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Opinion

Little kids, big government

Columns

Child care got expensive — more than $13,000 per child, per year. So many people want government to pay for it. My state just agreed. New York will fund free child care. Yay! But wait ... what government does isn’t free. Taxpayers pay. And taxpayers pay more because “government rules have unintended consequences,” says Carrie Lukas of the Independent Women’s Forum. Washington, D.C. day care teachers must have a degree in Early Childhood Education. That can take two years and cost $22,000. “Of course you’re going to have to pay a lot more,” says Lukas in my ...

Pope vs. president is a fight everyone loses

Columns

President Trump and Pope Leo are in a war of words right now — when they should be allies, not enemies. Both want peace, but the president intends to get it by winning a war against Iran, while the pope thinks the war isn’t worth fighting. “I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon,” Trump said Sunday on his Truth social-media network, in a post blasting the pontiff as “weak on crime and terrible for foreign policy.” With midterm elections just seven months away, Catholic voters suddenly find themselves in the crossfire between the ...

Dear Annie: How to handle in-laws hurling insults

Columns

Dear Annie: I have been married for 12 years to a good man whom I love very much, but I dread nearly every holiday, birthday dinner and casual Sunday visit with his family. On the surface, my in-laws are charming, polished and the sort of people everyone else describes as “so nice.” But behind that polished exterior is a steady drip of cutting remarks aimed almost entirely at me. My mother-in-law has a talent for delivering insults with a smile. She will look at a meal I brought and say, “Well, that’s certainly ... rustic,” or ask whether I am “still doing that little job ...

Borderline-diabetic browses other options for drinking caffeine

Columns

DEAR DR. ROACH: I am 57 years old and love Pepsi, Coke, and unsweetened iced tea for the caffeine, which greatly improves my mood and gives me more energy. Unfortunately, I am borderline diabetic and get horrible kidney stones. I need a caffeine replacement source. Drinking more water does not do the trick. I gag trying to drink coffee. I have no interest in gas-station energy drinks or shots. Chocolate has too much sugar. Anything with sucralose or artificial sweeteners leaves a horrible aftertaste. I’ve gone months without caffeine, and I feel rundown. Are there any natural ...

Hungary election reminds us all of the power of voting

Our View

Whether you loved him or hated him, you cannot deny the influence Viktor Orban has had on the world during his time in politics — nor the iron grip he had on his own country’s electoral machine. And yet, on Sunday, the people of Hungary decided that, after 16 years in office, enough was enough. Despite time as — at first — a popular incumbent followed by time as — at second — an authoritarian who bent the system to give himself every edge to stay in power...in the end, none of it mattered. The election in Hungary shows that the will of the people remains powerful. ...

San Francisco’s latest radical experiment

Columns

San Francisco, a city long associated with exotic ideas, has been experimenting with a radical notion — cracking down on car thieves. Unlike some of the city’s other adventures, this one is actually working out. Car break-ins are down 85% from 2023, and are down 50% the first three months of 2026, compared to the first three months of 2025. This is good news for residents and tourists, and bad news for auto repair shops that did a brisk business in new car windows. Smash-and-grab break-ins were such an ingrained part of San Francisco life that an argot grew up around ...