Columns

Perhaps you recall the last time a French politician angered a certain kind of hairy-chested American nationalist. In February 2003, Dominique de Villepin, France's conservative Minister of Foreign Affairs, cautioned the United Nations General Assembly about the sheer folly of invading Iraq.

Election results in Arkansas were discouraging for Democrats and progressive voters.

It's time for a new social contract that creates a comprehensive vision for thriving communities in both rural and urban places.

I'll add my two cents to the chorus of advice for Democrats in 2020: Do not limit your imagination by falling back on candidates who have previously appeared on the ballot.

Courtney Goodson won her race to stay on the state Supreme Court last week with something to spare, in spite of the unprecedented sludge of dark-money ads that tried to persuade people that she was an execrable wench who was capable of almost anything.

Among other eccentricities, I do not possess a smartphone and have never wanted one. It's bad enough that I spend my working hours flitting around the internet like an over-caffeinated sparrow without carrying Google in my pocket.

State Education Commissioner Johnny Key recently announced he intends to ask the state to grant principals the ability to fire teachers, without due process, in what the state considers failing schools. As a parent of a Little Rock School District student, I thought it would be prudent to share my analysis of the data provided by the Arkansas Department of Education

The accident of journalistic deadlines means that as I write this column, having just cast my vote at Dunbar Recreation Center, it's hours before election results begin arriving from across the city, state and nation.

I will always be a sports fan. I will always be a baseball guy. I will always be a lover of radio. But I am much more than that. I will also always be Jewish.

Events in the Little Rock School District prompt me to say more about the Little Rock mayor's race in favor of Baker Kurrus.

During a grim and sorrowful time in the United States, I've found my spirits lifted by the Boston Red Sox.

Earlier this week, smack dab on the front page of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, was Susan Hutchinson, the first lady of Arkansas, showing off the recent $817,000 renovation of the Governor's Mansion.

Donations in November and December will be matched.

Early voting has begun and most of the choices are easy on my ballot.

It's not for nothing that the most chilling scene in George Orwell's prophetic novel "1984" involves an act of puritanical voyeurism. Secret lovers Winston and Julia are lying together in their hideaway in the London slums when a steely voice comes out of the wall.

Arkansas is a solidly red state. We are near the bottom and poised to drop even lower in education and life expectancy; but, if white women would stop voting for conservative candidates, we could change that.

To date, I've remained neutral in the Little Rock mayor's race for a number of reasons. As I was involved in both independent survey work in the race and in the planning for a series of five mayoral forums, I wanted to wait until after those activities were complete to take any stance. More importantly, I really wanted to watch the campaign play itself out. I wanted to see how the candidates that I know well performed through the pressure of a campaign. In the end, I've decided that Warwick Sabin is best positioned to be the kind of mayor that Little Rock needs at this vital time in our city's history.

I want you to think of the three biggest challenges facing Arkansas right now. Take a second and get them in your mind. Anything you come up with is great. Got them?

A minimum wage increase remains on the Arkansas ballot this year. That's good news for Arkansas.