Posts by Kevin Harson
Opinion: If Martin Luther King Jr. were alive, how would he have approached the Trump era?
Unlike the many people who are upset that Donald Trump is being inaugurated on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, I see it as a good thing. First, it calls even more attention to the day and its significance. Second, it is a chance to speculate about what King might say and do if he were…
Read MoreOpinion: Experts once thought highly of Biden’s presidency. Here’s how his legacy is likely to change
Our survey of presidential experts a year ago drew attention for ranking Joe Biden 14th among the presidents, ahead of such consequential chief executives as Woodrow Wilson and Ronald Reagan. At the time, many expressed surprise, if not skepticism, that the third edition of our Presidential Greatness Project had put Biden in the top third…
Read MoreTrump’s first inaugural speech was ‘American carnage.’ He says this time will be different
WASHINGTON — For 236 years, ever since George Washington, a newly elected president’s inaugural address has traditionally served several purposes. One is simply to mark the beginning of a new administration in celebration and hope — and an occasional dose of eloquence. Another, equally important, is to try to unify the country as far as possible…
Read MoreColumn: Why’s it so hard to do the right thing and honor the true heroes of Jan. 6?
On Monday, Donald Trump will visit the scene of a crime, laying his hand on a Bible and vowing to preserve and protect the Constitution as he swears a formal oath to become the nation’s 47th president. The bloodstains of the Jan. 6 insurrection have long ago washed away. The shattered windows of the Capitol…
Read MoreOpinion: Biden delivered a new ‘Roaring ’20s.’ Watch Trump try to take the credit.
Poor Donald Trump. Twice elected president only to have to clean up the economic messes left to him by Democrats. In 2016, he groused about inheriting “a disaster” from Barack Obama. On Thursday, just four days before his second inauguration, he sent out a fundraising email claiming for the gazillionth time, “During my first term,…
Read MoreSupporters of South Korea’s Yoon storm courthouse. Some see hope in Trump’s return
SEOUL — As South Korean authorities extended President Yoon Suk Yeol’s detention Sunday, his supporters stormed the courthouse that issued the warrant, smashing windows with police shields and using fire hydrants to spray officers. “Whether the communists die or I die, I’m going to see this to the end,” shouted one as he climbed over a…
Read MoreTrump expected to survey Los Angeles-area wildfire damage next week
WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump will likely visit the Los Angeles area next week to view the wildfire damage, he said on Saturday. The trip is expected to be his first outside the nation’s capital after being inaugurated Monday. “I will be, probably, at the end of the week. I was going to go, actually yesterday,…
Read MoreSupreme Court will decide if parents have a religious liberty right to reject LGBTQ+ lessons for their kids
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court agreed Friday to take up a culture wars dispute and decide whether parents have a religious liberty right to have their children “opt out” of using school textbooks and lesson plans with LGBTQ+ themes. The court voted to hear an appeal from a group of Muslim, Jewish and Christian parents in…
Read MoreBrad Pitt’s team reminds fans he’s not on social media after a woman gets big-time scammed
Brad Pitt’s representatives have responded to reports about a French woman allegedly being scammed out of more than $800,000 by a person pretending to be the Oscar winner online. “It’s awful that scammers take advantage of fans’ strong connection with celebrities, but this is an important reminder to not respond to unsolicited online outreach, especially…
Read MoreSupreme Court upholds law that could force TikTok to shut down in U.S.
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Friday upheld a law that calls for the shutdown of the U.S. operations of social media app TikTok due to privacy and security concerns related to its Chinese owner. The justices in a unanimous opinion said the 2024 law does not violate the 1st Amendment or its protection for freedom…
Read MoreJoan Plowright, award-winning ‘Enchanted April’ and ‘Stalin’ actor, dies at 95
Joan Plowright, the English actor whose decades-long career included an Oscar-nominated turn in “Enchanted April” and films “The Entertainer” and “Stalin,” has died. The actor died Thursday at Denville Hall, a retirement home for actors in southern England, her family said Friday in a statement to the Associated Press. She was 95. “She enjoyed a…
Read MoreOpinion: What a century-old disaster can teach fire-ravaged L.A. about recovery and rebuilding
A city devastated; neighbors coming to its aid; the hunt for a scapegoat: Though the Angelenos enduring wildfires today lead lives dramatically different from those of the people who survived the Halifax Explosion more than a century ago, the stories of the two disasters intermittently rhyme. On the morning of Dec. 6, 1917, an accidental…
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