To play, or not to play

There is an old story about a man asking the newspaper opinion-writer what he was writing about.

latest 20

John Brummett

Her Arkansas heart

Democrat-Gazette onlineI didn't know Gov. Sarah Sanders cared.

yesterday 4

John Brummett

Authoritarianism redux

The headline on this column in Sunday's edition said, "Thus lies authoritarianism."

previous day 10

John Brummett

Thus lies authoritarianism

You can't write every time about the outrage of Donald Trump and the threat to democracy that he suggests by his rhetoric, behavior, practices and...

08.09.2025 5

John Brummett

OPINION | JOHN BRUMMETT: The plight of the farmers

Hallie Shoffner, the farmer's daughter and forced liquidator of her family farm who is championing farmers' interests as a Democratic candidate for...

05.09.2025 3

John Brummett

Back when people cared

Democrat-Gazette onlineState Rep. Jodie Mahony was arguing to the House State Agencies Committee--it seemed not seriously, but sarcastically--that...

04.09.2025 5

John Brummett

Bubba holds forth

"Moderate, my [blank]," Bubba McCoy said by way of hello.

03.09.2025 3

John Brummett

Booze with a side of politics

She didn't drink but she'd run across five boxes of booze she'd like to bring over.

01.09.2025 6

John Brummett

Idiocy on flag-burning

They say Donald Trump is a master of political manipulation by which he keeps the nation's short-term attention span diverted by a barrage of...

29.08.2025 3

John Brummett

Developments in American dysfunction

Democrat-Gazette onlineIt proves harder by week if not day to rank the dire threats to the country raised by news developments.

28.08.2025 3

John Brummett

Essense of retribution

They should have listened to me though I did not know what I was talking about. I am more proud than embarrassed—though I am some of both in...

27.08.2025 4

John Brummett

The right math for Dems

I'm moderate as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore.

25.08.2025 2

John Brummett

OPINION | JOHN BRUMMETT: Dems on hard road ahead

The state Democratic Party faced an interesting choice last weekend for a new chairperson.For

22.08.2025 3

John Brummett

OPINION | JOHN BRUMMETT: Nostalgia not all it’s cracked up to be

Democrat-Gazette onlineIn some ways it would be wonderful to go back 60 years to 1965.On

21.08.2025 5

John Brummett

On core American values

We could rewrite the Ten Commandments and post that rewrite in the public schools and it could be perfectly fine with the U.S.

20.08.2025 3

John Brummett

Season of hope and horror

This is the best of seasons and worst of seasons.It's

18.08.2025 7

John Brummett

Boondoggle-or-bust

Based on how I once understood politics--meaning at a time early this century when the phrase "President Donald Trump" would have been laughable--this...

15.08.2025 5

John Brummett

Seeking new ‘Sister Souljah moment’

Democrat-Gazette onlineAs a Democratic candidate for president in 1992, Bill Clinton came out against Black people setting aside a week to shoot white...

14.08.2025 4

John Brummett

OPINION | JOHN BRUMMETT: Look behind the curtain

It was a classic demonstration of brazen grandstanding by one of the world's great practitioners, Gov.

13.08.2025 2

John Brummett

The problem of ‘they’

We're inching toward another inevitable period of government-shutdown brinkmanship, if not on this occasion an actual plunge over the cliff.But

11.08.2025 4

John Brummett

Run over by a church bus

Today's eventual subject will be the blatant unconstitutionality of making a law, now enjoined by a federal judge, mandating that the Ten Commandments...

08.08.2025 3

John Brummett

State Dems show signs of life

Democrat-Gazette onlineWe saw a flurry of Arkansas Democratic activity in recent days.

07.08.2025 4

John Brummett

Respect free expression

The time will come over the next month or so for Gov.

06.08.2025 4

John Brummett

Err on side of competition

The Arkansas Legislature doesn't need even to be remotely bipartisan to get things done.

04.08.2025 4

John Brummett

Do-gooders on heroic quest

How hard is it for the people of Arkansas to get merely a chance to vote on a law they propose by their own initiative? And just how confounding are...

01.08.2025 7

John Brummett

Democratic brand in need of redesign

Democrat-Gazette onlineThe Ford Pinto was a subcompact car in the 1970s that was unattractive and had a problem with catching fire on rear impact...

31.07.2025 8

John Brummett

LEARNS questions abound

Leading state policymakers praise the LEARNS Act while pooh-poohing concerns about unexpected levels of participation in this first full operational...

30.07.2025 9

John Brummett

Re-entry idea a solid option

A couple of people in or around what I'll call the corrections community--not that they're in prison, but that they're in the incarceration...

28.07.2025 3

John Brummett

Love, Arkansas-style

Note to readers: The Howard County Elberta peaches showed up on the porch a little early this year. But it's never too early to rerun this ode to them...

25.07.2025 5

John Brummett

Frank as a friend

The column Sunday came off harsher toward the late Gov.

24.07.2025 2

John Brummett

If it walks like a duck …

In media and entertainment, nothing once big is big anymore.

23.07.2025 2

John Brummett

White ahead of his time

The voters get to decide what to teach kids in school, and they do that through the kinds of politicians they elect.That's

21.07.2025 5

John Brummett

Atop the balance beam

Let me take a shot at a candid, paraphrased summation of the welcomed announcement Tuesday in a YouTube video by 37-year-old farmer advocate Hallie...

18.07.2025 2

John Brummett

Health-care deserts coming

Democrat-Gazette onlineArkansas health care in poor rural areas, which account for the preponderance of acreage in the state, is reported to be...

17.07.2025 1

John Brummett

Coordinated counterattack

The Arkansas Constitution is a jumbled mess.

16.07.2025 7

John Brummett

Bubba goes on a tear

Bubba McCoy answered the phone, and I asked whether he'd had a good July 4 holiday.

14.07.2025 3

John Brummett

Practical compassion

It's not as simple as right versus left.

11.07.2025 10

John Brummett

OPINION | JOHN BRUMMETT: Prison moving forward, of course

All the big shots--the governor and leading legislators--profess a terse confidence.

10.07.2025 2

John Brummett

Autocracy takes root

It's the press' job to irritate.

09.07.2025 4

John Brummett

We learn from critics

A columnist is blessed if even one bright and serious reader takes time to analyze and critique his work in a careful, detailed, informed and...

07.07.2025 4

John Brummett

OPINION | JOHN BRUMMETT: How the sausage is made

Donald Trump's "big, beautiful bill" to run up the deficit and debt by trillions and kick millions off Medicaid and food stamps passed in the Senate...

04.07.2025 8

John Brummett

OPINION | JOHN BRUMMETT: Caught in a tiresome cycle

Democrat-Gazette onlineThe U.S. Senate meets all night and through the next day and does nothing except argue and preen amid Democratic procedural...

03.07.2025 7

John Brummett

OPINION | JOHN BRUMMETT: The end of presumption?

Let us not lose sight of the issue.

02.07.2025 4

John Brummett

Catching up with Chris

I sent a text to Chris Jones, the Democratic gubernatorial nominee in 2022, saying I hoped we could talk about my hearing of his possibly running...

30.06.2025 3

John Brummett

Dropping f-bombs

First, let's talk a little about the "f-bomb," which isn't what it used to be.

27.06.2025 5

John Brummett

The method of madness

Democrat-Gazette onlineIs Donald Trump megalomaniacally mad, or does he pretend to be that on television and thereby apply tactical madness as his...

26.06.2025 10

John Brummett

Ineptitude on parade

The national political condition is such that Democrats could be rendered incapable of winning the presidency or the U.S.

25.06.2025 5

John Brummett

Arrows aloft again

Readers still say they like the arrows.

23.06.2025 10

John Brummett

OPINION | JOHN BRUMMETT: A letter of relevance

I'd like to say that the letter to the editor was the best thing on the Voices page Sunday except for my column.

20.06.2025 5

John Brummett

Another excuse for partisan smears

In American politics as currently diseased, cold-blooded murder can be less a cause for human grieving than a cause for partisan blame games.In

19.06.2025 10

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To play, or not to play

John Brummett

Her Arkansas heart

John Brummett

Authoritarianism redux

John Brummett

Thus lies authoritarianism

John Brummett

OPINION | JOHN BRUMMETT: The plight of the farmers

John Brummett

Back when people cared

John Brummett

Bubba holds forth

John Brummett

Booze with a side of politics

John Brummett

Idiocy on flag-burning

John Brummett

Developments in American dysfunction

John Brummett

Essense of retribution

John Brummett

The right math for Dems

John Brummett

OPINION | JOHN BRUMMETT: Dems on hard road ahead

John Brummett

OPINION | JOHN BRUMMETT: Nostalgia not all it’s cracked up to be

John Brummett

On core American values

John Brummett

Season of hope and horror

John Brummett

Boondoggle-or-bust

John Brummett

Seeking new ‘Sister Souljah moment’

John Brummett

OPINION | JOHN BRUMMETT: Look behind the curtain

John Brummett

The problem of ‘they’

John Brummett

Run over by a church bus

John Brummett

State Dems show signs of life

John Brummett

Respect free expression

John Brummett

Err on side of competition

John Brummett

Do-gooders on heroic quest

John Brummett

Democratic brand in need of redesign

John Brummett

LEARNS questions abound

John Brummett

Re-entry idea a solid option

John Brummett

Love, Arkansas-style

John Brummett

Frank as a friend

John Brummett

If it walks like a duck …

John Brummett

White ahead of his time

John Brummett

Atop the balance beam

John Brummett

Health-care deserts coming

John Brummett

Coordinated counterattack

John Brummett

Bubba goes on a tear

John Brummett

Practical compassion

John Brummett

OPINION | JOHN BRUMMETT: Prison moving forward, of course

John Brummett

Autocracy takes root