New York Times 1-12-2018

LETTER

Asking About Citizenship

Asking about citizenship status on census forms will make many immigrants fearful of participating, a reader writes.

CONTRIBUTING OP-ED WRITER

Robots Can’t Vote, but They Helped Elect Trump

The areas of the country with the largest robot work forces gave the president an unanticipated advantage in the Electoral College.

By THOMAS B. EDSALL

VIETNAM ’67

Three Journeys to Khe Sanh

I saw the famous battlefield as a Marine, a reporter and a teacher. Each time I learned something new about Vietnam.

By RAY WILKINSON

OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR

Reviving Old Lies to Unite a New Russia

Why would an Orthodox bishop with close ties to Putin hint at an old anti-Semitic canard to explain the murder of the last czar’s family?

By MICHAEL KHODARKOVSKY

OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR

Is Angela Merkel Done For?

With Germany unable to form a new government, more people are calling for her to step aside. But for whom?

By ALEXANDER GÖRLACH

OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR

What We Lose When We Lose Female Reporters

The BBC’s China editor quit because she was paid less than her male counterparts. We’re all worse off for it.

By MEI FONG

OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR

The Battle Line for Western Values Runs Through Poland

If the European Union confronts the populist, nationalist government in Warsaw, it can prove that it stands for something.

By CHARLES A. KUPCHAN

OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR

Where Can Women Make Movies? The Middle East

“In Between,” the new film by Maysaloun Hamoud, is the latest in a long line of feminist films by female Arab directors.

By NANA ASFOUR

OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR

How to Fight the Opioid Crisis

A new cabinet officer could pull together the vast but uncoordinated resources of the federal government to address the problem head on.

By DAVID A. KESSLER

OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR

Reviving Old Lies to Unite a New Russia

Why would an Orthodox bishop with close ties to Putin hint at an old anti-Semitic canard to explain the murder of the last czar’s family?

By MICHAEL KHODARKOVSKY

OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR

Is Angela Merkel Done For?

With Germany unable to form a new government, more people are calling for her to step aside. But for whom?

By ALEXANDER GÖRLACH

OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR

What We Lose When We Lose Female Reporters

The BBC’s China editor quit because she was paid less than her male counterparts. We’re all worse off for it.

By MEI FONG

OP-ED COLUMNIST

Caution: Entering Trump’s Mind

Half of him is feeling very bipartisan these days.

By GAIL COLLINS

EDITORIAL

Is Mr. Trump Nuts?

It’s the wrong question. Efforts to diagnose the president from afar are damaging to real efforts to address his unfitness.

By THE EDITORIAL BOARD

EDITORIAL

When Mercy Collides With the Law

An Illinois man got into trouble with local officials after he let homeless people stay in his basement on the coldest nights.

By THE EDITORIAL BOARD

OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR

The Battle Line for Western Values Runs Through Poland

If the European Union confronts the populist, nationalist government in Warsaw, it can prove that it stands for something.

By CHARLES A. KUPCHAN

EDITORIAL

Who Will Listen to Democrats’ Warning on Russia?

In the face of Republican complacency, Senate Democrats issue the most comprehensive public analysis thus far of Moscow’s war on the West.

By THE EDITORIAL BOARD

OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR

Where Can Women Make Movies? The Middle East

“In Between,” the new film by Maysaloun Hamoud, is the latest in a long line of feminist films by female Arab directors.

By NANA ASFOUR

OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR

How to Fight the Opioid Crisis

A new cabinet officer could pull together the vast but uncoordinated resources of the federal government to address the problem head on.

By DAVID A. KESSLER

LETTERS

A Non-Gendered Pronoun

Readers discuss the need for alternatives to “he” and “she” in English.

LETTERS

When C.E.O.s Cheer Weaker Regulations

Readers view the wave of deregulation by the Trump administration as shortsighted and not in the public interest.

LETTER

Improper Attacks on Mueller and the F.B.I.

A member of Congress defends the integrity of the special counsel and the F.B.I.

LETTER

Citizenship and the Census

The Latino Community Foundation says questioning citizenship in an age of increased immigration enforcement will likely result in an undercount.

OP-ED COLUMNIST

Trump’s Threat to Democracy

He is unique among American presidents in the last century, two Harvard professors say.

By NICHOLAS KRISTOF

LETTER

Dossier Author Targeted by Senators

A reader criticizes two G.O.P. senators for seeking criminal charges against Christopher Steele.

DISABILITY

In My Chronic Illness, I Found a Deeper Meaning

Being sick has been a long, slow detox from capitalist culture and its mandate that we never rest.

By ELLIOT KUKLA

OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR

President Trump Is Breaking Up My Family

My siblings and I will have to care for ourselves if my parents are sent back to El Salvador.

By RODMAN SERRANO

OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR

Inside Steve Bannon’s ‘Fight Club’

He didn’t regard Breitbart as platform to inform the public, but as his weapon in a war against the establishment.

By KURT BARDELLA

OP-ED COLUMNIST

A Counter-Conspiracy, Debunked

Also: How to make sense of the Russia scandal.

By DAVID LEONHARDT

OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR

A Perfect Storm Is Coming to Mexico

After decades of good fortune in dealing with the United States, Mexico is now threatened by several dark clouds.

By JORGE G. CASTAÑEDA

OP-ED COLUMNIST

Oprah: Prophet, Priestess … Queen?

What happens if the pope of the American religion considers a presidential run?

By ROSS DOUTHAT

OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR

The Only Thing Turkey and the U.S. Can Agree On

Relations between the two countries have reached a low. But trying to pressure President Recep Tayyip Erdogan could result in greater instability.

By NICK DANFORTH

EDITORIAL OBSERVER

Monuments to White Supremacy

Tennessee lawmakers can no longer plausibly deny racist origins of the Confederate monument movement.

By BRENT STAPLES

EDITORIAL

Don’t Deport the Salvadorans

The humanitarian reasons those who escaped their quake-damaged homeland should be allowed to stay far outweigh the legal reasons to send them home.

By THE EDITORIAL BOARD

OP-ED CONTRIBUTORS

Greta Gerwig, Aaron Sorkin: Hollywood Must Change

She says she wouldn’t work with Woody Allen again. He says Donald Trump is bad TV.

By FRANK BRUNI, GRETA GERWIG and AARON SORKIN

OP-ED COLUMNIST

Iranian and Saudi Youth Try to Bury 1979

The year was pivotal to their countries, but they reject the changes it brought.

By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN

CONTRIBUTING OP-ED WRITER

That’s What Ze Said

I use whatever pronoun my students choose for themselves, simply out of respect for them.

By JENNIFER FINNEY BOYLAN

OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR

I’m Proud We Published the Trump-Russia Dossier

The president called the Steele report “fake news.” A year later, it’s clear that’s not the case.

By BEN SMITH

EDITORIAL OBSERVER

Joe Arpaio’s Latest Offense — Running for Senate

On a day of hope for a breakthrough on immigration, the race-baiting ex-sheriff pardoned by the president makes a pathetic plea for attention.

By ELIZABETH WILLIAMSON

OP-DOCS

Birth Control Your Own Adventure

How my side effects made me four different people.

By SINDHA AGHA

TIMESVIDEO

Birth Control Your Own Adventure

How my side effects made me four different people

By SINDHA AGHA

LETTER

A Plea on Salvadorans

A reader faults the Trump administration for acting in a cruel manner.

OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR

My Invitation From Donald Trump Jr.’s Father

A missed opportunity “to Learn the Trump Family’s Most Successful Wealth Creation Secrets.”

By JAY NEUGEBOREN

LETTERS

Oprah, Celebrity and the Presidency

With Oprah Winfrey’s speech at the Golden Globes inspiring presidential talk, readers debate the value of political experience.

LETTER

Bannon and Trump

A reader says both men “will say anything and do anything to betray the country and its principles, without any sense of remorse.”

ON CAMPUS

No College Kid Needs a Water Park to Study

Trustees must rein in frivolous spending at public universities.

By JAMES V. KOCH

OP-ED COLUMNIST

Is Oprah the Un-Trump, or the Un-Clinton?

The Oprah hoopla has plenty to do with regrets about 2016.

By FRANK BRUNI

OP-ED COLUMNIST

Save the Salvadorans

And create a better immigration system.

By DAVID LEONHARDT

VIETNAM ’67

How Coffeehouses Fueled the Vietnam Peace Movement

During Vietnam, activists opened cafes outside military bases to recruit antiwar soldiers.

By DAVID L. PARSONS

THE CONVERSATION

The Very Stable Genius in the Very Stable White House

Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain.

By GAIL COLLINS and BRET STEPHENS

LOOSE ENDS

New Year’s Resolutions Versus New Year’s Realities

Download a mindfulness app! Then hide it on the fourth screen of your iPhone.

By BARI WEISS

FIXES

A Year of Pushback to Save Social Innovation

In 2017, the urge to find solutions to social problems survived, despite efforts in the White House to unravel advances by previous administrations.

By TINA ROSENBERG

EDITORIAL

Unrest Shows the Iran Nuclear Deal’s Value, Not Its Danger

By raising expectations for a better life, the accord made Iranians less tolerant. Pulling out now would empower regressive forces.

By THE EDITORIAL BOARD

EDITORIAL

Europe Listens Anxiously as Germans Talk

The world is in urgent need of strong leadership from Berlin, so Angela Merkel needs to form a government quickly.

By THE EDITORIAL BOARD

OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR

How Not to Engage With Pakistan

President Trump’s attempt at humiliating and punishing Pakistan won’t work. Pakistan has greater leverage over us than we imagine.

By RICHARD G. OLSON

EDITORIAL

Republicans in Congress Are Failing America’s Children

Health coverage for nine million kids is still at risk as congressional leaders refuse to reauthorize CHIP.

By THE EDITORIAL BOARD

OP-ED COLUMNIST

Is Liberal Zionism Dead?

Trump makes a one-state solution more likely.

By MICHELLE GOLDBERG

EDITORIAL

Mr. Zinke’s Risky Venture into Deep Water

The Interior Department is rolling back the Obama administration’s balanced approach toward offshore oil exploration. It could well end badly.

OP-ED CONTRIBUTORS

A Counterproductive Approach to a Broken Immigration System

Pulling the plug on T.P.S. will tear apart families and communities and bring more uncertainty to El Salvador.

By MICHAEL SHIFTER and BEN RADERSTORF

OP-ED COLUMNIST

The Decline of Anti-Trumpism

The quality of the opposition is deteriorating.

By DAVID BROOKS

OP-ED CONTRIBUTORS

We’re Not Ready for a Flu Pandemic

A universal vaccine is desperately needed.

By MICHAEL T. OSTERHOLM and MARK OLSHAKER

OP-ED COLUMNIST

The Worst and the Dumbest

Given what Trump is doing to our government, it’s a good thing he’s a very stable genius.

By PAUL KRUGMAN

OP-ED COLUMNIST

A Very Stable Genius-in-Chief

In series of tweets on Saturday, President Trump defended his mental fitness.

By PATRICK CHAPPATTE

CONTRIBUTING OP-ED WRITER

What the President Doesn’t Get About Dogs

They’re loyal and loving. All Donald Trump has is Stephen Miller.

By JENNIFER WEINER

LETTERS

Trump Addresses His Mental Fitness

Readers discuss the president’s claim that he is a “stable genius.”

LETTERS

America’s Role in the Korea Talks

Two readers worry that the Trump administration will worsen tensions.

LETTER

Hearing From Trump Voters

Is the president performing as you hoped, or has he fallen short?

OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR

Oprah, Don’t Do It

The idea of President Winfrey underscores the extent to which Trumpism has infected our civic life.

By THOMAS CHATTERTON WILLIAMS

OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR

Can South Korea Avoid Getting Played by the North?

Even before this week’s talks, Pyongyang had already gotten something for nothing out of Seoul.

By NICHOLAS EBERSTADT

OP-ED COLUMNIST

New York’s Movement Crisis

Also: Oprah at the Golden Globes.

By DAVID LEONHARDT

THE STONE

Can We Learn to Believe in God?

And what does “The Breakfast Club” have to do with it?

By AGNES CALLARD

OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR

Cybersecurity Today Is Treated Like Accounting Before Enron

Our digital assets are too important for this. We need defensive policies and more uniform corporate governance.

By NATHANIEL FICK

OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR

Will Iran’s Protests Help the Hard-Liners?

The recent demonstrations could cripple the moderate President Rouhani and cement the conservatives’ grip on power.

By NAZILA FATHI

OP-ED COLUMNIST

At the Golden Globes, Hollywood Does What Washington Won’t

There’s meaningless make-believe in the capital of politics, but there’s meaningful politics in the capital of make-believe.

By FRANK BRUNI

OP-ED COLUMNIST

‘Like, Really Smart’

The new book about Trump’s White House suggests a dangerous mental instability.

By CHARLES M. BLOW

EDITORIAL

Jeff Sessions’s Endless War on Marijuana

The attorney general’s new, more aggressive guidance will add legal confusion to an issue that many states are managing just fine on their own.

By THE EDITORIAL BOARD

EDITORIAL

New York Leaders Are Failing Its Subway Riders

As construction companies and labor unions drove up costs, watchdogs — including governors and lawmakers — have done too little to stop it.

By THE EDITORIAL BOARD

OP-ED COLUMNIST

How to Get New York Moving Again

Traffic is so bad that people can often outpace cars.

By DAVID LEONHARDT

OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR

On Stop-and-Frisk, We Can’t Celebrate Just Yet

What happens to people after they get stopped?

By PHILLIP ATIBA GOFF

LETTERS

The Immigrants Who Deliver Health Care

Tighter restrictions on immigration could create shortages in providing in-home care and elder care, readers note.

LETTERS

The Met’s New Required Fee for Non-New Yorkers

Some readers say a $25 admission fee is elitist and will discourage visitors. Another calls it a bargain for great art.

LETTER

A Shrimpless State

A reader mourns the disappearance of a Maine mainstay and has a suggestion.

LETTERS

Foster Care and Opioids

A lawyer with Bronx Defenders makes the case for a different approach.

OPINION

Amber Tamblyn: Redefining the Red Carpet

At the Golden Globes, my fellow actresses aren’t just wearing black. They’re making a statement of resistance.

By AMBER TAMBLYN

OPINION

Retirement Tips for the Age of Trump

Advice for Orrin Hatch, Bob Corker, Jeff Flake — and anyone else who might need it.

By CHARLES J. SYKES

EDITORIAL

Why Do Land Mines Still Kill So Many?

Because some of the world’s biggest military powers — including the U.S. — refuse to sign treaties that would ban these vicious weapons.

By THE EDITORIAL BOARD

CONTRIBUTING OP-ED WRITER

Graceland, at Last

For reasons I cannot explain, some part of me needed to go there.

By MARGARET RENKL

OPINION

The Alt-Right’s Asian Fetish

How the “model minority” myth blends with racist ideology.

By AUDREA LIM

OP-ED COLUMNIST

Why 2017 Was the Best Year in Human History

Here’s what’s more important than a Trump tweet.

By NICHOLAS KRISTOF

OPINION

This Was Not the Good Death We Were Promised

Hospice care failed my father when it mattered most.

By KAREN BROWN

OPINION

Job Interviews Without Gender

Masking candidates’ identities to avoid sexism is a nice idea. But it won’t work.

By KATHARINE ZALESKI

OPINION

Diabetes Shouldn’t Bankrupt You

Congress long ago allowed people with end-stage kidney failure to receive Medicare. Why not do the same for people with other chronic illnesses?

By ELISABETH ROSENTHAL

OPINION

The Museum of the Bible Is a Safe Space for Christian Nationalists

If your plan is to build a more religious country, Washington is a good place to start.

By KATHERINE STEWART

OP-ED COLUMNIST

Trump’s Petticoat Government

How long can this administration work around its president?

By ROSS DOUTHAT

OPINION

For Doctors, Age May Be More Than a Number

A lack of experience is not necessarily a bad thing.

By HAIDER JAVED WARRAICH

CONTRIBUTING OP-ED WRITER

The Looming Digital Meltdown

Modern computing security is like a flimsy house that needs to be fundamentally rebuilt.

By ZEYNEP TUFEKCI

LETTERS

Casting Aside Presidential Norms

Readers discuss how President Trump has ignored and defied the conventions of his predecessors.

OPINION

Iran’s Protesters Want One Thing: Accountability

The impulse to separate the economic from the political malaise risks missing the point.

By LAURA SECOR

OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR

I Did the Strand

Tom Verlaine remembers working for the late Fred Bass at the Strand bookstore — his first job in New York.

By TOM VERLAINE

EDITORIAL

Pakistan, the Endlessly Troublesome Ally

The country has played a double game, accepting American funding while backing militants who protect Pakistani interests in Afghanistan and Kashmir.

By THE EDITORIAL BOARD

VIETNAM ’67

Soldiers in la Guerra

Latinos made up a disproportionately high number of the Vietnam War’s casualties.

By DEBORAH PAREDEZ

OP-ED COLUMNIST

Finding the Way Forward on Iran

The West must exploit the hypocrisy of the Tehran government.

By BRET STEPHENS

OP-ED COLUMNIST

Let’s Try to Get Past Trump

Maybe we’ll pretend he’s on some other planet.

By GAIL COLLINS

OPINION

The ‘Bomb Cyclone’ That Broke Me

The cold always bothered me, anyway.

By JOSH GONDELMAN

OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR

The Perils of Mixing Masculinity and Missiles

Ideas about gender matter in international politics — and not just for Donald Trump.

By CAROL COHN

OP-ED CONTRIBUTORS

Did Trump Obstruct Justice?

New reporting makes for a compelling case that he did, on multiple counts.

By BARRY BERKE, NOAH BOOKBINDER and NORMAN L. EISEN

LETTERS

Moving Toward a Cashless Society: Is That Good?

Readers cite pros (a record of expenses, fewer germs transmitted) and cons (those who don’t qualify for credit cards, fraud, power outages).

LETTERS

Trump’s Support for the Iranian Protests

Readers oppose sanctions on Iran and connect the protests there to the U.S. political scene.

LETTERS

Aid to Puerto Rico: An Appalling Lapse

A reader wonders how we can allow our fellow citizens to suffer.

GRAY MATTER

Is Your Child Lying to You? That’s Good

Kids who know how to deceive are smarter and better adjusted.

By ALEX STONE