Recent Columns

Laura Loomer and the MAGA’s silence on racism
September 16, 2026 by Elwood Watson
MAGA provocateur Laura Loomer has never worked in the White House or held any government position, yet wields considerable power and influence due to her close relationship with President Donald Trump. Most recently, the acerbic social media influen..
Are you too easily impressed?

September 16, 2026 by Danny Tyree
Tyrades! by Danny Tyree “This will be the best feast ever!” When my son Gideon was seven years old, I won a “value meal for two” at the local Taco Bell via a radio trivia contest. All I had to do was add cinnamon twists to the order, and Gid..
Not enough rich people to tax
September 15, 2026 by Tom Purcell
There aren’t enough rich people to tax to fund what Democratic Socialists of America candidates are promising. The millionaire next door When the DSA says "tax the rich," they want us to think of guys like Thurston Howell III, the "Gilligan's Isla..
Social media bans won’t help children
September 14, 2026 by Charles Sauer
Candice Odgers gave both of her daughters smartphones for their eleventh birthdays and even let her youngest daughter use Snapchat. You might be shaking your head and wondering why she would be so reckless. Hasn’t she read the work of experts rega..
Well, well, weddings
September 14, 2026 by Alexandra Paskhaver
A wedding is when two people celebrate their love by financially ambushing everyone they know. I have not attended many weddings. In part, this is because I never know what to give the bride and groom apart from a toaster worth more than my college ..
How 9/11 changed all Americans alive at the time
September 14, 2026 by Christine Flowers
When a good friend asked me to speak at the 9/11 ceremony in the Philadelphia suburbs, I told him I was a little surprised he would think of me. I was not a victim of the terror attacks in any immediate way. I didn’t lose any close friends or fami..
Are voters stupid enough to fall for Trump’s latest con?
September 14, 2026 by Dick Polman
Sinclair Lewis deserves a prize for prescience. Ninety years ago, the author of "It Can’t Happen Here" created a presidential candidate named Buzz Windrip who rose to power with an openly demagogic agenda. Buzz believed nonstop lying was the best ..
Hurry sickness: Top ten cartoons of the week
September 11, 2026 by Daryl Cagle
Why is everything in such a rush? The pace of news moves at a frenetic pace, and folks with young kids are so over-scheduled they don't have the luxury of an empty day on the calendar. Our phone is pinging with alerts all the time, and our brains are..
SpaceX’s wireless ambitions need a cold, hard look
September 10, 2026 by Peter Roff
Elon Musk is nothing if not audacious. He’s a business visionary who sees the potential in just about everything. He’s not always right, but he understands sometimes, in order to succeed, you first have to fail. That probably helps him ignore hi..
‘Charlie’s Angels’: Has it really been 50 years?
September 9, 2026 by Danny Tyree
Tyrades! by Danny Tyree Linda Lavin’s “Alice” and Jack Klugman’s “Quincy, M.E.” were among the handful of TV shows introduced in the autumn of 1976 that had “legs” (i.e. lasted more than a single season). But one series REALLY had le..
Gloria Steinem and the expansion of feminism
September 9, 2026 by Elwood Watson
Gloria Steinem, who died last week at the age of 92, was the face of modern feminism who labored for decades to garner rights, protections, and opportunities for women. The author, organizer, and role model was born on March 25, 1934, to an economic..
Senate slacker John Fetterman needs to pack up his hoodies
September 8, 2026 by Dick Polman
John Fetterman is acid reflux surging through our body politic. Surely there must be a cure. But good luck with that. Hounding him until he quits is theoretically possible, but why would he want to give up the perks of doing nothing on the taxpayer�..
How college tuition has gotten so high
September 8, 2026 by Tom Purcell
Why is four-year college tuition so high in America? William Bennett, President Reagan's secretary of education, offered his hypothesis in 1987. In a New York Times op-ed titled “Our Greedy Colleges,” he argued that colleges were able to raise t..
About Lindsay Clancy, the case, the lawyer and her supporters
September 8, 2026 by Christine Flowers
Every lawyer who passed the bar (and some who didn’t) have an opinion on the Lindsay Clancy trial. I have an opinion, too, and it’s about as expert as the others, which is to say simply part of the social media scrum. Not being a criminal defens..
Donald Trump’s war on the environment
September 8, 2026 by Joe Gandelman
If you hear something rumbling, it’s the sound of Theodore Roosevelt turning over in his grave. And Abraham Lincoln. And Benjamin Harrison. And Franklin D. Roosevelt. And Richard Nixon. And Jimmy Carter. Barack Obama and Joe Biden aren’t dead ye..
Do-nothing Labor Day: Top ten cartoons of the week
September 3, 2026 by Daryl Cagle
How do you celebrate Labor Day if you don't really care about your job? That's the question Dave Granlund asks in our most-reprinted cartoon of the week, a Labor Day toon focused on our do-nothing Congress. The upcoming election is the perfect time t..
Antitrust federalism
September 2, 2026 by Charles Sauer
Following the 2024 election, many progressives thought they could work with the Trump administration on antitrust policy. Their optimism stemmed from the many pro-Trump policymakers and advocates, including JD Vance, who supported a more aggressive ..
The senior engineer
September 2, 2026 by Alexandra Paskhaver
I have officially become a senior engineer. No, I haven’t been promoted. Pffh. What made you think that? I have developed neck pain. And back pain. And wrist pain. All without leaving my chair. How did I accomplish this, you ask? By not leaving my..
Ex-Trump supporter learns loyalty is a one-way street
September 2, 2026 by Elwood Watson
From now on, far-right provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos will have to promote his fringe conspiracies and racial controversies in Great Britain after being deported by the U.S. last month. And early and staunch supporter of Donald Trump, Yiannopoulos wa..
Does 9/11 mean enough to you?

September 2, 2026 by Danny Tyree
Tyrades! by Danny Tyree Not that Don McLean asked me, but I was born too late to “recall what was revealed the day the music died.” The terrorist plane crashes of September 11, 2001, though? Those I remember. And how they revealed the paired vul..
A stupid war could once again trigger a blue electoral tsunami
September 1, 2026 by Dick Polman
Republican President George W. Bush’s stupid war in Iraq (launched on false premises and bogus promises) triggered a blue tsunami in the 2006 midterms and resulted in Democratic takeovers of the House and Senate. Today, Republican President Donald..
Autumn, finally: A season to calm our politics
September 1, 2026 by Tom Purcell
September has arrived, which means autumn is here. It couldn’t come soon enough. Politics all day long You see, a 2026 Change Research survey finds that 30% of voters name politics as the single biggest source of stress in their lives — more tha..
Love, politics, and Dolly Parton
August 31, 2026 by Christine Flowers
Being a good person does not mean you are universally beloved. Look at Joan of Arc, for example. She was very good, a future saint, and yet the French for whom she sacrificed her youth and her wardrobe — battle armor is a hard look to carry off �..
Why everyone adores Dolly Parton
August 31, 2026 by Elwood Watson
Almost a week later, the world is still mourning Dolly Parton, who sold more than 100 million records and whose songwriting power and iron-handed approach to her career transformed country music and the larger entertainment industry. Parton's life w..
Leaf it to government
August 28, 2026 by Alexandra Paskhaver
I did not think it was possible for people to have more spare time than I do, but I was proven wrong by the existence of the West Windsor Shade Tree Commission. For those of you who don’t know, West Windsor is a township with one of the highest pe..
Unaffordable everything: Top ten cartoons of the week
August 28, 2026 by Daryl Cagle
Just checking in, and yup... everything is still way too expensive. Rent, gas, food, clothing, streaming services, backscratchers. If it has a price tag, the cost keeps going up and up, unlike most people's stagnant wages. Our most-reprinted cartoon ..
How did Dolly touch your life?

August 26, 2026 by Danny Tyree
Tyrades! by Danny Tyree If you’re like me, the larger-than-life Dolly Parton has intersected numerous phases of your story. My awareness of Dolly goes back nearly 60 years. Nashville’s WSM-TV (now WSMV-TV) carried “The Porter Wagoner Show” (..
America 250: Benjamin Franklin’s plan for union
August 26, 2026 by Alexandra Paskhaver
Editor’s note: Humor columnist Alexandra Paskhaver is also a big history buff, and is diving into the rich life of Benjamin Franklin for a series of columns tied to America’s 250th anniversary. In 1754, the United States was a house divided. Ok..
We’re still letting the right define what woke means
August 26, 2026 by Elwood Watson
Alexandria Ocasio Cortez's recent suggestion that “Woke 1 was crazyy" – echoing a remark made on social media by New York City Councilman Chi Ossé – has created a political frenzy leading up to the midterms. The reaction is hardly surprising,..
Time to Harp on Trump and his handmaiden
August 25, 2026 by Dick Polman
I’m not qualified to write original lyrics for Natalie Harp: The Musical, so I’ll just crib from Karen Carpenter’s crooning. Feel free to sing along with the Natalie actress: Why do stars fall down from the sky Every time you walk by? Just lik..