WASHINGTON, D.C. – America could consolidate its military victory in Iraq by signing a free-trade agreement with a post-Saddam government, but first, the traditional U.S. approach to such deals will need a dramatic overhaul.Since Sept. 11, the Bush administration has tried to promote both U.S. strategic and economic interests by seeking free trade agreements with […]

AUSTIN, Texas – “We ought to be beating our chests every day. We ought to look in a mirror and be proud, and stick out our chests and suck in our bellies, and say, ‘Damn, we’re Americans!”‘ – Jay Garner, retired general and the man in charge of the American occupation of Iraq.Thus it is […]

The Supreme Court is preparing to rule on a Texas law forbidding gay sex. The hullaballoo over Sen. Rick Santorum is another one of those flaps that deeply upset people in newsrooms and faculty lounges, but that don’t seem very controversial out in the real world.Santorum, it seems to me, made three strong points in […]

WASHINGTON – Here’s how Maine’s members of Congress were recorded on major roll call votes in the week ending May 2. HOUSE The AIDS pandemic Voting 375 for and 41 against, the House on May 1 sent the Senate a bill (HR 1298) authorizing a $15 billion U.S. contribution over five years to global programs […]

Friday was the deadline for legislative committees to report out their bills – essentially giving a recommendation to the Legislature on which ones to pass and which to dump. Most years a huge majority of bills – this year there are some 1,595 – die. With committees having wrapped up their work, it means it’s […]

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – What do the director of the National Zoo; the city administrator of McMinnville, Tenn.; and U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft have in common?Along with seven others, they have just been inducted into a select group of those receiving “Jefferson Muzzles” for suppressing free speech or press during the past year.The Muzzles began […]

Q I’m curious about the word “lacrosse.” I read once that the game was invented by the American Indians, but the word “lacrosse” doesn’t sound Native American to me. It sounds French. Can you explain? A: The game of lacrosse was indeed invented by Native Americans, but they called it “baggataway.” The game as originally […]

Every person who loves the written word has known a firefly moment. It is the moment at which a single word ignites a sentence, or a perfect phrase illuminates a page. The writer who can successfully cultivate the firefly gift eventually will make it to the top.It is no problem to find examples among great […]

Our government has forged ahead with new weapons of mass destruction. Almost the first thing that happened to me when I moved to South Florida was that I got attacked by a fire ant. This was my own stupid fault: I sat on my lawn.I thought this was safe because I had come from Pennsylvania, […]

Dear Editor:Can you tell me about the origin of the word “orangutan”? -J.B., Westfield, N.J. Dear J.B.:The orangutan, a native of Borneo and Sumatra, has been known to western Europe since the 17th century. The name “orangutan” is similar in most European languages. It is made up of two Malay words, “orang” meaning “person” and […]