Times Commentary - Chattanooga Times Free Press

Times Opinion: Trump is the anti-Trump

There is an alternate universe in which Donald Trump is the popular, successful president of his imagination.

By Jamelle Bouie / The New York Times March 11, 2026

AP Photo by Alex Brandon / President Donald Trump speaks with reporters before departing on Marine One from the South Lawn of the White House, Wednesday, March 11, 2026, in Washington.

Times Opinion: Tennessee patients deserve quality eye care – not shortcuts

As an ophthalmologist in Knoxville, I have spent over 15 years caring for patients' vision – often at the most vulnerable moments of their lives.

By Paul Pruett March 10, 2026

AP Photo by Andrew Harnik / Dr. Mark Whitten performs a short eye surgery procedure on patient Christianne Krupinsky in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2017, to insert a Raindrop inlay, a disc implanted in the cornea to reshape it for better close-up focus. This new kind of eye implant corrects presbyopia, the need for reading glasses that eventually hits all of us, usually starting in the 40s.

Times Opinion: To understand Iran, start its history in the right place

In an effort to justify his war on Iran, President Donald Trump turned to history.

By John M. Crisp / Tribune News Service (TNS) March 10, 2026

Photo by Mowj via Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images/TNS / Plumes of smoke rise following reported explosions allegedly near the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran, close to Sepah Square, in Tehran on March 1, 2026, after Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed a day earlier in a large U.S. and Israeli attack, prompting a new wave of retaliatory missile strikes from Iran.

Times Opinion: Cleaning up after Tariff Man — Trump can’t get away with second set of illegal tariffs

Having been ruled illegal by the U.S. Supreme Court, the damage of Donald Trump's foolish tariffs is being unwound.

By The Editorial Board / New York Daily News (TNS) March 10, 2026

Photo by Anna Moneymaker via Getty Images/TNS / U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a press briefing held at the White House on Feb. 20, 2026, in Washington, D.C. The U.S. Supreme Court today ruled against Trump's use of emergency powers to implement international trade tariffs, a central portion of the administration's core economic policy.

Community Voice: Hamilton County Commission should keep later meeting times

For many years, the Hamilton County Commission has held meetings on Wednesdays at 9:30 a.m. This means many regular people like you and me with 8-to-5 jobs can't attend and participate in local government decision-making live without having to miss work or arrange time off.

By Michaela Winter March 9, 2026

Staff photo by Abby White / Hamilton county residents flood the Hamilton County Commission. The Hamilton County Planning Commission held their weekly meeting on Monday, September 8, 2025, where they passed the Plan Hamilton growth plan.

Times Opinion: Firing Kristi Noem — So long to a secretary who made a mockery of our government

President Donald Trump had good cause to fire Kristi Noem last week from being homeland security secretary, giving her the ax via social media post, with Trump announcing that she was being replaced by Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin, apparently without bothering to inform her first.

By The Editorial Board / New York Daily News (TNS) March 9, 2026

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem testifies during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on oversight of the Department of Homeland Security, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on March 3, 2026. (Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images/TNS)

Times Opinion: Diseases don’t care about politics. Vaccines save Tennesseans’ lives

As a family physician in Tennessee, I have the privilege of caring for people at every stage of life, from newborns to grandparents, often all within the same family.

By Katherine Hall March 8, 2026

Staff photo by Matt Hamilton / A box of measles vaccine doses at Access Family Pharmacy on Tuesday, March 25, 2025.

Times Opinion: America second, Israel first?

It was bad enough that Donald Trump hasn't been able to explain clearly why he yet again felt he had to attack Iran, and why now.

By Andreas Kluth / Bloomberg Opinion (TNS) March 8, 2026

Photo by Jack Guez via AFP/Getty Images/TNS / Traffic moves past the giant screens installed along the highway displaying the national flags of U.S. and Israel, in Tel Aviv on March 4, 2026. The Israeli military said it detected multiple missile barrages from Iran on March 4, as well as launches from Lebanon, triggering air raid sirens across the country.

Times Opinion: The human cost of gun violence in America

I love coaching basketball. Being around young people and helping them become the best versions of themselves is incredibly gratifying. But the job also offers a glimpse into how fragile it can all be. One injury, one bad break, a change in circumstances can shift everything for a player in a single moment.

By Steve Kerr / Los Angeles Times (TNS) March 7, 2026

Photo by Netflix via TNS / Parents Bryan and Cindy Muehlberger read notes their daughter Gracie wrote to her future self in "All the Empty Rooms."

Times Opinion: Donald Trump’s tariff refund game to deny, delay and defy the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court ruled that the $164.7 billion in tariffs collected under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) was unlawful.

By Mark Pirie and Christopher Tang / Chicago Tribune (TNS) March 7, 2026

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