Category Archives: Commentary

Q and A

6/20/2002 – 4:27 pm

President Bush announced this week that the U.S. military has been authorized to make pre-emptive strikes against nations or groups believed to be harboring weapons of mass destruction. Mr. Bush said while U.S. forces cannot assassinate a foreign head of state, soldiers may kill a head of state if they are acting in self-defense. We […]

By floegel | Comments (0)

The Man Without a Country

6/13/2002 – 4:26 pm

The announcement this week of the arrest of Jose Padilla, also known as Abdullah al-Muhajir, brings the number of American-born Taliban to three that we know of. The latest addition to the list was born in Brooklyn, raised in Chicago and has a history of violent crime dating back 15 years. Mr. al-Muhajir was arrested […]

By floegel | Comments (0)

American Taliban

6/6/2002 – 4:24 pm

Can John Walker Lindh get a fair trial? Should we care if he doesn’t? Known in the media as the “American Taliban,” Mr. Lindh left his Islamic studies in Pakistan last year to join the Taliban in Afghanistan. He stayed with them after the events of September 11th and was captured by Northern Alliance troops. […]

By floegel | Also posted in Civil Liberty, September 11th | Comments (0)

The Ugly American

5/30/2002 – 4:22 pm

The president has been traveling in Europe. Now that the U.S. is the world’s only superpower, the White House road show gives us an idea of what it must have been like when a Roman emperor went on a tour of tributary states. It hasn’t been pretty. In Berlin, 10,000 protesters took to the asphalt […]

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Prescription for Change

5/23/2002 – 4:20 pm

Here’s a popular myth from the public interest community, a myth summoned forth by every activist sooner or later: We may have lost this battle, but history will show we were right and people will be sorry they didn’t listen to us when they had the chance. Soothing platitudes like those are the haute cuisine […]

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See No Evil

5/16/2002 – 4:18 pm

Last week, Maryland Governor Parris Glendening declared a moratorium on executions in his state. Although Gov. Glendening supports the death penalty, he said he’s lost faith in the fairness of Maryland’s judicial system. More blacks are murdered in Maryland than whites, but 12 of the 13 convicts on death row are there for murdering whites, […]

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Working for a Living

5/9/2002 – 4:16 pm

The economic recovery roars along. This week, the federal government announced unemployment is higher now than it’s been for the past seven years. How is that a recovery? Technically, if the economy is contracting, it is said to be in recession; if it’s expanding, it’s said to be in recovery. Our economy is expanding – […]

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