by Isaac Cubillos | Aug 27, 2026 | Journal
President Donald Trump has renamed Lake Ontario. It is now, according to the United States government, Lake America. Well, sure. Why not? We have apparently reached the point in international diplomacy where the State Department can be replaced by a label maker. There...
by Isaac Cubillos | Aug 27, 2026 | Journal
In June 1984, I was driving north on the I-15 out of Las Vegas toward Utah when I came upon something I have never forgotten. The Virgin River was raging. Not flowing. Not meandering politely through the desert. Raging. It was red with silt, a muddy torrent cutting...
by Isaac Cubillos | Aug 22, 2026 | Journal
For more than 80 years, the United States has maintained an unusual proposition: The government can pay journalists without owning their journalism. It was never a particularly comfortable arrangement. It wasn’t supposed to be. Voice of America was created...
by Isaac Cubillos | Aug 19, 2026 | Journal
Every once in a while, a chart tells you something Washington has spent several trillion dollars trying not to notice. I was looking at one the other day showing the world’s largest cities from 1950 into the future. Back in 1950, the list looked reassuringly...
by Isaac Cubillos | Jun 30, 2026 | Journal
Last year, I found myself in several debates with Trump supporters over birthright citizenship. I kept coming back to the same two words. All persons. Not “all citizens.” Not “all legal residents.” Not “all persons whose parents entered...
by Isaac Cubillos | Jun 25, 2026 | Journal
The headlines say the U.S. Supreme Court ruled for Monsanto. That’s true. It’s also the least interesting part of the story. The Court, in a 7-2 decision, didn’t decide whether Roundup causes cancer. It didn’t declare glyphosate safe. It...
