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Thank you, Dolly Parton, for your music, good humor and public service

Columns

Since imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, I am told, I was not surprised to hear Dolly Parton say in an interview that she once entered a “Dolly Parton lookalike” drag queen contest in Los Angeles unannounced — and lost. Parton, who died Tuesday at age 80, enjoyed telling that story, which illustrated, among other things, that it wasn’t always easy to be Dolly, even for Dolly. “Nobody applauded,” she said in a May 2025 radio interview, “like a little trickle that was probably David, my hairdresser.” Go figure. Maybe she looked too much like the real thing ...

Twilight’s last gleaming

Columns

There is a point in the decline of republics when the problem is no longer that government breaks its own laws. Governments will always behave unlawfully. The deeper problem comes when the constitutional machinery designed to prevent those acts stops functioning — when spending becomes detached from arithmetic, presidential power becomes detached from law and Congress and the courts become detached from the Constitution. That’s where America is today. The fiscal warning could hardly be clearer. The government’s debt has now passed $40 trillion. The Congressional Budget Office ...

Woman weighs peritoneal dialysis against hemodialysis

Columns

DEAR DR. ROACH: My daughter, age 44, has had chronic kidney disease since she was 10 years old. She had a renal transplant at 23, then another at 32. The second graft started gradually failing a year back. In January, she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. This past month, she had a total hysterectomy, along with the removal of malignant tumors and nodules. She has since been on hemodialysis without any output of urine. What are the possibilities with peritoneal dialysis? Will this enable her to have a near-normal life? — R.S. ANSWER: Peritoneal dialysis uses the immense lining of ...

The Jeffries-Kushner meeting reveals more than either party will admit

Columns

Private meetings in Washington often speak more loudly than public speeches. The recent meeting between House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and influential outside adviser, is one of those moments. The two New Yorkers reportedly discussed immigration, housing, affordability and possible areas of cooperation. Kushner also reportedly suggested that Jeffries meet with White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles. Neither man has portrayed the conversation as a formal negotiation, but its timing less than three months before the midterm ...

Dear Annie: Stop putting life on hold

Columns

Dear Annie: I have been married for 45 years to a man who has never wanted much adventure in his life. His idea of a big night out is taking a short drive, finding a supper club, eating dinner and coming straight home so he can settle into his recliner. For years, I begged him to travel with me. I wanted to see new places, experience different cultures and make memories together. But whenever I pushed the issue, he would become angry or threaten to leave. I always backed down because I was afraid of losing my marriage. Looking back, I wish I had called his bluff and gone anyway. He ...

Dolly Parton was more than a musical idol – for some fans, she was a spiritual icon

Columns

As soon as news broke about the death of beloved songwriter Dolly Parton, I began receiving condolence messages from across the country, and around the world. They came from friends, family and colleagues who knew I’d been working on a biography of the country legend — everyone from a conservative Catholic monk to advocates for queer and trans rights. The list reflects the even more diverse array of fans, people from countless backgrounds, who are mourning her loss. The main focus of my project is Parton’s own spirituality, starting with her Appalachian upbringing. But it also ...