Columnists - The Durango Herald

We need to make our free markets moral again

Suddenly economic populism is all the rage. In his now famous monologue on Fox News, Tucker Carlson argued that American elites are using ruthless market forces to enrich themselv...

DATE: Jan 15, 2019 | CATEGORY: David Brooks

This is what actual border security looks like

ON THE ISRAEL-LEBANON BORDER – Other than the Korean Peninsula’s DMZ, there’s probably no border in the world as fraught with the potential for sudden violence as this one, known locally as ...

DATE: Jan 14, 2019 | CATEGORY: Guest Columns

A brush with greatness? Not for snow-top drivers

With all the recent winter weather, we see many a car driving along with snow piled on the roof. What’s the purpose of this? Is it to show that it snowed? Or do these drivers have no garage ...

DATE: Jan 14, 2019 | CATEGORY: Action Line

My best books of 2018 are only indirectly about Trump

As we bid goodbye to 2018, the year of the oh-so-many Trump books, I proudly admit I have read exactly none of them. Not the Wolff book (although I did read the excerpts), not the...

DATE: Jan 13, 2019 | CATEGORY: Mike Littwin

Soaking the very rich makes good economic sense

I have no idea how well Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez will perform as a member of Congress. But her election is already serving a valuable purpose. The thought of having a young, teleg...

DATE: Jan 13, 2019 | CATEGORY: Paul Krugman

I hope state legislators remember bipartisanship

I recently ran unsuccessfully as the independent candidate for the state House here in House District 59. I’ve been asked why I’ve taken so long to write about my campaign. For me...

DATE: Jan 13, 2019 | CATEGORY: Guest Columns

What to expect when you travel in 2019

If you like crowds, personalized travel experiences or talking to machines, then you’re going to love traveling in 2019. That’s because “overtourism,” personalization and artific...

DATE: Jan 13, 2019 | CATEGORY: The Travel Troubleshooter

County’s district planning process is just a sham

Volunteering is usually a good thing. It helps other people and it helps you. There are so many needs in this area and if you have the expertise to help, why shouldn’t you volunte...

DATE: Jan 12, 2019 | CATEGORY: Guest Columns

Place, not party, defines my service

The 2019 session of the Colorado General Assembly has begun. I am in my ninth year in this body. I have spent my first years and years six through eight in the majority. In that t...

DATE: Jan 12, 2019 | CATEGORY: From the State House

Trampling barriers: Mancos artist’s bronze sculpture honors fall of Berlin Wall

President George H.W. Bush helped reunite East and West Germany when the Berlin Wall fell, and a Mancos artist cast a 7-ton bronze sculpture commemorating the event. For 28 years,...

DATE: Jan 12, 2019 | CATEGORY: Gulliford's Travels

This asterism is a highlight of the winter sky

Greetings, Stargazers. I have to say that comet 46P/Wirtanen last month exceeded my expectations. By that, I simply mean I could see it with my naked eye, even if it was just bare...

DATE: Jan 12, 2019 | CATEGORY: What's up in Durango Skies

Resolve to be curious about the natural world

We’re almost to mid-January. How are those New Year’s resolutions going? I’m still vacillating over whether or not to actually make any resolutions. I have a number of goals for ...

DATE: Jan 11, 2019 | CATEGORY: Durango Nature Studies