Monthly Archives: January 2002

The Silence of Colin Powell

1/31/2002 – 2:01 pm

Colin Powell has broken his silence in the classic Washington way, with a leaked memo. He’s also broken ranks by being the first member of the Bush administration to suggest that the Al Qaeda and Taliban fighters held at Guantanamo Bay be treated as prisoners of war.
The secretary of state was shocked, shocked I [...]

By floegel | Posted in Commentary | Comments (0)

Everyone’s Doing It

1/24/2002 – 1:55 pm

I have a friend, let’s call her Wilma. Last year, Wilma started a company that would, among other things, conduct international transactions. Starting a business, like buying a house, means your name appears on all sorts of mailing lists. Among the many solicitations Wilma received was a bulky envelope from Nicosia, Cyprus. [...]

By floegel | Posted in Commentary | Comments (0)

Princes, Presidents, Pretzels

1/17/2002 – 1:53 pm

Prince Harry, third in line to the throne of England, has been discovered drinking beer and smoking pot. Average behavior for a 16-year-old, and it would have been strictly a family matter if only the family in question wasn’t so bloody famous. It’s legal for 16-year-olds to drink in England and while smoking [...]

By floegel | Posted in Commentary | Comments (0)

Don’t Cry for Me, Argentina

1/10/2002 – 1:51 pm

In the 1980 Republican presidential primary, candidate Ronald Reagan promised both tax cuts and a huge military buildup. Rival candidate George H. W. Bush ridiculed the idea, calling it “voodoo economics” and saying it would lead to budget deficits.
As is often the case in politics, rhetoric triumphs over reason. Mr. Reagan’s rhetoric overwhelmed [...]

By floegel | Posted in Commentary | Comments (0)

On Thin Ice

1/3/2002 – 1:50 pm

On New Year’s Day, I was skating with friends on a frozen pond. The sun was bright, the wind was crisp and we would have been frost-bitten were we not so well-dressed and well-exercised.
The pond is about a mile long and half a mile wide. As our skates clicked over the dark-gray surface, [...]

By floegel | Posted in Commentary | Comments (0)