Elizabeth Bruenig writes: Whatever virtues Trump and his administration are aiming for, mercy isn’t among them. Mercy, after all, is a quality of the strong; in his repeated attacks on those with the very least, Trump is most obviously weak. While many of us were absorbed in the holidays, the Trump administration relaxed Medicare’s penalty… Read More Trump the Merciless

Bishop Mark Seitz writes: The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) must decide by Jan. 8 whether to extend or end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for El Salvador. TPS was created by Congress in 1990 and allows people whose countries have experienced natural disasters, armed conflicts or exceptional situations to remain temporarily in the United… Read More Bishop Seitz: Ending TPS for El Salvador Would Put Children’s Lives at Risk

Millennial’s Elizabeth Bruenig is now a columnist at the Washington Post. In her first column, she writes: Christmas is back, and better than ever: Haven’t you heard? “People are proud to be saying Merry Christmas again,” President Trump declared on Twitter on Christmas Eve, with an unmistakable note of triumph. As has been widely pointed… Read More The War on the Poor Matters More than the ‘War on Christmas’

Michael Gerson writes: People who have recently lost a parent — or a spouse, or a friend, or (God forbid) a child — are easily ambushed by sorrow at this time of year. Psychologists have a term for it: “holiday effects.” A smell, a taste, a quality of light can cause grief to come in… Read More The Radicalism and Hope of Christmas

via cleveland.com: Ohio on Friday became the fourth state to ban abortions performed after a prenatal test shows the fetus has or might have Down syndrome. Gov. John Kasich signed into law House Bill 214, the 20th abortion restriction passed since he took office in 2011, and 14 other bills Friday morning. Under the law,… Read More Ohio Bans Aborting Children after Down Syndrome Diagnosis