HOYT PURVIS: Could 2018 rival 'year that rocked world?'
This is proving to be a chaotic and tumultuous year. We're not yet to the half-way mark of 2018, but each day brings compounding of the confounding.
This is proving to be a chaotic and tumultuous year. We're not yet to the half-way mark of 2018, but each day brings compounding of the confounding.
A successful foreign policy cannot be formulated or implemented in a vacuum -- domestically or internationally.
Truth, it has been said with considerable justification, is the first casualty of war.
Forty years ago at this time, the U.S. Senate was engaged in a lengthy and heated debate.
Many of us have spent time in recent days viewing coverage of the winter Olympics from South Korea.
If you haven't seen The Post, it is a film I recommend.
A few weeks ago I was on Capitol Hill in Washington, visiting congressional offices to urge continued support for a program I believe is highly important and w…
For many years around this time, I have written about books -- notable, interesting, subjects of special significance, usually recent publications.
The Trump administration and the Republican congressional majority have had very limited legislative success. However, there are actions engendered by governme…
One year ago, America woke to the dawn of a new era in national politics.
War is the theme of our time.
I've been watching television a lot in recent days.
Blowback is a term applied to an unforeseen and unwanted effect, result or set of repercussions. Normally, we associate it with actions or policies in internat…
As the nation continues to stumble and bumble along a path that might lead to a reasonable, manageable health-care system, the issue is consistently dominated …
Most of us have memories and recollections we associate with the Fourth of July: family gatherings, fireworks, picnics and cookouts, baseball, swimming, fishin…
The domestic political turmoil over Russian interference in our politics is in itself an indication of the reality of globalization in this cyber age, complete…
Look, I'm going to tell you what's really happening or what it really means.
While President Trump is getting a civics lesson, with a reminder there are three branches of government (and an informal fourth branch -- the media), he ackno…
When I was a student in France in the early 1960s, I spent time visiting those areas that had been the battleground for World War I. It was an educational and …
Early on a sunny afternoon -- March 20, 1954 -- along with some of my junior high buddies, I walked a couple of miles from downtown Jonesboro to the gym at wha…
Leaks and loose lips have characterized our political communication at various points in our history, though seldom to the extent we are currently experiencing.
Leadership and leadership style among public officials are highly relevant topics for study and analysis in these days of political transition and turmoil. Exe…
Later this week we will witness the inauguration of Donald Trump as the 45th president.
There are many uncertainties about the directions foreign policy will take under a President Trump.
At this time of year, I customarily write a column about books -- notable, interesting, subjects of special significance, usually recent volumes.
A few hours after President-elect Trump met with outgoing President Obama at the White House last Thursday, another event took place a few blocks away.
As a youngster growing up in Jonesboro, I heard a lot about the city’s church war of the 1930s. Some of it seemed hard to believe, but the then-small town in N…
When this campaign finally ends, there will be lots of post-mortem examination of the role of the media. Indeed, that topic has been at the center of controver…
Has there ever been a presidential campaign like this one?
The unprecedented nature of the presidential campaign has many dimensions and sub-themes. The campaign has already been marked by a series of extraordinary dev…
Party political conventions are intended to be packaged and presented as entertainingly as possible. We saw this in the two recently completed events. Their pr…
Presidential election cycles and major political activities often utilize new technologies and techniques. Sometimes the technologies themselves can figure sig…
The horrific massacre in Orlando brought us to an intersection of issues and controversies.
Although the presidential campaign is capturing most of public and media attention these days, there are significant developments internationally -- not all of…
Breaking news ... Trump is humble.
Certain certainties have long characterized American international economic and security policies. Pillars of those policies have been the North Atlantic Treat…
What this country needs is strong leadership.
Standing in line at my voting precinct on primary day, I heard comments from two people in front of me. "I don't know if this is where we are supposed to vote,…
As the so-called SEC primary date of March 1 approaches, it brings reflections on primaries past and the whole primary system.
Foreign policy and international issues tend to become significant subjects in presidential campaigns, although many experts anticipated the current campaign w…
Arkansas has produced a disproportionate share of superb politicians. In the very top rank of that group stands Dale Bumpers, former governor and U.S. senator …
The downward spiral in the quality of the national political dialogue continues to accelerate. The rhetoric is more insipid than inspiring.
I ask you, "Is the media biased?"
In the final months of 1979, a series of events with major international consequences occurred. Among the most significant of those was the hostage-taking by I…
There is a lot of talk these days about religious liberty.
That Donald Trump's campaign is a phenomenon is undeniable.
Congress is in the midst of its traditional August recess, five weeks of no congressional sessions in Washington. But politics, particularly the scrambling amo…
A few weeks ago, I traveled to South Africa.
It is hard to believe that it was 48 years ago that I had lunch with Sen. J. William Fulbright and Lee Williams, his administrative assistant, in the senators'…
Just when it seemed those currently in Congress would adhere to rigid party positions on every issue, we see some interesting diversions from the narrow path.