Commentary
Chasing a paper dream
Except for small, private group elections, I’ve never voted using anything other than a machine. I always trusted that my vote on mechanical or electronic devices would be counted appropriately and accurately — and I still do. But a lot of folks have swallowed the canard that voter fraud is rampant and that the machines […]
With bold investments in transit, we can rapidly cut emissions — and make life better for all of us
In June, we witnessed the earliest ever category 5 hurricane to form in the Atlantic Ocean. The storm caused more than 1 million people to lose power for more than four days and caused deaths as far away as Vermont. In just the first 10 days in July, more than 28 people died from […]
Tim Walz isn’t complicated. America is.
I’ve watched with some amusement as coastal, very online lefties have crushed on Gov. Tim Walz, who can ably voice progressive ideas while (authentically) wearing Carhartt. You’d think he were a cat who suddenly started playing a blues guitar. And I get the excitement: A presidential ticket pairing Walz with Vice President Kamala Harris, the […]
After 235 years, America still isn’t ready for President Kamala Harris
The question burning at the center of American public opinion since the first presidential debate: If President Joe Biden steps down, who will replace him as the Democratic nominee for president of the United States? The most obvious answer appears to be the nation’s second-in-command, Vice President Kamala Harris. But her candidacy would face nearly […]
Project 2025 to rural America: Let them eat cake (without a nutrition label)
Project 2025 has been so much in the news lately that former President Donald Trump had to respond to the right-wing policy proposals, which the Heritage Foundation put together in hopes of implementation under another Trump presidency. “I know nothing about Project 2025. I have no idea who is behind it,” Trump said. “I disagree […]
Freedom isn’t free
You can’t understand the scope of 122,000 names until you see them on a wall. Stand at the foot of the National Monument to Freedom, recently dedicated by the Equal Justice Initiative in Montgomery, and you’ll see all of them, soaring three or four stories above your head. Each name, taken from the 1870 census, […]
Who’s behind the Arkansas Advocate and how long will it be be around
As the mid-point of 2024 passes, this seems a good time to address the big questions I frequently get asked. Folks I encounter as I attend meetings and events around Arkansas want to know where we get our funding and is it sustainable. Those are fair questions given the turmoil in the news ecosystem, what […]
The complete failure of Thursday night
There’s nothing quite like watching your democracy fail in real-time, with chyrons and everything. I’ve had some long moments in my life, but few seemed more elongated than the 90-minute debate between your great-grandpa and an aspiring authoritarian. As much as I was watching the debate, I was watching social media and came to realize […]
Why asbestos exposure may be an issue for Arkansas veterans, even today
Asbestos use was widespread in the U.S. military during the 20th century, reaching its peak during the Second World War WWII war effort, when large amounts of accessible materials were required to produce military equipment. The Navy, in particular, used the most asbestos compared to other military branches. Ships built before the 1980s were insulated […]
On this Memorial Day weekend, a civic prayer for the living and the dead
By the Sunday before Memorial Day my father would already have the flowers set out on the family graves. He would have called the flowers “decorations,” because being an original Ozarker he knew the holiday by its old name. The relatives whose remains were held safe by these grassy plots had been gone for years, […]
Brown v Board: Progress but still an unfulfilled promise
The promise of an equal education for Black students didn’t come to my Louisiana high school until my junior year in 1966, more than a decade after the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark Brown v. Board decision outlawing school segregation. As President Joe Biden and civil rights leaders marked the 70th anniversary of that historic ruling […]
A student reflects on going to high school in America’s fastest-shrinking city
This essay, published in partnership with the nonprofit education newsroom The 74, is part of a special series focused on the schools, students and educators of Pine Bluff. I am the product of a single-parent household. My mother is a God-fearing woman who raised me in the church. She’s always taught me to be thankful for […]