Jess Lahitou

While watching the third Republican debate last night on CNBC, I thought to myself: Self, you’re going to have to write a straight review of this thing. The candidates are too wonky tonight to be caricatured, and even Donald Trump has reigned himself in significantly. The debate was billed as “Your Money, Your Vote,” and the questions hewed pretty close to the economy. Read: not many social-issues gaffe bait.

Americans deserve to vote without being unwittingly “nudged,” “tweaked,” or otherwise manipulated by those with the most power and most incentive to do so. Ergo, any candidate from Silicon Valley needs to be treated with an excess of skepticism.

Everyone but Michael Moore underestimated the level of economic angst and cultural upheaval occurring in the Rust Belt, that collection of states forming a sloped capital “E” along the Great Lakes: Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania.

Is there a difference between what the cigs biz did back in the 1950s and ‘60s and the way present-day pharmaceutical companies have aggressively marketed opioids like OxyContin?

With Twitter awash in letters of goodbyes, 140-word final messages from “collateral damage,” my heart broke last night. That doesn’t mean anything, and neither does this: I want to say I’m sorry to Syria.

Dear Mr. Morgan,

Trump’s ability to kick it with top-notch op-ed crews is just nonexistent. As the New York Times’ interview with Trump shows, the man remains ever unable to give a simple, on-point answer. And Twitter's had a hey-day with his responses.

Last week, I wrote about why Millennials face serious financial hurdles to independence. Today, I’m looking for 2016 POTUS candidates to throw us an economic-policy bone.

But the way I see it, concerning the issue of legalizing pot we have two questions: 1) Whether a person has the right to get high, and 2) Whether that right supersedes the rights of other potentially affected parties.

ICYMI, towards the close of last night’s final (handclap for that) presidential debate, Donald Trump lobbed an insult Clinton’s way.