Columns

Former Indiana U,S. Rep. Lee Hamilton, who was co-chair of the Iraq Study Group, in his office at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington on Nov. 24, 2006. (Pete Souza/baiduhai)

John T. Shaw: We need Congress to ponder the long term with a new future-focused group

By John T. Shaw

October 14, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

Half a century ago, many lawmakers viewed their responsibilities differently and created a forum to...

This image from CCTV video released by Saudi Arabia's Media Ministry shows passengers taking cover as flames and smoke fill part of King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, during what authorities described as a strike at the airport on Oct. 10, 2026. (Saudi Media Ministry via AP)

Daniel DePetris: Resumption of war between Houthis and Saudis is bad timing for Donald Trump

By Daniel DePetris

October 12, 2026 at 1:27 p.m.

The attacks in Saudi Arabia come when Donald Trump is in a standoff over the...

Attorneys for Christa Pike hold a news conference after a judge ruled the Tennessee Department of Corrections must preserve all evidence related to the failed execution of Pike, on Oct. 7, 2026, in Nashville, Tennessee. (George Walker IV/AP)

Clarence Page: A botched execution shakes our death penalty presumptions

By Clarence Page

October 12, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

The botched execution of Christa Pike offers a gross illustration of the cruelty that capital...

Quarterback Aaron Rogers of the Green Bay Packers warms up before playing against the Arizona Cardinals in an NFL football game on Oct. 28, 2021, in Glendale, Ariz.

Column: Idea for unvaccinated Aaron Rodgers’ new State Farm pitch: ‘I don’t have car insurance. It’s a personal decision.’

By Rex W. Huppke

November 10, 2021 at 2:41 p.m.

Green Bay Packers quarterback and State Farm Insurance spokes-man-bun Aaron Rodgers has been widely pilloried...

A "Defund the police" slogan is painted on a window in Chicago's Logan Square neighborhood in August 2020.

Column: ‘Defund the police’ is a political dud, but now what?

By Clarence Page

November 9, 2021 at 5:40 p.m.

Recent elections show "Defund the police" to be what I expected all along, a slogan...

Vehicles head east out of Los Angeles on the I-10 freeway in Alhambra, Calif., ahead of the Memorial Day weekend on May 27, 2021. Democrats rescued President Joe Biden's faltering domestic agenda on Nov. 5, 2021, passing a giant infrastructure package that is one of the pillars of his $3 trillion economic vision after rebel moderates had earlier blocked a vote on his social welfare expansion.

Column: Could Biden’s infrastructure bill fix real problems instead of fake ones? Yes! It’s an outrage!

By Rex W. Huppke

November 9, 2021 at 7:00 a.m.

For President Joe Biden to get his outrageous, socialist, communist, Maoist (and probably Satanist) $1.2...

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe at an election night party in McLean, Virginia, on Nov. 2, 2021.

Column: For Democrats, being ‘anti-Trump’ isn’t enough

By Clarence Page

November 5, 2021 at 3:57 p.m.

Often a master of metaphors, progressive CNN commentator Van Jones almost outdid himself by calling...

Column: Men in Chicago radio face a reckoning over loutish behavior. Some should be starting to sweat.

By Rex W. Huppke

November 5, 2021 at 11:34 a.m.

I reckon a number of men in Chicago radio are suddenly feeling sweatier than usual....

A mural of Adam Toledo ahead of a news conference in Chicago to announce Adam's Place, a safe place for children between the ages of 10 and 14, in rural Wisconsin, on May 26, 2021.

Column: McDonald’s CEO tries victim-blaming parents of slain Chicago kids. Bad idea.

By Rex W. Huppke

November 3, 2021 at 1:38 p.m.

The CEO of McDonald's is rightfully getting his McNuggets deep fried over a text message...

Comedian Dave Chappelle at the Kennedy Center to receive the Mark Twain Award for American Humor in Washington in 2019. Chappelle has come under fire recently for his latest Netflix special, which includes jokes about transgender people.

Column: ‘Wokespeak’ is changing faster than I can keep up

By Clarence Page

November 2, 2021 at 5:32 p.m.

I remember when we were "colored." As in the NAACP, originally the National Association for...

Activist with various signs face off on the stairs of the Kenosha County Courthouse on Nov. 15, 2021 in Kenosha.

Column: As Kyle Rittenhouse trial begins, remember his easy exit from Kenosha — a walk no Black teen could take

By Rex W. Huppke

November 2, 2021 at 5:00 a.m.

There's a scene we should keep in the forefront of our minds as Kyle Rittenhouse's...

Supporters loyal to President Donald Trump rally at the U.S. Capitol in Washington. A federal judge held the director of the District of Columbia's Department of Corrections and the warden of the city's jail in contempt of court on Oct. 13, and asked the Justice Department to investigate whether the civil rights of inmates are being abused.

Column: Even the Jan. 6 mob defendants deserve proper treatment

By Clarence Page

October 29, 2021 at 4:02 p.m.

Jail is not a pleasant place to live. That's pretty obvious to most folks. But...

Author and Nobel Prize in literature winner Toni Morrison receives the Honor Medal of The City of Paris at Mairie de Paris on Nov. 4, 2010. The Virginia governor's race has devolved into a culture war over Morrison's "Beloved," a Pulitzer-Prize winning masterpiece about the horrors of slavery.

Column: Parents harm their kids first and foremost when they throw tantrums to hide our nation’s painful history

By Heidi Stevens

June 7, 2024 at 11:51 a.m.

I thought about Ann Patchett this week as I watched the Virginia governor's race devolve...

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