'Postal commemoration is especially befitting'

A stamp honoring former first lady Barbara Bush is unveiled at the White House

(Image credit: Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)

published 13 June 2025

'Barbara Bush stamp is latest in USPS' presidential tradition of living history'

Stewart D. McLaurin at USA Today

A "postage stamp is a small but mighty canvas," says Stewart D. McLaurin. When they "bring to our everyday lives the leaders who shaped America, they transform a routine act of mailing a letter into a celebration of the nation's past." Barbara Bush "joined an elite group of first ladies honored on U.S. postage," and these "tiny portraits keep America's iconic leaders at our fingertips, their contributions to history forever stamped on our collective memory."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

At the "core of every joke about baby boomers lies a seed of jealousy," says Charley Locke. They have "largely been able to walk a straightforward path toward prosperity, security, and power." But "recent policy changes are poised to make life significantly harder for baby boomers." Social Security "cuts will most hurt low-income boomers, who are the likeliest to rely on benefits to cover their whole cost of living." Boomers have "become particularly vulnerable."

India's "political power is often framed through a gendered and mythologised lens, blending statecraft with religious symbolism," says Amrita Datta and Arani Basu. But can "women leading war be inherently feminist? Nation-building, as feminist scholars have long warned, is not a gender-neutral project." It "reconfigures women into roles that serve its ends: sacrificial mothers, grieving widows, or militant daughters of the nation." The "mere presence of women in public or political spheres does not automatically equate to gender justice."

The feud between Elon Musk and President Donald Trump is a "destabilizing clash with real consequences for the governance of space," says Peter L. Hays. Trump's "threats to cancel SpaceX contracts and his followers' calls to nationalize the company are not just reckless; they are potentially catastrophic." No "other company or state actor can match SpaceX's cadence, cost-efficiency or orbital infrastructure." A "politically motivated attack on SpaceX would not only endanger these contracts, it would do lasting damage to the credibility of the U.S."

Explore More

Justin Klawans has worked as a staff writer at The Week since 2022. He began his career covering local news before joining Newsweek as a breaking news reporter, where he wrote about politics, national and global affairs, business, crime, sports, film, television and other news. Justin has also freelanced for outlets including Collider and United Press International.