Archived Opinions

The 1,001 Worries of Sarah Palin | 09.02.08
A reader's guide to sorting out all the stuff the McCain vetting team missed. By James Norton

The 2008 Veepstakes | 07.02.08
Selecting the right vice-presidential candidate is oh-so-important for McCain and Obama. By Michael Frissore

Bo Diddley, In Memoriam | 06.09.08
Marking the passing of the man who transcended the meaning of "cool." By Matt Hanson

Ten Years Without Phil Hartman | 05.28.08
A decade later, the void left by Hartman's death hasn't yet been filled. By Michael Frissore

Myanmar: While the World Waits | 05.19.08
International delay translates directly into death for the people of Myanmar. By Patrick Burns

March of the Puppets | 05.12.08
When supposedly independent "military analysts" were asked to shovel bullshit, the networks lent them a spade and a wheelbarrow. By Matt Hanson

The Iron's Still Hot | 05.08.08
The evolution of Iron Man is, in fact, the evolution of America's self-image. By Charles Moss

Figuring out Hunter S. Thompson | 04.04.08
In memory of Hunter S. Thompson: a long, hard look into the darkness at the end of the tunnel. By Ian M. Clarke

Barack Obama, Child of the '70s | 03.25.08
A child of a by-gone era of gung-ho integration compares the dreams of the '70s to the words of Barack Obama. By Edward McClelland

'Tis a Pity They're All Whores | 03.17.08
Spitzer is a whore. All politicians are whores. Some of them just make the mistake of being whores in trivial ways. By Eve Adams

Sensitivity Made Simple | 02.11.08
What's harder to detect: sexism or racial bigotry? The Bigotron3000 is here to help us sort things out. By Aemilia Scott

Heath Ledger: In Memoriam | 01.28.08
The true tragedy of Ledger's apparent overdose is that his contribution to culture transcended mere Hollywood. By Stephen Himes

The Dismemberment Man: Christopher Hitchens | 01.08.08
A portrait of the last of a dying breed: Homo Hemingwayus, the Man's Man. By Neil Fitzgerald

Norman Mailer, In Memoriam | 11.20.07
He lived for a long time out loud, naked, willing to embarrass himself if it brought new perceptions, and there can hardly be anything more American than that. By Matt Hanson

The Unmitigated Gall of John Roberts | 10.31.07
The chief justice of the US Supreme Court has revealed his true stripes: Zombie-master extraordinaire. By Stephen Himes

John Roberts and the Supreme Strike Zone | 10.30.07
It's all well and good to say that you'll be like a baseball umpire, until you claim that umpires play by an objective set of rules. By Stephen Himes

How We Know George W. Bush To Be a Hipster | 10.29.07
All the signs are there: the First Dude is also the Hipster-In-Chief. By John Flowers

9/11 in 2007 | 10.17.07
Bill Richardson would be a stellar presidential candidate if only he'd stop talking. By Eric Hananoki

9/11 in 2007 | 09.11.07
A first-hand witness of the Towers collapse observes that the closer you were to New York City on Sept. 11, 2001, the less Rudolph Giuliani now seems like a hero. By Cary Jackson Broder

Stranger Than Fact | 08.29.07
The recent DVD release of 300 raises the following question: What is it about fiction that makes otherwise sensible people celebrate fascism? By Aemilia Scott

Meet the Snowman | 08.01.07
A crudely animated pile of slush and fruit sends Republican candidates fleeing for the olden days. By J. Daniel Janzen

The Curious Morality of Leadership | 07.18.07
Much can be learned from the wobbly, ongoing fall of Sen. David Vitter. By Jeremy Foster

Of Amnesty and Cruelty | 06.21.07
A struggle over the immigration reform bill cuts to the heart of whether conservatives have the capacity for compassion. By Jeremy Foster

Kurt Vonnegut: 1922-2007 | 04.12.07
One of literature's great humanists has left the stage. By James Norton

The Tom Tancredo Show | 04.04.07
Introducing the GOP's one-man band of political flaws. By Eric Hananoki

The Radical Cure | 03.27.07
Impeachment is the only cure to shatter a cycle of corruption and pardon that has sickened the Republic. By David Essex

Seven Reasons Mitt Romney Will Win the Nomination | 02.26.07
Brace yourselves; a flip-floppin' Mormon nominee is inevitable at this point. By James Norton

An American Celebrity Crisis | 02.08.07
Do the misbehaving ladies of the USA represent the decline and fall of American civilization? Or just a need for longer skirts? By Sean Springer

Squelching a Surge | 01.30.07
Being president means you don't have to listen to opinion polls... up to a point. By Noam Lupu

The End of the End of an ETA | 01.29.07
A recent bombing in Spain is a tragedy. But it's not a reason to stop working for a long-term peace. By Sara J. Brenneis

Saddam's Silent Partner | 01.24.07
When truth implodes, satire slouches to the rescue. By Matt Hanson

Saddam's Silent Partner | 01.05.07
Saddam has paid the ultimate price, but his one-time allies in the West have slipped the noose scot-free. By Jeremy Carlos Foster

Fill 'er Up | 11.20.06
The QuiverFull Movement is proud to announce God's plan for your vagina. By Eve Adams

Is Rumsfeld Toast? Sure. | 11.08.06
Is the defense secretary going out on a sour note? You could say that. By Bob Cook

The Man With the Plan | 11.06.06
Why Henry Kissinger is so much more than just a creepy fossil. By Matt Hanson

A Front-Line Cure for Frivolous Wars | 10.16.06
Presidents are expendable. America's reputation isn't. By James Norton

Oriana Fallaci: 1929-2006 | 09.21.06
A stunning combination of sharp mind, sharp tongue, and sharp edges. By Eve Adams

Steve Irwin: 1962-2006 | 09.12.06
G'bye, mate. By Stephen Himes

Happy Sept. 11, Everybody | 09.11.06
The real truth about Sept. 11 is being accompanied by a bodyguard of lies, decked out in masks and fake blood. By James Norton

The War on Hot Air | 06.08.06
Al Gore's new documentary is a warning of things to come, both climatic and political. By Eric Ditzian

Alex Toth: 1928-2006 | 06.06.06
The creator of "The Herculoids" may not have been a household name, but he left an indelible mark. By Benjamin Chandler

Ciao Time | 04.17.06
For the first time in centuries, Italian politics may have something to teach us. By Joshua Adams

Sit Down Comedy: The Gospel of Me | 04.13.06
A formal response to the events of recent days. By Judas Iscariot, as revealed to Aemilia Scott

The End of an ETA | 03.24.06
ETA, the Basque separatist group, has declared a ceasefire after forty years of violence. Could this reveal an alternative to President Bush's smoke-'em-out method of stopping terrorism? By Sara J. Brenneis

Progressive Agenda | 03.22.06
President Bush thinks we're making progress in Iraq. Sure, if by progress you mean going from bad to worse. By Joshua Adams

The 20th Anniversary of The Legend of Zelda | 02.22.06
You and the Legend of Zelda are old. By Taylor Carik

A Million Little Pieces: Everyone's a Winner! | 01.18.06
One man's fib has become humanity's cornucopia. By Jeanie Miller

The P-Word | 12.23.05
The mainstream media frequently describe political leaders as populist. But what exactly does that mean? By Noam Lupu

Our Own War, Part II | 12.20.05
The challenge for our generation is to appreciate the difference between a preview in the theater and a newspaper headline. By Nate Wood

Our Own War, Part I | 12.13.05
For the generation that grew up idolizing Captain Willard and Lieutenant Cross, the war in Iraq is a sobering lesson. By Nate Wood

Richard Pryor: 1940-2005 | 12.12.05
Richard Pryor is dead, muthaf*cka! By Taylor Carik

Happy Fucking Holidays | 12.03.05
Controversy is in the air this holiday season: CIA leaks, corruption, faulty intelligence and the question of our time — Happy Holidays or Merry Christmas? By J. Daniel Janzen

Stan Berenstain: 1923-2005 | 11.30.05
Simple moral lessons have tremendous power; we should contemplate their creator after his final hour. By Aemilia Scott

Rebels With a Cause | 11.23.05
The riots in France are reminiscent of the American racial strife of the early '90s. But the differences are telling. By E. Randolph Hull Jr.

Fuji Phone Home | 11.11.05
Alberto Fujimori, Peru's embattled former president, is planning a comeback by taking a page from George W. Bush. He should be careful who he emulates. By Noam Lupu

Conservative Is the New Progressive | 11.08.05
A new infomercial shows the new conservative movement isn't content to be a tolerated sideshow. It's looking to take over the mainstream. By Jen Brea

A Good Story | 11.03.05
American attention spans are too short for complicated leak investigations. I mean, what is Katie Holmes thinking? By Aemilia Scott

All the President's Journalists | 11.01.05
The Plamegate scandal may mark the final fading twilight of the majestic — but doomed — mainstream media dinosaurs. By David Essex

You're Out! | 10.31.05
The debacle of the Miers nomination was a surprisingly bad play by a usually strategic Bush team. But they may yet come back. By Taylor Carik

Creation Pseudo-Science | 10.11.05
A cold, clinical look at the warm, comforting religion that is "intelligent design." By Joshua Adams

Marshall Field's: 1865-2006 | 09.23.05
The Macy's makeover of a Chicago original may play well on Wall Street. But how will it play on Main Street? By Bob Cook

Rabbit at Rot | 09.14.05
The 50th anniversary of Playboy highlights how a magazine once read "for its articles" — really — has fallen on trashy times. By Joseph C. Krupnick

Second Chance | 09.09.05
After Sept. 11, America wasted the opportunity for fundamental reform. Let's not make the same mistake twice. By J. Daniel Janzen

William H. Rehnquist: 1924-2005 | 09.08.05
The Rehnquist Revolution is not over. But liberals can still forge ahead with a progressive agenda by learning its lessons. By Joshua Adams

Weekly Shredder, Vol. 51 | 09.08.05
The army is calling looters and those resisting evacuation in New Orleans insurgents. That's not only bizarre; it also bears foreboding implications. By Taylor Carik

Who Will Pay for New Orleans? and A Disaster Waiting to Happen... Again | 09.06.05
Someone in the federal government should be held to account for the disastrous response to Hurricane Katrina. But does it make sense to spend federal money rebuilding a vulnerable city? By James Norton and Joseph C. Krupnick

Lethal Incompetence | 09.05.05
The Bush administration's inept handling of the Katrina catastrophe points to worrisome kinks in the security armor. By J. Daniel Janzen

Weekly Shredder, Vol. 50 | 09.01.05
John Bolton gets his hands on a UN document and whips out his pen. Is he all that moderates feared he'd be? By James Norton

Weekly Shredder, Vol. 49 | 08.25.05
Iraq's new constitution is (not at all) ready to rock! By James Norton

Weekly Shredder, Vol. 48 | 08.18.05
A vivid, rabblerousing e-mail forward demonstrates the Internet's amazing power to deceive and misinform. By James Norton

Air-Conditioned Sidewalks | 08.17.05
In the middle of soaring energy prices and a Mideast war, the cold air of Midtown keeps blasting. By J. Daniel Janzen

Weekly Shredder, Vol. 47 | 08.04.05
John Bolton is lifted from the muck and mire of an inconvenient Senate confirmation through the magic of a recess appointment. By James Norton

Oedipal Complex | 07.25.05
The Valerie Plame scandal is beginning to resemble a Greek tragedy. The only question is who will end up with their eyes gouged out. By Joseph C. Krupnick

Weekly Shredder, Vol. 46 | 07.21.05
Howard Dean has Supreme Court nominee John Roberts in his sights. But he'd have better luck trying to destroy the Death Star with a sparkler. By James Norton

Mencken vs. the Mainstream Media | 07.20.05
Why a voice from the past could punch holes in what passes for public discourse these days. By Joseph C. Krupnick

The Morning After the Morning-After Pill | 07.19.05
Opposition to the morning-after pill rests upon two logical pillars. They shatter like glass when you hit 'em with the facts. By Joseph C. Krupnick

Weekly Shredder, Vol. 45 | 07.14.05
The Top Ten Rove-related dodges of Scott McClellan. By James Norton

Weekly Shredder, Vol. 44 | 07.07.05
The Danes put the screws to Bush, and we parse the gap between words and truth. By James Norton

Roe on the Ropes | 07.04.05
Reproductive rights will run a savage legal gauntlet after Sandra Day O'Connor steps down from the Supreme Court. By Stephanie Kuenn

Weekly Shredder, Vol. 43 | 07.01.05
US troops die in combat; Iraq goes up in flames; Bush gives a speech. By James Norton

Weekly Shredder, Vol. 42 | 06.23.05
Wherein a radical new solution to the Scott McClellan problem emerges. By James Norton

The Schiavo In-Laws | 06.17.05
How an American tragedy echoes a saga as old as marriage itself: The battle against the in-laws. By Bob Cook

Weekly Shredder, Vol. 41 | 06.16.05
An absurd chicken-based defense of torture reveals an unnerving new attitude toward human rights abuses. By James Norton

The Jackson Jury Looks Down the Barrel of a Gun | 06.14.05
Why we are powerless to stop the monster we created. By Aemilia Scott

Breaching the Ivory Tower | 06.14.05
A new right-wing assault on academia is as ambitious as it is dunderheaded. By Noam Lupu

Weekly Shredder, Vol. 40 | 06.09.05
Red states: tough on crime. Blue states: hives of sin. So according to the FBI, where do the criminals hang their hats? By James Norton

The News is Dead | 06.08.05
The new Newseum is here, just in time to act as a giant, stylized tombstone for the thing it celebrates. By David Essex

Blogged | 05.19.05
A political blogger's misplaced barbs show the need for self-regulation among the Web's pundits. By Alex Hinton

Weekly Shredder, Vol. 39 | 05.12.05
Government transparency takes another hard hit. By James Norton

Polling Day in the UK | 05.05.05
Sinister postmen, tactical voting and Peter Snow's Swingometer — polling day is upon us! By Louis Cooke

Horse and Carriage | 05.04.05
Great Britain and Tony Blair prepare to renew their vows. But is trouble afoot for this dreamy bride and handsome groom? By Louis Cooke

Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh Way | 05.03.05
An anthropological exploration of Sinn Fein, Plaid Cymru, the Democratic Unionist Party, the Social Democratic Labour Party and all the other zany also-rans that make the UK system throb with intrigue. By Louis Cooke

Britain's Manifesto Destiny | 05.02.05
As the British election hots up, Flak's bloke-on-the-spot reporting kicks into high gear with a new daily series. By Louis Cooke

Weekly Shredder, Vol. 38 | 04.28.05
The Wall Street Journal's editorial page plays the denial game with Abu Ghraib. By James Norton

The Many Meanings of "Benedict" | 04.22.05
The historical and spiritual ramifications of the new pope's Benedictine shout-out. By Aemilia Scott

Weekly Shredder, Vol. 37 | 04.21.05
A boldfaced defense of Tom DeLay may exhaust the Republican Party's dwindling line of credit. By James Norton

Pomp, Progress and the Papacy | 04.19.05
The awesome and terribly important splendor of papal death and rebirth. By Aemilia Scott

Weekly Shredder, Vol. 36 | 04.14.05
The GOP's love of the thrill takes its most adventurous turn yet. By James Nor— in a manner of speaking. By Louis Cooke

Weekly Shredder, Vol. 35 | 04.07.05
Bush hits the road to urge Americans to board a sinking ship. By James Norton

Pope John Paul II: 1920-2005 | 04.02.05
On the death of the master statesman, spiritual pioneer and arch-conservative. By Joshua Adams

On Dying | 03.29.05
The various intersections of suicide, Caesar and God. By Aemilia Scott

Weekly Shredder, Vol. 34 | 03.24.05
Sometimes, in order to defend a playbook full of deception and lies, you need to resort to deception and lies. By James Norton

Weekly Shredder, Vol. 33 | 03.17.05
Bush's plain-talkin' press conference was surprisingly devoid of plain talk. By James Norton

Long Live the King? | 03.10.05
Decades after his heyday, Elvis tops the UK Top 40 chart. A testament to his legacy or to the desperate state of the Top 40? By Louis Cooke

The Gates and The Games | 03.08.05
The selling of one great New York spectacle should put us on notice about the selling of the next. By Wiley Norvell

Weekly Shredder, Vol. 32 | 03.03.05
Political consultant Frank Luntz presents the 2005 edition of "Lies That Get You More Power." By James Norton

Hunter S. Thompson: 1937-2005 | 02.22.05
Never afraid to throw objectivity down the crapper in order to tell the truth. By David Essex

Arthur Miller: 1915-2005 | 02.14.05
Art needs to transcend fashion if it aspires to greatness. Miller's art did — and still does. By Joshua Adams

Weekly Shredder, Vol. 31 | 02.03.05
When you've got a bad plan to kill a good program, you need a great playbook. By James Norton

Johnny Carson: 1925-2005 | 01.28.05
Carson was the last of the media titans. By Bob Cook

Weekly Shredder, Vol. 30 | 01.27.05
Wherein Advisor Rice becomes Secretary Rice, but that darn mushroom cloud trails in her wake like a shadow. By James Norton

Weekly Shredder, Vol. 29 | 01.20.05
Wherein the next American secretary of State cannot decide whether torture is "good" or "bad." By James Norton

Weekly Shredder, Vol. 28 | 01.13.05
In the wake of the Ohio vote challenge, it's "clueless" versus "vicious" on the House floor, and nobody comes out looking good. By James Norton

Weekly Shredder, Vol. 27 | 01.06.05
Beware noncombatants who celebrate the glory of war. By James Norton

In Memoriam: Jerry Orbach | 12.30.04
More than just a zinger-slinger, the "order" half of Law and Order brought grace to every role he played. By James Norton

Argentina Goes All-In | 12.22.04
With US attention focused on Iraq and Afghanistan, Argentina is eyeing the cookie jar. By Noam Lupu

Weekly Shredder, Vol. 26 | 12.17.04
Wherein the US government tries to size up the cost of war. By James Norton

Weekly Shredder, Vol. 25 | 12.09.04
A Wisconsin senator known for his tough stands goes after the country's incoming Secretary of State. By James Norton

Weekly Shredder, Vol. 24 | 12.02.04
A little-known government report starts with the question of strategic communication and turns into one of the most scathing indictments of the Bush war on terror published anywhere. By James Norton

Weekly Shredder, Vol. 23 | 11.25.04
It's Thanksgiving, and the White House is answering questions about turkey trivia through the ages. Can they collectively tell the truth... just this once? Remember: It's a holiday! By James Norton

America the Extreme | 11.24.04
Time magazine is pitching the idea of Michael Moore and Mel Gibson as "extremists." But Time hasn't even scratched America's surface. By Chris Sprow

Weekly Shredder, Vol. 22 | 11.18.04
We shouldn't be worried about who is seeing a shocking videotape made in Fallujah. We should be worried about who isn't seeing it. By James Norton

Morality and the Democrats | 11.17.04
To win the presidency in 2008, Democrats need a candidate who passes the truck stop test. By Jessica Farmer

Weekly Shredder, Vol. 21 | 11.11.04
You'd think that you could kick a guy while he was down without resorting to cleats and steel-tipped boots, but Marty Peretz proves otherwise with an attack on John Kerry. By James Norton

The Predictive Power of Herds | 11.10.04
How a crowd can out-think an expert. By Noam Lupu

Weekly Shredder, Vol. 20 | 11.04.04
Wherein Bush enters his second term cozily ensconced within a fortified alternate reality. By James Norton

The Semi-Retirement of Dave Barry | 10.29.04
A warm salute to a prolific humor maestro's half-fade into The Partial Sunset of Semi-Retirement. By Bob Cook

John Peel: In Memoriam | 10.29.04
A relentless musical trailblazer has jockeyed his last disc. By Louis Cooke

Weekly Shredder, Vol. 19 | 10.28.04
Eminem sets his sights on Bush and pulls the trigger. By James Norton

Weekly Shredder, Vol. 18 | 10.26.04
An election-eve examination of the issue closest to the president's heart: his faith. By J. Daniel Janzen with J. Gerald Janzen

Weekly Shredder, Vol. 17 | 10.21.04
Surely the Bush administration wouldn't lie about something as serious as a vaccine shortage... right? By James Norton

Weekly Shredder, Vol. 16 | 10.21.04
The Tampa Tribune has endorsed Republican presidents every election since Eisenhower, with two exceptions. One was Barry Goldwater. The other is George W. Bush. By James Norton

Weekly Shredder, Vol. 15 | 10.14.04
Alice Collins's recent column in a Chicago-area weekly shopper is the quiet voice of Middle America. By Bob Cook

Weekly Shredder, Vol. 14 | 10.14.04
The New York Times should have dug up a little more news before printing its "Bush's bulge" story. By James Norton

Jacques Derrida: 1930-2004 | 10.14.04
Derrida was an exacting thinker. But he was worth it. By Joshua Adams

L Is for Lighten Up | 10.13.04
Gymnastics' uptightness is Abercrombie's gain. By Chris Sprow

Weekly Shredder, Vol. 13 | 10.07.04
President Bush tries again on defense policy, but comes no closer to the truth. By J. Daniel Janzen

Weekly Shredder, Vol. 12 | 09.30.04
White House spin stacks up poorly against straight talk from the heart of Baghdad. By James Norton

Swingers | 09.28.04
The only way states like California and Texas can matter this fall is if they make like Hugh Hefner and swing. By Bob Cook

Weekly Shredder, Vol. 11 | 09.23.04
Wherein smartypants David Brooks struggles with dactylic hexameter and loses. By Joshua Adams

Weekly Shredder, Vol. 10 | 09.16.04
Condi Rice, freedom haters, and a feisty little ball of trouble known as "The Middle East." By Bob Cook

Weekly Shredder, Vol. 9 | 09.09.04
Zig-Zag Zell and The Unbearable Resilience of Lies. By Bob Cook

Ground Zero | 09.03.04
New York City, as handled by the GOP: Abused, used and ultimately refused. By J. Daniel Janzen

Weekly Shredder, Vol. 8 | 09.02.04
Loathed by the left, regretted by the right... what's an all-powerful vice president to do at the Republican National Convention? By James Norton

The L-Word | 09.01.04
Why John Kerry, and the Democrats, need to embrace the L-Word.. By Jessica Wolpert

Weekly Shredder, Vol. 7 | 08.26.04
MoveOn fights political slime... with more political slime. By J. Daniel Janzen

Weekly Shredder, Vol. 6 | 08.19.04
Are we a nation ruled by laws? Or by men (and women)? And can't we pick and choose based on convenience? By Joshua Adams

Prudent Paranoia | 08.17.04
Why planning for an election day attack isn't just politicking. By Wendy Fried

Julia Child: 1912-2004 | 08.16.04
The secret ingredient was love. By J. Daniel Janzen

Weekly Shredder, Vol. 5 | 08.12.04
If Bush can't dominate Southwest Missouri, he's in big trouble. Thus: Bush is in big trouble. By Stephen Himes

Weekly Shredder, Vol. 4 | 08.05.04
White House press secretary Scott McClellan goes deep, deep, deep into denial, and we ferret him out. By James Norton

Skeletons in the Closet | 07.30.04
Winning over the hearts and minds of the Mideast's Muslims — or at least making them not hate us — starts with owning up to the Abu Ghraib prison scandal. By J. Daniel Janzen

Weekly Shredder, Vol. 3 | 07.29.04
Wherein we are magically transported back before Sept. 11. By Alissa Rowinsky

Weekly Shredder, Vol. 2 | 07.22.04
Everybody — get down! The Shredder is back, and it's heading right for the president's stump speech! By J. Daniel Janzen

Weekly Shredder, Vol. 1 | 07.15.04
The launch of a new Thursday feature, wherein some poor, hapless document gets eviscerated for your entertainment. This week: a transcript of White House Anthropomorphic Weasel Scott McClellan. By James Norton

On Character and Torture | 06.24.04
Abu Ghraib and "never again." By Mark Klempner

Juvenile Injustice | 06.18.04
Why Anne Mae He is this year's Elian. By Stephen Cheng

Ray Charles: 1930-2004 | 06.14.04
The piano's best friend made his mark not with crazy flourishes, but by sitting down and playing his instrument with class and grace. By Andy Stilp

In Memoriam: Ronald Reagan | 06.07.04
We all remember Reagan, but how? By Jim Norton

God's Green Earth | 06.03.04
Why Christians should be the new environmentalists. By Jay Rickabaugh

Indian Spring | 06.02.04
What comes next for India? By Noam Lupu

Not Your Average Poe | 05.24.04
If you think American politics is celebrity-obsessed, check out the Philippines. By Elbert Ventura

Present at the Creation | 05.18.04
A passerby catches history in the making in Massachusetts. By Michael Kress

Seeing Is Believing | 05.14.04
How consumer technology is revolutionizing the Iraq war. By James Stegall

Sins of Omission | 05.06.04
Bill O'Reilly is attacking Ted Koppel, but he should spend more time looking after his own glass house. By D.A. Blyler

Aristide's Story | 04.20.04
Why we should listen to Jean-Bertrand Aristide. By Carmen Gentile

Alistair Cooke: 1908-2004 | 04.01.04
Cooke's "Letters from America" bespoke a transatlantic citizenship. By Louis Cooke

Sir Peter Ustinov: 1921-2004 | 04.01.04
Sir Peter was a jack of all trades and a master of most. By Luciano D'Orazio

Challenging Huntington | 03.25.04
Samuel Huntington's latest shocking theory is all shock and little theory. By Noam Lupu

In Memoriam: Spalding Gray | 03.10.04
Spalding Gray used his talent as therapy, but in the end it wasn't enough. By Chris Ott

Remembering Bill Hicks | 02.26.04
What would Bill Hicks, who died a decade ago, think of 2004? By Dennis Perrin

It's not Easy Being Dean | 02.20.04
Why Dean was a victim of his own success. By Adam Stellato

Making Food Fun | 02.12.04
It's time to make genetically modified food production work for us. By Patrick Quirk

In the Abstract | 01.28.04
What the Sept. 11 memorial leaves out is what really matters. By Noam Lupu

Whitey on Mars | 01.23.04
President Bush seeks out new lands to liberate. By J. Daniel Janzen

Eyes on the Prize | 01.21.04
President Bush kicks off the campaign. By James Di Liberto, Jr.

Opus Dei | 01.16.04
Finally, Opus is back. But where's Bill the Cat? By Adam Finley

In Memoriam: Neil Postman | 12.30.03
Neil Postman, media-studies giant, passed away to little fanfare. He would have wanted it that way. By Angela Penny

Grendel on the Tigris | 12.17.03
Ladies and gentlemen, we've got 'em. Now the hard part begins. By Joshua Adams

Welcome Back, Señor Presidente | 11.20.03
Murderous. Terrifying. Inexplicably popular. What's the appeal of the Latin American dictator? By Luciano D'Orazio

Out of Focus | 11.04.03
The International Center of Photography's Triennial of Photography and Video misses an opportunity to explore its art. By Noam Lupu

Elliott Smith: 1969-2003 | 10.28.03
The delivery may have sounded bleak, but Elliott Smith's message was one of hope and perseverance. By Wayne Lewis

Blog Bust-up | 10.21.03
The sacking of Gregg Easterbrook's ESPN.com column has bloggers reconsidering their medium's gloves-off approach. By Bob Cook

Left Out | 10.17.03
At a recent Washington debate on globalization, obstinacy and realism clashed. Guess which side won. By Elbert Ventura.

Macho Man | 10.10.03
Arnold Schwarzenegger may style himself a centrist Republican, but he hails from the GOP's testosterone core. By Marcus Stanley

The General and the Governor | 10.02.03
How Clark one-ups Dean. By J. Daniel Janzen

A General Problem | 10.02.03
Why Clark can't beat Bush. By Joshua Adams

Echo Chamber | 10.02.03
Why a Wesley Clark candidacy hurts the Democrats. By Stephen Burzio

In Memoriam: Edward Said | 09.29.03
What we learned, and can still learn, from Edward Said. By Joshua Adams

No Fun Intended: Why Isn't Weird Al Funny Anymore? | 09.23.03
Is Weird Al Yankovic's recent irrelevance a sign of a more significant failing? By Adam Finley

The Swan Song of Johnny Cash | 09.15.03
Dodging self-destruction and obscurity, Johnny Cash lived long, leaving a sprawling musical legacy in his wake. by J. Daniel Janzen

On the Grid | 08.22.03
Don't dis the grid. By Noam Lupu

Thoughts in the Dark | 08.16.03
What goes through your mind when the power shuts off? By J. Daniel Janzen

A Matter of Respect | 08.11.03
It's not what New York Giants tight end Jeremy Shockey said that illustrates the lack of respect for gays in America. It's what the New York Daily News printed. By Geoff Wolinetz

Confidence Game | 07.30.03
With guys like Poindexter in office, who needs enemies? By P.J. Tigue

In Memoriam: Bob Hope | 07.29.03
Why the late Bob Hope still matters. By Claire Zulkey

Happy Birthday, Mandela — but WHAM? | 07.25.03
What happens after a nation's binding symbol fades away? By Cynthia Schweer

A Specious Claim | 07.10.03
The administration claims to be helping Holocaust survivors, but its really helping European insurance giants. By Clay Risen

Mission Incomplete | 07.08.03
Our new foreign policy is failing in a very unlikely place. By Paul Miller

In Memoriam: Strom Thurmond | 07.01.03
Love him or hate him, but Strom was a people's politician. By Luciano D'Orazio

Loving Big Brother | 06.25.03
Happy birthday, George Orwell. By J. Daniel Janzen

If It Ain't Broke ... | 05.29.03
Filibusters are fair, but they can't be the only weapon in the Democrats's arsenal. By Clay Risen

Kirchner's Folly | 05.27.03
How not to solve Argentina's failing economy. By Luciano D'Orazio

The Ugly American's Shadow | 05.22.03
Segway, bon mots, and us. By James Norton

Neither Criminal nor Soldier | 05.22.03
Why Jose Padilla is getting screwed. By Paul Miller

Memory Lapses | 05.16.03
The WTC memorial competition and what's being ignored. By Noam Lupu

Kids These Days | 05.07.03
Of magazines, marketing and (not) being a kid. By Michael Penn

The View from Johannesburg | 05.02.03
South Africans know what it's like to live under an oppressive regime. So why didn't they support the war in Iraq? By Cynthia Schweer

Promise Keeping | 05.01.03
Will no country be left behind? By Paul Miller

Cool Britannia | 04.10.03
There's trouble afoot in the coalition of the willing. By Robert Dunsford

In Memoriam: Michael Kelly | 04.04.03
The first US journalist killed in Iraq was an essayist so good he could make you forget you disagreed with his viewpoints. By P.J. Tigue

Ethics in Iraq | 04.01.03
There's war, and then there's just war. Which are we fighting in Iraq? By P.J. Tigue

Bloodless | 03.24.03
Why is the peace movement still fighting the first Gulf war? By Clay Risen

Salon's Latest Letter from the Editor | 03.18.03
Salon hits its readers up for money, at the expense of its soul. By Stephanie Kuenn

Bush's New Years "Fireworks" | 03.19.03
On the eve of war, an often-overlooked religion celebrates freedom. By Damion Matthews

Spanish Thoughts in Andalucia | 03.18.03
What do the Spanish think about American foreign policy? Not much, it seems. By Luciano D'Orazio

Unspoken Words | 03.14.03
How journalists can skin the White House's cat. By Bob Cook

The Knesset | 03.7.03
Israeli politics is beginning to mirror Italy's. Too bad its economy is tanking and it's on the verge of all-out war. By Yonatan Lupu

Mickey, Please Come Home | 02.21.03
Copyright law may be good, but thanks to the Supreme Court, we've now got too much of a good thing. By Jamie Wilson

F*@k the Clones | 02.21.03
Matilda and Dolly are dead. Phew. By Matt Tobey

World's Smallest Essay on the Coming Miniaturization of Literature | 02.18.03
The publishing world: What's size got to do with it? By Jason Sanford

Singles of the World, Unite! | 02.14.03
Valentine's Day, and the global backlash. By Luciano D'Orazio

Wither Title IX | 02.06.03
Is Title IX on the way out? By Jonathan Linder

Revenge on the Nerds | 02.03.03
What's nerdy-looking commentator David Brooks got against nerds? A peek into his grown-up, high-school world. By Julia Lipman

The State of the Union | 01.29.03
Bush's State of the Union Address. By Jim Di Liberto

Clinton's Life after Death | 01.28.03
Bill Clinton: Back in form and back on track. By Ari Levy

In Memoriam: Bill Mauldin | 01.24.03
It's been a bad week for cartoonists. By John Gorenfeld

In Memoriam: Al Hirschfeld | 01.22.03
Al Hirschfeld may have died, but his reign as the king of caricature will not end soon. By Andy Ross

Maggie and Leopold | 01.16.03
The late Argentine dictator Leopold Galtieri thought he had the answer to his junta's domestic problems. Too bad the answer involved taking on the Iron Lady. By Luciano D'Orazio

George Ryan's Big Moment | 01.15.03
Former Illinois Gov. George Ryan may be crooked, but it's his recent turn as a Republican Party pariah that made his historic anti-death penalty actions possible. By Bob Cook

In Memoriam: D.J. Enright | 01.14.03
With his witty, gorgeously spartan language and an eye for cultural differences, D.J. Enright was part of poetry's elite. By James Norton

Don't Mention the F-Word | 01.13.03
Don't hate them because they're fans. By Clare Sainsbury

Class-Action Rice Cake | 01.10.03
Why suing McDonald's for your obesity makes no sense. By Luciano D'Orazio

Unbuilding the Rebuilding | 01.08.03
The Lower Manhattan Development Corp.'s latest smokescreen. By Clay Risen

What Bono Knows | 01.07.03
Why Bono is a bad rock star but a good person. By Bob Cook

Going for Broke | 12.26.02
Racism and soccer economics, Italian style. By Luciano D'Orazio

Career Frist, Constituents Last | 12.23.02
What's the story on Bill Frist? By Clay Risen

New Ideas for Democrats | 12.06.02
Some ideas for desperate Democrats. By Jason Sanford

Come As You Were | 12.05.02
Hearing Nirvana on the radio again reminds a grown-up in Edinburgh of a time when Kurt Cobain and Co. saved his teenage life. By Simon Stephenson

Thwarting Famine | 12.04.02
There's famine on the horizon in southern Africa, and anti-GM sentiment is blocking the solution. By Jason Lott

Brave New Pets! | 11.25.02
God's monopoly on creating new life is finally over. It's time for humans to mix it up a little! By Rohit Gupta

Where Is All the Good Help These Days? | 11.21.02
The latest royal scandal, translated. By Luciano D'Orazio

In Memoriam: Jam Master Jay | 10.31.02
Goddamn, that DJ made our day. By James Norton

What's Bad and Red and Doomed All Over? | 10.30.02
The Chicago Tribune has launched RedEye, and insulted an entire generation. By Bob Cook

Bali High Noon | 10.14.02
The Kuta Beach bombing is the biggest test for the "War on Terror." By Clay Risen

Questioning History |10.7.02
Why "We the People" won't help our kids with history. By Bill Wilson

Requiem for a Rock Satirist |10.2.02
Warren, we hardly knew thee. By Bob Cook

A Local Tragedy | 09.17.02
A New Orleans killing is given new perspective by the anniversary of Sept. 11. By Michael Risen

The World Court | 09.13.02
America's basketball Benedict Arnolds. By Bob Cook

The World Trade Center Address | 09.09.02
Pataki: Get you own speech! By Clay Risen

Memories and Memorials | 09.09.02
When memorials blur the memories. By Claire Zulkey

The Importance of Being Tiger | 09.05.02
Tiger Woods shouldn't have to boycott the Masters to prove he's changed the social face of golf forever. By Andy Behrens

Bud Selig, Reviled Savior | 08.26.02
Your hate for the commissioner of baseball will save the game. He wants it that way. By David Propson

Good Night, Sweet Prince | 08.16.02
The life and times of Josh Ryan Evans, tiny soap opera star. By Stephanie Kuenn

The Decline and Fall of The British Empire Games | 08.03.02
The Commonwealth Games are more than just sport; they recall a whole host of imperial hangovers. By Simon Stephenson

Spinning Into Irrelevance | 07.30.02
While the media world laments the already complete demise of Rolling Stone, there's still time to save Spin. By Casey Logan

Joe Lieberman Is a Big Fat Idiot | 07.24.02
Not really. But a recent defense of stock-option loopholes makes you wonder what exactly it is that makes him a Democrat. By Clay Risen

Cooked Books, Flavored with Stock Options | 07.17.02
A growing number of senators and corporate types want to overhaul stock-option accounting rules, but it's not as easy a solution as they think. By Clay Risen

Coke: The Pause that Refreshes on a Slow News Day | 07.17.02
Coke's big Sunday stock options announcement smacks of a well-thought-out public relations coup. By Eric Wittmershaus

Teacher, Leave Then Kids Alone | 07.11.02
While no one was watching, the Court decided to destroy teenagers' already feeble privacy rights. By Jonathan Linder

The Moussaoui Show | 07.07.02
Why we should all be watching the Zac Moussaoui Show. By Clay Risen

Mulder, Where Are You? | 06.03.02
"The X-Files" is gone, and just when we need it the most. By Clay Risen

The World Cup: Five Reasons to Watch | 06.02.02
Why stay up to watch the World Cup? Marcos! Cafu! Rivaldo! Ronaldo! Lucio! Flak explains these five reasons ... and provides five more. By Michael Penn

A Little Bit Out of Whack | 05.31.02
Why the media should pay more, not less, attention to Chandra II. By Clay Risen

In Memoriam: Bill Peet | 05.23.02
Favorite of sleepy kids, bane of Walt Disney, animator and children's author Bill Peet will be dearly missed. By Claire Zulkey

Bad to the Boardroom | 05.20.02
Wilson to Harley-owning CEOs: Hey, give us back our cool! By Jamie Wilson

The Boy in the Band | 05.14.02
Luke Helder, mailbox bomber and media myth in the making. By Jonathan Linder

God Bless us everyone? | 05.13.02
Why "God Bless America" should be taken out of the ballgame. By Joshua Adams

Forgetting Armenia | 05.09.02
April is the cruelest month, and not just because it's tax season. By Jonathan Linder

The High-Stakes Game of Writing About College Admissions | 05.07.02
The college-admissions-journalism frenzy, explained. By Julia Lipman

I Come in Peace, America | 05.02.02
How a trip to an American library in India can be a rich education in American arrogance. By Rohit Gupta

Politics as Usual | 04.30.02
Despite McCain/Feingold, nepotism reigns at the local level. By Steve Bucaro

Rocketmail Slowly Gets Grounded | 04.25.02
Rocketmail, RIP: 1997-2002. By Gretchen Griffin

No Way Out | 04.12.02
Bush has finally decided to get serious about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Why now? By Joshua Adams

The Power of the Guaranteed Negative Response | 03.18.02
It's amazing what a little "no" can do for you. By Jamie Wilson

But Seriously ...? | 03.15.02
Six months into the new era of seriousness, and America has never been more inane. By Clay Risen

In the Pipeline | 03.11.02
Watching out for mission creep in Colombia. By Clay Risen

The State of the Onion | 02.13.02
Political rumblings in the land of hunger, nausea and Harriet Beecherson. By D.T. Harris

A Tale of Two Accountants | 02.04.02
Two sides of a shy profession thrust into the limelight. By Clay Risen

Hard to Explain: The Strokes on Saturday Night Live | 01.25.02
The Strokes have the hype. Now, how about some success? By Yancey Strickler

After the Bum's Rush | 01.15.02
Neither Neil Young's nor Paul McCartney's Sept. 11 tribute songs have the ability to resonate with their audience. By Yancey Strickler

The Battle of the Bulge | 01.04.02
The British, in these heady times, have met the current crisis with the reissue of jeans for men designed to, er, enhance whatever assets a man may or may not possess. By David Gaffen

But Seriously ...? | 03.15.02
Has the shock of Sept. 11 dropped the bottom out of America's barrel of fun? Get real. By Clay Risen

Christmas Had It Coming |12.24.01
Christmas keeps getting stolen, but basically it's its own fault. By Jonathan Kaplan

Everything Old is New Again | 12.21.01
For one Silicon Valley resident, missing the Next Big Thing was a good move. By Lyssa Friedman

W.G. Sebald: In Memoriam |12.17.01
A rising literary star whose early death was emblematic of the central themes in his work. By Clay Risen

Solomon on the Potomac | 12.17.01
Bush and his drive for a modern-day star chamber. By D.T. Harris

Lies You Can Read in Newsweek | 12.10.01
Reading between the lines of news magazine journalism. By James Norton

Outfoxed | 12.10.01
Is Fox's sensational war coverage a relic of the 90s or a nnew model of TV journalism. By Clay Risen

George Harrison | 12.3.01
George Harrison songs the networks could have been playing instead of "My Sweet Lord." By Stephanie Kuenn

George Harrison | 12.3.01
What it means to have George as your favorite Beatle. By Claire Zulkey

For Whom the Bell Tolls |11.21.01
Tragedy strikes America during a tour of a battle-scarred city thousands of miles away. By Benjamin Granby

The Thermobaric Age | 11.11.01
Thermobaric bombs are cheap, dirty and currently being dropped on Afghanistan. Let's hope terrorists don't get any ideas. By Clay Risen

Franzen's Dilemma | 10.26.01
Does embracing the masses threaten Jonathan Franzen's hip-lit credentials? By Clay Risen

Jedi-ism? | 10.25.01
Who says Jedi isn't a religion? The British, that's who. By David Gaffen

America Rediscovers the Working Class | 10.12.01
Sadly, sometimes it takes a tragedy for us to remember our roots. By Beth Birnbaum

Canadian Rockin' | 10.11.01
Forget the 10th anniversary of Nevermind. How about the 20th anniversary of Hoser Rock? By Bob Cook

Diplomacy in Depth | 10.10.01
It will take more than cruise missiles and bullets to bring peace with the Islamic world. By James Norton

The End of Ironing | 09.29.01
Lula Mae finally starts to understand what all this "irony" stuff is all about. By D.T. Harris

Anti Anti-War | 09.25.01
Protest is a good thing. But only when it knows what it's doing. By James Norton

"They Hate Us"? | 09.25.01
Why is blaming the victim such a popular response among the Left to the Sept. 11 attack? By Clay Risen

Sept. 11, 2001 | 09.24.01
A collection of opinions and reflections on the events of Sept. 11. By Flak Staff

Watch the Backlash | 09.12.01
American security is shattered by Tuesday's terror. Woe is us. Woe is the world. By James Norton

Muscle Mania | 09.11.01
Suddenly, women's fashion is all about the pecs. By Claire Zulkey

Fenced Out | 09.06.01
Anti-globalization activists want to tear down the fence. That's just what their opponents want, too. By Clay Risen

Music to My Ears | 08.27.01
A voice that spanned generations. Lorenzo Music, in memoriam. By Claire Zulkey

Is Bigger Better? | 08.15.01
In the world of sci-fi thrillers, does bigger always mean better? By Michael Risen

Protesting Gets Real | 08.13.01
From Wicker Park to Genoa, today's protesters just want to be heard. By Clay Risen

Europe after Genoa | 08.12.01
Europe in the post-Genoa moment. By Heather Wokusch

The Dawn of the Bob Greene Moment | 07.30.01
You know you're of a certain age when you start having Bob Greene Moments. By Bob Cook

Reject the Rebate | 07.29.01
Secretary O'Neill wants to buy your love with a tax rebate. Show him the palm, cuz he ain't the bomb. By Jessica Chapel

An Open Letter to John McCain | 07.25.01
Never mind the invitation to my Fourth of July cook-out you received last month, important matters lie at hand. By Scott Cullen

Capital of Shadows | 07.23.01
Christine Mirzayan, Chandra Levy and the gothic side of our nation's capital. By Clay Risen

In Memoriam: Katharine Graham | 07.17.01
Katharine Graham, long-time publisher of the Washington Post, is dead at 84. A role model not only for the newspaper trade, but for women everywhere. By Stephanie Keunn

Rewriting the Sentence | 07.08.01
For those who view convicted criminals as "human beings," there's a lot of reforming to be done. For starters, judges should hand down two seperate sentences. By James Norton

The Age of Celebrity-as-Editor | 06.29.01
The women's magazine industry had been gliding through the gutter for years, until famous people stepped up to the plate. By Stephanie Kuenn

The True Face of Democracy? | 06.25.01
The World Bank is meeting today and tomorrow, but protesters are distinctly unwelcome. What's being kept from us? By Heather Wokusch

Why We Watch Sex and the City | 06.25.01
How a posh and promising urban sex romp devolved into formulaic pablum. By Claire Zulkey

The Elusive Mr. Manning | 06.18.01
There's a long literary precendent for making up critics. By Eriq Gardner

Qualms of the Quarterlife | 06.15.01
Forget the global AIDS crisis. Forget Third World violence. We're facing a mounting crisis in our own country: that of the quarterlife. By Clay Risen

McVeigh's Country | 06.11.01
The U.S. executes retarded people. It manufactures instruments of torture. It trades with tyrants. Maybe our expulsion from the U.N. Commission on Human Rights isn't as strange as it first seemed. By Eric Wittmershaus

The Dotcom Funeral | 06.08.01
The demise of Automatic Media reminds us that our favorite content websites are mortal — and snuffin' it, left and right. By James Norton

I Enjoy a Good Spelling Bee | 06.05.01
"Succedaneum," Sportscenter style. By Donovan Lopez

I Think I'm a Clone Now | 05.28.01
Can a human life ever be replaced? Once upon a time, it was easy to say "no." By Rob Milt

The Nomination Game | 05.21.01
President Bush's shotgun blast of low-profile, high-impact nominations may dramatically change the face of government. By Clay Risen

Anne Robinson in my New Pinup Girl | 05.18.01
Britain's queen of mean moves stateside, to one author's delight. By Patrick Flanery

In Memoriam: Douglas Adams | 05.12.01
Douglas Adams, author of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy," is dead at 49. He leaves a beautiful world behind him. By James Norton

Timothy McVeigh Wins | 05.08.01
The death penalty's biggest day will also be its comeuppance. By Peter Herrick

A Call to Nader | 05.04.01
Where's Ralph when we need him? By Scott Cullen

A Rumble in the Jungle Hits Home | 04.30.01
A Tragedy in the Peruvian skies has disturbing implications for our domestic tranquility. By Clay Risen

Who Deserves a Break Today? | 04.20.01
Who's going to be hurt most by Bush's tax cuts? Ask the kids. By Tom Granger

Days of Blunder | 04.04.01
Florida's new law limiting access to autopsies will hurt the NASCAR drivers it is intended to help. By Ben Welch

CO₂ About-Face | 03.30.01
Bush thinks his emmissions backpeddling is politically expedient, but it's only going to hurt him in the long run. By Anders Hove

The Embassy at the Gate | 03.24.01
In the latest round of Berlin's Embassy Streit, it's Germany: 1, United States: 0. By Clay Risen

The Old New Economy | 03.12.01
As dot-communists become dot-serfs, why have so few accepted the idea of New-Economy unionization? By Clay Risen

The Pardons' Tale | 03.07.01
Sadly, Bill's got a point. The politically motivated pardon is an American tradition. By Sam Handlin

I Predict Earthquakes | 03.01.01
The Seattle Quake shakes up the one guy who saw it coming. By Adam Voith

Postmodern Poster Boy | 02.23.01
You probably haven't heard of him, and you won't catch his stuff at MoMA, but Thomas Kinkade is a major player in US art. By Clay Risen

Hot for Teacher | 02.16.01
The US military has its own subtle instrument of foreign policy that falls right off the public's radar. By Clay Risen

The Century of Design | 02.01.01
Whence the difference between design and fashion? By Rob Diab

Holiday in Ecuador | 01.25.01
If Colombia is going to be this country's next Vietnam, then Ecuador will be the next Cambodia. By Clay Risen

An Open Letter to Paul Allen | 01.19.01
In which a young artiste says, "hey, Paul Allen, how's about a little something? You know, for the effort?" By James Norton

The Return of a Real American Hero | 01.10.01
America's boys rejoice — we finally have a G.I. Joe-friendly president. By Clay Risen

A Presidential Postscript | 12.28.00
A final word from Lamar, our favorite plaid-clad presidential hopeful. By Rob Milt

Three Questions for the Greens | 12.13.00
Now that you've split the Left, whatcha gonna do, Ralph? By James Norton

The Obligatory Sex Column | 12.10.00
Before he makes it big, this columnist had to pay his dues by professing his sexual past. Or lack thereof. By Clay Risen

Deconstructing Jacques | 11.27.00
Does the Academic Left really think it can regain social relevance by becoming even more incomprehensible? By Clay Risen

A Modest Proposal | 11.17.00
The election proves it — it's time to cleave this country in two. By Eric Wittmershaus

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Polls | 11.03.00
What happens when neither the Democrats nor the Greens give you the time of day? By Stephanie Kuenn

Sound. Fury. Nothing | 10.12.00
A Nader convention, a long list of speakers and a lot of hot air. Is this any way to run a campaign? By Clay Risen

Dark Angel: The True Winner of the Presidential Debate | 10.06.00
Gore and Bush faced off, but it was Fox's Jessica Alba, aka Dark Angel, who came out on top. By Kevin Murphy

One M&M Plus Two M&Ms Equals ... | 09.28.00
While public schools fail, America's first-grade set is getting a healthy education in brand loyalty. By Clay Risen

Nader for President? | 09.14.00
Ralph Nader's campaign presents an unexpectedly powerful dilemma for the progressive Left. By Clay Risen

Your Tiki Torch, Please | 09.01.00
Survivor has a lot more to say about this year's election than skeptics would like to believe. By Benjamin Arnoldy

Against Adaptability | 08.30.00
Sometimes efficiency and creative problem solving aren't the answer, but part of the problem. By Clay Risen

Los Angeles Protests | 08.18.00
Just what were the Republican Convention protesters trying to say in Los Angeles? By James Norton

Dispatch: Burkina Faso | 07.27.00
America's favorite Libyan makes a push for African leadership. Humor follows. By Jean-Marc Mojon

Jan Karski: 1914-200 | 07.21.00
The only hero I ever met died last week ... By Clay Risen

The Rogue Question | 06.23.00
Before we get to debating missile defense, we need to ask whether there's anything left to defend against. By Clay Risen

Tapped Out | 06.11.00
Big Logging's big strategy in the Northwestern forests. By Anders Hove

Lick my Plate | 05.26.00
Washington is so political, even license plates can stir controversy. By Anders Hove

Who Will Watch the Watchers? | 05.13.00
Britain is about to make an enormous leap in police surveillance efforts. These may make the streets safer, but the lack of privacy safeguards will keep the Brits awake at night. By James Norton

The Anti-Sprawl Book | 05.09.00
Yet another round of anti-sprawl books. But are they enough to counter America's cultural proclivity toward the shopping mall? By Anders Hove

Activism's Blunt Edge | 05.08.00
It's nice to see people standing up for their principles, but not when they haven't a clue what their principles are. By Clay Risen

Missing the Point | 05.03.00
The rest of the world is getting sick of America's nuclear hypocrisy. Too bad we have all the bombs. By Clay Risen

Aid to Colombia | 04.20.00
The new aid package to Colombia will only hurt that country's already abyssal human rights record. By Clay Risen

Potsdamer Platz | 03.20.00
Potsdamer Platz: where big business, bad architecture and poor planning come together. By Clay Risen

Croatia Looks Away | 03.15.00
As Croatia moves toward democracy, it must take the opportunity to face up to its brutal past. By Clay Risen

Are the Kids All Right? | 02.15.00
A large number of the supporters of Austria's right wing are young, educated and affluent. What's wrong with this picture? By Clay Risen

Elian! | 02.12.00
Fun and games with America's most lovable political football. By James Norton

Jesse Helms | 02.04.00
Jesse Helms may look like a dog tick, but his address to the United Nations carried the sting of a wasp on PCP. By Clay Risen

Newt World Order | 12.10.99
The real issue underlying the Seattle protests was not the environment, sweatshop labor or enormous amphibians, but the lack of a critical understanding about world trade. By Clay Risen

Hate and Apathy in the Alps | 10.20.99
The success of Joerg Haider, the European far right's new glamour boy, has less to do with hate than with boredom. By Clay Risen

Enemy of the People? | 09.20.99
How dumb do campaign-finance-reform opponents think the American public really is? By Clay Risen

The Dangerous Middle | 09.08.99
The real danger in Washington isn't from the political right or left, but the soft, fluffy middle. By Clay Risen

Speak Now ... | 08.15.99
Don't look now, but your child's freedom of speech is flying out the window. By Matthew North

Bush-Kasich Alliance | 08.04.99
John Kasich could steal the race from Bush. Is that why George W. is suddenly being so nice to him? By Steven Lederman

Hillary Clinton | 07.26.99
Thank God for the latest in life-like First-Lady-impersonating robots. Too bad they don't make a male version. By Matthew North

Comanche Helicopter | 06.20.99
For the price the military is set to pay for the flawed Comanche attack helicopter, the government could buy everyone in this country matinee passes to "Pokemon." By James Norton

Sen. Bob Smith | 06.17.99
Sen. Bob Smith is a weird and wacky guy. Too bad he doesn't stand a snowball's chance of getting elected. By James Norton

Hashim Thaci | 06.10.99
KLA Leader Hashim Thaci gets points for fluffiness, but loses points for being a ruthless bastard. By James Norton

Megawati Sukarnoputri | 06.01.99
Megawati has led Indonesia to its first real elections in decades, and she will probably be its next president. But is she ready? By Clay Risen

The F-22 Raptor | 05.10.99
The F-22 will make a cool toy. But will it fly as a multi-billion dollar weapon? By James Norton

Poland | 04.20.99
The homeland of sausage and most of Chicago, in review. By James Norton

The Sound of Silence | 04.01.99
Anti-NATO protesting isn't what it used to be. By Clay Risen

Lost in Translation | 03.02.99
E-mail lets us keep in touch with everyone. So why does it make us feel so lonely? By Jeff DeMartino

Cosmo Meets Conservative | 02.19.99
Burn your bras, girls! Except the ones from Donna Karan! By Jeff DeMartino

Present at the Compromise | 02.03.99
The anti-sweatshop movement has made great strides. Too bad so many students are willing to back down anyway. By Clay Risen

Disclaimer: All archive dates before 02.01.00 are estimated, not actual.