Richard Starr is a journalist who served as a senior editor at The Weekly Standard, where he was a prolific contributor from the magazine's early years through 2011. He wrote widely on politics, elections, media, and current affairs, offering commentary and analysis across more than a hundred pieces for the publication.
The Norwegian terrorist seems to have penned a long Unabomber-style manifesto, "2083: A European Declaration of Indpendence," which can be downloaded, for now at least, at this link.
Readers of a certain age may remember Phoebe Snow as a fabulously talented singer whose quirky hit "Poetry Man" topped the charts briefly in the spring of 1975. If she was less well known than she deserved to be, that is because, later that same year, she put her career on hold to devote herself…
AP reports that Newt Gingrich is "considering a presidential run" and "expects to make a decision by early next year."
The idiocy of the Department of Homeland Security--described in Daniel Halper's item below about Mosab Hassan Yousef--recalls an old joke. Yousef is a defector from Hamas, spiritually (he converted to Christianity) and politically (he turned anti-Hamas and informed on his old comrades to Israeli…
Ramesh Ponnuru makes a good point over at the Corner:
If the first day's output is any indication, Kausfiles fans can look forward to much more prolific blogging thanks to Mickey Kaus's decision to challenge Barbara Boxer in California's Democratic primary.
The life of the mind at Princeton:
We note in sorrow the death of our valued contributor Arnold Beichman, a longtime friend to many of us at THE WEEKLY STANDARD. Arnold was one of the grand old men of American anti-communism, a vivid raconteur, a boon companion, and eyewitness to an astonishing swath of history.
The poet Delmore Schwartz famously joked that existentialism means "no one else can take a bath for you." Let me propose a corollary: No one else can drink a glass of wine for you.
"Africa's longest-serving leader," as Reuters put it, died last week. President Omar Bongo of Gabon, the man in question, was being treated for cancer at a clinic in Spain when his "four decades of tight control over the central African oil-producing nation" (Reuters again) came to an end.
only the music is much, much better. (HT: volokh.com)
I was sorry to read over the weekend of the death of Dan Seligman, whose "Keeping Up" column was for years not just the best thing in Fortune magazine, but the best column of its kind in American journalism. Though the tone was unfailingly light and witty, the man swung a mean bat with telling…
Here's a disturbing bit of agit-prop from President Obama that's not gotten enough attention: "There will be time for them [Wall Street Bankers] to make profits, and there will be time for them to get bonuses," Mr. Obama said during an appearance in the Oval Office with Treasury Secretary Timothy…
The tributes of my colleagues and of his fellow bloggers to Dean Barnett are a balm in this time of loss. Of the writers I have worked with over the years, none was sweeter, more cheerful, and less self-pitying than Dean. Like his other friends and correspondents, I cherished his emails and phone…
Yves Smith's Naked Capitalism blog is not for the faint of heart. "Temporary full state ownership is only solution" Three Month Dollar Libor Increases (dry title, but read all the way to the bottom) And, if you're not awake yet . . . Roubini warns of Possible Systemic Meltdown, "Severe Global…
For an illuminating snapshot of the progress being made in our long national real estate nightmare, check out this post at the indispensable Calculated Risk blog.
No one knows how long it will take the real estate bubble to fully deflate. But it will happen. It is happening. Here's a very hopeful data point from Washington D.C.'s outer suburbs. In Prince William County, the number of residential sales in June, July and August was roughly double the…
David Frum does an excellent job puncturing Josh Marshall's hilarious contention that the Paulson plan is aimed at bailing out the "GOP's Wall Street Friends." Hardy-har-har. For an even more laughable bit of partisan finger-pointing, see Jim Cramer's otherwise entertaining New York Magazine piece,…
Why take the trouble to invest my own time looking for stories on the financial meltdown, when Greg Mankiw has already provided a handy list this morning? Also, see any number of good things posted by Arnold Kling at EconLog, especially the entry, "Delusions on Both Sides" ("Financial institutions…
In a discussion of panicked investors pulling money out of 401(k) accounts, and subjecting themselves to the 10 percent penalty attendant on such early withdrawals, the Wall Street Journal this morning quotes Massachusetts Secretary of State William Galvin, who would like to see Congress eliminate…
It's being taken in some quarters as revelatory of inexperience that Sarah Palin sought clarification when ABC's Charlie Gibson asked her about the Bush Doctrine. To review, here is the passage from the transcript. GIBSON: Do you agree with the Bush doctrine? PALIN: In what respect, Charlie?…
I'll admit to having been left baffled by almost every story I've read about the Large Hadron Collider. Stephen Barr, however, has written a short piece for First Things that left me less baffled than the others. I mean this as high praise. You can read it here.
I've probably missed it. Can someone point me to Hillary Clinton's defense of Barack Obama today against the charge of "sexism." It's been more than 24 hours since the McCain campaign made that accusation, after Obama's ill-chosen remarks about putting lipstick on a pig. So I'm sure Hillary must…
According to CBS News's Maria Gavrilovic, Barack Obama "used comedy to mock and ridicule the McCain-Palin ticket" during a town hall meeting in Michigan last night and "got a lot of laughs." Here are some of the jokes: When discussing McCain's energy plan, Obama poked fun at his line on drilling.…
Bob Shrum, the Democratic campaign strategist, is known for two things mainly--his long losing streak in presidential races, including such highlights as McGovern '72, Kennedy '80, and Kerry '04--and the trademark themes of almost every one of these races, "I'll fight for you" and "I'm on your…
I've heard a fair amount of morning-after caviling from conservatives that Sarah Palin didn't spend more of her speech talking about public policy and issues. David Frum, for one, asks: "Where does she stand on immigration - an issue to which a President McCain will surely return? How reliable is…
Forty-four years ago, an actor named Ronald Reagan gave a speech supporting Barry Goldwater and launching his own political career that was known ever after, by his ever increasing group of followers, simply as "The Speech." If the McCain-Palin team pulls off an upset in two months, the performance…
You can read more about it here--a rare entry on Snopes.com that's actually true.
Can't get enough of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin? The Anchorage Daily News has kindly posted a photo gallery here.
Was there something inconsistent in McCain's naming Governor Palin to his ticket after making much hay out of Barack Obama's not being ready to be president? I don't see it. Most of us McCain-Palin supporters think Senator Obama is ready and qualified to be vice-president, as is Governor Palin. For…
Well, that was certainly a spectacular show. And the speech was beautifully delivered, wonderful to listen to--if you could refrain from thinking about what he was saying. If you couldn't turn off your brain, alas, the speech was full of baloney, not that a lot of people don't like a good baloney…
A little gallows humor about Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, courtesy of a commenter at the indispensable Calculated Risk blog: "FNM and FRE should just have a new single consolidated ticker: FUBAR"
The 3,000-word puff-piece on Obama's online operation in this morning's Washington Post is beyond tedious. A sample: Texting is a two-way street, and staffers and volunteers respond to texts from supporters who send questions such as "Where's my polling place?" He wouldn't divulge how many…
As Stephen F. Hayes points out below, over the weekend, John McCain came out in favor of Ward Connerly's Arizona ballot measure, which would end race, sex, and other discriminatory preferences in public education, contracting, and hiring. A well-briefed Barack Obama returned serve: "I think in the…
There was a good piece in the Chicago Sun-Times over the weekend on the Barack and Michelle Obama love story. The romance, as we've read before, began in 1988 when Obama, then at law school, had a summer internship at Sidley Austin law firm, where Michelle was the young attorney assigned to be his…
From the Rosett Report: Condi Rice Wants Us to Stop Worrying and Learn to Love Kim Jong-Il, by Claudia Rosett. From the Chicago Sun Times: Reporters banned from Obama-Clinton meeting with Clinton backers on Thursday., by Lynn Sweet. From Confederate Yankee: Obama: The Bus List. From Middle East…
From Pajamas Media: Supreme Court Flexes Its Muscles in Boumediene, by Kenneth Anderson. From the Rocky Mountain News: Nader: Obama 'Talking White', by M.E. Sprengelmeyer. From the Chicago Sun Times: Obama Hollywood fund-raiser. Pool reports, HT: Lynn Sweet. (The hors d'oeuvres: "endive spears of…
From City Journal: Gloucester Girls Gone Wild, by Kay S. Hymowitz. From the New York Times Book Review: Neuro-Liberalism, by William Saletan. From National Review Online: The Obama Code, by John J. Pitney Jr. From Encounter Books: Encounter Bids the New York Times Farewell, by Roger Kimball. From…
From the New York Post: Anti-Terror Oops, by Scott W. Johnson. From the New York Times: Someone Else's Alex, by William Kristol. From Pajamas Media: Help the Zimbabwe Opposition Now!, by Bridget Johnson. From Der Spiegel: Assad's Risky Nuclear Game. From the Spectator: EU Leaders Will Never Consult…
From the Ashbrook Center: Haditha Again, by Mackubin T. Owens. From the Washington Post: Iran on Its Heels, by Vali Nasr. From The American Scene: The Secret Muslim Smear, by Reihan Salam. From National Review Online: A Good Deal on Surveillance Reform, by Andrew C. McCarthy. From Gawker: Al…
From Political Punch: Obama to Break Promise, Opt Out of Public Financing for General Election, by Jake Tapper. From National Review Online: Hothouse Flower, by Jim Geraghty. From the New York Post: Subpoena Blitz Puts Heat on Al Sharpton, by Chuck Bennett. From Roger's Rules: A passing thought…
From Politico: Muslims Barred from Picture at Obama Event, by Ben Smith. From the Wall Street Journal: Governor Backs Florida Drilling, by Stephen Power, Laura Meckler and Russell Gold. From The Hill: Downturn Hits House, by Alexander Bolton. From New York: Hillary Clinton: Patron Saint of Lowbrow…
From the Guardian: Bush Made the World a Safer Place, by Oliver Kamm. From Bench Memos: Will-ful Disregard, by Ed Whelan. From Politico: Are Dems Talking About McCain's Age in 'Code', by Carrie Budoff Brown. From National Review Online: Redefinition Revolution, by Maggie Gallagher. From the Wall…
From National Review Online: A Quick Way Forward After 'Boumediene', by Andrew C. McCarthy. From the Wall Street Journal: Democracies Can't Compromise on Core Values, by Natan Sharansky. From the Daily Mail: The Curious Case of the Waterloo Files, by Melanie Phillips. From the New York Times: Big…
From the Times (of London): Europe Will Miss George Bush When He's Not Around, by Gerard Baker. From FoxNews.com: UNICEF Partners with Islamic Charity Linked to Terror Groups, by Joseph Abrams. From Portfolio.com: Countrywide's Many 'Friends', by Daniel Golden. From Lessig.org: The Kozinski Mess,…
From the Wall Street Journal: $4 Gasbags. From the New York Times: Unlike Others, U.S. Defends Freedom to Offend in Speech, by Adam Liptak. From National Review: Treachery: The Senate Intelligence Committee's report on prewar statements is a disgrace, by Andrew C. McCarthy. From First Things:…
From the Times (London): President George Bush Starts Talking Language of a Dove, by Gerard Baker and Tom Baldwin (on board Air Force One). From the Yorkshire Post: Charles Repays Royal Debt, (sub-prime lending, 17th-century style). From Hudson Institute: The Politicization of American Islam, by…
From Newsweek: As the Oceans Rise, by George F. Will. From the New York Post: Gagged in Canada: Speech Police Run Amok, by Rich Lowry. From the New York Sun: Substance Over Style, by Seth Gitell. From Michael J. Totten's Middle East Journal: A Dark Corner of Europe, Part II, by Michael J. Totten.…
From the New York Times: A Campaign We Can Believe In?, by William Kristol. From the New York Post: In Afghanistan and Iraq, We're Looking for a Few Good Men, by Ann Marlowe. From Harvard Magazine: The Fringe Benefits of Failure, and the Importance of Imagination, by J.K Rowling. From The Jawa…
From Hit and Run: Googling the Welfare State, by Michael C. Moynihan. From Real Clear Politics: Smiling at Obama Is a Reflex, by Kathleen Parker. From New York Daily News: Bill Clinton faces benching in fall presidential campaign, by Thomas M. DeFrank. From Policy Review: The Ultimate Literary…
From the Wall Street Journal: Why Obama Must Go to Iraq, by Pete Hegseth. From Real Clear Politics: The Bad War?, by Victor Davis Hanson. From Policy Review : The War Against Himself, by Sam Munson. A terrible loss: Moscow (Indiana) covered bridge. Your humble scribe's boyhood Indiana community…
From the Chicago Sun Times: Pfleger Is Apartment Hunting, by Cathleen Falsani. From Policy Review: Answering Edward Said, by Peter Berkowitz. From Variety : Tom Cruise Dons His Eye Patch and Starts Shooting Again, by Peter Bart. Read this one for the comments (HT: John Podhoretz at Contentions).…
Writing at TNR's reliably misinformed Environment & Energy Blog, Dayo Olopade lauds the Chinese government's ambitious program to eliminate plastic bags: The move, which bans outright ultrathin plastic bags and puts a price on all others, is said to save China 37 billion barrels of oil annually.…
Looks like the economic downturn will be severe: On a spring afternoon, a half-dozen hairstylists to the very wealthy talked about how customers are stretching their $350 highlights and $150 haircuts to every eight weeks instead of six weeks. Some women are cutting out highlights entirely, saying…
From Slate: Bill Clinton, Press Critic, by Jack Shafer. From Power Line: The Personal Is Not Political, by John Hinderaker. From Maclean's: Andrew Coyne liveblogs the trial of Mark Steyn. From the Wall Street Journal: Did Scott McClellan Miss the Surge?, by William McGurn. From National Review…
From the New York Times: What Obama Left Out, by William Kristol. From the Washington Post: Will the Real Scott Please Stand Up, by Trent D. Duffy. From Standpoint: Breaking Faith with Britain, by Michael Nazir-Ali. From the Daily Mail: How my mother's fanatical views tore us apart, by Rebecca…
John McCain repeated a line in the debate last night that has infuriated Romney backers more than any other, the one where he contrasts his "leadership" experience with Romney's "managerial" experience, by referring to his Navy service as something undertaken "for patriotism and not for profit." I…
John McCain repeated a line in the debate last night that has infuriated Romney backers more than any other, the one where he contrasts his "leadership" experience with Romney's "managerial" experience, by referring to his Navy service as something undertaken "for patriotism and not for profit." I…
John Edwards has a chest-thumping new ad, in which he threatens Congress and his own putative future cabinet with the loss of their health care, if they don't do his bidding and pass universal health care: When I'm president, I'm going to say to members of Congress and members of my administration…
John Edwards has a chest-thumping new ad, in which he threatens Congress and his own putative future cabinet with the loss of their health care, if they don't do his bidding and pass universal health care: When I'm president, I'm going to say to members of Congress and members of my administration…
Until he left the White House in July, Dan Bartlett had been on George W. Bush's payroll pretty much his whole professional life, starting with the 1994 race for governor of Texas. So it's not terribly surprising that he would find fault with the rivals to succeed his old boss. But if you read past…
Until he left the White House in July, Dan Bartlett had been on George W. Bush's payroll pretty much his whole professional life, starting with the 1994 race for governor of Texas. So it's not terribly surprising that he would find fault with the rivals to succeed his old boss. But if you read past…
You've probably heard by now that Barack Obama has well-reasoned and articulate views on the wearing - or not wearing - of the U.S. flag pin on one's lapel. In Iowa yesterday, a reporter for the Cedar Rapids ABC affiliate asked if the lack of a flag pin on Obama's lapel was a "fashion statement."…
You've probably heard by now that Barack Obama has well-reasoned and articulate views on the wearing - or not wearing - of the U.S. flag pin on one's lapel. In Iowa yesterday, a reporter for the Cedar Rapids ABC affiliate asked if the lack of a flag pin on Obama's lapel was a "fashion statement."…
Mitt Romney has enjoyed a week of good press for his "Change Begins with Us" ad, earning laudatory headlines such as "Romney Tells Republicans to Reform", "Romney Issues Challenge to GOP", and "Romney, in Ad, Criticizes His Party and Calls for Change". But listen closely to the ad:
Mitt Romney has enjoyed a week of good press for his "Change Begins with Us" ad, earning laudatory headlines such as "Romney Tells Republicans to Reform", "Romney Issues Challenge to GOP", and "Romney, in Ad, Criticizes His Party and Calls for Change". But listen closely to the ad:
At a lecture hosted by Sikorsky Aircraft, the company that bears his late father Igor's name, Sergei Sikorsky today recalled attending the air show in the early 1950s, when it was first held at Le Bourget field, here in the northern suburbs of Paris. The show featured an appearance by Charles…
Skylark.jpg
I was actually thinking about Jerry Falwell before he died last week. A few days earlier, during my daily commute, I saw the golden-oldie anti-Falwell sticker on the bumper of the car ahead of me: "The Moral Majority Is Neither." And this wasn't a faded bumpersticker on a 1980 Volvo. It was a…
I'm a reasonable man, and I take reasonable precautions to secure my property. This means keeping a lock on all the doors of my house, hiding the spare key somewhere other than under the doormat, and peeking out through the Venetian blinds to see what's stirring when the dog barks in the middle of…
The last of the grand old Washington department stores, Hecht's, disappeared a couple of weeks ago, all of its properties being rebranded as Macy's stores. It was, the Washington Post intoned, the "end of an era." I, for one, was not overcome with nostalgia at the passing of Hecht's. Indeed, I…
A NUMBER OF EXPERTS have now weighed in on the inauthenticity of the documents CBS breathlessly revealed on 60 Minutes earlier this week--documents purportedly typed by the deceased commander of George W. Bush's Texas Air National Guard unit in 1972 and 1973, but actually produced on a personal…
THE MILITARY'S TOP OFFICERS and civilians are constrained by strictures against "unlawful command influence" from expressing their true feelings about the members of the 372nd Military Police Company who face charges of conspiracy, dereliction of duty, cruelty and maltreatment, indecent acts, and…
Who shall doubt "the secret hid Under Cheops' pyramid" Was that the contractor did Cheops out of several millions? . . . (Rudyard Kipling, "Departmental Ditties") THE ASSAULTS ON THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION'S Iraq policy grow more cartoonish with each passing day. Last week the Center for Public…
THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE is now taking suggestions for its new, improved Food Pyramid, to be unveiled in 2005. This is the federal government's pictograph of an ideal diet. The one now in use dates to 1992. Maybe you've seen it: The base shows six servings of the "Breads & Cereals Group."…
LAST MONDAY, at a time when I'm normally enjoying a cup of coffee at my desk, I found myself shivering in the cold rain in Manassas, Virginia, inches away from a gun-wielding teenager, staring down the barrel of a shotgun. But don't get your hopes up. This wasn't the mugging of a foolish editor, in…
IT WAS PROBABLY just a coincidence, but did you notice that just as White House communications guru Karen Hughes was wrapping up her last day at the office before leaving town on Monday, President Bush was delivering a remarkably undisciplined--and for that reason quite amusing--press conference?…
ANY FAIR-MINDED OBSERVER would have to agree that the Democrats have been dealt the lousiest of all political hands: We are in the midst of a high-stakes war, and the Republicans control the executive branch. It doesn't get any worse than that for the opposition party. This means that President…
PRECISELY A MONTH AGO, on April 8, the Palestinian news agency Wafa was reporting that Israel had committed the "massacre of the 21st century" in the Palestinian refugee camp in Jenin. "Medical sources" informed Wafa of "hundreds of martyrs." This was a lie, concocted not only for local…
A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO I solicited your ideas and promised some of my own thoughts on how to aid and abet do-it-yourself media criticism. The response was heavy enough that I've violated my usual practice of answering every e-mail, though I have read them all now. Consider this a wholesale thank you…
THE SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE published an unsigned editorial on March 1 attacking Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz's ideas as "scary" and "reckless." The editorialist admitted that Wolfowitz, in an interview with the paper, had come across as "disarmingly soft-spoken and polite" and as a…
THE WORD "censorship" has been tossed around with abandon lately--applied to everything from Bill Maher losing sponsors for his failing political comedy show to robust criticism of creepy left-wing cartoonist Ted Rall. Below you'll find an example of what the real thing looks like. Last month…
EVERY SO OFTEN the public relations industry plaintively wonders why journalists hold it in contempt. Well, it's because the feeling is mutual. They're in the business of using us. It's often a satisfactory professional transaction, but respect rarely enters into the equation. Plus, we have…
WASHINGTON is full of guys (and yes, the type is more male than female) who are an important part of the media food chain, yet who themselves are rarely written about. These are the obsessive single-issue experts, usually allying encyclopedic knowledge of a narrow issue with some kind of advocacy.…
DO THEY suddenly have too much time on their hands over at the Pentagon? On Tuesday, the Defense Department press office issued a release that was, as these things go, full of piss and vinegar
WATCHING all the self-contradicting Enron chatter over the weekend reminded me of the quintessential Ronald Reagan anecdote. You remember--the one about the optimistic kid, shoveling manure with a smile on his face. After all, the kid reasoned, "there's got to be a pony in here somewhere."
IT TURNS OUT that my catalogue of John Philip Walker Lindh's newsgroups postings was incomplete. Kind readers have sent me other e-mail aliases that he used. The most striking posting is this rap, penned when he was 14-years-old, which Cornel West may want to cover for his next CD.
FROM AUGUST 1995 to August 1997, John Philip Walker Lindh, the Marin County jihadist, was a frequent contributor to Internet newsgroups. As Newsweek reports in its latest issue, he used the nom de plume "doodoo."
From: "doodoo@hooked.net" Subject: WTB: HEIL TALKBOX Date: 1997/03/13 Organization: Hooked Online Services Newsgroups: rec.music.makers.marketplace I'm looking for a talkbox, new or used. Please contact the address below. Thank you. John Lindh doodoo@hooked.net From: "Hine E. Craque" Subject: WTB:…
IN THIS WEEK'S Newsweek we learn that American Taliban is no longer just a figure of speech. Colin Soloway reports that one of the 86 survivors of the Mazar-i-Sharif prison uprising, a filthy looking jihadist going by the name "Abdul Hamid," is actually "a white, apparently middle-class American, a…
MONDAY'S STATEMENT in Geneva to the Biological Weapons Convention conference by John R. Bolton, the Under Secretary of State for Arms Control, made news primarily because he named names. The U.S. government, said Bolton, is "concerned about potential use of biological weapons by terrorist groups,…
UNDER THE IRONIC HEADING "Saudi Solzhenitsyn?" the Wall Street Journal's James Taranto noted in his "Best of the Web" column yesterday that CNN.com is identifying Osama bin Laden as a "Saudi-born dissident." This is what happens when news organizations bend over backwards not to be "judgmental."…
IN THE DAYS AFTER SEPTEMBER 11, those of us living along the flight path for Reagan National Airport couldn't help noticing the preternatural quiet as civilian air traffic was grounded. That eerie calm wouldn't last long. It was replaced by the deep-throated exhaust notes of F-16s, which have been…
IDEOLOGICAL PURISTS HAVE NO DOUBT been wondering if there is a larger political significance to the competing transliterations of the Arabic names now dominating the news. What does it signify when the Fox News ticker refers to Usama bin Laden while MSNBC calls him Osama? Is this a replay of the…
LET'S PLAY "JEOPARDY." The category is Bipartisanship in a Time of National Emergency. And the answer is, 24 hours. Ding, ding, ding, ding: "How long can Democrat Jim McDermott stand to keep his anti-Bush feelings to himself once the United States begins military operations?" Correct--24 hours!…
THE LOW POINT FOR REAGAN ADMINISTRATION foreign policy came in 1986 when National Security Adviser Bob McFarlane took a cake baked in the shape of a key as a peace offering to "Iranian moderates"--hoping to secure the release of U.S. hostages but in fact triggering the Iran-Contra scandal. The idea…
Afghan holy men aren't the only ones swinging the wrecking ball these days. Just last Sunday in my suburban Catholic church I came across evidence that cultural vandals are laying waste to Western icons, too. The cantor announced a page number from the hymnal, the organist pulled out the stops, and…
We hold fast to the idea that the winner of an election is the candidate who gets the most votes on Election Day. Florida election law embodies this same idea, as it should, and seems to have been reasonably well crafted. The Gore campaign, fearful that its backers failed to produce enough votes…
I'm no red-diaper baby, but I grew up hearing lots of talk about the party line. This had nothing to do with politics. The party line was the phone line we shared with the neighbors -- a rapidly dying practice, according to an article in USA Today. There are apparently only 5,000 of these…
Last fall, Al Gore launched his most ambitious reinvention yet: of his own persona. He changed the color of his suits, hired new campaign staff, moved his headquarters to Nashville, and sent his flacks out to spread the word that, after seven years of loyal servitude to Bill Clinton, he was now his…
My old pal Nick e-mailed me last week to say that he was trading up from his charming limestone bungalow a block from the campus where he teaches to a split-level on half-acre lot. We've stayed buddies since college, a friendship built on the incredibly durable foundation of petty rivalry and…
Wherever I have worked for the past decade, I have been the office techno- weenie -- the guy to whom co-workers turn for help with their computers (and printers and fax machines and, most recently, voice-mail). I have no training, but I'll pretend to be an expert about anything. And more often than…
Norma V. Cantu, head of the Clinton Education Department's Office for Civil Rights, is a left-wing litigator, a veteran of the Mexican-American Legal Defense Fund, who has never met a racial quota she didn't like. She is the forgotten second royal in Clint Bolick's famous "Clinton's Quota Queens"…
AS IS ALWAYS THE CASE following a jury verdict against a news organization, media critics have rushed to explain what precisely it meant last month when 12 women and men in Greensboro, N.C., ordered ABC to pay $ 5.5 million to Food Lion. Obviously the jury meant to punish ABC's Primetime Live for…
There's no denying how pleasurable academic success is -- sailing through childhood on the good ship lollipop of easy A's, fawning teachers, and proud parents. So pleasant an experience should be universal, no?
There's no denying how pleasurable academic success is -- sailing through childhood on the good ship lollipop of easy A's, fawning teachers, and proud parents. So pleasant an experience should be universal, no?
The farmer aims to make his mark on the land. He in turn is marked by that effort, quite literally. My earliest childhood memories of my father are of the physical toll that farming takes on a body. His thumbnails, for instance, always seemed to be deep purple -- badly aimed swings of a hammer will…
Remember Hoosiers? If you've seen the 1986 movie, you were probably charmed by the thinly fictionalized David-and-Goliath story about how one of the smallest high schools in the state of Indiana (Milan, enrollment 161) overcomes incredible odds to beat one of the largest (Muncie Central, enrollment…
My introduction to organic foods came as a college freshman late in the Jimmy Carter era. A roommate in my group house baked "brownies" whose main ingredients, substituting for chocolate and sugar, were carob and sorghum molasses. These came from a natural-food cooperative where she volunteered --…