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December 21st, 2000 — Souring on the Citrus Commission Last month when Jeb Bush recused himself from sitting on the state Elections Canvassing Commission, he tapped Florida Agriculture Commissioner Bob Crawford, a Democrat, to take his place. At the time, I was a little surprised that this pick didn’t draw a touch more […]

Thomas K. Lowenstein has a conversation with Edgar Barens, the filmmaker of the documentary, A Sentence of Their Own. The documentary examines the life of Becky Raymond and her sons Donnie and Josh as they cope with the financial and emotional difficulties of having a family member — Becky’s husband Alan — serving a seven-year […]

December 28th, 2000–Backstabber Is Robert Torricelli running for the role of Senate-Democrat-Most-Likely-to-Stab-His-Own-Party-in-the-Back-for-No-Good-Reason? The position is open after all, what with Bob Kerrey and Pat Moynihan retiring, and Joe Lieberman adopting a more partisan, team-player tone. Just think. Bob Torricelli. . . First Senate Dem to call on Al Gore not to file any lawsuits […]

January 11th, 2001–The Congressional Black Caucus’ Election Objections I was pretty taken with the protests/objections raised by the members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) on January 6th during the formal counting of the Electoral College vote. And also chagrined that no senator would agree to sign on with one of their objections, and […]

January 3rd, 2001–Bush’s Double Standard Admirers of Senator John McCain (and I have to admit I’m one of ’em) will be chagrined to learn that during McCain’s primary campaign in South Carolina last winter his chief campaign strategist was none other than Richard Quinn, long-time editor of the oft-mentioned Southern Partisan magazine. Outraged? […]

Generally speaking, newspaper column writing is today a moribund art form. Gone are the days when crusty reporters would ascend to the ranks of the thrice-weekly (or even daily) columnists only after years of dues paying, bringing with them the shoe-leather skills, wit, and wisdom of a career spent in the trenches. More and more […]

January 17th, 2001 — John Ashcroft the Transformer Ya know. From the sound of it, John Ashcroft is going to be such a staunch defender and enforcer of gun-control laws, abortion rights, and civil rights, that you sorta wonder why right-wingers want him so bad. Is Ashcroft a lib now? Or is there some disconnect […]

I am at the age where my family and friends all seem to be coping with agingrelatives. And I can tell you that something has gone terribly wrong with both thehealth care system and the system of nursing care. People in their 80s and 90s, when their health starts to deteriorate, tend to have multiple […]

January 25th, 2001 — Understanding Ashcroft Hey, now that I’ve been reminded of John Ashcroft’s rationale for opposing James Hormel’s ambassadorial nomination, I think I understand what his problem was with Judge Ronnie White. He didn’t oppose White because he was black, he opposed him because he promoted the black lifestyle. Don’t get […]

February 1, 2001 — No Excuse for Dodd Let’s say a few more words about John Ashcroft’s nomination before he’s confirmed today. First, I like Chris Dodd, the senior senator from Connecticut. But what the hell is he thinking? Thus far the people who have come out in support of Ashcroft have mostly had decent […]