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Comparing ICE to the Gestapo lets America off the hook

While Immigration and Customs Enforcement terrorizes our nation, I keep seeing social media posts that compare ICE to Nazi Germany’s Secret State Police, the Gestapo. Some in Trump’s ranks like to lean into Nazi symbolism and cosplay in reminiscent trench coats, but don’t let that misguide you. As horrific as the Holocaust was, Nazi Germany is not the example of evil we should be reaching for. The terror we are seeing in the streets from ICE comes from a very American playbook. We cannot consider Nazi Germany as the historic precedent because the Third Reich took its cues from ...

A painful story taken without permission

Dear Annie: I’m a senior citizen. Fifty years ago, another young girl and I were in a juvenile detention facility for very minor infractions that would not lead to incarceration today. I was repeatedly raped by two counselors throughout our months there. This other girl was not mistreated in any way because she was related to the spouse of one of the administrators. We’re not good friends but have stayed in touch over the years because of this shared experience. She’s talked off and on about writing/publishing an autobiography, which I’ve encouraged. Recently, I met someone in ...

You can make your own memory jug, but antiques command premiums

Can you put a price on memories? This memory jug sold for $1,125 at Slotin Folk Art Auction. Memory jugs like this one, with decorative items embedded into the surface, are a famous African American art form. They are believed to have originated in Central and West African traditions, where ...

Consistency matters: Moral clarity requires it

As I read the commentary across social media, legacy media and the broader public discourse surrounding the latest deadly shooting in Minnesota, I see something deeper than disagreement over facts or law. I see a nation struggling to reconcile rights, authority, fear and accountability in moments when events move faster than judgment. Let’s begin with the Constitution and the Second Amendment. The right to bear arms is not granted by government; it is recognized as preexisting. Its historical purpose includes guarding against tyranny. But that truth does not cancel another: ...

American Gestapo/American Psycho

Last week, a half-dozen masked and unidentifiable Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents killed a 37-year-old federal employee, a nurse, by spraying pepper spray into his eyes, pushing him to the ground, stealing his lawfully owned and carried handgun, and then shooting him nine times in the back. The thugs from ICE whom the federal government has sent to Minneapolis have produced murder and mayhem on a scale far more violent, disruptive and disturbing to human life than have the immigrants residing there without papers. Under the Constitution, immigration — who can legally ...

Maintaining love across a political divide

Dear Annie: I never imagined I would be writing to you about this, but I’m at a loss and worried sick. One of my adult sons has become deeply involved in far-right political activism. What began as strong opinions has hardened into something extreme and all-consuming. His social media is a nonstop stream of posts about the latest controversies, many of them angry. Politics now seems to define his entire identity. It’s all he wants to discuss. Family gatherings feel tense, and I find myself walking on eggshells, afraid that a casual comment will turn into a lecture or argument. If ...