Not so long ago, a
certain member of the United States Senate summoned the press to denounce
controversial demands by federal law-enforcement officials for invasive power.
While conceding that some additional measures to curtail crime and terror might
be necessary, he insisted that fundamental freedoms could not be compromised.
“These needs must
be addressed, Read More
It has been a month of mixed news for the fetus-confused
signals, coming from unexpected directions.
One of the clearer signals came from the left. The week of
Martin Luther King Day, the nation witnessed the agony of Jesse Jackson. With
both King and Mr. Jackson enrolled in the ranks of tomcats, it begins Read More
If John Ashcroft were held to the same kind of political
standard he applied in evaluating Presidential nominations as a Senator from
Missouri, his bid to become the next Attorney General would be defeated easily.
His conservative defenders now tell us without blushing that ideology isn’t a
valid reason to oppose him. Perhaps they’ve forgotten Read More
As George W. Bush prepares to take office, the statesmen and
observers who will shape and comment on the events of his administration ready
themselves with preliminary grappling.
The first to die in action, even before taking office, was
Linda Chavez, nominated for Secretary of Labor. She claimed that the
illegal-alien woman who lived Read More
During his long political career, tough John Ashcroft has
rarely, if ever, spoken out on behalf of the rights of criminal
defendants. He carried out seven
executions as the governor of Missouri. In the Senate, he supported fewer
protections for death-row inmates as well as harsher penalties for juvenile
offenders. He opposes expanded treatment for Read More
My son Francis’ favorite movie is Gettysburg . I suppose we’ve watched it together a half-dozen times straight through–not bad for a three-hour film. In our family, we’re gluttons for the quality stuff; I must have 300 hours of Law & Order reruns on the clock already, and now that I have a TiVo recorder, Read More
As the United States Senate prepares to take up the
nomination of John Ashcroft for U.S. Attorney General, the unlamented specter
haunting its chamber is none other than Jefferson Davis. The long-deceased
president of the old Confederacy is regarded as a hero by the former Senator
from Missouri, whose praise of such figures-and whose links Read More
