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: A provocative fashion trend comes to weddings

Brides should know that they already have a man. They don’t have to use their wedding to attract a date for Saturday night. They’ve supposedly secured one for the foreseeable future. Thus, it’s hard to figure how the fashion trend of “naked dressing,” lamentable even at nightclubs, ...

Opinion: Swearing isn’t a substitute for thought

Swearing was once rare, reserved to convey the utmost shock, pain or rage, or the deepest disappointment, disgust or disbelief. The audiences at “Gone with the Wind” in 1939 were scandalized when Scarlett O’Hara asked Rhett Butler what would become of her if he left, and Rhett, played ...

Opinion: In post-World War II America, unlawful war is normal

The war in Iran is unlawful and unconstitutional, but in post-World War II America, it is normal. When President Donald Trump decided to begin bombing Iran last June, he did not state a coherent or lawful reason for doing so. His director of national intelligence and his own CIA had ...

Opinion: Donald Trump was never funny

In a display of Stockholm Syndrome, the White House Correspondents’ Association invited Donald Trump to be the keynote speaker at their annual festival of self-appreciation. Because he is who he is, he did not take the opportunity to do the kind of gentle press ribbing that past presidents ...

Opinion: Fear the day when talent doesn’t want to move here

There are many ways to measure the health of a country. One way is growth of gross domestic product. Another is economic productivity. But there’s a less conventional measure worth watching: Do the world’s most talented and ambitious people want to immigrate here? Throughout most of ...

Opinion: Donald Trump turns everything he touches into dung

The windows of bookstores and the marquees of movie theaters across America all sing the praises of Homer’s 2,800-year-old “Odyssey.” This prompted me to review the Greek myths and legends I enjoyed so much as a boy. More than any other, the tale of King Midas, which dates from around the ...