8 of our top opinion pieces this week: ICYMI
From Donald Trump's Senate impeachment trial to the anniversaries of Citizens United and Roe v. Wade, here are some of our top columns of the week.
In today's fast-paced news environment, it can be hard to keep up. For your weekend reading, we've started in-case-you-missed-it compilations of some of the week's top Paste BN Opinion pieces. As always, thanks for reading, and for your feedback.
1. Obama was right, Alito was wrong: Citizens United has corrupted American politics
By Tiffany Muller
"With its decision, the court ... triggered an influx of undisclosed dark money spending on our elections. The (Supreme Court’s) naive view of our electoral process set the stage for 10 years of billions of dollars corrupting our politics and dictating national policy on everything from the cost of prescription drugs to climate change to gun violence."
2. I was an abortionist. The abortion industry isn't willing to prioritize patient safety.
By Kathi Aultman
"I was pro-choice for decades. I performed abortions and had an abortion. I understand in a deep and personal way where the fault lines of disagreement over abortion in America lie. But can’t we at least all agree on the importance of safety in the abortion industry?"
3. Trump impeachment defense is dangerous. Abuses of power could crack America's foundation.
By Paul Rosenzweig
"Common sense says abuse of authority is even more dangerous than criminal conduct. ... That is not the America we want. Even if the Senate chooses to acquit President Trump, it must reject his overbroad assertion of immunity from scrutiny and accountability. Our democracy depends on it."
4. Sloppy history: Mike Pence and JFK praise corrupt 1860s senator who sold impeachment vote
By David O. Stewart
"Unfortunately, Vice President Mike Pence has perpetuated an appalling misunderstanding of President Andrew Johnson's impeachment trial of 1868. ... Exalting such a thoroughly corrupt figure as Sen. Edmund Ross is both a bizarre way to defend this president, and raises the question of whether those in this administration understand what is corrupt, and what isn’t."
5. To end mass incarceration, U.S. needs alternatives to prison for violent crimes
By Danielle Sered
"While some survivors state they want vengeance, others ask that the person who committed the crime receive mercy. ... But what all survivors I have talked to have in common is that they want safety — for themselves and others. And on the whole, many no longer believe that prison is the best way to deliver that safety."
6. Get ready for the Trump Senate impeachment trial as partisan farce: Mastio & Lawrence
By David Mastio and Jill Lawrence
"JILL: Judgment Day is coming for the Senate, and for the life of me I can’t understand why Republicans don’t see it as an escape hatch. ...
"DAVID: If Democrats has turned on Clinton and forced him out, we’d be in a better place. ... Now Republicans don’t feel one bit of shame in doing the same thing — even as they defend, deflect and deny radically more scandalous behavior by Trump."
7. Religious liberty in our schools must be protected
By Betsy DeVos
"No American forfeits (their First Amendment) freedoms — including the right to pray — to anyone or in any place, especially in public schools. The notion of 'separation of church and state' is not an invitation for government to separate people from their faith. Yet, too many students and too many teachers are separated from their faith while they are in school."
8. 3 top witnesses I'd call in Trump impeachment trial and what I'd ask: Ex-US attorney
By Barbara McQuade
"If the House managers are permitted to call witnesses, they no doubt would present many of the same people who testified during the impeachment inquiry. ... But other witnesses, including some who were blocked by Trump during the House inquiry, are needed for a genuine quest for the truth."