Susan Estrich from Creators Syndicate

The President's Next Act for 05/24/2013

Fri, 24 May 2013 00:00:00 -0700

How can it be that with Washington simmering in scandals, with Republicans (not to mention talk-show hosts) using the "I" word (impeachment) with abandon, with calls to bring back Ken Starr (of Bill Clinton/Monica Lewinsky fame), President Obama's job approval rating is holding steady at around 50 percent, thank you very much?

It is unchanged from April, when no one was talking ...

Updated: Fri May 24, 2013

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Graduation Day for 05/22/2013

Wed, 22 May 2013 00:00:00 -0700

It is that time of year again.

Some years ago, I was invited to speak at the graduation ceremonies of a liberal arts college. Later, many in the audience told me they expected a very political speech. Some of them were relieved; others were disappointed. I don't do politics at graduation.

Graduation is about life.

My high school graduation was OK. I gave a speech. My famil ...

Updated: Wed May 22, 2013

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An Exciting Gateway for 05/17/2013

Fri, 17 May 2013 00:00:00 -0700

My doctor and dear friend Larry calls it "an exciting gateway of genetics, for it is leading to specific therapy to specific subsets of a given disease." Some of the folks writing comments call it a conspiracy by the drug companies and the medical establishment motivated by greed.

Thanks to Angelina Jolie, millions of women (and men) are getting advice as to whether they shoul ...

Updated: Fri May 17, 2013

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Benghazi and Lewinsky for 05/15/2013

Wed, 15 May 2013 00:00:00 -0700

On its face, the murder of Americans in Libya, including our ambassador, has absolutely nothing to do with the inappropriate relationship former President Bill Clinton had with a White House intern. But politically, that's another story.

The Republicans had a powerful weapon against President Clinton. But they couldn't stop themselves. It wasn't just wrong; it wasn't just bad or even egr ...

Updated: Wed May 15, 2013

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Mother Love for 05/10/2013

Fri, 10 May 2013 00:00:00 -0700

My daughter was born on Mother's Day, 23 years ago. It was the happiest day of my life — matched only, almost three years later, by the birth of my son.

I had never felt such love before.

Hooray for Hallmark.

Years passed. My own mother died. My daughter went off to college and then graduated. My son went off to college.

I see young mothers struggling with s ...

Updated: Fri May 10, 2013

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The Drunk Guy in the Parking Lot for 05/08/2013

Wed, 08 May 2013 00:00:00 -0700

The report from the Arlington, Va., Police Department is, on its face, hardly newsworthy:

"SEXUAL BATTERY, 05/05/13, 500 block of S. 23rd Street. On May 5 at 12:35 am, a drunken male subject approached a female victim in a parking lot and grabbed her breasts and buttocks. The victim fought the suspect off as he attempted to touch her again and alerted police. Jeffrey Krusinski, 41, ...

Updated: Wed May 08, 2013

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Mary Thom, Thank You for 05/03/2013

Fri, 03 May 2013 00:00:00 -0700

Mary Thom, former editor of Ms. magazine and feminist visionary, died last week in a motorcycle accident.

I met her back in the mid-1970s. She wouldn't have remembered me, but I remember her. At the time, she seemed much older than me. In truth, she was less than a decade older, but in terms of experience, so much more.

At the time, I was a law student. I'd been raped and had gone ...

Updated: Fri May 03, 2013

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A Gay Man in the NBA for 05/01/2013

Wed, 01 May 2013 00:00:00 -0700

It is almost unbelievable that this is a first.

But it is. Jason Collins is the first male athlete playing in a major sport to "come out."

Yes — the first in any of the five major leagues.

The president applauded him for his courage. Chelsea Clinton, his college classmate, and her dad both spoke out in support of him. So did Kobe Bryant, who two years ago ...

Updated: Wed May 01, 2013

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The Minor Miracles of Democracy for 04/26/2013

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0700

Thursday was a critical day in our democracy. Five presidents of the United States gathered in Houston for the dedication of the George W. Bush library. One was his father, 89 years old and in a wheelchair. The other three were men of the opposite political party.

They gathered together to celebrate a man who had put in place programs they disagreed with, waged a war they opposed, appoin ...

Updated: Fri Apr 26, 2013

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The Baby-Faced Bomber for 04/24/2013

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0700

Sometimes a picture speaks volumes. Sometimes it's outright deceptive. The picture of "Bomber No. 2" didn't look a bit like a mass murderer. A sweet-faced college kid, the former lifeguard, the nice young man described by classmates and friends. It couldn't be. There must be some outside organization calling the shots. An international conspiracy, perhaps. Brainwashing.

Or mayb ...

Updated: Wed Apr 24, 2013

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Girl Rising for 04/19/2013

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0700

It was a very tough week. Limbs flying in Boston. Ricin in the mail to the president and a senator. The Newtown families, bewildered in the White House, unable to understand how a bill that 90 percent of the public supports, that no one has offered a coherent reason to oppose, that was drafted by two of the NRA's strongest supporters in the Senate could go down in an exercise of petty politics ...

Updated: Fri Apr 19, 2013

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Hitting Home for 04/17/2013

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0700

I'm from Boston. Over the years, I lived in two apartments within a stone's throw of Monday's bombings. Over the years, I stood and cheered marathon runners countless times. I know every square inch of the area in all the pictures, which is hardly unusual. It's the center of Boston. My nephew was around the corner when the explosions went off.

This week's terror hit home for me.

...

Updated: Wed Apr 17, 2013

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Guns, God and Background Checks for 04/12/2013

Fri, 12 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0700

I happened to be sitting in the Fox News bureau between "hits" on Tuesday morning, when the news broke about the stabbing at Lone Star College in Houston. Watching it unfold in real time, I couldn't help but think (as I'm sure all of us did) about the Newtown, Conn., massacre and the families flying to Washington and the fear that the parents of the Texas college students must be feel ...

Updated: Fri Apr 12, 2013

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Justice Deferred for 04/10/2013

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0700

In a hearing earlier this week, the judge presiding over the trial in Colorado of accused mass murderer James Holmes deferred deciding whether Fox News reporter Jana Winter should be forced into the "Hobson's choice" of revealing her confidential sources or going to jail for six months.

This is not a case where the identities of the confidential informants are relevant to guil ...

Updated: Wed Apr 10, 2013

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Filling the D.C. Circuit for 04/05/2013

Fri, 05 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0700

The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit is widely considered the second most powerful court in the land because, among other things, it is the court that reviews decisions of key government agencies, from the Federal Trade Commission to the Federal Communications Commission. It is the court where key challenges to federal law are often brought and where knotty is ...

Updated: Fri Apr 05, 2013

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Tony Lewis for 04/03/2013

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0700

If you were to ask me who inspired me to become a lawyer, two people would jump to mind. The first, not surprisingly, was my father, a sole practitioner in Lynn, Mass., who never made any money but loved his work, not only because it was intellectually challenging, but also because he spent his days helping people, one at a time.

The second was Tony Lewis, a man I did not meet until deca ...

Updated: Wed Apr 03, 2013

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The Costs of Obamacare for 03/29/2013

Fri, 29 Mar 2013 00:00:00 -0700

Those of us who live in California woke up to some pretty scary headlines this morning. According to a new report, Obamacare could result in increases of 30 percent in health care premiums.

Thirty percent!

Of course, even without Obamacare, premiums have been going through the roof. But 30 percent for the same health care you've been getting? It's enough to send chills down the ba ...

Updated: Fri Mar 29, 2013

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Not Whether, But When for 03/27/2013

Wed, 27 Mar 2013 00:00:00 -0700

First, here's the smart money (or at least my money): 6-3, with Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Anthony Kennedy joining Justices Ginsburg, Breyer, Sotomayor and Kagan.

Second, narrow or broad: Most likely, narrow (much easier to get six votes), with at least four justices saying they would go further, but I'm not counting out the broad decision.

Third, why now? Most importa ...

Updated: Wed Mar 27, 2013

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Is Nothing Private? for 03/22/2013

Fri, 22 Mar 2013 00:00:00 -0700

Two guys are at a conference, looking bored. On stage, there's been talk about "dongles," which, if you aren't aware, are devices you plug in to laptops to get connectivity. Bigger ones are supposedly more powerful. Can you guess the joke? (Hint: about whether size matters.)

Actually, I thought it was kinda funny. The women sitting in front of them didn't. These guys weren't on ...

Updated: Fri Mar 22, 2013

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Radical Survivor for 03/20/2013

Wed, 20 Mar 2013 00:00:00 -0700

It was September 1995 when my friend and colleague Rob Saltzman told me what had happened to his sister's family. Tennis nuts. Her husband and their two boys died in a small plane crash on the way home from watching a tennis tournament. Did I mention that she had fought back breast cancer? That she was the principal at the elementary school both of her boys had attended?

I am "good& ...

Updated: Wed Mar 20, 2013

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