×

Columns

Can a new House speaker reinstate an old norn

After a little more than three weeks, House Republicans have finally elected a speaker. He’s Mike Johnson, first elected to the House in 2016 from a district in northwest Louisiana. He’s almost unknown to the public, has a right-wing voting record, and has been a supporter of Donald Trump. ...

SOAR transparency needed

Transparency — as a topic — often solicits so many bipartisan cheers that there aren’t enough government-issued pom-poms to go around. In the beginning. In and of itself, government transparency isn’t a partisan issue. Who wouldn’t want to know more about how government operates? ...

Prescription drug board won’t lower costs

The Democratic-controlled Senate passed legislation earlier this month that would let a newly-created state board place limits on the prices of prescription drugs they deem to be too expensive. It’s a new darling policy of blue states that is being advertised as a way to slash ...

Montana turns into feudal estates

We get the allure of the Great American West, the majestic landscapes, rivers teeming with trout, clean air. When TV talk show star Kelly Clarkson announced she and her family were leaving Los Angeles, she said her first choice was “Montana.” She kept moving, though, landing in New York ...

What’s needed is renovation

Some popular shows on PBS and cable TV are about renovating old houses - taking dilapidated, out-of-fashion and dreary houses and turning them into modern, functioning, and attractive places in which to live. Renovation is precisely what is needed in our country whose national debt, open ...

Gag order on Trump is shameful

If you’ve always thought that federal judges ought to determine what presidential candidates can and can’t say about political matters, you should love Judge Tanya Chutkan’s partial gag order against Donald Trump. Chutkan is hearing the January 6 case against Trump brought by Special ...