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: Will defense spending avoid the scalpel again?

Since the 1950s, every effort to reduce the size and scope of government has been bulldozed by a political establishment more concerned with furthering its own interests than those of the American people. Between sacred cows and special interest groups, we’re always told why nothing can get ...

Opinion: Mass layoffs by Trump-Musk will soon touch all

We are in a state of emergency. Most newspapers report the facts, ma’am, but shy from stating American democracy is on the line, in serious peril. Scenes from the resistance: the Lincoln Memorial, the jammed independent bookstore and the floor of Congress, where Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) ...

Opinion: Homer Simpson and Donald Trump

There’s a classic episode of The Simpsons in which Homer gets a gun. He thinks his awesome gun is great for everything: home defense, opening beer bottles, whatever. When Marge says she doesn’t want a weapon in the house, Homer replies, “A gun is not a weapon, Marge, it’s a tool. Like a ...

Opinion: Universities latest target in playbook

Trump is following Putin’s, Xi’s, and Orban’s playbook. First, take over military and intelligence operations by purging career officers and substituting ones personally loyal to you. Next, subdue the courts by ignoring or threatening to ignore court rulings you disagree ...

Opinion: Facts versus performative politics

My advice to congressional Democrats: If you’re going to embrace performative politics, be sure you give a good performance. Instead, the Dems at President Trump’s speech to a joint session of Congress looked like an angry and lonely clown car. They looked the very portrait that they ...

Opinion: Celebrate the resilience of immigrant mothers

My mother-in-law was born on a small ranch in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, in 1951. After her mother died from illness, my mother-in-law crossed into Brownsville, Texas, during the Charro Days Fiesta. She was 13, undocumented and alone. I’ve written about my mother-in-law’s journey ...