Saturday's Opinions: We may owe our lives to a back channel with Russia

Hillary Clinton, smash your rearview mirror; Trump's Paris decision was an accidental call to action; Public broadcasting's immortality defies reason; Theresa May won't get a landslide. Beyond that, the British election is hard to predict.; Cultural appropriation is a problem. A misguided burrito cart is not part of it.; Trump called out the Manchester terrorists. What about the one in Portland?; I could face prison for protesting. A man who sexually abused a hotel worker got a $50 fine.; How drawing in pen can open a mind; Howard County should launch public financing for its elections; After a ruling on Trump's travel ban, all eyes are on the 4th Circuit; The U.N. Human Rights Council whitewashes brutality; Politics is a joke, and that might be what's keeping us sane; Trump, the caricature of the ugly American, demeans us all; GOP hopefuls for Va. governor debate Metro, the opioid epidemic, Confederate statues; Trump and Nunes are distracting from the 'big story' that counts; Is China offering Ivanka Trump unseemly favors?; A transgender high school student can graduate knowing he got justice; Port-a-potties inspire a new all-time-great headline; California law doesn’t ban threatening gestures; When will the travel ban cases become moot?; Happy Hour Roundup; Megyn Kelly saw an aggressive, peeved Vladimir Putin. That behavior could hurt him.; NYT standards chief on editorial streamlining: ‘I’m always worried’; Trump’s Russia problems are getting worse     Jonathan Ernst / Reuters Evan Thomas We may owe our lives to a back channel with Russia Lessons from the Kennedy administration show the pitfalls and payoffs of informal diplomacy. Read more » Latest Columns   Ruth Marcus Hillary Clinton, smash your rearview mirror Sure, she should speak out against Trump. But stop with the election postmortem. Read more »     Kathleen Parker Trump's Paris decision was an accidental call to action The president may have reignited the spirit that made the nation great in the first place. Read more »     George F. Will Public broadcasting's immortality defies reason Compelling taxpayers to finance government-subsidized broadcasting is discordant with today's a la carte impulse. Read more »   Anne Applebaum Theresa May won't get a landslide. Beyond that, the British election is hard to predict. The nihilistic mood that propelled Britain's vote to leave the E.U. is working in the Labour Party's favor. Read more »   Christine Emba Cultural appropriation is a problem. A misguided burrito cart is not part of it. Crying foul over burritos undermines complaints about genuine transgressions. Read more »   Colbert I. King Trump called out the Manchester terrorists. What about the one in Portland? The president's silence only deepens the tragedy for the young women terrorized by an anti-Islamic rant. Read more »   Erin Lemkey I could face prison for protesting. A man who sexually abused a hotel worker got a $50 fine. Inauguration Day protesters are facing 75 years in prison as a sex abuser walks with a small fine. Read more »   ADVERTISEMENT   Hannah Jacobson Blumenfeld How drawing in pen can open a mind Local arts give our communities new opportunities to be more inclusive and more open. Read more »   John Sarbanes Howard County should launch public financing for its elections It could serve, with Montgomery, as an example for the nation. Read more »   Carl Tobias After a ruling on Trump's travel ban, all eyes are on the 4th Circuit The Richmond-based appeals court had been considered the most conservative. Not any more. Read more »   Nikki Haley The U.N. Human Rights Council whitewashes brutality Victims of the world's most egregious abuses are often ignored by the very organization that is supposed to protect them. Read more »   Anne Applebaum Politics is a joke, and that might be what's keeping us sane At the same time, it distracts us from what's really important. Read more »     Dana Milbank Trump, the caricature of the ugly American, demeans us all The president's speech on the Paris agreement was a paranoid scream. Read more »   Corey Stewart and Frank Wagner GOP hopefuls for Va. governor debate Metro, the opioid epidemic, Confederate statues Corey Stewart and Frank Wagner debate the issues in an email exchange. Read more »   Editorial Cartoons Tom Toles Ann Telnaes Trump is building his foreign policy on a strange foundation Flush with success from his trip, Trump addresses climate change The History of the World, Part II Trump continues his opportunistic tactics and makes a decision that will empower his climate change supporters.   ADVERTISEMENT   The Post’s View Trump and Nunes are distracting from the 'big story' that counts The Russia investigations must be unfettered from diversions and distractions. By Editorial Board  •  Read more »   Is China offering Ivanka Trump unseemly favors? China has granted her lucrative trademarks, and activists investigating a factory that makes her shoes have gone missing. By Editorial Board  •  Read more »   A transgender high school student can graduate knowing he got justice The 7th Circuit says a school district in Wisconsin violated a student's rights. By Editorial Board  •  Read more »   "Free For All" Letters Port-a-potties inspire a new all-time-great headline Move over, "Headless body in topless bar ." I have a new all-time-favorite headline. It is on the continuation of the May 21 front-page article "Protests make Washington's port-a-potty indust... Read more »   Latest Blogs California law doesn’t ban threatening gestures The California threats statute outlaws certain threats "made verbally, in writing, or by means of an electronic communication device" -- and "manually simulating a pistol pointed upward," the California Supreme Court concluded, doesn't qualify. By Eugene Volokh  •  The Volokh Conspiracy  •  Read more »   When will the travel ban cases become moot? Marty Lederman thinks the cases become moot in 12 days, but I'm not so sure. By Will Baude  •  The Volokh Conspiracy  •  Read more »   Happy Hour Roundup Our nightly wrap-up of news and opinion. By Paul Waldman  •  The Plum Line  •  Read more »   Megyn Kelly saw an aggressive, peeved Vladimir Putin. That behavior could hurt him. After today, Trump and Putin probably share a wariness of being questioned by Kelly. By David Ignatius  •  PostPartisan  •  Read more »   NYT standards chief on editorial streamlining: ‘I’m always worried’ Standards boss cautions that copy editors aren't leaving the building en masse. By Erik Wemple  •  Erik Wemple  •  Read more »   Trump’s Russia problems are getting worse With the Kushner drama especially, the Russia controversy is heating up. By Jennifer Rubin  •  Right Turn  •  Read more »   Recommended for you   5-Minute Fix Keeping up with politics is easy now, three days a week. Sign Up »         Share Opinions:       Twitter      Facebook Trouble reading? Click here to view in your browser. You received this email because you are signed up for Opinions. For additional free newsletters or to manage your newsletters, click here. 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