Political tactic of sliming veterans is contemptible

Leonard Pitts Jr.

I have no idea when reverence fled these shores. That it did, however, seems obvious.

American civility goes AWOL

I have no idea when reverence fled these shores. That it did, however, seems obvious.

Children of "abstinence only' policy

Leonard Pitts Jr.

So all we know for sure is that something happened in Gloucester, Mass.

Wearing the victim hat is becoming trendy

Someone is going to think this column is racist. That person -- he or she will be white -- will be unable to point to so much as a semicolon that suggests I believe in the native superiority of my, or any other, race. Rather, the accusation will be based in the fact that the column discusses race, period.

Today's newsroom is not for the chicken-hearted

And then somebody brought a chicken into the newsroom. A sign affixed to the bird -- a statue of a rooster in full crow -- said: "Brought in by a Santeria priest ... to help save our jobs. Make an offering."

Is Google making us stupid? Maybe

I had thought it was just me. In reading the cover story in the new issue of The Atlantic, however, I have learned that I am not alone. There are at least two of us who have forgotten how to read.

Still waiting to hear from the poor

A few words about white trash. I've always found that term offensive, its ubiquity notwithstanding. I have a number of reasons, but the most important is that it is a gratuitous insult to poor white people. Of course, they are one of the few groups remaining one can insult with relative impunity.

What do Rachael Ray, al-Qaida and Bugs Bunny have in common?

You've seen this gag in a hundred old cartoons: Cat turns to flee angry dog, steps on a rake instead, knocks himself silly. It's not sophisticated humor, but it is a visceral illustration of an abiding truth: Panic can make you hurt yourself.

On blacks and politics and Republicans and Democrats

By Leonard Pitts Jr.

This is for John, who wants me to answer a question.

Two questions, actually. John’s a reader in Port Orchard, Wash., who sent an e-mail the other day wondering: (1) "... why is it never mentioned that (Martin Luther King) was a Republican?" and, (2) given that Republicans were the party of abolition and that Democrats were the party of arch segregationists like George Wallace and Lester Maddox, "why do African-Americans support the Democrat (sic) Party?"

Proper credit for civil rights movement

By Leonard Pitts Jr.

You want to know who deserves credit for the victories of the civil rights movement? Mother Pollard.