National Columns

The Washington Post, beginning Nov. 1, 2019, will allow its syndicated columns to appear only in print. The columns will still be available as part of our e-edition newspaper online, but they will not be available as separate pieces on our website, ljworld.com. These columnists include George Will, David Ignatius, Michael Gerson and others. This does not affect other columnists like Leonard Pitts, Mona Charen, Connie Schultz and Mark Shields, who are not affiliated with the Washington Post.

Opinion: Ways to take your mind off politics

Are you, like me, kind of freaking out a little bit? Do masked men patrol your city streets, snatching people up and throwing them into vans headed for overcrowded detention centers where they will be held incommunicado and pressured to sign self-deportation orders that abrogate their rights ...

Opinion: America’s gambling problem is corrupting athletics

Terry Rozier of the Miami Heat has built a respectable NBA career, averaging about 20 points per game some years. In all likelihood, though, the Miami Heat point guard will now be remembered less for what he did on the court than as another data point in how runaway sports betting is ...

Opinion: The GOP’s program of state ownership

When House Speaker Mike Johnson lashed out at last weekend’s “No Kings” rallies soon to arrive on Washington’s National Mall, he reached for an old conservative refrain: “They hate capitalism. They hate our free enterprise system.” I am sure he’s correct about some of the ...

Opinion: Trump disfigures the White House

The building’s facade is now gone — an ugly gash reminiscent of the smoldering Pentagon on 9/11. This disfigurement is not the act of terrorists or foreign foes. It’s the work of our president. The East Wing of the White House, which has housed the visitors center, the office of the ...

Opinion: Democrats can still unite around one common goal

The only thing the parties can agree on is that Donald Trump is the central issue of our time. Let’s start with a recent headline: “It’s 2025, and Democrats Are Still Running Against Trump.” “After a year of soul-searching and introspection by Democrats about what they should ...

Opinion: Banana republics require enablers to function

In any so-called banana republic you need enablers. President Donald Trump has Mike Johnson, speaker of the House, and Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito leading the charge. Johnson is pulling Congress along with the justices who are the most ferocious defenders of Trump on ...