How polite should one be to a telemarketer? I can always tell when they’re calling. First there’s the long pause, then the tired voice mispronouncing my name. What follows must be my mother’s doing, early years of training in being polite to strangers on the phone, even though I know full well [...]

Mr. Eliot, the poet, predicted the world ends not with a bang, but a whimper. Or perhaps he was referring to the Iraq war. First the president said Saddam was no longer in control, then Don Rumsfeld said the major engagements were over, then George popped in again to say “mission accomplished,” this [...]