Recent articles
October 1, 2026
Calmes: A visit to Greenspan's Washington and the era of getting things done
The former Fed chair, 'a devout Republican,' was famous for consulting smart Democrats and obscure experts. The antithesis of modern policymaking.
www.latimes.com
September 24, 2026
Calmes: Trump's lost his star power, at home and abroad
His appearance at the U.N. only underscored how far he has retreated from global leadership.
www.latimes.com
September 17, 2026
Calmes: Trump loves to throw around taxpayers' money
Even without his reckless promise to buy off every American adult with $5,000, he was on track to break his first-term record for adding to the unsustainable U.S. debt.
www.latimes.com
September 10, 2026
Calmes: Instead of learning, Trump doubles down on Bush's post-9/11 mistakes
Like President George W. Bush did, President Trump wages war ahead of midterm elections and makes false claims of success to win voters. The trouble is, Trump does so against Americans' memories of...
www.latimes.com
September 3, 2026
Calmes: Trump is turning off voters while trying to skew the election for the GOP
Just one thing is certain: chaos on some level. That's Trump's trademark and yet another reason voters increasingly dislike him.
www.latimes.com
August 27, 2026
Calmes: What would Dolly do? Trump should learn from her life and legacy
We say "there will never be another Dolly Parton" with regret. To say the same about Trump is, for many Americans, a relief.
www.latimes.com
August 20, 2026
Calmes: Trump's reputation for corruption is doing Democrats' work for them
The president is campaigning against Republicans by enriching himself while in office.
www.latimes.com
August 13, 2026
Calmes: Hegseth is purging people of color. Trump's war is killing them
Suddenly we have a new measure of how much women and minorities (and immigrants) contribute to protecting America: the casualty toll in Trump's war against Iran.
www.latimes.com
August 6, 2026
Calmes: The nonsense of deporting immigrants who came legally and do much-needed work
The U.S. is losing millions of essential workers as President Trump enacts his campaign's stupidest ideas.
www.latimes.com
July 30, 2026
Calmes: Trump is still playing a reality-TV role
Rarely has the president's recasting of reality to fit his chosen narrative been so evident on varied fronts — and so grotesque — as in recent days.
www.latimes.com
July 23, 2026
Calmes: Trump's undermining of U.S. elections is not a simple partisan issue
The president's dud of a prime-time speech, during which he baselessly called U.S. elections "catastrophically short" of being safe, only confirmed many people's fears.
www.latimes.com