Category Archives: Commentary

Time of Our Choosing

Three years ago Sunday, Colin Powell made his famous appearance before the UN Security Council. Mr. Powell still maintains he did not lie that day, because he did not know that what he was saying was untrue, but it was untrue just the same. While Mr. Powell was destroying his reputation in New York, the […]

In The Barn?

Jingos are fond of quoting (misquoting, actually) Stephen Decatur’s famous toast: “My country, right or wrong.” G.K. Chesterton compared that sentiment to: “My mother, drunk or sober.” Our country is currently wrong and our president is drunk with power the founding fathers never meant him to have. Commodore Decatur was right, however, it is our […]

Now and Again

The illegal detention of prisoners at the naval base in Guantanamo, Cuba is one of several blemishes on the face of America’s international image. Many commentators have remarked on the shame George W. Bush’s concentration camps have brought to this nation – and they’re right. Many of these commentators have unfavorably compared Mr. Bush to […]

What You’re Paying For

George Bush gave a speech to the Veterans of Foreign Wars this week, attacking critics who say he went to war in Iraq for oil. Mr. Bush says his invasion was to spread democracy. “Dictatorships seem orderly,” he said. “When one man makes all the decisions, there is no need for negotiation or compromise. Democracies […]

Free At Last?

The new year opened with a portentous natural gas war between Russia and Ukraine, with Western Europe playing the role of hostage. Next came the West Virginia mine tragedy. Sidebars to that story noted that the price of coal has doubled in recent years, making it profitable for companies to pursue coal seams that are […]

Anticipation of Things to Come

This is the week when abstract and concrete conceptions of time collide, at least in my mind. Time is a relative, almost liquid thing, but this week I always feel as if I can watch the future become the present and the present become the past. It’s during this week that I’ll remember walking along […]

Merry Holidays

People have been unhappy with government for many years. Some two thousand years ago “there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that the world should be taxed.” Bet that was welcome news. This year, House Speaker Dennis Hastert boldly stood up for his right to call the evergreen on the lawn a “Christmas,” rather […]