-
Note to GOP 2012 Front-Runners: Be Yourself
Tweet Share on Facebook September 29, 2011 Comment (3)Most of us who survived adolescence remember that maddening thing our parents always told us as we ventured to a party or date or class: "Be yourself." Sure, our insecure teenage selves thought: Like that's going to impress people.
-
Death Row's 'Last Meal' Means More to Executioners than Executed
Tweet Share on Facebook September 28, 2011 Comment (23)The idea of a "last meal" for condemned prisoners is irrational and a bit bizarre. But so, perhaps, is the Texas decision to eliminate the practice in the execution-happy Lone Star State.
-
Eliot Spitzer, Michael Vick Should Keep Their Heads Down
Tweet Share on Facebook September 27, 2011 Comment (4)Americans love a comeback. We pride ourselves as a country that offers second chances and opportunities for redemption, or—as critics might call it—reinvention. And it's true that one of the things that is refreshing about the United States is that even when you're down, financially, personally, professionally, or otherwise, the public almost always is willing to let you make another go of it.
-
GOP Should Pay Attention to Gary Johnson's Stance on Cuba
Tweet Share on Facebook September 26, 2011 Comment (6)Poor Gary Johnson. He can't catch a break, even when he has something valuable to say.
-
What Were the Americans Detained in Iran Thinking?
Tweet Share on Facebook September 22, 2011 Comment (7)It was horrifying when three Americans were arrested by Iranian authorities and charged with being spies, apparently because they had allegedly strayed into Iranian territory while hiking in the Kurdish region of Iraq. And it was a huge relief, yesterday, when the two men, despite having been sentenced to eight years in prison, were released (the woman in the group had been released earlier on humanitarian grounds because of her failing health).
-
The Sexist, Servile Nostalgia of Pan Am and The Playboy Club
Tweet Share on Facebook September 21, 2011 Comment (14)Grudging credit must be paid to television network programming executives, who unwittingly have figured out how to address that pesky problem of high unemployment.
-
Accusations of Michelle Obama 9/11 Flag Disrespect Ridiculous
Tweet Share on Facebook September 20, 2011 Comment (26)The recent furor over something Michelle Obama maybe, could have, might have said underscores not just how incredibly petty and paranoid our country has become. It's also a dangerous sign of how low so-called journalistic standards have sunk.
-
Kara Kennedy Not a Victim of a 'Curse,' but a Symbol of Resilience
Tweet Share on Facebook September 19, 2011 Comment (8)Whenever a tragedy or unexpected death hits the Kennedy family, it sets off another round of tired speculation about whether some sort of "curse" has afflicted the famous clan. Kara Kennedy's sad passing recently has unfortunately revived that ridiculous story line. But her life— cut short though it was—reflects something more telling about the family, and in particular, about Ms. Kennedy's father, the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy. And that is a relentless optimism in the face of illness and other difficulty.
-
Elizabeth Warren Shows GOP's Clumsy, Anti-Education Populism
Tweet Share on Facebook September 15, 2011 Comment (15)Across the country, schools and parents are fretting about students' performances on standardized tests. SAT scores have dropped slightly in the Washington, D.C. area, raising questions about whether students are prepared for college, or whether it's just that more kids are trying to get into college and skewing the results. And school administrators and teachers worry that if their students don't do well enough on controversial standardized tests required under No Child Left Behind, they will lose funding or be forced to shut down.
-
Criticisms of Rick Perry's HPV Mandate MisdirectedÂ
Tweet Share on Facebook September 14, 2011 Comment (14)Texas Gov. Rick Perry is under fire for making a decision he now says is a mistake: pushing for mandatory vaccination of young girls to protect them from a virus that can cause cervical cancer. But the criticism of Perry misses the point.
