Clay S. Jenkinson

Sober reflections for presidential aspirants.

Our resident humanities scholar reflects on a nation fundamentally divided, again.

The great dams of the early 20th century have outlasted their questionable usefulness, declining in their power output, providing unpredictable sources of water and doing massive environmental damage.

There are no easy solutions to America’s growing immigration challenges, but Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and New York Mayor Eric Adams should be recognized for the decisive action they have taken.

The primary is often the only real contest in choosing those who will represent us. Closed party primaries are unrepresentative and undemocratic, and they disenfranchise more than half of the voting public: independents.

State lawmakers are determined to host a convention to rewrite the state’s constitution, but they have not agreed on which aspects they want to address or who should be in attendance.

The Silicon Valley billionaires that are trying to build a utopian city in Solano County, Calif., won a key court decision. A judge refused landowners’ request to throw out a lawsuit accusing them of price fixing.

High-capacity magazines and cheap devices that turn semi-automatic firearms into machine guns have already raised the shooting fatality rate. Targeting them legislatively could save hundreds or thousands of lives per year.

Many immigrants to the U.S. are fleeing violence and persecution. They are motivated to put down roots and become part of their new communities, but they need support.

Fireworks consumption skyrocketed during the pandemic as public displays were canceled and Americans were stuck at home. Now the big pyrotechnic shows are back, and sales have plummeted to pre-pandemic levels.