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: Thanks, Dolly Parton, for your public service

Since imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, I am told, I was not surprised to hear Dolly Parton say in an interview that she once entered a “Dolly Parton lookalike” drag queen contest in Los Angeles unannounced — and lost. Parton, who died last week at age 80, enjoyed telling ...

Opinion: They will try to steal the elections

The Supreme Court gave us a start recently, with what looked, at first glance, like a win for Trump’s efforts to suppress mail-in ballots. But, as Andrew Egger explained, that isn’t quite what happened. In broad outline, the court stayed a lower court injunction while the legality of ...

Opinion: Who will take a stand against the debt?

The U.S. national debt just crossed the $40 trillion threshold, doubling in less than a decade. Washington politicians have responded with their favorite fiscal game: blaming the other party. Democrats say Republican tax cuts are the culprit. Republicans say Democratic spending is the root ...

Opinion: What if we’d treated factories like data centers?

When American manufacturing was truly coming into its own in the early 20th century, workers sometimes labored 12-hour days seven days a week and risked life and limb working near dangerous machinery, while factories blackened the skies of American cities. Yet some of the same people who ...

Opinion: Why Trump is bullying Canada

Not exactly a war, but a trade war — which will impose huge costs on both American consumers and on Canada. As I said, Trump is now completely and utterly out of his mind. The very idea of a trade war with Canada — our neighbor, our ally, our closest friend, a nation that’s peaceful ...

Opinion: Life isn’t a race, and neither is learning

My husband graduated with his bachelor’s degree this summer at the age of 56. We ordered a cake and celebrated with friends and family. He had earned his associate’s degree in accounting literally decades ago and had plans to continue his education, but life detoured him, as it likes to ...