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(02/16/00 11:00am)
After several months of speculation, Donald J. Trump, developer, casino operator and self-described womanizer, has decided to drop his bid for the presidency -- a great tragedy for political cartoonists and late-night comedy show hosts. But the power fight within the Reform Party that prompted Mr. Trump's exit, may have much longer-lasting consequences.
(02/03/00 11:00am)
I've never seen one of these guys show up to their own event before ten o'clock," the baffled correspondent from a national news organization told me last night. Senator Bradley's early arrival at New Hampshire College was one of many surprises during Tuesday's New Hampshire Primary. Covering the Bradley campaign for Dartmouth's radio station, WDCR, I was among the many that stood open-mouthed when the news reported that Senator John McCain had smashed all predictions with an incredible eighteen-point lead over Governor George W. Bush (the final tally was 49 percent for McCain to 30 for Bush). Although Bradley lost the race, he too managed to win a larger percentage of the vote than many news sources had predicted (the final tally was 50 percent for Vice President Al Gore to 46 for Bradley).
(01/19/00 11:00am)
In 1979 a group of Iranians took 55 Americans hostage at the US embassy in Teheran. For nearly a year, the world held its breath as American citizens were paraded around with blindfolds on their faces. The incident had far-reaching consequences, influencing the 1980 election, and playing a significant role in the U.S. decision to sell arms to Iraq during the Iran/Iraq war of the early 1980s. Now imagine this, instead of taking 55 Americans hostage, Iranian terrorists decide to take 55 million Americans living on the eastern seaboard hostage. Such a feat is impossible without the use of a nuclear missile. But unfortunately, CIA officials admitted Monday (NY Times 1/17/00) that they can no longer rule out the possibility that Iran might be capable of creating such a weapon.
(11/17/99 11:00am)
At last, negotiations over next year's federal budget are winding down, and Congressmen everywhere are eagerly preparing to get home in time for Thanksgiving. It is the time of year when they can relax, sit-back and enjoy a good home-cooked turkey and some old-fashioned pumpkin pie. They can finally catch their breath, now that they have successfully cut up the federal budget into little pieces in order to satisfy the voracious appetites of the interest groups. Like rude guests trying to grab at food, the lobbyists have been unusually successful in gobbling up the pork barrel spending dollars hastily included in the budget during these last few rough and tumble negotiating days. According to the Wall Street Journal, the Veterans-HUD appropriation measure was crammed with 444 specially earmarked items worth about $250 million. The defense bill included around $6 billion of pork. The surprising truth is that corporate lobbyist firms do not request many of these pork-barrel projects. Instead the money is quietly appropriated to placate the smaller groups, representing the constituents of a particularly powerful Congressman.
(11/05/99 11:00am)
The similarities between the current armed conflict in Chechnya and the recent military action in Kosovo raises some very frightening implications for America's current foreign policy. Once again an Eastern European country is fighting a violent war against a separatist southern province. Yet again, the war is being waged primarily because of ethnic and religious differences between the province's independence-minded minority and an angry majority in the north. And yet again the conflict has produced large numbers of refugees and a high level of civilian casualties. The major difference is that instead of rushing to react with military forces, this time neither NATO nor the U.S. has offered anything other than rhetoric.
(10/26/99 9:00am)
On a cold and rainy January day, in the year 2029, the Social Security system as we know it, will come to a crashing halt. With no money left in the trust fund, the federal employees in charge of mailing out Social Security checks will instead have to draft apology letters to the millions of people born in the 1960s, 70s and 80s.
(10/18/99 9:00am)
There has been little publicity about the Fatherhood Act of 1999, a bi-partisan bill that would allow local groups to help non-custodial fathers (and mothers) develop better relationships with their children. With angry partisanship dominating the Congress right now, one might expect such an example of bi-partisan cooperation to get more coverage. The bill was ignored by the media because instead of dealing with billions of dollars, it only deals with millions. But the bill was also ignored by many politicians. That is because unlike many recent bills, the Fatherhood Act will not serve as a bargaining chip for a big soft-money donation.
(10/11/99 9:00am)
The Dartmouth's October 5 article, "Students plan for 2000 New Year's," suggested that many Dartmouth students are opting out of a big gala affair for new year's eve, and instead are planning a celebration on a smaller scale. Although not necessarily the most exciting way to spend New Year's Eve, hanging out in a basement this December, may be the wisest choice of all.
(10/01/99 9:00am)
Most people aren't aware of it, but the First Amendment is under constant bombardment -- in the form of censorship. The web-site promoting the American Library Association's "Banned Books Week" quotes the 1989 Supreme Court decision of Texas v. Johnson, in which Justice William J. Brennan said, "If there is a bedrock principle underlying the First Amendment, it is that Government may not prohibit the expression of an idea simply because society finds the idea itself offensive or disagreeable."
(09/24/99 9:00am)
Since Thursday was the official first day of autumn, we can now begin to enjoy all the traditional fall rituals. Soon the air will get colder (significantly so in NH), the leaves will begin to drop from the branches, and congress will run out of money for next year's budget. The so called federal budget surplus that numerous politicians proudly claimed credit for, seems to have faded and shriveled up just like yesterday's autumn leaves. Many American citizens, including myself, are wondering why Congress has run out of money, and how it is that the budget surplus could have disappeared so quickly. The reason you are most likely to hear during the upcoming 2000 election is "It's _____'s fault, the surplus was spent." (Fill-in the blank with the appropriate political party and corresponding branch of government, depending on who is answering the question.)
(06/30/99 9:00am)
In the well-known cartoon, "The Family Circus," when the children are asked who is to blame for mishaps, they immediately point to "Not Me," an invisible creature who is responsible for every mess, every broken window, and every stray roller skate. In the decision of who should re-build Serbia, both Europe and U.S. seem to be pointing a finger towards the "Not Me."