Category Archives: Commentary

Elliott Abrams Stinks

7/12/2001 – 1:01 pm

What is the statute of limitations for dropping a stinkbomb? I don’t pose the question idly, because I did commit the above offense several times, eight or nine years ago, at a Washington, DC bookstore during a book signing by Elliott Abrams. I think Elliott Abrams stinks. From 1985 to 1989, he was assistant secretary […]

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Kill the Death Penalty

7/5/2001 – 1:00 pm

The national holiday is over and many of us are dehydrated from too much sun and beer, others have tinnitus from unexpectedly short fuses on those cherry bombs. It’s fine to relax on July Fourth, but the birthday – our 225th – should occasion reflection, the way a personal birthday does. While there are any […]

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A Tax on Speech

6/28/2001 – 4:58 pm

You’ve probably heard the story about the Internal Revenue Service spending $21 million to send out letters telling taxpayers that the IRS and George W. Bush are giving them a rebate. Tom Daschle wondered out loud if 30 million people will get a letter from the president reminding them they won’t get a rebate. We […]

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The Futile System

6/21/2001 – 4:56 pm

Those of you entering fifth grade in September pay close attention during social studies class. You’ll be doing a unit on the feudal system, which was the dominant form of government in Europe during the Dark Ages. Under the feudal system, all property in the country was owned by the king and a handful of […]

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Greenpeace Goes to Hell

6/14/2001 – 4:54 pm

Like anyone else in this late industrial age, I know several people with cancer. One friend reports that people seem shy about using the “c” word in her presence, so they resort to euphemisms; they ask about her “health” or her “condition.” For these people, perhaps even the word “cancer” is too much, perhaps they […]

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GWB and Me

6/7/2001 – 4:53 pm

Congress has returned to Washington and nothing will be the same. As Democrats take control of the Senate, President Bush will have to dust off that old rhetoric about being elected to serve all the people and see how it works now. Let’s say the slate is clean and it’s a brand new day. Let […]

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The Best Policy

5/31/2001 – 4:51 pm

This week’s story is a fable, and since this is an age of instant gratification, I’ll give you the moral up front: honesty is always the best policy. Here’s the story: Once upon a time, a nation at war discovered one of its chemical weapons, Agent Orange, was not just killing trees and non-combatants, but […]

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