NATIONAL COLUMNS

Froma Harrop: The problem With Twitter

Posted 10/31/2013 in National Columns

Leonard Pitts: A little praise for the dull and competent

Posted 10/26/2013 in National Columns

Let us now praise competence. The praise is overdue. Competence is like the dull, but reliable husband a woman spurns for some sexy stranger with a flashy car. Then she finds out her new fellow has the manners of a pig, the depth of a wading pool and absolutely no interest in helping her study for her real estate license. Suddenly, dull and reliable don't seem nearly so bad.

Kathleen Parker: The White House Comedy Club

Posted 10/26/2013 in National Columns

While the nation's attention has been riveted on the Keystone Congress, the executive branch was busy developing its own comedy routine. Picture the cast (you know the characters) shrugging their shoulders in unison: "Who, me?"

Froma Harrop: What makes art valuable, really?

Posted 10/26/2013 in National Columns

The amazing story of Pei-Shen Qian has given the art world pause. A struggling Chinese immigrant, Qian painted fake works attributed to the stars of abstract expressionism -- Jackson Pollock, Barnett Newman, Robert Motherwell.

Behind every great woman

Posted 10/24/2013 in National Columns

Most Americans of a certain age grew up hearing the adage: "Behind every great man is a great woman," or some variation thereof. The meaning is clear, though its origin less so.

Race-hustling has its costs

Posted 10/24/2013 in National Columns

How one state conquered partisan chaos

Posted 10/22/2013 in National Columns

California has found a formula for ending the partisan warfare that once paralyzed its government: Get rid of one of the parties, in this case, the Republican. The state's famously dysfunctional government now hums with calm efficiency.

The crux of Ted Cruz

Posted 10/21/2013 in National Columns

Two things are often said in this town: "A day is a year in politics." And, "It's all about 2014." Combined, the two statements mean that much can happen between now and the midterm elections next year, when Republicans hope to hold the House and gain the Senate -- and Democrats intend to hold the Senate and recover the House.

Leonard Pitts: Tea Party's true believers thrive on rejection

Posted 10/19/2013 in National Columns

Last week, hours before a historic default, Congress finally stopped playing chicken with the world's largest economy and ended the government shutdown. So . . . hurray, right?

Susan Estrich: Goodbye, affirmative action

Posted 10/19/2013 in National Columns

If Tuesday's argument before the Supreme Court is any indication, a Michigan law prohibiting "preferential treatment" is on its way to being upheld by the United States Supreme Court. The law was held unconstitutional last year by a panel of judges on the United States Court of Appeals because, in their view, the primarily white electorate was taking away from minorities the benefits of an admissions policy that supported racial diversity in the state college and university system.

Charles Krauthammer: Redskins and reason

Posted 10/18/2013 in National Columns

Froma Harrop: Fashion can't be tech's new big thing

Posted 10/17/2013 in National Columns

Charles Krauthammer: The way out

Posted 10/12/2013 in National Columns

For all the hyped indignation over GOP "anarchism," there has been remarkable media reticence about the president's intransigence. He has refused to negotiate anything unless the Republicans fully fund the government and raise the debt ceiling - unconditionally.