Commentary
No country still uses an electoral college − except the US
The United States is the only democracy in the world where a presidential candidate can get the most popular votes and still lose the election. Thanks to the Electoral College, that has happened five times in the country’s history. The most recent examples are from 2000, when Al Gore won the popular vote but George […]
Meet the disrupter who is about to become Missouri’s next lieutenant governor
For more evidence of Missouri’s drift to the far side of MAGA madness, look no further than the race for lieutenant governor. In the primary election, Republican voters turned aside Lincoln Hough, the veteran senator and state budget expert. They rejected Holly Thompson Rehder, a state senator with a compelling biography and rock-solid conservative values. […]
If you were asked what does America stand for today, what would you say?
Throughout history, despite what it confronted, America has had leaders emerge whose words and actions helped shape its identity and its voice. How would you characterize America’s identity today? Where is America’s voice? At critical points in the history of this country, it has, more often than not, been resoundingly clear. But, today, it is […]
Missouri regulators targeting mislabeled THC products is a good start, but it’s not enough
Last month, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services announced that their enforcement of Gov. Mike Parson’s executive order on hemp products will focus on the misbranded THC products that pose a danger to children. At St. Louis Children’s Hospital, we thank the governor for his executive order and this important step forward in […]
I met an abortion opponent at the park. He said what the politicians won’t about Amendment 3
One of my 6-year-olds was on the swings when a man approached and handed me a flier from Missouri Right to Life PAC titled “10 Reasons to Oppose the Pro-Abortion Initiative Petition.” The man told me that if Amendment 3, the ballot initiative that would end Missouri’s current abortion ban, passes in November, women will […]
View politics with good old common sense: cowboy commentator Will Rogers’ wisdom for 2024
For those trying to come to terms with a particularly tumultuous election year full of deep divisions, ideological invective and personal insults, guidance can come from a historical figure whose insights into American politics still prove useful. As I chronicle in my new book, “Citizen Cowboy: Will Rogers And The American People,” Will Rogers stood […]
Our news media as fact checker and truth-teller
As both the internet and social media continue to be among the primary sources of information for a large percentage of the population, our news media must assume responsibility and perform more boldly and consistently the role of fact checker and truth-teller. A recent survey reveals that no single media outlet singularly gains or maintains […]
If courts fail to intervene, Missouri governor must halt the execution of Marcellus Williams
Missouri plans to execute Marcellus Williams on Sept. 24. If that occurs, he’d be the 100th person executed in our state since 1989, a shameful milestone, and another instance of executing a possibly innocent person. According to the Death Penalty Information Center, since 1973 at least 200 people sentenced to death in the United States […]
Voters’ ‘moral flexibility’ helps them defend politicians’ misinformation
Many voters are willing to accept misinformation from political leaders – even when they know it’s factually inaccurate. According to our research, voters often recognize when their parties’ claims are not based on objective evidence. Yet they still respond positively, if they believe these inaccurate statements evoke a deeper, more important “truth.” Our team conducted a […]
How Jay Ashcroft politicized the Missouri secretary of state’s office
His waning days as Missouri’s secretary of state have not been kind to Jay Ashcroft. Once considered a frontrunner to become governor, he finished a dismal third in the August Republican primary. A few weeks later, he was forced to certify Amendment 3, an initiative petition clearing the way for voters in November to decide […]
EPA slow to suspend toxic herbicide tied to lifelong health issues
Imagine an agricultural chemical so vial, so poisonous, so unsafe to human health that even the pesticide-friendly and herbicide-happy Environmental Protection Agency eventually couldn’t look the other way. That chemical is dimethyl tetrachloroterephthalate, also known as DCPA, sold under the brand name Dachtal. The herbicide is widely used on broccoli, cabbage, brussels sprouts, and onion […]
Two separate reports sound alarm on PBM practices that harm patients, consumers
Consumers should be alarmed by two independent reports that accuse pharmacy benefit managers, the influential middlemen in our health care system, of deploying anticompetitive pricing tactics that jeopardize patient care and undermine local pharmacies. The reports by the Federal Trade Commission and U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Accountability echoed concerns long voiced by consumers, doctors, pharmacists […]