Columns

Is the 75th anniversary of V-J Day the last hurrah?

My first knowledge of the War in the Pacific probably came from then-new episodes of “McHale’s Navy” and the 20-year-old “Made in Occupied Japan” dishware that my mother collected. Seemingly overnight, I find myself struggling to do justice to the topic of the 75th (!

School choice: Black children matter

One hundred sixty years ago America fought over slavery. Sixty years ago, America fought over black voter suppression. Today America is fighting over black education suppression.

What in the world were we thinking?

I am becoming increasingly convinced that if I dig just two feet down at any place in my yard, I will dig into a huge underground sea of fire ants. It may spread for miles and miles.

Some do the jobs they’re paid to do... without fail

I wrote a column a short while back about teachers who didn’t want to go back to school until they could be guaranteed that everything was safe.

America means freedom to them

A friend of mine can’t for the life of him understand why some Americans are clamoring to replace capitalism with socialism. Born in Vietnam, he was a young boy when he and his family barely escaped that communist nation amid gunfire.

Truth is relative with ‘Mostly Peaceful’ protests

Are the riots in major cities around the country really happening? It’s a question that should only require a simple “yes” or “no” answer, but in an age when relativism prevails and even gender is a state a mind, there are no simple questions. There are, however, a lot of dumb answers.

Are vertical farms on the up and up?

When I was a carefree lad watching “Lost in Space,” the Robinson family’s high-tech hydroponic garden sounded neat. Now I worry that the science fiction program sowed seeds that are taking us too far away from our roots of harvest festivals and “planting by the signs.

Why teachers need to get back in the classroom

Teachers are now complaining about having to go back and do what they profess to love: Teach in a classroom.

Laughter really is the best medicine

I missed it again. So did the rest of America. July 1’s unofficial International Joke Day came and went without fanfare. That’s regrettable, because we could all use a good belly laugh right now — which gave me an idea.

Straight shooters from the bayous

Louisiana’s French speakers were in serious demand during World War II, especially when interpreters were needed as GIs fought their way across France after D-Day. But south Louisiana’s French speakers were also wanted for their fighting ability and even their typing skills.