US citizens: repudiate Trump's bigotry.

Chicago thugs who shot Ronald Johnson dead say he was carrying a pistol. His mother says the pistol was planted on him after he was shot.

DA Alvarez, following her general tendency, is protecting the thugs.

Neither of them merits our unreserved trust. The thugs could be lying to excuse their actions. The mother could be saying what she wishes were true. But the fact that witnesses report that thugs told them what to say suggests that the thugs are lying.

The US House of Representatives passed a bill to ban microbeads from soap and toothpaste.

Microbeads are harmful to marine life, and sewage treatment does not stop them from getting into waterways.

Rejection of a bill to block gun purchases by people on the "no-fly list" has called attention to the injustice of that list.

That list is punishment without trial, and if that's not bad enough, it is punishment secretly sprung on people after they have spent hundreds or thousands of dollars on nonrefundable tickets they can't use. No one lawfully present or resident in the US should be blocked from riding in US airline flights except as punishment for a crime.

As for people not lawfully present or resident in the US, the government has the option of denying them entry, which is both more effective and more legitimate than the no-fly list.

Blocking people from buying guns is more legitimate than blocking people from flying, so it is ok to do that based on weaker criteria. However, there are limits to what this can achieve. Blocking a small list of people will not stop attacks by undetectable small teams. But perhaps nothing can stop that.

Everyone: call for including the Syrian Kurds in multilateral negotiations about Syria's future.