Should O.J. Simpson have been granted parole? Is President Donald Trump investigating the investigators hired by special counsel Robert Mueller? Is it time for Universal health care?
Here's a look at columns about those and other topics in Friday’s opinions from the Right and from the Left.
From the Right
On voter privacy, we've taken one step forward and two steps back
“In our tumultuous political climate, at least we can count on one thing: a bipartisan consensus from our elected officials on the importance of protecting Americans’ privacy. Right? Wrong.
The recent controversy over a White House commission request for voter data shows many state officials support protecting the privacy of this information. However, too many states also favor new ways to violate the privacy of supporters of charities, advocacy groups, and trade associations by requiring these groups to reveal information about the names, home addresses, employers, and donation amounts of their members.”
O.J. Simpson gets parole. Why should a man many call a killer walk free?
“If O.J. Simpson’s murder case was the trial of the last century, he just had the parole hearing of this century. Cable channel after cable channel and broadcast network after broadcast network preempted regular programming just to show a man asking to be released from prison.
It was probably the first parole hearing most people had ever seen. But no one cared much about the crime that led to it—a bizarre robbery of some sports memorabilia—they were interested in the "Juice," who’d seemingly gotten away with murder, and was once again involved in a crime.
And just as it didn’t take the O.J. murder trial jury long to deliberate, it didn’t take long for the parole board, either. They came back in under an hour to unanimously agree to release Simpson.”
Republican Study Committee Budget Restores Balance Of Powers
“The federal bureaucracy has immense power over the lives of every American. Federal regulations, written and enforced by unelected bureaucrats, govern virtually every aspect of the economy and society. This is not how our founding fathers designed the government to work.”
From the left
Trump set a red line for Robert Mueller. And now Mueller has reportedly crossed it.
“Bloomberg News is reporting that the Russia investigation led by special counsel Robert Mueller is zeroing in on President Trump’s business transactions.
The report quoted an anonymous source as saying that Trump’s financial ties to Russia are the focus: “FBI investigators and others are looking at Russian purchases of apartments in Trump buildings, Trump’s involvement in a controversial SoHo development with Russian associates, the 2013 Miss Universe pageant in Moscow and Trump’s sale of a Florida mansion to a Russian oligarch in 2008.” The Washington Post has not independently confirmed Bloomberg’s report.
Somebody is basically daring Trump to try to fire Mueller.”
Jeff Sessions is letting police take more people’s stuff even if they aren’t convicted of a crime
“In America, it is legal in most states for police to take and keep your stuff without ever convicting you for a crime. Now, Attorney General Jeff Sessions apparently wants to let police do this even more often. Most states and federal law already allow what’s called “civil asset forfeiture.” This lets police seize someone’s property without proving the person was guilty of a crime; they just need probable cause to believe the assets were used or obtained in some kind of criminal activity, typically drug trafficking.”
American healthcare is at a crossroads. It's time to talk universal healthcare
“The single most disheartening line I tell my patients every day is: “Let’s focus on your health, that is the only thing that is important right now.”
Physicians across the country repeat this line almost verbatim whenever a patient expresses any concern about cost. It helps reaffirm our purpose – we went into medicine to save lives, not manage finances – but mostly, it is a way to deflect our discomfort with the truth: we have no idea, and no way of finding out, how much your blood test, CT scan or surgical procedure will cost you.”
About the Author
