Author Archives: floegel

Opportunity Knocks

2/14/2002 – 2:05 pm

In a surprise move, the White House announced today that Interior Secretary Gale Norton is to be replaced by former Enron CEO Kenneth Lay. Press Secretary Ari Fleischer said the sudden appointment was triggered by the recent removal of Mr. Lay from the Enron board of directors. “Ken Lay is a valuable player in any […]

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The Return of Tricky Dick

2/7/2002 – 2:03 pm

Richard Nixon, banished from office by scandal and shame, spent the final 20 years of his life trying to rehabilitate his reputation. It was to no avail. Nixon could run, but he can’t hide, not even in the grave. His legacy is Watergate and always will be. The crimes and – more important – the […]

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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 […]

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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. The envelope was […]

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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 pot is […]

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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 Mr. […]

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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, we […]

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