The commercial internet developed with so little regard for privacy, tech companies have been able to turn personal data into hefty profits, raising billions of dollars off their ability to collect and sell information about anyone who strayed within hailing distance of their software. Last week, Google announced a step in the right direction — but not a giant step, nor one that will stop Google from continuing to hoover up immense amounts of personal data.

In the eyes of its critics, President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill is too big and too wasteful. They say that the flood of federal dollars will cause inflation to spike, discourage idled people from working and bail out overly generous public employee pension systems in states run by Democrats.

The effort to unionize 5,800 workers at an Amazon warehouse in Alabama is the most important unionization drive in years. This is happening at the corporation that is arguably doing more than any other company to shape the workplace and economy of the future.

Just don’t call them earmarks.

America, Your Privacy Settings Are All Wrong

American governments, federal and state, have made many mistakes in the COVID-19 pandemic. But the great success — the saving grace — was making a financial bet in collaboration with private American industry on the development of vaccines. That effort is now letting the country see the possibility of a return to relatively normal life as early as the spring.

Throughout our nation’s history, civil rights movements across the country have had to fight to achieve victories for the disenfranchised. And one of the most important civil rights issues of our time is the battle for District of Columbia statehood.

Forty years ago this week, in my first column on the Viewpoints page of The Dallas Morning News, I suggested the Democrats might more effectively challenge President Ronald Reagan by replacing their old-style congressional leaders, House Speaker Thomas P. (Tip) O’Neill and Senate Leader Robert Byrd.

In previous U.S. recessions, a familiar fiscal pattern has almost always played out. Deprived of revenue, the state and local governments closest to the American people lay off employees and cut essential services. If and when Congress comes to the rescue, it’s often too late. The economic damage has been done.

After oral arguments in a pair of voting rights cases Tuesday, Supreme Court watchers predict that the justices will uphold two laws that make it harder for Arizonans to get their votes counted. The question is the precise legal standard that the justices will set.

Facing growing pressure to resign over sexual misconduct allegations, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Wednesday instead offered an apology. Of sorts.

One year ago, California and Hawaii were the first states to announce emergency declarations to fight COVID-19. In doing so, they activated preexisting price gouging regulations. The reasoning, California Gov. Gavin Newsom claimed, was so that “consumers (will be) able to purchase what they need, at a fair price.” Unfortunately, for some of those consumers that fair price cost them their lives.

With more people vaccinated against COVID-19 every day and case numbers just a fraction of what they were at the beginning of the year, it seems as if — finally — we are are beating the pandemic.

What is there to say about the awful behavior of a man like Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo that has not been said a million times already?

When the COVID-19 pandemic began, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo quickly emerged as one of the nation’s heroes.

Agriculture has never been a principal focus of efforts to reduce greenhouse gases. But farm emissions — which make up about 10% of the U.S. total — are coming under increasing scrutiny as Democrats take the reins of agricultural policy and farmers themselves awaken to the threats of climate change. One strategy in particular is getting attention this year: encouraging farmers to view emissions reduction and carbon sequestration as potential sources of income.

In a disastrous decision in 2013, the Supreme Court gutted an important piece of the landmark Voting Rights Act: a requirement that states with a history of racial discrimination get permission from the Department of Justice or a federal court before making any changes in voting procedures.

With vaccines on the way, it’s likely that 2021 will be much better, or at least more normal, than 2020. But a question remains: Which parts of our pandemic existence will we find most difficult to give up?

President Joe Biden, a longtime critic of U.S. military strategy in Afghanistan, can’t be eager to preside over the 20th anniversary of what is already America’s longest war. But if he’s to secure U.S. interests and give Afghans a chance at achieving peace, he won’t have much choice.