Opinion

By Alina Lizunova

By Dave Tikker

Boycott keeps country divided

At January’s World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced the collapse of the rules-based order. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz likewise declared at February’s Munich Security Conference that the rules-based “order, imperfect as it was even at the best of times, no longer exists.” Meanwhile, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who led the American delegation in Munich, was more forward-looking, announcing a “new era in geopolitics” ahead of the trip and outlining a vision for a NATO that retains what works while adapting to new realities.

Institutions across the country are being asked to choose between their transgender patients and keeping their doors open. Hospitals have been ending their gender-affirming care programs for minors after President Donald Trump’s administration threatened federal funding for any hospital providing such treatment.

As the United States celebrates its 250th birthday, the nation is suffering a crisis of patriotism. A Gallup poll last year found that just 41% of Americans say they are “extremely proud” to be American – down from 70% in 2003.

The young people I serve as a counselor are just like other high schoolers in Spokane, except for one important detail: All my students are also parents.

A solid indicator of the State of the Union could be found in who was and who wasn’t in the U.S. Capitol when President Donald Trump arrived Tuesday to deliver his annual address to Congress.

Here in Washington state, we know that wildfire flames don’t need to reach our doorsteps in order to impact us. Last fall, smoke from fires outside my hometown of Leavenworth grew so thick that my children’s sports activities were canceled, and I saw too many kids reaching for inhalers. The 2014 Carlton Complex fire was a wakeup call, yet fires continue to burn on federal lands. Our nation is still on fire, and our communities are still at risk.

By curtailing the president regarding tariffs, the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday perhaps applied a defibrillator to Congress. Its weak contemporary heartbeat threatens the constitutional architecture of powers separated, checked and balanced. But Congress’s fluttering pulse requires a stronger jolt than last week’s 6-3 decision. It addressed only part of the problem that Congress has created by behavior that fuels today’s rampant presidency.

Grand Boulevard traffic problems