2005 | 2004 | 2003

John Leo is a contributing editor for U.S.News & World Report, and his column on the state of our culture appears weekly in 140 newspapers across the country. Leo has covered the social sciences and intellectual trends for Time magazine and the New York Times. He is also the author of two books: Two Steps Ahead of the Thought Police and a book of humor, How the Russians Invented Baseball and Other Essays of Enlightenment.

2005 Columns

Remaking the judge: If you're making a case against Samuel Alito, it's a mistake to get hung up on the facts. (11/28/05)

'Dangerously radical': Why the liberal assaults on Judge Samuel Alito's abortion rulings are, quite simply, dead wrong (11/14/05)

The new McGovernites: Why the Democratic Party's Deaniacs are today's McGovernites (11/7/05)

Caught in the cross hunt: The ACLU pushes things too far in its committment to the separation of church and state. (10/26/05)

Class(room) warriors: Standing up to efforts to impose group think in education schools (10/24/05)

The parent trap: How a kindergarten class lesson on gay marriage got Dad tossed in jail (10/10/05)

All in the family: Why a strong, intact home life is the biggest single factor in raising good, successful kids (10/3/05)

The race canard: Blaming the government's lousy response to Katrina on racism is dangerous and irresponsible. (9/26/05)

Failure's many fathers: Katrina inexcusably caught government relief agencies flat-footed and unready. (9/19/05)

Getting no satisfaction: Plumbing the Rolling Stones' puzzling new "Sweet Neo Con" for its deep inner meaning (9/5/05)

Attack of the nannies: Do-gooders are all around us now, trying to ban everything from kids' games to ketchup. (8/29/05)

Hey, it wasn't my fault: Steroid use, me? Blame the nighttime gremlins and spiked Gatorade. (8/15/05)

It's all our fault: To hear some on the left tell it, terrorism is exactly what the West deserves for its many sins. (8/8/05)

Fun with numbers: Why you just can't trust the "statistics" proffered by advocacy groups (8/1/05)

Rooting for the Martians: Moviemakers have grown eye-poppingly angry, mostly over Bush and Iraq. (7/25/05)

A judge with no agenda: The rise of lawmaking judges makes politics less democratic. (7/18/05)

Double trouble speak: Why say something clearly when you can use a jaw-breaking euphemism? (7/4/05)

An autopsy won't end it: The alleged need to end a life without clear consent is likely to induce anxiety in many. (6/27/05)

A guy with gumption: A new book shows why Rudy Giuliani was so much more than just a great mayor. (6/20/05)

Stories not told: Why the mainstream media devote so much attention to some issues-and so little to others (6/13/05)

Time to fix the court: Republicans have a historic chance to repair a damaged Supreme Court. (6/6/05)

The media in trouble: Groupthink makes the news media predisposed to certain kinds of mistakes. (5/30/05)

Googling the future: A world in which there's no discernible difference between real news and low-level fluff (5/16/05)

Full disclosure: To judge the credibility of people in the news, readers deserve the whole story. (5/9/05)

Not a religious fight: Accusing the Democrats of running a jihad against believers is a mistake. (5/2/05)

The end of argument: Do we really need yet another major assault on a prominent politician, or can we spend some time discussing actual issues? (4/25/05)

Baking with fire: Campus culture is so heavily pitched against dissent that many students react viscerally to those who disagree. (4/18/05)

Requiem for reason: We seem headed for much more conflict between religious and secular Americans. (4/11/05)

A regrettable limit on life: Bioethics has hardened into an activist ideology that pervades the medical world. (4/4/05)

Double-standard trouble: Conservatives and liberals alike switch positions if it is to their advantage. (3/28/05)

Of men, women, and money: Do men earn more money than women in comparable jobs with comparable responsibility? (3/21/05)

Time for a dose of Dr. No: Naysayers try to spread negativity and pessimism. (3/14/05)

Liberalism: Can it survive?: Liberals are not inspired by any vision of the good society. (3/7/05)

Making media accountable: The framing of news stories can distort mainstream reporting. (2/28/05)

Canada can't save you: Will those who have threatened to leave America find happiness in Canada? (2/21/05)

What Larry meant to say: "The literature points to one conclusion: The sexes are different." (2/14/05)

Playing the old blame game: Some of the best examples in a very good year for victimhood (1/17/05)

Campus life, fully exposed: Criticizing other students' ideas can seem like a faux pas, if not a challenge to their identity. (1/10/05)