Here’s a moderate who isn’t like the usual politicians. Since the start of the 20th century, seven presidents first served as vice president, nine were governors, five were senators, and two served in the Cabinet. One was none of the above: retired Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower.In the 2004 presidential race, all but two Democratic candidates […]

WASHINGTON – Major roll call votes in the week ending Oct. 24. HOUSE Loan to Iraq Members on Oct. 21 recommended, 277 for and 139 against, that the final version of $87 billion in emergency funding for Iraq includes three disputed provisions that have been approved by the Senate but rejected by the House. The […]

Several Muslim chaplains are under suspicion for ties to terrorist organizations. The military prison at Guantanamo Bay is the most secure facility the United States has ever built. At least it’s supposed to be. But it’s beginning to look as though Muslim terrorists or their sympathizers may have already figured out how to penetrate it.U.S. […]

My mother, a musician, has always been sensitive to the sounds and music of Chopin’s romantic Ballades and the realist notes of everyday life.Take the presence of the alphabet in American conversations since the 1990s. She constantly points out to me the pronunciation of newscasters, talk show interlocutors and the ordinary give and take of […]

I’d like to devote a little space to the issue of pinata safety.A pinata is a festive party item, usually shaped like a classic fairy-tale character such as Spider-Man; it is used to traumatize children at birthday parties. This has become very popular: As the parent of a 3-year-old, I attend approximately 84 birthday parties […]

Human-rights attorneys have come to call it a black hole, a legal conundrum that emerged 20 months ago as the first of the hooded and shackled men from Afghanistan began arriving at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The spartan, hastily built prison camp now has 660 inmates who have been granted no […]

The Court of Peeves, Crotchets and Irks resumes its autumn assizes with a motion from Patty Dashiell of Charlotte, N.C. She urges the court to enforce a distinction between “each other” and “one another.” The motion is denied, but it is regretfully denied. One more lost cause!Ms. Dashiell contends that “each other” should be reserved […]

Though still in prison, Joel Steinberg has a job lined up with a cable TV show in New York City. He qualified for this position – as field producer and perhaps as an on-camera interviewer – by committing a ghastly killing. He beat his illegally adopted 6-year-old daughter to death in 1987.The story hit the […]

NEW YORK – For outspoken talk-radio superstar Rush Limbaugh, who has made a name gleefully pointing out the moral missteps of others, the disclosure of his own weakness – an addiction to painkillers and plans to spend the next 30 days in a rehabilitation center – appeared to be humbling.“I am no victim and do […]

AUSTIN, Texas – Not that any of us is in a position to criticize the Great Scriptwriter in the Sky, but don’t you think She’s been going a little heavy on the irony lately?All those folks who had conniption fits over Bill Clinton’s affair are now pooh-poohing Arnold Schwarzenegger’s sexual misconduct – and vice versa. […]