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: Trump’s war with Iran is immoral

War is the most horrific series of events in which any government can engage. It is systematic, industrialized, indiscriminate killing. It kills innocent adults and little girls. It often ruins the post-war lives of the killers. It is young men violently fighting old men’s power games. It is ...

Opinion: How addictive really is social media?

Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp are running content very harmful to children. So said a jury in New Mexico that just slapped their owner, Meta, with a $375 million fine. The state accused the company of spreading pornographic images and helping adults contact vulnerable children. Meta faces ...

Opinion: How will Congress pay for Iran war?

Whatever you think of the war in Iran, there’s a separate question — independent of the military merits — that Congress must answer: How will it be paid for? The Pentagon has requested $200 billion to fund the campaign. While circumstances could change the price tag, interest payments ...

Opinion: Erasing Chavez, enshrining Trump

Cesar Chavez led the fight for farmworker and Latino rights in postwar America. But at the same time, he was molesting and raping women. Ana Murguia has told The New York Times that while in his 40s, Chavez trapped her behind a locked office door and pulled down her pants. She was only 13 ...

Opinion: A president gloats about a patriot’s death

In 1968, Robert Mueller, poised to graduate from Princeton University, enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps, hoping to serve his country in the Vietnam War, which was then raging. It was the year that American troops would sustain their peak number of combat deaths, nearly 17,000. A son of ...

Opinion: War offers a lesson on markets; will Trump listen?

Early Monday morning, financial markets surged when President Donald Trump claimed there had been productive talks with Iran about ending the war. Therefore he backed off a vow to bomb Iranian power plants if the Strait of Hormuz wasn’t reopened by Monday evening. Iran denies any such talks ...