Opinion

Alright all you Swifties. I have some bad news for you. When you go to the polls to vote for president on election day, no Taylor Swift hats or shirts will be allowed. This policy of cutting off poor Taylor’s paraphernalia will no doubt be in effect in a number of states across the country. Particularly in states where Republicans …

Our beautiful country is in a dilemma. For that matter, our beautiful planet, that glowing blue sphere floating in space, is in a dilemma. Chaos is everywhere. Some say we are on the eve of destruction. Some will even say that even if changes are made there is no coming back from the abyss. The world is doomed; or is …

Editor’s Note: February is Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month. The following commentary was submitted by the Union Parish DART program. In 2010, Congress declared February as Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month. It is a great reminder for DART, parents, caregivers and teachers to begin a conversation about preventing dating violence.We teach our children from a young age to be kind …

Man has marched off to war for thousands of years. It is almost as if going to war was a right of passage for young men. For many it was a volunteer decision to save a country from invasion or raise a person’s position in society or even to have an adrenalin rush of adventure by marching off to war. …

Take a moment to ponder: What’s that one thing that, when it happens, makes you want to shout, “Hallelujah – yes!” and fight the urge to do a fist pump? Sallie HollisSallie Rose Hollis is a native of Rocky Branch and retired Journalism Professer from Louisiana Tech University. Contact her at sallierose@mail.com. I’ll bet if you take a minute, you …

There is an enormous difference between someone who is broke and someone who is poor. Being broke refers to a current financial situation. Poor, however, is a state of mind.The person who is broke can rectify their circumstances by improving their finances. As a solution, they seek to change their behavior in ways that improve their finances. There are countless …

When I first took over as insurance commissioner in 1991, things were really in a mess. Regulation by the Louisiana insurance department was nonexistent. I shut down 40 insurance companies that were broke and never should have been licensed in the first place. I couldn’t imagine things being any worse. Well, I was wrong. Jim BrownJim Brown is a former …

Thomas FieldsThomas “Tuffy” Fields is an author and regular contributor to The Gazette. He can be reached by email at thelouisianaexplorer@yahoo.com. The world is in a perilous place. Not since the end of Desert Storm has the world been in such a state of war; a state that threatens to expand and grow to a world wide conflict. Already we …

State and industry officials are bullish on the prospect of Louisiana becoming a national leader in the practice of carbon capture and sequestration, basically capturing carbon dioxide that would otherwise contribute to atmospheric warming and injecting it deep into the ground.With huge economic development projects lining up — and with a full understanding of the state’s extreme vulnerability to rising …

I don’t normally write a sports column, but a few words would seem appropriate after Alabama’s football coach Nick Saban announced his retirement last week. Simply put, love him or hate him, Nick Saban was the nation’s best college coach in recent years, and maybe the best college coach ever. Jim Brown Now, many LSU football fans don’t want to hear …