Charles Lane is a deputy opinion editor and columnist for The Post.https://www.washingtonpost.comThu, 12 Sep 2024 10:36:42 +00001hourly1https://www.washingtonpost.comhttps://www.washingtonpost.comCharles LaneThu, 22 Aug 2024 17:35:26 +0000In a Democratic convention speech of more than 5,000 words, the president didn’t utter this one: “Afghanistan.”https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/08/22/biden-convention-speech-afghanistan/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/08/22/biden-convention-speech-afghanistan/Charles LaneThu, 22 Aug 2024 10:45:55 +0000In a Democratic convention speech of more than 5,000 words, the president didn’t utter this one: “Afghanistan.”https://www.washingtonpost.comhttps://www.washingtonpost.comCharles LaneWed, 14 Aug 2024 13:47:57 +0000Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s violent crackdown after an election loss carries echoes of 1989. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/08/14/nicolas-maduro-venezuela-crackdown/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/08/14/nicolas-maduro-venezuela-crackdown/Charles LaneWed, 14 Aug 2024 11:30:12 +0000Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s violent crackdown after an election loss carries echoes of 1989. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/08/07/impromptu-podcast-walz-harris-pick/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/08/07/impromptu-podcast-walz-harris-pick/Charles Lane, Molly Roberts, Matt BaiWed, 07 Aug 2024 16:41:50 +0000The choice unifies the party. But is peace with the left going to cost Harris the election?https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/08/01/air-travel-impromptu-podcast/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/08/01/air-travel-impromptu-podcast/Marc Fisher, Charles Lane, Catherine RampellThu, 01 Aug 2024 11:00:00 +0000Flights are full, which makes rebooking after delays and cancellations harder than ever.https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/07/18/impromptu-podcast-rnc-unity-populism/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/07/18/impromptu-podcast-rnc-unity-populism/Jonathan Capehart, Jim Geraghty, Charles Lane, Karen Tumulty, Alexandra PetriThu, 18 Jul 2024 12:00:19 +0000Can Trump’s purported unity message outlast the convention?https://www.washingtonpost.comhttps://www.washingtonpost.comCharles LaneWed, 17 Jul 2024 21:50:30 +0000President Biden’s continuing reelection bid is undermining Democrats’ claims to be the party of facts and truth.https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/07/17/biden-campaign-age-honesty/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/07/17/biden-campaign-age-honesty/Charles LaneWed, 17 Jul 2024 21:33:16 +0000Biden’s continuing reelection bid is undermining Democrats’ claims to be the party of facts and truth.https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/07/10/impromptu-podcast-biden-democrats-challengers/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/07/10/impromptu-podcast-biden-democrats-challengers/Charles Lane, Karen Tumulty, Perry BaconWed, 10 Jul 2024 18:05:22 +0000Three Post columnists discuss the unenviable options facing the party.https://www.washingtonpost.comhttps://www.washingtonpost.comCharles LaneWed, 10 Jul 2024 13:55:02 +0000The special counsel’s assessment of President Biden’s decline has been vindicated.https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/07/10/joe-biden-robert-hur-report/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/07/10/joe-biden-robert-hur-report/Charles LaneWed, 10 Jul 2024 10:45:12 +0000The special counsel’s assessment of President Biden’s decline has been vindicated.https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/06/06/supreme-court-partisanship-impromptu-podcast/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/06/06/supreme-court-partisanship-impromptu-podcast/James Hohmann, Charles Lane, Ruth MarcusThu, 06 Jun 2024 12:00:00 +0000Or are the two major political parties just more ideological than they used to be?https://www.washingtonpost.comhttps://www.washingtonpost.comCatherine Rampell, Charles Lane, Alexi McCammondThu, 23 May 2024 14:39:09 +0000The American Dream is changing.https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/05/23/impromptu-home-ownership-economy/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/05/23/impromptu-home-ownership-economy/Charles Lane, Catherine Rampell, Alexi McCammondThu, 23 May 2024 12:00:03 +0000The American Dream is changing.https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/04/25/trump-criminal-immunity-scotus-podcast-impromptu/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/04/25/trump-criminal-immunity-scotus-podcast-impromptu/Charles Lane, Ruth Marcus, Jason WillickThu, 25 Apr 2024 10:00:00 +0000On the “Impromptu” podcast, Post Opinions columnists discuss to what extent Trump is immune from prosecution for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election.https://www.washingtonpost.comhttps://www.washingtonpost.comCharles LaneWed, 24 Apr 2024 12:47:07 +0000Talks over a hostage release broke down in part because Hamas could not provide a list of 40 living civilians to fulfill the terms of a U.S.-proposed deal.https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/04/24/passover-israeli-hostages-of-hamas-gaza/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/04/24/passover-israeli-hostages-of-hamas-gaza/Charles LaneWed, 24 Apr 2024 11:15:42 +0000Talks over a hostage release broke down in part because Hamas could not provide a list of 40 living civilians to fulfill the terms of a U.S.-proposed deal.https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/04/04/impromptu-ukraine-zelensky-johnson-aid/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/04/04/impromptu-ukraine-zelensky-johnson-aid/David Ignatius, Jim Geraghty, Charles LaneThu, 04 Apr 2024 11:15:08 +0000On the latest episode of Impromptu, David Ignatius and Jim Geraghty share their impressions with Charles Lane.https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/03/28/impromptu-ev-mandate-biden/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/03/28/impromptu-ev-mandate-biden/Charles Lane, Catherine Rampell, Megan McArdleThu, 28 Mar 2024 14:46:53 +0000On the latest episode of “Impromptu”: Are Americans ready for an EV revolution? And do we even really want it?https://www.washingtonpost.comhttps://www.washingtonpost.comCharles LaneTue, 19 Mar 2024 20:31:08 +0000The international reggae-hip-hop-rock artist has had concerts canceled in Chicago, Tucson and Santa Fe, N.M., amid pressure from pro-Palestianian groups.https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/03/19/pro-israel-performer-matisyahu-concerts-canceled/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/03/19/pro-israel-performer-matisyahu-concerts-canceled/Charles LaneTue, 19 Mar 2024 19:33:58 +0000The international reggae-hip-hop-rock artist has had concerts canceled in Chicago, Tucson and Santa Fe, N.M., amid pressure from pro-Palestianian groups.https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/12/13/venezuela-threatens-war/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/12/13/venezuela-threatens-war/Charles LaneWed, 13 Dec 2023 12:30:55 +0000Venezuela’s escalation of territorial claims against Guyana will almost certainly not lead to war. But the likelihood is not zero.https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/11/15/hamas-surrender-palestinian-lives/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/11/15/hamas-surrender-palestinian-lives/Charles LaneWed, 15 Nov 2023 12:30:54 +0000Hamas’s war is unjust and futile — and perpetuates civilian suffering. Why aren’t more people demanding that Hamas lay down its arms?https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/11/01/hamas-attack-videos-described/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/11/01/hamas-attack-videos-described/Charles LaneWed, 01 Nov 2023 11:30:18 +0000The video record of Hamas’s rampage on Oct. 7 shows how helpless men, women and children died — and how their murderers celebrated.https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/10/27/gaza-hamas-israel-hostage-daughter-interview/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/10/27/gaza-hamas-israel-hostage-daughter-interview/Charles LaneFri, 27 Oct 2023 11:30:27 +0000An interview with the daughter of 79-year-old Chaim Peri, an Israeli man of peace taken captive by Hamas’s men of war.https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/10/04/supreme-court-homeless-camps/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/10/04/supreme-court-homeless-camps/Charles LaneWed, 04 Oct 2023 21:57:34 +0000Unkempt, often unsafe, tent cities clog parks and sidewalks in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland and Phoenix.https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/09/27/biden-strike-support-green-goal-contradictions/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/09/27/biden-strike-support-green-goal-contradictions/Charles LaneWed, 27 Sep 2023 11:30:34 +0000The president wants to encourage a green transition, empower unions — and carry Michigan. The UAW strike is showing how hard it is to have them all.https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/09/13/euthanasia-increase-quebec-warning/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/09/13/euthanasia-increase-quebec-warning/Charles LaneWed, 13 Sep 2023 11:30:19 +0000In Quebec, euthanasia has gone from illegal to routine in less than a decade.https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/09/06/2024-presidential-election-results-legitimacy-crisis/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/09/06/2024-presidential-election-results-legitimacy-crisis/Charles LaneWed, 06 Sep 2023 11:30:36 +0000A Biden-Trump rematch in 2024 could produce a winner regarded as illegitimate by whichever side loses.https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/08/24/gop-debate-sargent-petri-discuss/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/08/24/gop-debate-sargent-petri-discuss/Charles Lane, Alexandra Petri, Greg SargentThu, 24 Aug 2023 22:31:02 +0000Post Opinions columnist Charles Lane talked to two fellow columnists who almost certainly aren’t going to vote for the Republican nominee in 2024.https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/06/26/russia-coup-prigozhin-putin-ukraine/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/06/26/russia-coup-prigozhin-putin-ukraine/David Von Drehle, Max Boot, David Ignatius, Eugene Robinson, Charles Lane, Jason Willick, Josh Rogin, Megan McArdleWed, 23 Aug 2023 20:07:14 +0000Yevgeniy Prigozhin's coup-that-wasn't has left the world wondering what happens next in Russia — and in Ukraine. The Post's columnists share their insights.https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/08/23/confederate-memorial-arlington-remove/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/08/23/confederate-memorial-arlington-remove/Charles LaneWed, 23 Aug 2023 11:30:37 +0000The massive statue at America’s most hallowed ground is a monument to counterfeit reconciliation. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/08/09/populism-cause-gallup-poll-sadness/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/08/09/populism-cause-gallup-poll-sadness/Charles LaneWed, 09 Aug 2023 11:30:17 +0000A subtle new analysis applies fresh data and a skeptical attitude to conventional wisdom about the "rage" of voters in the United States, Germany and elsewhere.https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/08/07/new-york-judge-zimmerman-justice-scalia-sarcasm/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/08/07/new-york-judge-zimmerman-justice-scalia-sarcasm/Charles LaneMon, 07 Aug 2023 10:15:46 +0000Sometimes mockery is the only way to get the legislature's attention.https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/07/26/sackler-opioid-purdue-pharma-oxycontin-immunity/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/07/26/sackler-opioid-purdue-pharma-oxycontin-immunity/Charles LaneWed, 26 Jul 2023 11:30:04 +0000The Biden administration takes the Purdue Pharma settlement to the Supreme Court. Will the Sackler family end up benefiting?https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/07/12/good-news-black-incarceration-rate-declines/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/07/12/good-news-black-incarceration-rate-declines/Charles LaneWed, 12 Jul 2023 11:30:15 +0000A new study shows that incarceration rates have been trending down for two decades and that Black men are the biggest beneficiaries.https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/07/06/gallup-show-declining-confidence-in-institutions/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/07/06/gallup-show-declining-confidence-in-institutions/Charles LaneThu, 06 Jul 2023 04:01:00 +0000There is simply no denying — or ignoring — the steady erosion of public confidence in the pillars of our 247-year-old democracy.https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/06/29/supreme-court-affirmative-action-constitutional-doctrine/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/06/29/supreme-court-affirmative-action-constitutional-doctrine/Charles LaneThu, 29 Jun 2023 21:30:17 +0000With affirmative action ruling, the Supreme Court, as it did on abortion, disrupted a constitutional doctrine that it had initially forged in the mid-1970s.https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/06/14/pence-desantis-pander-fort-bragg/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/06/14/pence-desantis-pander-fort-bragg/Charles LaneWed, 14 Jun 2023 11:30:22 +0000To curry favor with the ultra-right, Ron DeSantis and Mike Pence are trying to relitigate the removal of Confederate names from U.S. military bases. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/06/12/student-loans-ppp-biden-white-house/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/06/12/student-loans-ppp-biden-white-house/Charles LaneMon, 12 Jun 2023 10:45:11 +0000An objective compare-and-contrast between Biden’s student loan plan and the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) would favor Biden’s critics.https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/05/24/world-bank-migration-report-biden-policy/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/05/24/world-bank-migration-report-biden-policy/Charles LaneWed, 24 May 2023 21:26:43 +0000Plagued by political mood swings, the debate over immigration could benefit from a bank's cool, calculating perspective. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/05/19/dc-free-bus-fare-economics/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/05/19/dc-free-bus-fare-economics/Charles LaneFri, 19 May 2023 12:15:14 +0000The something-for-nothing thinking behind zero-fare big-city buses is so flawed that economics even gave it a name.https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/05/10/lessons-from-debt-limit-crisis/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/05/10/lessons-from-debt-limit-crisis/Charles LaneWed, 10 May 2023 11:30:37 +0000Laws depend on a minimum of national consensus to support them. The debt crisis will provide a reality check on how much damage has been done to that consensus.https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/05/03/overused-term-existential-threat/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/05/03/overused-term-existential-threat/Charles LaneWed, 03 May 2023 11:30:35 +0000The danger of a U.S. government default is bad enough without extravagant language adding to everyone's misery.https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/04/26/white-southern-great-migration/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/04/26/white-southern-great-migration/Charles LaneWed, 26 Apr 2023 15:38:26 +0000New research shows how the 20th century northward movement of southern-born Whites helped give rise to the New Right and changed the political map.https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/04/05/released-political-prisoners-nicaragua-future-leaders/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/04/05/released-political-prisoners-nicaragua-future-leaders/Charles LaneWed, 05 Apr 2023 11:30:00 +0000Liberated after months of unjust detention, Nicaragua's ex-political prisoners seem even more committed to their country's cause than before.https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/03/29/investigating-low-fertility-rates/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/03/29/investigating-low-fertility-rates/Charles LaneWed, 29 Mar 2023 19:25:30 +0000We need answers to the puzzle of declining child-bearing. Social science seems unable to provide them.https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/03/22/surprising-post-trump-consensus/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/03/22/surprising-post-trump-consensus/Charles LaneWed, 22 Mar 2023 17:27:06 +0000Polarization and partisanship get all the headlines. But the surprise is how much consensus reigns in U.S. public policy. And Trump is a reason it happened.https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/03/15/silicon-valley-bank-greed-fear/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/03/15/silicon-valley-bank-greed-fear/Charles LaneWed, 15 Mar 2023 11:30:00 +0000The timing couldn't be better for a new edition of "Manias, Panics, and Crashes." Every financial meltdown has distinct traits, but there are commonalities. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/03/08/belgian-euthanasia-murderer-questions/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/03/08/belgian-euthanasia-murderer-questions/Charles LaneWed, 08 Mar 2023 12:30:00 +0000A murderer confined in a psychiatric hospital requested, and was granted, death by euthanasia. That raises many questions.https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/02/22/jimmy-carter-pragmatic-supply-sider/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/02/22/jimmy-carter-pragmatic-supply-sider/Charles LaneWed, 22 Feb 2023 22:14:42 +0000Today's Democratic Party should take its cues from Jimmy Carter's bold deregulation of American industry.https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/02/15/supreme-court-sports-betting-ruling-fallout/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/02/15/supreme-court-sports-betting-ruling-fallout/Charles LaneWed, 15 Feb 2023 12:30:55 +0000The Supreme Court's 2018 decision legalizing sports betting has transformed the country — and not for the better.https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/02/08/voters-reject-biden-trump-rematch-2024/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/02/08/voters-reject-biden-trump-rematch-2024/Charles LaneWed, 08 Feb 2023 23:26:28 +0000Biden's State of the Union address comes at a strange moment: People are unhappy with their alternatives but the parties lack a mechanism to offer new ones.https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/02/01/toyota-chief-executive-faces-electric-vehicle-reality/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/02/01/toyota-chief-executive-faces-electric-vehicle-reality/Charles LaneWed, 01 Feb 2023 12:00:38 +0000Whether Akio Toyoda spoke for a “silent majority” in the auto industry, he clearly spoke for more than just himself. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/01/26/2022-homicide-statistics-trend-risks/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/01/26/2022-homicide-statistics-trend-risks/Charles LaneThu, 26 Jan 2023 13:04:38 +0000A new study of 2022 homicide statistics suggests only a 4 percent drop from the 2020 spike. The risk is that the elevated rate could mutate into a new normal.https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/01/18/larry-hogan-job-legacy-expand-opportunity/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/01/18/larry-hogan-job-legacy-expand-opportunity/Charles LaneWed, 18 Jan 2023 12:00:11 +0000Larry Hogan was smart to cut the number of state jobs requiring a college degree in half. Wes Moore is wise to continue it.https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/01/11/early-voting-invites-partisan-campaigning/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/01/11/early-voting-invites-partisan-campaigning/Charles LaneWed, 11 Jan 2023 12:00:48 +0000The GOP is starting to see the advantages of early voting. It also means the nation drifts farther from the democratic ideal of persuading open-minded citizens.https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/01/04/george-santos-victimhood-trifecta/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/01/04/george-santos-victimhood-trifecta/Charles LaneWed, 04 Jan 2023 16:27:02 +0000The Republican congressman-elect from New York hit the stolen victimhood twofer, but now he has entered a precarious stage. Will his GOP colleagues save him?https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/12/14/biden-teamsters-bailout-bad-policy/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/12/14/biden-teamsters-bailout-bad-policy/Charles LaneWed, 14 Dec 2022 12:00:31 +0000Why President Biden's $36 billion gift to the Teamsters pension fund is bad policy even by the dubious standards of government bailouts. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/12/07/china-iran-government-harassment/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/12/07/china-iran-government-harassment/Charles LaneWed, 07 Dec 2022 12:00:56 +0000From Tehran to Beijing, ordinary people are showing that there are limits to how much harassment their governments can expect them to take. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/11/30/police-criminal-justice-reform/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/11/30/police-criminal-justice-reform/Charles LaneWed, 30 Nov 2022 12:00:55 +0000To achieve a European level of public safety, the United States needs many more police and significantly less severe punishment for criminals.https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/11/23/air-travel-thanksgiving-grist-gratitude/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/11/23/air-travel-thanksgiving-grist-gratitude/Charles LaneWed, 23 Nov 2022 13:06:49 +0000Let’s pause to appreciate that not too long ago, jet air travel was still the stuff of futuristic speculation.https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/11/16/trump-rally-2024-announcement-concession-speech/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/11/16/trump-rally-2024-announcement-concession-speech/Charles LaneThu, 17 Nov 2022 00:00:03 +0000What mattered most in Trump's announcement that he's running in 2024 was what he didn't say: That Democrats thwarted his 2020 reelection by fraud.https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/11/09/midterm-election-what-if-scenarios/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/11/09/midterm-election-what-if-scenarios/Charles LaneWed, 09 Nov 2022 21:09:18 +0000Let's speculate about the past and the intriguing possibilities that help illustrate contingency’s enduring role in politics — and punditry's enduring futility.https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/11/02/maryland-6th-district-trone-parrott-midterms/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/11/02/maryland-6th-district-trone-parrott-midterms/Charles LaneWed, 02 Nov 2022 11:00:19 +0000The race between Democrat David Trone and Republican Neil Parrott will be a good gauge of whether Democrats might lose the House on Nov. 8.https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/10/26/progressives-trump-republicans-doubt-support-ukraine/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/10/26/progressives-trump-republicans-doubt-support-ukraine/Charles LaneWed, 26 Oct 2022 11:00:00 +0000American politicians of the Trumpian right and the progressive left are getting antsy about the costs of U.S. support for Ukraine. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/10/18/xi-jinping-covid-policy-chinese-disaster/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/10/18/xi-jinping-covid-policy-chinese-disaster/Charles LaneTue, 18 Oct 2022 21:20:58 +0000A brave Chinese man recently unfurled two banners in Beijing criticizing Xi Jinping's stringent "zero covid" policy. The protester probably spoke for millions.https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/10/12/california-high-speed-rail-nightmare/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/10/12/california-high-speed-rail-nightmare/Charles LaneWed, 12 Oct 2022 11:00:56 +0000Eminently foreseeable political manipulations and legal obstacles turned the dream of high-speed rail into a costly, complex nightmare.https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/10/05/epa-clean-water-difficult-supreme-court-case/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/10/05/epa-clean-water-difficult-supreme-court-case/Charles LaneWed, 05 Oct 2022 11:00:49 +0000On the first day of its new term, the Supreme Court faced a not-so-simple question: At what point does water enter the U.S. government’s jurisdiction?https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/09/28/philanthropic-donations-politics-reform/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/09/28/philanthropic-donations-politics-reform/Charles LaneWed, 28 Sep 2022 20:59:07 +0000Efforts to force donor disclosure on politically oriented nonprofits seem doomed to fail. It's time to attack the problem through the tax code.https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/09/21/migration-cuba-nicaragua-venezuela-dictatorship/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/09/21/migration-cuba-nicaragua-venezuela-dictatorship/Charles LaneWed, 21 Sep 2022 11:00:30 +0000Migrants fleeing three failed left-wing regimes — Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela — make up a rapidly growing share of the influx at the U.S.-Mexico border.https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/08/31/biden-afghanistan-pullout-student-loan-promises/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/08/31/biden-afghanistan-pullout-student-loan-promises/Charles LaneWed, 31 Aug 2022 11:00:52 +0000Republicans realized their Roe v. Wade dream. Biden withdrew U.S. troops from Afghanistan. Both presented problems. Now comes student-loan debt forgiveness.https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/08/17/pope-francis-and-canada-euthanasia/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/08/17/pope-francis-and-canada-euthanasia/Charles LaneWed, 17 Aug 2022 11:00:44 +0000Pope Francis was in Canada to apologize, not to preach, which may be why he said relatively little about that country’s legalization of euthanasia in 2016.https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/08/10/joe-manchin-outmaneuvered-bernie-sanders/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/08/10/joe-manchin-outmaneuvered-bernie-sanders/Charles LaneWed, 10 Aug 2022 11:00:48 +0000The ferocious Sanders-Manchin battle's denouement offered lessons in how Washington really works — and could be consequential for Democrats’ ideological future.https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/08/04/amend-constitution-no-candidates-over-75/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/08/04/amend-constitution-no-candidates-over-75/Charles LaneThu, 04 Aug 2022 21:14:15 +0000Trump-Biden II remains a likely 2024 scenario. But if everyone 75 and older was barred from running for president, that wouldn't be an issue. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/07/27/united-states-economy-recession/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/07/27/united-states-economy-recession/Charles LaneWed, 27 Jul 2022 11:00:18 +0000When the White House said there is nothing “official” about the definition of a recession as a two-quarter drop in GDP, Republican mockery lit up the internet. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/07/20/digital-assets-down-tangible-assets-up/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/07/20/digital-assets-down-tangible-assets-up/Charles LaneWed, 20 Jul 2022 21:16:14 +0000Human beings have a hierarchy of needs, at the top of which are eating and staying warm, with internet gambling and video streaming a lot lower on the list. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/07/13/shinzo-abe-assassination-shapes-history/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/07/13/shinzo-abe-assassination-shapes-history/Charles LaneWed, 13 Jul 2022 11:00:10 +0000Plucking leaders violently from society divides time when life was unimaginable without these prominent figures and another where life is unimaginable with them.https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/07/06/buffalo-supermarket-shooting-death-penalty/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/07/06/buffalo-supermarket-shooting-death-penalty/Charles LaneWed, 06 Jul 2022 11:00:29 +0000Civil rights groups contend that racism so badly taints U.S. capital punishment, it should not even be sought against a white supremacist mass murderer.https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/06/29/supreme-court-overturns-roe-v-wade/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/06/29/supreme-court-overturns-roe-v-wade/Charles LaneWed, 29 Jun 2022 11:00:10 +0000Whatever the Supreme Court majority may have taken into account as they finally put paid to the abortion law, it wasn’t the GOP's short-term political gain. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/06/22/if-biden-ran-big-oil/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/06/22/if-biden-ran-big-oil/Charles LaneWed, 22 Jun 2022 17:29:23 +0000Policy cannot simultaneously maximize gas-price affordability, incentives for domestic production and environmental protection.https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/06/15/democratic-dark-money-extreme-republicans/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/06/15/democratic-dark-money-extreme-republicans/Charles LaneWed, 15 Jun 2022 11:00:40 +0000The Jan. 6 committee is raising alarms about extreme Republicans who support Trump's stolen-election fantasy, yet Democrats are quietly supporting just these sorts of candidates in the belief that they'll be easier to beat in the fall. That's a dangerous game. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/06/08/social-security-disability-fund-solvent/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/06/08/social-security-disability-fund-solvent/Charles LaneWed, 08 Jun 2022 11:00:24 +0000In recent years, it has often projected impending insolvency for these giant federal reserves.https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/06/01/one-cheer-for-inflation/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/06/01/one-cheer-for-inflation/Charles LaneWed, 01 Jun 2022 11:00:47 +0000To acknowledge this particular, limited upside can help us understand our fiscal and economic predicaments — and how we muddle through them.https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/05/25/inconvenient-truths-about-decarbonizing-economy/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/05/25/inconvenient-truths-about-decarbonizing-economy/Charles LaneWed, 25 May 2022 11:00:00 +0000A new book attempts to steer climate debate between what author Vaclav Smil considers equally unproductive extremes of “catastrophism” and “techno-optimism.”https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/05/18/gun-rights-assault-weapons-teenagers/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/05/18/gun-rights-assault-weapons-teenagers/Charles LaneWed, 18 May 2022 11:00:00 +0000Talk about terrible timing. A federal appeals court last week struck down a California law barring semiautomatic rifle sales to anyone under 21. Then came the shooting in Buffalo.https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/05/11/alito-supreme-court-decision-abortion-union-dues/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/05/11/alito-supreme-court-decision-abortion-union-dues/Charles LaneWed, 11 May 2022 11:00:11 +0000The 2018 decision in Janus v. AFSCME was supposed to change everything for public-sector unions. It hasn't turned out that way.https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/05/04/biden-no-power-to-forgive-student-loans/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/05/04/biden-no-power-to-forgive-student-loans/Charles LaneWed, 04 May 2022 12:00:36 +0000President Biden may soon order wholesale student debt forgiveness, despite his previous doubts — and those of other leading Democrats — about his legal power to do it.https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/04/27/free-speech-elon-musk-obama/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/04/27/free-speech-elon-musk-obama/Charles LaneWed, 27 Apr 2022 11:00:11 +0000Both Elon Musk and Barack Obama claim to be defending democracy and truth, but they come at it from very different angles. Who's right? https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/04/19/democratic-woes-explained-by-three-numbers/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/04/19/democratic-woes-explained-by-three-numbers/Charles LaneTue, 19 Apr 2022 20:35:13 +0000Each statistic represented a new peak, symbolic or actual, to a rising voter concern: violent crime, spiraling prices and uncontrolled migration.https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/04/13/nicaragua-russia-bffs-in-latin-america/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/04/13/nicaragua-russia-bffs-in-latin-america/Charles LaneWed, 13 Apr 2022 12:00:19 +0000Since the invasion of Ukraine, the Ortega regime has abstained on U.N. General Assembly resolutions criticizing Moscow. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/03/29/no-more-supreme-court-confirmation-hearings/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/03/29/no-more-supreme-court-confirmation-hearings/Charles LaneTue, 29 Mar 2022 21:46:52 +0000Yet another unsatisfactory Supreme Court nomination hearing proves the process is broken beyond repair. The Senate Judiciary Committee should scrap it.https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/03/22/putin-may-not-be-lying-about-plans-working/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/03/22/putin-may-not-be-lying-about-plans-working/Charles LaneTue, 22 Mar 2022 20:59:30 +0000Even at this late date, we might still not be taking Putin quite seriously enough. He has been preparing for this war and associated diplomatic initiatives assiduously for years.https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/03/15/defending-ukraine-is-about-sovereignty-not-democracy/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/03/15/defending-ukraine-is-about-sovereignty-not-democracy/Charles LaneTue, 15 Mar 2022 21:41:17 +0000They are resisting an attempt to redraw internationally recognized boundaries by force.https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/03/08/get-serious-about-energy-geopolitics/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/03/08/get-serious-about-energy-geopolitics/Charles LaneTue, 08 Mar 2022 22:30:06 +0000Once again, the United States finds its economy and its security threatened by a foreign tyrant weaponizing oil and gas. Will we finally do what it takes to protect ourselves, and our allies?https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/03/01/putin-has-definitely-lost-germany/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/03/01/putin-has-definitely-lost-germany/Charles LaneTue, 01 Mar 2022 20:29:11 +0000What Germans are already calling a “revolution” in their security policy represents a strategic defeat for Vladimir Putin — and a strategic victory for the United States and its European allies.https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/02/22/does-world-have-answers-questions-putin-has-raised/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/02/22/does-world-have-answers-questions-putin-has-raised/Charles LaneTue, 22 Feb 2022 20:52:51 +0000Vladimir Putin has thrown the entire world order into question. They relate to everything from nuclear arms control, to the fate of Taiwan, to energy policy. United States and its allies need answers — fast.https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/02/15/biden-cuts-hearing-aid-regulation/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/02/15/biden-cuts-hearing-aid-regulation/Charles LaneTue, 15 Feb 2022 21:28:57 +0000Contrary to the Republican cry of "socialism," President Biden protests that he is a capitalist. In one important case — lowering the cost of hearing aids — he's proving it.https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/02/08/obesity-and-covid-deaths/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/02/08/obesity-and-covid-deaths/Charles LaneTue, 08 Feb 2022 23:34:34 +0000It's the public health vulnerability no one wants to talk about — but the pandemic shows why we have to.