‘Electric bikes are driving me crazy. Make them follow the same rules as cars.’
Blake Fontenay at USA Today
There is “no disputing that e-bikes have become popular throughout the country,” but “what is less easy to understand is why e-bikes and their electric-motored brethren aren’t better regulated,” says Blake Fontenay. Complication “shouldn’t justify what seems to be a lack of any serious type of enforcement.” E-bikes “ought to be on the roads, in bike lanes where they are available, following the same rules that car drivers must follow, and with tickets issued.”
‘Trump’s DC takeover is extreme — but crime concerns aren’t unfounded’
Anthony Coley at MSNBC
Donald Trump’s “moves to take over the Metropolitan Police Department and activate the D.C. National Guard are unnecessary, wrong and unwarranted,” says Anthony Coley. But if “officials in the district don’t do something fast, they may give the president and Congress more reason to try to take over even more than they already have.” Suspend the “summer recess, convene in special session and change the laws needed to improve public safety and head off a full GOP takeover.”
‘The Air Force’s denial of retirement benefits for trans service members is part of a vicious pattern’
Joe Rojas at The Philadelphia Inquirer
There is a “cruel and familiar rhythm to the U.S. military’s history of inclusion,” says Joe Rojas. The “current policy, which denies early retirement options to transgender service members with 15-18 years of service, is a particularly vicious iteration of this historical pattern.” It is “designed to undermine the careers of a specific, vulnerable group.” The Air Force is “attempting to quietly purge dedicated people at the very moment they are poised to achieve the stability they earned.”
‘Can UNESCO accommodate both preservation and human rights?’
Fiona Kelliher at Foreign Policy
UNESCO has “faced backlash for its responses to mass evictions and violence at World Heritage Sites around the world,” and “questions remain about the organization’s role in human rights violations at World Heritage Sites and its failure to safeguard communities,” says Fiona Kelliher. Some “supporters of UNESCO’s overall mission would still like to see it rethink its approach to human rights.” A “right to land would help unify ideas of indigeneity and protection from displacement and land-grabbing.”
Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
