Citizen Leadership

FALSEHOODS in political advertising are widely regarded as a growing menace in our public life and a source of voter anger. So the media were busier than ever this past election season trying to referee truth in politics, while candidates issued what seemed to be unusually numerous, and fulsome, critiques of their opponents’ honesty. But was that enough? Legislators and Read More ›

The Clinton honeymoon is hardly underway and the Society of Permanent Busybodies is already questioning the integrity of his Transition Committee. They want to know: How can Vernon Jordan, former head of the Urban League and co-chair of the transition, presume to give advice on presidential appointments when he serves on the board of a tobacco company? About the time Read More ›

SEATTLE–Legislators, bureaucrats and newspapers in Washington State think they have found a way to stop political lies: They’ve passed a law and are vigorously enforcing it. Washington isn’t the first state to try this, of course: Some 13 others have passed measures to curb political lying, but all have been found unenforceable on First Amendment grounds. That’s why Washington Stat’s Read More ›

There isn’t much time. Alex Haley, author of “Roots,” probably did as much for the understanding of black history, and especially black families, as any writer in any time. In fact, he inspired families of all backgrounds. When he died of a heart attack, at age 70, while in Seattle last February, it was reasonable to assume that his contributions Read More ›

Once more a good idea is taking on a life of its own. The idea is “Cascadia,” the concept that the Pacific Northwest of the United States and the two Western provinces of Canada are in reality one international region with a common destiny. In an era that has seen large centripetal forces pulling Western Europe together into the European Read More ›

The hostility to the proposed purchase of the Seattle Mariners by a syndicate that includes the family that owns Nintendo is the most embarrassing moment in baseball history since the protests against the Brooklyn Dodgers’ decision to take Jackie Robinson into the major leagues. Xenophobes are muttering that the new owners will turn the team into the “Seattle Marios” and Read More ›

To speak of the political philosophy of the Constitution is to invite immediate controversy. Many allege that the Constitution has no coherent political philosophy; and those who maintain otherwise often regard its political philosophy as far from commendable. Those who contend that the Constitution is theoretically incoherent point to its various inconsistencies and the many provisions that were the products Read More ›

For over two years we have been warned of impending chaos once the Soviet Communist regime finally collapsed. Yet only now has the Bush administration committed itself to a major aid program. Why? Much of the answer is found in domestic politics. George Bush has been a success in foreign policy, but the slumping economy has most Americans demanding more Read More ›

It’s time to sit back, put our feet up and watch the rape trial of William Kennedy Smith. Thanks to television we now can observe real crimes covered on videotape, real arrests in progress, and real trials, live. The formats also can be combined, as when the Los Angeles Police Department was caught on amateur videotape clubbing a motorist over Read More ›

One might expect that the United States, which led a $50-billion Gulf War and then assigned the job of nuclear weapons searches in Iraq to the United Nations, would supply its share of funds to do the job. But, while inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) are still in Iraq, the IAEA director general, Hans Blix, reports that Read More ›

Back in 1956, when I spent a summer there as a high school student, Mexico really was “the land of eternal spring,” beautiful, though poor, and full of hope. The population, then at 34 million, was already growing fast and shifting from the countryside to the cities. Mexico City held 4.5 million. Today, the population of Mexico is nearing an Read More ›