A few weeks ago, I was trapped in a room with a pot of plastic flowers. The room was warm; the air was stale and did not move. The impeachment trial droned from a radio in the corner. One of the house managers was speaking; he kept saying “William Jefferson Clinton,” repeating all three names. […]

Because I sit in the Thursday chair here at the Opinion Factory, every year I speak on Thanksgiving, but never on Mardi Gras. Further depressing my chances is the fact that I live in Vermont, the land Mardi Gras forgot. But Mardi Gras is a premonition of spring and whether or not you believe me, […]

Do you remember the telephone game? Back in first or second grade, the teacher, desperate for a way to kill off a midwinter afternoon, would line us all up and whisper a story into the ear of the child at the head of the line. The story would slowly pass down the line and the […]

Thomas Jefferson’s sex life was in the newspapers again last week. The New York Times ran a piece in which Mr. Jefferson’s stalwarts said they had reviewed the recent DNA evidence and had profound doubts as to whether Mr. J did indeed have a sexual relationship and children with Sally Hemings, whom he owned. History, […]