Susan Estrich from Creators Syndicate

NARAL's Choice for 05/16/2008

Fri, 16 May 2008 00:00:00 -0700

A few years ago, the National Abortion Rights Action League, as it was then called, or NARAL for short, changed its name to NARAL Pro-Choice America. The idea, as I understood it, was to put the emphasis on "choice" rather than "abortion." This week, the organization announced its own choice in the Democratic primary contest, and as best as I can tell, it had absolutely noth ...

Updated: Fri May 16, 2008

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The Kennedy Family for 05/21/2008

Wed, 21 May 2008 00:00:00 -0700

That's what we are. I don't just mean the real Kennedys, the people who are related to what will always be, for my generation, the closest thing America has to royalty. I mean those of us who worked for him and with him at any point in those 45 years. You join a family, and you never leave.

So it was that on Saturday, when the phone rang and I learned that "the Senator," as we ...

Updated: Wed May 21, 2008

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Safe Travels for 05/23/2008

Fri, 23 May 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Here's a news flash you don't need me to tell you about: Airline passengers are getting less and less happy about their experiences with the nation's airlines. Surprised?

Actually, there were two new studies out this week about life in the skies and on your way to them, and they had to be about as cheerful for the airlines as the record-high fuel costs they're facing.

The first, f ...

Updated: Fri May 23, 2008

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Just Say Yes for 05/28/2008

Wed, 28 May 2008 00:00:00 -0700

There is a very easy way for Barack Obama's team to avoid floor fights at the Democratic National Convention.

Just say yes.

Every four years, whoever is running the convention uses polls and focus groups to find out what would be the best and worst possible scenarios for a convention. And every four years, the results are the same. The press wants fights. They want contention, min ...

Updated: Wed May 28, 2008

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Rights in Conflict for 05/30/2008

Fri, 30 May 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Does a doctor have a right to deny treatment to a patient because of her own religious views?

Or does a patient have a right to be free from what she sees as wrongful discrimination that consists of denying to her medical treatment that is provided to others?

The California Supreme Court, which two weeks ago ruled that the state constitution prohibits discrimination based on sexua ...

Updated: Fri May 30, 2008

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One Great Dame for 06/04/2008

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0700

As I write this, the last voters in the last states in this seemingly endless primary process are heading to the polls, even as various news organizations have already announced that Barack Obama has reached the shifting magic number to claim a majority of the delegates.

There will be many days ahead to write about Barack Obama, who deserves enormous credit for his success. Most people w ...

Updated: Wed Jun 04, 2008

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Gay Marriage -- and Divorce for 06/06/2008

Fri, 06 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0700

"Today is a great day not only for every lesbian and gay couple who wants to get married, but for every Californian who believes in fairness and equal opportunity for all," said Judy Appel, executive director of Our Family Coalition, a group that advocates for same-sex couples with children, in response to the California Supreme Court majority's refusal to delay its ruling on gay marr ...

Updated: Fri Jun 06, 2008

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The Other Forty Percent for 06/11/2008

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Everyone knows what the "right" answer is to the question of whether you would be willing to vote for an African-American for president. The "right" answer is yes. What's surprising is not how many people say yes, but how many don't. According to a Rasmussen Reports poll taken last week, 78 percent of all Americans said yes to that question, leaving 22 percent admitting eith ...

Updated: Wed Jun 11, 2008

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Good Humor for 06/13/2008

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Funny?

That is how Chief Judge Alex Kozinski of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals reportedly defended the sexually explicit content of various postings on his personal Web site. There was a photo of naked women on all fours painted to look like cows, and there was a video of a half-dressed man cavorting with a sexually aroused farm animal. There was also one that reportedly chronicled, st ...

Updated: Fri Jun 13, 2008

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The Sense of Loss for 06/18/2008

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0700

In the outpouring of tributes and anecdotes about the passing of Tim Russert, one item caught my eye. It was a note that recalled that this was the second tragedy in a matter of months for the Russert family: It was less than three months ago that Tim's sister Betty lost her husband, William Buckenroth; he was 61. Meanwhile, their father, Tim Russert senior or "Big Russ," continues to ...

Updated: Wed Jun 18, 2008

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The Wives for 06/20/2008

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0700

"Cindy Unleashed" screamed the headline on the Drudge Report. Did Cindy McCain really go after Michelle Obama? Not exactly, but close enough. There was only one right answer to the question Mrs. McCain was asked by Kate Snow on ABC's "Good Morning America" this week about whether Mrs. McCain was "insulted" by Mrs. Obama's comment some time ago that it was only with ...

Updated: Fri Jun 20, 2008

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The Great Tolerant Majority for 06/25/2008

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Here's a nice news flash: Most people really are religious and tolerant, faithful and open, altogether American. That's the conclusion this week of a major Pew Research Center study of religion in America. They call it "non-dogmatic." In what feels like an increasingly dogmatic world, it is ultimately our greatest strength.

Among the key findings: "A majority of those who ...

Updated: Wed Jun 25, 2008

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Beach Wars for 06/27/2008

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0700

I don't usually get involved in the squabbles between paparazzi and their prey, not only because I don't want to get hit by either of them, but also because I generally take the position that those who take pictures for money and those they take pictures of are locked in some symbiotic relationship that is beyond me. I'm not sure exactly how it relates to the First Amendment, but who's to say? ...

Updated: Fri Jun 27, 2008

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The Politics of Patriotism for 07/02/2008

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Should John McCain have to "defend" his military record? Of course not. But the fact that he served in the military, with distinction, does not mean he's qualified to be president.

Should Barack Obama have to explain why he didn't serve in the military or somehow apologize for it? Of course not. Most people of his generation did not serve in the military. George W. Bush, Dick C ...

Updated: Wed Jul 02, 2008

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"The Disease Has Exploded" for 07/04/2008

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0700

It was the headline you never wanted to see. For nearly two years, I have started my day by checking in on Leroy Sievers to see how he is doing. His "My Cancer" blog on npr.com has become a family of sorts for people living with cancer, for people taking care of family and friends with cancer, and for anyone who has been touched by the disease or who hasn't.

For two years, sinc ...

Updated: Fri Jul 04, 2008

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Three Dog Night for 07/09/2008

Wed, 09 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0700

The man I sleep with never has trouble falling asleep at night. If there's one thing he knows how to do (other than eat), it's sleep. He closes his eyes and he's out. He can wake up in an instant — if the phone rings or someone comes to the door — and then fall back to sleep just as fast. Sleeping for him is as natural, and seemingly as easy, as breathing.

As soon as I get in ...

Updated: Wed Jul 09, 2008

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The Evil Eye for 07/11/2008

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0700

I grew up with the evil eye lurking. In my mother's experience, doom was at the end of every rainbow. And the worst thing you could do was call attention to your blessings, a surefire way to attract the evil eye. A compliment required not a thank you, but a "kinnehora, tut tut tut" — the verbal equivalent of spitting three times after you tell the evil eye to look elsewhere. The ...

Updated: Fri Jul 11, 2008

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"Click"-less for 07/16/2008

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0700

"Click," we used to call it, that moment when you realized that something was very wrong and, even more important, that it didn't have to be that way. It was the feminist moment when you understood that genitals have nothing to do, or shouldn't, with being a doctor or a lawyer or an Indian chief — or a professor or president — that these are things that women can do just a ...

Updated: Wed Jul 16, 2008

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What to Say for 07/18/2008

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0700

When my father died, so many years ago, my heart was broken. And then it got broken again. In the hours and days after his death, I was comforted by family and friends. But I couldn't help but notice who was missing, people I cared about, people I thought cared about me, who didn't call, didn't come, weren't there. Later, much later, I asked a few of those people why: Where had they been? Why d ...

Updated: Fri Jul 18, 2008

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Children in the Middle for 07/23/2008

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Good news. Britney and K-Fed have a settlement! Their lawyers were back in court — again — last week to tell the judge in the long-running battle over custody of their two sons that they had agreed that K-Fed would retain custody, Britney would get more visitation, and she would also pay more. Both sides claimed victory. Of course, as everyone conceded, it's not really over. As soon ...

Updated: Wed Jul 23, 2008

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