue

(Newser) - Molly Mulshine tries hard to limit the screen time her 1-year-old baby is getting, citing various studies that indicate how bad too much time on phones, iPads, and other electronic devices are for kids and teens. But in her new essay for Slate , Mulshine reveals that she was the one...

Teaching Not a 'Sustainable' Job for Parents
Teaching Not a 'Sustainable'
Job for Parents
OPINION
Nov 12, 2024 3:08 PM CST

Teaching Not a 'Sustainable' Job for Parents

So says Lauren Quinn in LAT op-ed, writing she had to quit her career to prioritize her own child

(Newser) - Being a teacher these days seems to be an exhausting, frustrating lot, at least according to the record-high turnover rate and low job satisfaction that Lauren Quinn cites in her op-ed for the Los Angeles Times . Quinn herself recently left her job as a high school English teacher, but it...

WSJ Editorial Warns Trump About Overreach on Border

Public is with him, unless he goes too far, the editors write

(Newser) - The conservative editorial page of the Wall Street Journal is all in favor of President-elect Trump cracking down on illegal immigration. But a new editorial warns him against going too far. Trump promised on the campaign trial to implement the biggest deportation plan in US history, and "how it...

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