‘As the Kentucky Derby approaches, thoroughbred racing has seen fewer fatalities’
Lisa Lazarus at the Louisville Courier Journal
With horse racing’s “legacy comes a profound responsibility: to protect the safety and wellbeing of the sport’s athletes — both equine and human,” says Lisa Lazarus. Some have “reasonably questioned if the industry has always put the safety and wellbeing of the animals first.” But the “sport is safer than it has ever been — and we’re continuing to make progress.” Racing “can remain a central part of our culture only if the public trusts that we are faithful stewards.”
‘The case for American reindustrialization’
Dustin Guastella at The Guardian
It’s “easy to see how it would be good for the country to reshore manufacturing jobs, even if it’s not good for you, personally, to work in a factory,” says Dustin Guastella. The “reason so many people find appeals to reindustrialization attractive is because life was undoubtedly better when the old factories in their town were buzzing with activity.” U.S. “deindustrialization, ironically, could be an advantage for its industrial rebirth.” With a “clean slate, we can rebuild better than before.”
‘The MAGA cheering squad is losing faith’
Nia-Malika Henderson at Bloomberg
Donald Trump was “swept back into office by a powerful group of podcasters and influencers,” but “some of these pro-Trump forces are not entirely sold on his approach to governing, which has been beset by chaos, reversals and broken campaign promises.” The “cracks are instructive as they provide a window into Trump’s unusually loyal base.” Trump has “disappointed some of the loudest voices in the conservative echo chamber, including Joe Rogan, Dave Portnoy and some lesser-known, yet still influential, personalities.
‘The Supreme Court is declaring war on secularism’
Matt Ford at The New Republic
The Supreme Court “appears ready to approve the nation’s first religious charter school,” dealing a “monumental blow to the separation of church and state by effectively writing the Establishment Clause out of the Constitution,” says Matt Ford. The court “saw no issue with allowing the Catholic Church to operate a state-funded public school,” and “appeared offended by the suggestion that it wouldn’t be constitutional.” Centuries of “religious pluralism — and the church-state separation that helps make it possible — could be imperiled.”
Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
