Free Press Commentary - Chattanooga Times Free Press

Ron Hart: Skip college and read ‘Beowulf’ on your own

In America it has always been an article of faith that one should get a college degree.

By Ron Hart April 23, 2026

Staff photo by Troy Stolt / Students walk through campus at UTC between classes on Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2021 in Chattanooga, Tenn. UTC, along with other public universities in Tenn., was forced to lift mask mandates for students this week after Gov. Bill Lee signed into law a package of bills designed to rein in public health measures that some government entities had put in place to control the spread of COVID-19.

Free Press Opinion: Why aren’t Americans working as hard as they used to?

I came across a statistic the other day that goes against the intuition of practically everyone in the U.S. who has a job: Americans are working less than they did in the 1950s and '60s. How is this possible, when we all feel chained to our desks or our phones?

By Allison Schrager April 20, 2026

Staff photo by Matt Hamilton / Joseph Pahuamba practices stick welding at the PIE Center in Cleveland on Wednesday, October 2, 2024.

Free Press Opinion: The good news about economic mobility in America

If you read the headlines, it's easy to be discouraged about the American economy. If you follow the trend lines, it's difficult not to be more optimistic.

By The Editorial Board / Las Vegas Review-Journal (TNS) April 18, 2026

Photo by Justin Sullivan via Getty Images/TNS / In an aerial view, construction workers build a home at a new housing development on July 1, 2025, in Hercules, California.

Free Press Opinion: The Obamacare subsidy cliff that never materialized

It was just six months ago that Senate Democrats shut down the government rather than address the failures of Obamacare.

By The Editorial Board / Las Vegas Review-Journal (TNS) April 16, 2026

Photo by Anna Moneymaker via Getty Images/TNS / U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) points to a display during a news conference following a weekly Democratic policy luncheon on Capitol Hill on Oct. 15, 2025, in Washington, D.C.

Ron Hart: Eric Swalwell, the great white hope of the Democrat Party, flames out

Eric Swalwell was forced out of the California governor's race, then his congressional seat, when one of the worst-kept secrets in politics, his sexual assaults, came to light. Whoever takes his seat best Lysol it first.

By Ron Hart April 16, 2026

AP Photo by Rich Pedroncelli / California gubernatorial candidate, Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., appears at a town hall meeting in Sacramento, Calif., Tuesday, April 7, 2026.

Free Press Opinion: Kamala Harris and the sad state of Democratic wannabes

Just when you thought Democrats couldn't sink any lower, along comes retread Kamala Harris to kiss the ring of Al Sharpton and adopt a fake mafia boss accent to tease another presidential run.

By Joe Battenfeld / Boston Herald (TNS) April 15, 2026

Photo by Timothy A. Clary via AFP/Getty Images/TNS / Former U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris speaks as the Rev. Al Sharpton listens at the National Action Network (NAN) convention in New York on April 10, 2026.

Free Press Opinion: The real cost of closing Tennessee primaries

Since 2009, Tennessee lawmakers have introduced 22 bills to close the state's primary elections to independent voters. None have passed. This year, they might finally succeed.

By Shannon Rasmussen and Jeremy Gruber April 14, 2026

Staff photo by Abby White / Voting booths set up for the City Election at the Glenwood Community Center. Chattanooga held its Mayoral and City Council election on Tuesday, March 4, 2025, where Chattanooga residents could go to their district's voting site, such as Avondale Community Center and Glenwood Community Center, to cast their vote.

Free Press Opinion: Democrats again attack religion

Democrats are again trying to pry some of the religious vote from Republicans, but their actions expose the insincerity of their approach.

By Cal Thomas April 14, 2026

Photo by Mark Wilson via Getty Images / Mother Loraine Marie Maguire, (C), of the Little Sisters of the Poor, walks down the steps of the US Supreme Court after arguments, March 23, 2016 in Washington, DC. The high court heard arguments in Little Sisters v. Burwell, which will examine whether the governments new health care regulation will require the Little Sisters to change their healthcare plan, to other services that violate Catholic teaching.

Free Press Opinion: No intention of making this budget right

Presidential budget requests are rarely to be taken seriously.

By The Editorial Board / Bloomberg Opinion (TNS) April 13, 2026

Photo by Samuel Corum via Getty Images/TNS / U.S. President Donald Trump, joined by Republican lawmakers, signs the One, Big Beautiful Bill Act into law during an Independence Day military family picnic on the South Lawn of the White House on July 4, 2025, in Washington, D.C.

Free Press Opinion: By all means, let the war crimes trials begin!

The Left and some on the Right went crazy over President Donald Trump's recent tweet.

By Victor Davis Hanson / Tribune Content Agency April 12, 2026

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