'This growing lack of social exposure is terrible for us and terrible for democracy'

'Why a 'third life' is the answer to America's loneliness epidemic'

Adam Chandler at Time

The "role of coffee shops and bars, libraries and community centers, civic clubs and houses of worship, have faded as the creep of work and domestic obligation in American life have become all but inescapable," says Adam Chandler. If "third places once represented readymade outlets for community," then "we should look to create what I'd call 'third lives'" by "creating a framework that is safe from the reach of obligation or the temptation of performative busyness."

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'Congress — yes, even the members you dislike — should get a pay raise'

The Washington Post editorial board

The "arguments against boosting Congress' pay seem overwhelming," but the "majority of members, especially those with postgraduate degrees in medicine or law, could make vastly more in the private sector than they do now," says The Washington Post editorial board, and many "forgo public service for the same reason." If Americans "want a Congress that draws on the best of America, in which anyone can afford to serve, they should want their representatives to be more competitively compensated."

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'Cold comfort: The latest attacks on America follow a familiar playbook'

Brian Michael Jenkins and Bruce R. Butterworth at The Hill

The "pickup truck ramming in New Orleans and the subsequent explosion of a Tesla Cybertruck in Las Vegas remind us that terrorist threats remain a deadly reality in the U.S.," say Brian Michael Jenkins and Bruce R. Butterworth. Almost "all of the elements of the New Orleans attack have been seen before," and "uncertainty prevails." That "we have been here before and persevered is a source of cold comfort to those fearful today."

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'2025 is the year to bust the billionaires'

John Nichols at The Nation

Republican clashes will "become a dominant political story of 2025," says John Nichols. Donald Trump "has a long history of playing up to billionaire-class oligarchs, and during his first term he made a point of giving them massive tax cuts." There is "little doubt that Trump will seek to do so again," which is "further confirmation of the late former president Jimmy Carter's observations from almost a decade ago about the damage done by billionaire-guided governance."

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