Columns

Valentine dilemma: ‘Baby,’ you’re not the greatest!

Although the bar has been set remarkably low during some epochs (“Dearest, you’ve survived to produce seven more viable male heirs than my second wife”), society has always expected couples to use terms of endearment to grease the wheels of their relationships.

A true political hero for our times

Alexei Navalny is what we need — but no longer have — in the United States: A political hero. We have politicians, some better than others.

Pigeons covered the cold sky

January 1940 was the coldest month of record in south Louisiana, but there were some pretty chilly precedents. The winter of 1822-1823 was remarkable to one planter not only for its frigid weather but also for an incredible flight of pigeons.

There is no middle ground on this issue

There’s no middle ground with middle names. You either love them or hate them. Or, if you’re a politician, you treat them however the latest opinion poll indicates. (“It’s way past time this nation took the bold bipartisan move of giving Harry S.

With President Joe, It’s divided we stand

Everyone agreed the inauguration ceremony was nice. Lady Gaga was Lady Gaga. Garth Brooks was Garth Brooks. Everyone also agreed President Joe Biden’s speech was nice. Nothing plagiarized. Nothing too fancy. Nothing that presidential historians will be quoting a month from now.

Exposing the sins of the technical Catholics

I am not the pope. I was never a nun. I am barely a good Catholic, even though I do the absolute minimum to keep my club membership current. I am, however, a skilled detector of hypocrisy. Which makes me the perfect person to talk about the second Catholic president. Joe Biden is a Catholic.

Searching for unity in a sea of exclamation points

An email laced with exclamation points is never a good sign. At least not if you’re me. In my world, exclamation points usually follow words such as “idiot!” or “communist!” I take issue with the latter though the former is certainly up for discussion.

Reality trims seed catalogue dreams

One hot day summer day some years ago I was pulling weeds along a row of tomato plants, when the realization came to me that I was crawling down garden rows to cultivate vegetables that we would mostly give to friends and neighbors who also grew more veggies than they would eat and were planning on...

Path to despotism seen in online censorship

People often try and sound profound by quoting Santayana’s apocryphal statement, “Those who do not remember the past are doomed to repeat it.” But Santayana had his finger on the pulse of my nation in this moment.

Ever sing the college brochure blues?

It has been a bittersweet experience seeing the mailbox flooded with college recruiting brochures addressed to my son Gideon.