Stephen J. Lyons

Stephen J. Lyons: Teenage mental health crisis: The kids are not OK

February 24, 2023 at 11:00 a.m.

Last week, my suicidal 15-year-old grandson ingested and smoked a cocktail of several drugs. His loving parents found him nonresponsive, with a heart rate near 200 beats per minute. The...

Candles sit below police tape wrapped around a tree on Dec. 11, 2022, following an overnight fatal shooting sparked by a bar fight near West School Street and North Central Avenue on the Northwest Side. The shooting left three dead and one in critical condition.

Stephen J. Lyons: The roulette wheel of gun violence: Who is next?

February 3, 2023 at 11:00 a.m.

Some advice to clear up any confusion you might have over recent events in the land of the red, white and blue: Assume that everyone is armed and dangerous. That...

U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, from left, Fox News host Tucker Carlson and former President Donald Trump during the final round of the LIV Golf Invitational in Bedminster, New Jersey, on July 31, 2022.

Stephen J. Lyons: A left-leaning 66-year-old searches for balance in unbalanced times

August 15, 2022 at 10:00 a.m.

In the Orwellian universe in which we now marinate, that uncomfortable reality in which rumors seamlessly transform into facts, and disinformation invades our bloodstream like a mutant virus, I wonder...

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny appears on a video link from prison at Moscow City Court on May 24, 2022.

Stephen J. Lyons: Russian opposition leader exhibits bravery while Cruz and Hawley offer profiles in cowardice

August 4, 2022 at 8:17 p.m.

The most courageous man in the world is locked up in a Moscow prison — his life in the balance. The most cowardly men in the world cool their heels...

American Phil Mickelson tees off June 10, 2022, during Day Two of the LIV Golf Invitational Series at the Centurion Club in St. Albans, England.

Stephen J. Lyons: Pro golfers and U. of I. provost, seduced by Saudi Arabia, prove it’s all about the money

July 8, 2022 at 5:09 p.m.

Despite what should have been a permanent "scarlet letter" in the wake of his alleged role in the dismemberment of American journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Mohammed bin Salman, the crown prince...

Gabriella Uriegas, a soccer teammate of Tess Mata who died in the shooting, cries while her mother, Geneva Uriegas, holds her as they visit a memorial outside the Uvalde County Courthouse in Texas on May 26, 2022.

Stephen J. Lyons: A requiem for our gun-wracked nation

May 27, 2022 at 10:00 a.m.

Assume you are the parent or grandparent of one of the 19 precious elementary school students slaughtered in Uvalde, Texas, on Tuesday. Take on their grief by looking into the...

A 33-year-old mother of three from Texas is escorted by clinic administrator Kathaleen Pittman prior to getting an abortion Oct. 9, 2021, at Hope Medical Group for Women in Shreveport, Louisiana.

Stephen J. Lyons: Rolling back abortion rights? America, you’re breaking my heart.

May 13, 2022 at 4:34 p.m.

America, you exhaust me with your meanness. I hardly know where to begin. Perhaps the best place to begin is with the self-righteous rhetoric that thinly disguises the newest Christian...

Stephen J. Lyons: An unhelpful guide to aging

April 8, 2022 at 2:53 p.m.

Suddenly you are old. Yes, it happens that quickly. One minute you are grinding and gnashing your way through life: that long battle to find a place in the world...

People gather around a giant peace sign with the message "Stop Putin's Oil" ahead of a European Union and NATO summit in Brussels on March 22, 2022.

Stephen J. Lyons: Europe is fueling Putin’s war machine in Ukraine

March 24, 2022 at 5:37 p.m.

Today, the European Union contributed $1 billion toward Vladimir Putin's war machine. Tomorrow, the EU will contribute another $1 billion to the Kremlin's ongoing carnage of Ukrainian citizens. And $1...

The body of a Russian soldier lies near destroyed Russian vehicles the day after fighting with Ukrainian soldiers on a highway outside Kharkiv, Ukraine, Feb. 25, 2022.

Stephen J. Lyons: How can we enjoy our lives here when life is hell for Ukrainians?

March 15, 2022 at 6:50 p.m.

Two weekends ago, crocuses bloomed in our Midwest garden. Temperatures reached 70 degrees. In the middle of the night, we experienced our first thunderstorm. Any day now, the mourning doves...

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