Anyone who has ever invited guests of opposing political persuasions over to dinner will know how quickly it can all go wrong. Having imagined they’d exchange their interesting views about something vaguely neutral — European politics, say, or Russian literature — I’ve watched my normally civilized friends spend the evening shouting at one another about something utterly unrelated, such as whether the Pledge of Allegiance should contain the phrase “under God.” Continue reading “…And Manners”
The Washington Post Column
Medicare: Malaise…
Last week I spent the better part of two days trying to understand the Medicare bill. I called up the bill’s advocates. I called up the bill’s critics. At one point, I read the advocates’ declarations over the telephone to one of the critics. Continue reading “Medicare: Malaise…”
Open-and-Shut Society
Last week, in the middle of the day, traffic ground to a halt on Interstate 10, the highway that runs south from Phoenix. Rival gangs of “coyotes,” the criminals who smuggle illegal immigrants over the Mexican border, had started shooting at one another through the open windows of their trucks. The trucks were packed with people. Five died, three were wounded and 27 others were detained. Continue reading “Open-and-Shut Society”
Russian Revanche
Before I join the international chorus of protest against last week’s arrest of the Russian oil billionaire Mikhail Khodorkovsky, I’d like to reflect for a moment on a few other things that have happened in Russia over the past decade. Continue reading “Russian Revanche”
Boo! Ha-Ha!
Forget your warm childhood trick-or-treating memories, and don’t think about how adorable your neighbor’s children look in their devil costumes, with their miniature pitchforks and long red tails. Instead, focus on Halloween as an objective, and deeply peculiar, phenomenon. Continue reading “Boo! Ha-Ha!”
See No Evil, Stop No Evil
In Bangkok this week, President Bush used long words — multiparty talks, security guarantees, long-range missiles — to discuss the problem of North Korea with North Korea’s neighbors. Continue reading “See No Evil, Stop No Evil”
Germans as Victims
Enter any of Frankfurt’s grand hotels on any evening during Frankfurt’s annual book fair and a scene worthy of a German Woody Allen — if that isn’t a complete contradiction in terms — spreads out before you in the lobby. Continue reading “Germans as Victims”
A Failure to Communicate
For the sake of my hosts — and for the sake of the transatlantic relationship that they were trying to promote — I am not going to tell you precisely what country I was in, but a couple of days ago I listened to the foreign minister of that country make a dinnertime speech. Continue reading “A Failure to Communicate”
Finding Things To Fear
Is life today more dangerous than it used to be? It certainly seems that way. Between Alar in apples (remember that one?), acrylamide in crackers and trans fats in just about everything, our food has become inedible. What with the radiation emitted by our houses, the arsenic in the water and the toxic rays coming out of cell phones, it isn’t really safe to sleep, drink or talk, either. Continue reading “Finding Things To Fear”
Stubborn Swedes and ‘United’ Europe
Imagine, if you can, an issue that united the entire American political and business elite. Continue reading “Stubborn Swedes and ‘United’ Europe”