‘These attacks rely on a political repurposing’

‘Attempts to demonize the Taj Mahal damage more than history’

Rana Ayyub at The Washington Post

For “much of the world, the Taj Mahal is a place of wonder,” but the “Taj has also become a contested site, targeted by those determined to recast India’s pluralist history,” says Rana Ayyub. The “symbol of love is now a flash point in India’s historical antagonism between Hindus and minority Muslims.” The Taj Mahal is “part of the world’s shared cultural heritage.” Attempts to “demonize it do not merely distort history; they damage India’s international reputation.”

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‘It’s getting harder for governors to run for president’

David M. Drucker at Bloomberg

Governors have “proven incapable of weathering the intense public scrutiny and navigating the media barrage of gotcha questions that accompany running for president,” says David M. Drucker. They “might enjoy the freedom to maneuver, politically and legislatively, without the biblical flood of questions from reporters.” But it’s “cost them valuable experience dealing with pressure from an often-hostile media that picks apart every nook and cranny of a candidate’s personal life, political service and private-sector career.”

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‘Federal funding cuts hinder lifesaving brain research’

Michelle Heritage at USA Today

Americans should “support brain research, however you can, and resist efforts to undermine or stop it,” says Michelle Heritage. But “funding suspensions and cuts at the National Institutes of Health, the global powerhouse of medical research, have introduced chaos into a field that thrives on stability.” Cutbacks to “research mean thousands of real patients are losing their chance at treatments, and millions more will have hope of a cure or treatment delayed or quashed entirely.”

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‘Trump’s terrorist designation of Muslim Brotherhood sends right message’

National Review editorial board

The “Trump administration has announced a plan to designate various subdivisions of the Muslim Brotherhood as foreign terrorist organizations,” a “welcome development that conveys the right message about the organization,” says the National Review editorial board. A “sweeping designation of the Brotherhood as a foreign terrorist organization could significantly interfere in relations between our government and cooperative Muslim regimes,” but “ignoring the Brotherhood would fail to recognize the menace it represents and impede enforcement actions.”

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