Columns

Not even the death of a mother is off limits in today’s politics

There are two things that should be completely off limits: a person’s children and a person’s grief. You do not mock a child, something that we often forget when that child happens to belong to a politician we despise, and you do not make fun of someone in the depths of mourning.

What makes Saban a great coach?

I don’t normally write a sports column, but a few words would seem appropriate after Alabama’s football coach Nick Saban announced his retirement last week. Simply put, love him or hate him, Nick Saban was the nation’s best college coach in recent years, and maybe the best college coach ever.

Gov.-elect Jeff Landry: ‘Our people have not come first. This will soon change.’

With our inauguration now over, I am left with an overwhelming feeling of hope for the future of our great state. Over the last year, we hit the road, listening to folks about the core issues that must be addressed if we’re to restore our state and improve our circumstances.

Buggies weren’t unfair competition

People understood the need to ration rubber and gasoline during World War II, and so they understood when grocery stores and laundries and others were told they should use their delivery trucks sparingly.

Been at your job too long?

Without much fanfare (okay, I did write and voice a radio commercial noting the milestone), I recently marked 25 years of my “day job” working for a farmers cooperative.

A lesson for the ex-president of Harvard

I’ve been watching with some interest the backlash to Harvard University President Claudine Gay’s resignation.

Bad idea to keep Trump off the ballot

Here is the election question dominating the national news. Can a minor state official decide the outcome of the presidential election? The Maine secretary of state apparently thinks so.

Tom Smothers was serious about politics

Tom Smothers wasn’t the first performer to weaponize comedy for political purposes, but he was perfectly suited for it. During the height of his career with brother Dick in the ’60s and ’70s he took on Lyndon Johnson over his Vietnam policies and Richard Nixon over, well, just about everything.

Aaaaay! Is ‘Happy Days’ really turning 50?

Oh, for simpler times with fewer adult responsibilities and fewer high-tech distractions! Then I might manage to finish reading two excellent autobiographies (Henry Winkler’s “Being Henry: The Fonz – And Beyond” and the late Garry Marshall’s “My Happy Days in Hollywood”) before The Big Day.

The urgency to become cyber-secure in 2024

Cyber attacks will be significantly worse in 2024 for anyone who uses a digital device. Yet few are aware of, or prepared for, the threats they face — or how their poor cybersecurity skills are putting them and their families at incredible risk.