Op-Ed

April 6, 2017 – Ole Solvang is Deputy Director, Emergencies We are still investigating what killed dozens and injured hundreds of people exposed to chemicals in Khan Sheikhoun, in northern Syria, on April 4. Did Syrian government forces use chemical weapons, as local residents are telling us? Or could a bomb have struck chemicals on […]

WASHINGTON, April 6, 2017—In response to the news that Senate Republicans have chosen to invoke the “nuclear option” to change Senate rules to require only a majority vote to confirm Supreme Court nominees, People For the American Way President Michael Keegan released the following statement: This is a sad day for the Senate, for the […]

WASHINGTON, DC April 6, 2017 – House Democratic Whip Steny H. Hoyer (MD) released the following statement today following Chairman Devin Nunes’ decision to recuse himself from the House Intelligence Committee probe into Russia’s involvement in the 2016 election: “It is entirely appropriate that Chairman Nunes should step aside from the House Intelligence Committee’s investigation, […]

April 5, 2017 – When Donald Trump was running for president, he talked a lot about putting people back to work. And one of the industries he focused on most was the coal industry. He even put on a hard hat and waved around a pick axe to show how much he loved coal. But […]

April 5, 2017 – In the wake of the failure of the legislative effort to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the fate of another of the president’s health care priorities is unclear. In his first congressional address, President Trump articulated five principles for health care reform. His fifth and last called for […]

LOS ANGELES, CA, April 4, 2017  – The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA), the largest California-based immigrant rights organization, called on companies submitting bids to the federal government by this afternoon to build a wall on the US/Mexico border to build a moral compass instead for the Trump  Administration.   CHIRLA called on President Trump […]

April 4, 2017 – President Trump says the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is “exploding right now” and predicts a “very bad year,” with insurer pullouts and large premium increases in many states’ individual health insurance markets.  In reality, health insurance markets are generally stable under the ACA, as analysts such as the Congressional Budget Office […]

March 29, 2017 – Leon Rodriguez was director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services at the Department of Homeland Security from July 2014 until January 20, 2017. As the immediate past director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, President Trump’s executive orders banning immigrants and refugees orders strike a chord. From federal court rulings, to […]

March 28, 2017 – Rachel Cleetus is Lead Economist and Climate Policy Manager Today President Trump launches an all-out attack on our country’s policies to address climate change, via an Executive Order expected to be signed this afternoon. We’ve known for some time that something like this was in the works. Yet that doesn’t take […]

March 28, 2017 – Note: Today, President Donald Trump is scheduled to issue an executive order curtailing numerous climate initiatives put in place by the Obama administration and instead expanding the use of fossil fuels. Americans waste $875 billion each year on fossil fuels even though the sun and wind can provide our energy for […]

SAN FRANCISCO, CA, March 28, 2017 – Yesterday, the Trump Administration quietly issued an executive order rescinding Obama administration progress toward eliminating LGBT discrimination in the workplace. Previously, former president Barack Obama’s Executive Order 13673 took aim at LGBT discrimination by requiring federal contractors to disclose whether they have previously been held liable for discrimination […]

March 27, 2017 – Statement of Robert Weissman, President, Public Citizen Note: This afternoon, under authority granted by the Congressional Review Act (CRA), President Donald Trump will sign four resolutions repealing protections for workers, teachers and our environment. These include the Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces executive order, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management’s land […]

March 27, 2017 – Henry Siegman is president emeritus of the US/Middle East Project. He was a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and is a former head of the American Jewish Congress and the Synagogue Council of America. Reactions by the international commentariat to Trump and Netanyahu’s joint press conference on 15 […]

March 27, 2017 – Mark Bickhard is Henry R. Luce Professor in Cognitive Robotics and the Philosophy of Knowledge in the Department of Psychology at Lehigh University (Bethlehem, PA). Comparisons between Trump(ism) and Fascism have become frequent, and with good reason. These comparisons are strongest between Trump and Mussolini — stronger than with Hitler and […]

March 27, 2017 – Today, 35.8% of the world’s population still lacks access to any proper sanitation facilities. That’s why in 2015, the world’s leaders agreed to strive for access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all by 2030 as part of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. That means more than three […]

March 27, 2017 –  So, let me see if I’ve got this right. North Korea has been pushing its ally China to rein in the United States. Pyongyang is worried that Washington is about to launch a preemptive attack, so it has tried to use whatever minimal amount of influence it has to persuade China […]

March 25, 2017 – House Speaker Paul Ryan, in his press conference following the demise of his bill to replace Obamacare, blamed Republicans who had failed to grasp that the GOP was now a “governing party.” “We were a 10-year opposition party, where being against things was easy to do,” said Ryan. “You just had […]