Commentary
Don’t pay too much attention to guesses about U.S. Supreme Court ruling on abortion rights
Predictions about Supreme Court rulings are often not correct
In Year Two, no more Mr. Nice Biden, please
The president has less than 10 months to push through Build Back Better and to finally get voting rights over the goal line. No more Mr. Nice Biden. It’s time to get it done.
Louisiana redistricting 2022: Welcome to Vegas, Opie
Throughout the state, communities will argue their political boundaries shouldn’t change so that they can retain their voting strength. But what if that strength comes at the cost of weakening someone else?
Vaccine mandates have always faced resistance and saved lives
Vaccine hesitancy is not new. It has been around for as long as there have been vaccines. It is born out of the most basic and rational thought one can have about life and health: “Do the benefits outweigh the risks?”
History gives Treasurer John Schroder a fighting chance in the 2023 governor’s race
The field for Louisiana governor could feature three Republican statewide elected officials. Of the three positions, only treasurers have demonstrated a recent history of ascending politically.
What would Martin Luther King think about America in 2022?
It’s certainly no coincidence that debate over the most significant piece of voting rights legislation in more than a generation is coming to a head as we celebrate the holiday dedicated to the United States’ preeminent civil rights icon. While it’s a stretch to call the prevailing politically hued conjecture over the John Lewis Voting […]
CROWN Act resistance shows how far Louisiana has to go after Plessy pardon
Three versions of a proposal to prohibit discrimination against natural hairstyles failed in the Louisiana Legislature. Two sponsors say they'll bring their bills back this year.
Jan. 6 succeeded. Here’s what’s next.
If the point of the Jan. 6 insurrection was to establish that a significant portion of the country is done with democracy, it succeeded. The attack on the U.S. Capitol one year ago by violent supporters of former President Donald Trump — whose lie that the 2020 election was stolen from him was the fuel […]
River diversions are a proven option for rebuilding Louisiana’s vanishing coast
A new year is upon is, one full of new promise and possibilities, and hopefully an end to the pandemic. Mardi Gras is right around the corner, and we are ready to celebrate! We don’t have to worry about the potential for damaging winds, storm surge and floodwaters for months. Right? Well, not quite. Many […]
More than 30 years later, some things haven’t changed in Louisiana
It would be great to tell you how much things have changed at the Capitol over three decades. But this doesn’t feel like the right moment to take a trip down nostalgia lane. Not when Louisiana still finds itself ranked at or near the bottom of so many indicators of progress
Why Desmond Tutu matters more than ever
One day after Christmas – in an event that seems particularly on-brand for 2021 – the world lost one of its living saints, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, whose work in South Africa helped bring about the peaceful dismantling of the institutionally racist apartheid. What would be even more tragic than his death is if we also […]
What Kwanzaa means for Black Americans
Frank Dobson, Vanderbilt University for The Conversation On Dec. 26, millions throughout the world’s African community will start weeklong celebrations of Kwanzaa. There will be daily ceremonies with food, decorations and other cultural objects, such as the kinara, which holds seven candles. At many Kwanzaa ceremonies, there is also African drumming and dancing. It is […]