September 3rd, 2003
Ferk, nerk, es-em-dee. Pooka, purpa, ar-tee-o. No, I am not writing code, or gibberish, or avant-garde poetry. On the contrary, I am writing a list of terms that you, too, will need to know if you want to keep up with the big hitters in Washington this fall. Here’s a hint: It’s to do with that big blackout last month. Here’s another hint: Think acronyms. Read on »
August 6th, 2003
About halfway through my extensive dealings with Lufthansa last week — after I had been sent, futilely, to Dulles Airport to change a ticket but before I was told, definitively, that the ticket could not be changed — I began to have a sense of deja vu. Read on »
July 30th, 2003
Can money buy you influence in Washington? Before answering that question, I’ll pause for the hoots of derision. Of course it can, is the short answer, and it’s a pretty simple equation. Read on »
July 23rd, 2003
Late last week Tony Blair made a speech in Washington. Afterward various British journals of record summed up their prime minister’s performance. The Daily Mirror found “something quite nauseating” about the speech, in which Blair once again “backed America in what many now view as a war based on lies.” Read on »
July 16th, 2003
Don’t be surprised if you’ve never heard of them: In this country, Moazzam Begg and Feroz Abbasi have not exactly become household names. Read on »
July 9th, 2003
While flogging her book in London last week, Hillary Clinton unexpectedly revealed her admiration for a great British political figure. Curiously, her kind words were not for Tony Blair, who is often compared to her husband, but rather for one of his illustrious conservative predecessors. Read on »
July 2nd, 2003
Martha Stewart has been indicted, Martha Stewart has resigned from the chairmanship of her company, Martha Stewart is in disgrace. But Martha Stewart, Incorporated — or, more precisely, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc. — lives on. Read on »
June 25th, 2003
Around this town, “bipartisan” is a magic word. When something is described as bipartisan, that’s code for “good” or “moral” or “the kind of thing sensible people support.” Read on »
June 18th, 2003
After I finish writing this column, I will, with some trepidation, begin packing my bags to go from Washington to Manhattan. I say with some trepidation not because one is frightened, these days, of being mugged in Central Park, or because one fears being tempted by the sin parlors that once clustered around Times Square. Read on »
June 11th, 2003
“Do you see any parallels between the security state that George Bush has created in America since 9/11 and the Gulag?” For a moment, the question struck me dumb. It had been put by a BBC radio interviewer, and we were on the air. Read on »