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 settlement over Ukraine would be unpopular but realistic

Nearly eleven months ago, in August 2023, the New York Times reported that U.S. officials had estimated that some 500,000 Russians and Ukrainians had been killed, wounded, or missing in the then 18-month Ukrainian War. Both Russia and Ukraine underreport their losses. Hundreds of thousands of ...

Opinion: Pope is right about need for laughter

As an experienced class clown who long has felt the power of comedy to be vastly underappreciated, I was more than tickled to hear that Pope Francis had invited more than 100 comedians to an audience at the Vatican. Blessed are the mirth makers, I thought — along with, does he know what ...

Opinion: Donald Trump versus the 10 Commandments

The governor of Louisiana just signed a law that will require all public classrooms in the state — from kindergarten to universities — to post the Ten Commandments “on a poster or framed document at least 11 inches by 14 inches ... in easily readable font.” For the first time ...

Opinion: Handwriting on the wall for religion, gay marriage

On June 20, the governor of Louisiana signed into law a requirement that the Ten Commandments be posted in public school classrooms throughout the state. The statute applies to the rooms where kindergartners are taught their ABCs as well as to the LSU Health New Orleans School of Medicine ...

Opinion: Squad could use some quality control

Jamaal Bowman’s loss was the Democrats’ gain. A member of the left-fringe Squad, his primary defeat removes at least one irritant to the Democrats’ quest to take control of the House. And if his replacement with a moderate marks the beginning of the end for the Squad, well, bravo for the ...

Opinion: The Roberts court is a grave insult to the people

Chief Justice John Roberts, meet Roger Taney, your history big brother. Abraham Lincoln despised Taney as the legal upholder of white supremacy but had to suffer being sworn in by the old Maryland scarecrow in 1861. In that fraught March moment, the dark past and bright future of America ...