Remember back when you were a kid and you were up against a term paper deadline, so you just decided to wing it with swollen prose like “The Civil War has been a big important issue for years and years all across the many states of America”?
Yes, a lot of water has flowed under the bridge since February 20, 1971 – but it’s still hard to believe that Granny Tyree (my father’s mother) has been gone for 50 years.
In an emotional moment among emotional moments, lead House Impeachment Manager Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) shared the story of a Black Capitol police officer and the racist abuse he endured when a mob with murder on its mind sacked the seat of government last month.
One of my favorite allegories is the one about the frog in the pot of water, who got used to the slowing rising temperature of a warming pot and ended up boiled to death.
Presidential honeymoons have remarkably different lengths. President Barack Obama’s honeymoon, at least with the press, began the day he announced his candidacy, February 10, 2007, and the blissful union continues today.
It’s not often that you can watch a major event playing out on the national stage and predict with certainty how it will end, but this week I have two.
In January, the world changed following closely behind the disruption of financial markets at the hand of individual investors.
It’s February. It’s cold. To fend off the winter blahs, I dream of one day retiring to a warm beach, where I’ll stand in the surf, sipping beverages from glasses with little umbrellas in them.
I hope you are staying warm and keeping safe this week. Arkansas has braved a tough winter storm, and while it has brought beautiful winter scenery across the state this week, I know for many it has made day-to-day life difficult. My prayers are with each of you, and if there is anything our…
LITTLE ROCK — The deadline for legislators to file proposed constitutional amendments has passed, and the Senate and House Committees on State Agencies and Governmental Affairs will begin narrowing the list that will be placed on the next general election ballot.
February is Black History Month—a time to reflect on the influence of African Americans in our history and celebrate their achievements and contributions to the fabric of our nation. We honor the sacrifices of such brave men and women who persevered through countless challenges and we celebr…
We still have eight days left in February, and already this is the third snowiest month in Little Rock since we started keeping records in the 1800s. And it is one of the most severe snowstorms statewide as well.
Once upon a time – just a few weeks ago – Republicans in the great state of Texas were talking about seceding from the union. If memory serves, their state attorney general concocted a crackpot lawsuit that sought to overturn the free and fair presidential election, arguing that Joe Biden’s …
Kids need to be in school. This seems to be an epiphany for some who, a year ago, suggested sending a teacher into a classroom was the equivalent of landing on the beach at Normandy.
Republicans are within a mere six seats of winning control of the House of Representatives, well within striking distance heading into the 2022 mid-term election.
Remember back when you were a kid and you were up against a term paper deadline, so you just decided to wing it with swollen prose like “The Civil War has been a big important issue for years and years all across the many states of America”?
The worst thing to happen in my lifetime was the massacre of 20 children almost a decade ago. The current controversy of the Capitol riots, the Antifa uprisings this summer, the Oklahoma City bombing and even 9/11 don’t carry that same, crushing weight. The other tragedies were political rec…
LITTLE ROCK – A company that produces wood pellets for grilling has announced it will open a plant in Hope this year, and today I’d like to talk about the wood-pellet industry in Arkansas and what it means for this state.
LITTLE ROCK – Businesses would not be penalized by state regulators for violating Covid-19 restrictions because of the behavior of their customers, under legislation passed by the Arkansas Senate.
The Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry has a well-deserved reputation as being among the most bipartisan places on Capitol Hill. It is a place where committee members actually sit down around a table, hash out our differences and create policy that is good for American …
As we cross the one-year mark in fighting the global Coronavirus pandemic, we can see a light at the end of the tunnel. Thanks to the great work of Operation Warp Speed, we have multiple safe and effective vaccines available to the public. I encourage everyone to take the vaccine once it bec…
Whether you read these words before or after Presidents’ Day 2021, be advised that I’m already thinking ahead to Presidents’ Day 2071.
When a traitorous band of pro-Trump extremists stormed the U.S. Capitol just a month ago in a deadly rampage that shook American democracy to its foundations, they were doing more than just trying to illegally upend the results of the November 2020 elections.
With the stroke of several souvenir pens that will likely end up on eBay, President Joe Biden recently enacted sweeping executive orders related to climate change – specifically aimed at saving the arctic tufted titmouse and encouraging the transition of all fuel-burning vehicles to Flintsto…
I love winter. I love snow. I love making a roaring fire in my fireplace on a chilly day. But I hate one thing about this time of year: taxes.
Sexual abuse is devastating. It cuts across and demolishes every single line of demarcation that we recognize in society, because it is one of the things that attack the foundations of society: Respect for the dignity of the individual person.
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.
Irwin Fox died the other day. If you missed it because you were engrossed in obits about Hank Aaron, Larry King and Cloris Leachman, that’s understandable. Besides, at 95, Mr. Fox had outlived many of his fans.
Eleanor Holmes Norton, a Democrat and D.C.’s delegate in the U.S. House, is on to something big!
Alexei Navalny is what we need – but no longer have – in the United States: A political hero.
LITTLE ROCK — The Senate has voted to exempt last year’s unemployment benefits from state income taxes, to help people who lost their jobs because of the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Students, teachers and parents have adapted to the challenges created by COVID-19. Last year, Arkansas educators were forced to teach online in order to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. As classrooms were shifted to virtual learning, Arkansas Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) rose to t…
LITTLE ROCK — In the past six years, much has changed in the way we treat young people in state custody, and today I’d like to talk about the ways we have reformed juvenile justice.
In his first two weeks in office, President Biden stacked up 29 Executive Orders. Most notably, he has cancelled the Keystone XL Pipeline permit and halted any new oil and gas leases on federal lands.
I’ll readily admit that the face gracing the $20 bill is not our most urgent issue – not with 420,000 people needlessly dead and 45 Republican senators saying that their insurrectionist in exile should get a pass.
The country is divided, in massive debt, and our future isn’t looking so good – but thankfully, I have more immediate worries to consume my energies.
When Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell took the floor of the chamber and, in his smooth Kentucky tone, declared that President Trump provoked the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol, it was a blunt assessment that a clean and lasting break from the ex-president is critical if the party hope…
If there’s one thing that President Biden has made abundantly clear, it’s that he will grant an amnesty to an unknown number of illegal immigrants.
An email laced with exclamation points is never a good sign. At least not if you’re me.
As some people age, they begin to lose a certain degree of excitement about simple life experiences like snow days, finding a penny in a parking lot or putting on a pair of fresh underwear still warm from the dryer.
There’s no middle ground with middle names. You either love them or hate them.
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.
LITTLE ROCK — A Senate committee advanced legislation that protects the rights of people with disabilities who need an organ transplant.
Like many Arkansans, I believe every life is precious and that each person is made in the image of God with a unique purpose and undeniable worth. Whether we notice them or not, every human being possesses fundamental, unalienable rights that we must not deny.
Since the Supreme Court made Roe v. Wade the law of the land in 1973, more than 61 million babies have lost their lives through legal abortions. This atrocity has gone on long enough. Life is the most basic right of every man and woman created in the image of God and the first right guarante…
LITTLE ROCK — We are in our second month of inoculating Arkansans against COVID-19, and today I’d like to talk about the progress we are making.
I’ll readily admit that the face gracing the $20 bill is not our most urgent issue – not with 420,000 people needlessly dead and 45 Republican senators saying that their insurrectionist in exile should get a pass.
When Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell took the floor of the chamber and, in his smooth Kentucky tone, declared that President Trump provoked the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol, it was a blunt assessment that a clean and lasting break from the ex-president is critical if the party hope…
