Opinion

America’s populist movements, on both the left and right, are wedded to the notion that our past was better than our present. This nostalgia takes many forms. Some of it is a longing for a time without cell phones, internet or social media. For others, it is a wistful desire to see stronger cultural institutions, such as families, churches, unions and civic groups. Most of us can sympathize with this feeling, even if we don’t wish to return to the past. This longing can even be constructive if we work to create new institutions that survive in the 21st century.

Trumpism, it turns out, is contagious.

When campaign finance deadlines hit, journalists dig into the reports for the key numbers: who raised the most and how much do they have left in their coffers? But there are tons of smaller interesting details to be found as well.

Last week, I shared with you some of the most common inquiries I have received from readers over the past 25 years about the writing of humor.

We’ve got a happy camper on our hands.

Hearts to the Daily Journal for the wonderful article that you published about Trafalgar Christian Church’s 175th Anniversary. It was another one of our special blessings this year.

On Sunday, June 18, four people who paid $250,000 each climbed into a 22-foot-long metal tube, with a 4-day oxygen supply, to travel 2.5 miles below the surface of the Atlantic Ocean and see the remains of the Titanic.

Americans of my generation were born in the early years of the Cold War, and, as the word “cold” suggests, our time in history seemed frozen. Yes, maps of the world had to be altered periodically to accommodate revolutions and other political upheavals in Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and Latin America, but mostly the world was divided between the Soviet bloc and its allies and Western-oriented democracies led by the U.S.

Now that it’s settled down to just a low simmer, the revolt by members of the ultra-conservative Freedom Caucus in the US House of Representatives has mostly left the front pages. But it would be fair to say that it hasn’t been resolved — merely cooled for the moment. Since it could flare up again at any time, it’s worth taking a step back and looking at why, in the long run, the House might be better off because of it.

One of several provisions in HEA 1447 requires schools to establish a procedure that allows Indiana residents to request the removal of obscene or harmful to minors materials from school libraries.