articles 3/12

Reuters
Older siblings are smarter

Look Who's Talking at the Drive-Through
McDonald's Corp. wants to outsource your neighborhood drive-through. The world's largest fast-food chain said on Thursday it is looking into using remote call centers to take customer orders in an effort to improve service at its drive-throughs.

NY Times Magazine
Breaking Away
History may be linear, but the author's memory — of his parents' troubled marriage, of freeing himself from entanglements and of his start at The New York Times — runs in loops.

A First Draft of History? Call the rewrite man!
by Bret Stephens

WSJ Editorial
The Gerrymander Gauntlet
Gov. Schwarzenegger tries to abolish "ribbons of shame."

NY Times
Cross Selling
A youth-focused religious brand finds a place in a pop-culture temple — the mall.

WSJ
For Finicky Drinkers, Water From the Tap Isn't Tasty Enough
Jason Finds a Mountain RiverWith Liquid He Likes; Dixie and Pepper Agree

Welcome to Canada
The Great White Waste of Time.
by Matt Labash

"I Don't Do Carrots"
The big-stick diplomacy of Bush's nominee for U.N. ambassador.
by Stephen F. Hayes

W. Times
2008 run, abortion engage her politically

A Look Back
by Victor Davis Hanson

Meanwhile, Back in Baghdad
by Dan Senor

Don't wobble, Mr. President
by Caroline B. Glick
Common wisdom has it that until Hizbullah chief Hassan Nasrallah launched Tuesday's pro-Syrian demonstration in Beirut, his terror organization had been more or less on the fence regarding its position on Syria's occupation of Lebanon.

Saturday Night Lite
by David Brooks

Inside Report: Jeb For Veep?
by Robert Novak

Kerry Loves the Mainstream Media
by P.J. O'Rourke

More optimism
Feeding the wave
by David Warren

Hope now a widespread reality
Lifetime achievements for Hall of Fame
by Jayson Stark

Sporting News
Smoltz believes he has plenty of innings left
Dennis Eckersley can't even fathom what John Smoltz is doing, returning to starting pitching after achieving success as a closer. "God, no," Eckersley says. "It's beyond me." Photo Galleries... Spring training Spring training fans If anyone can pull this off, it's Smoltz, but let no one mistake the enormity of his task. Smoltz turns 38 in May. He has endured four elbow operations. And he hasn't started regularly since 1999.

U2 Concert Tix On Sale This Weekend and following
Sep. 20 Chicago, United Center
Sep. 21 Chicago, United Center
Oct. 03 Boston, Fleet Center
Oct. 04 Boston, Fleet Center
Oct. 07 New York, Madison Square Garden
Oct. 08 New York, Madison Square Garden
Oct. 10 New York, Madison Square Garden
Oct. 16 Philadelphia, Wachovia Center
Oct. 17 Philadelphia, Wachovia Center
Oct. 19 Washington, DC MCI Center
Oct. 20 Washington, DC MCI Center
Oct. 24 Detroit, Palace of Auburn Hills
Oct. 28 Houston, Toyota Center
Oct. 29 Dallas, American Airlines Center
Nov. 01 Los Angeles, Staples Center
Nov. 02 Los Angeles, Staples Center
Nov. 16 Tampa, St. Pete Times Forum
Nov. 18 Atlanta, Philips Arena
Dec. 19 Portland, Rose Garden

U2 Concert Tix On Sale Next Weekend and following
Sep. 12 Toronto, Air Canada Centre
Sep. 14 Toronto, Air Canada Centre
Sep. 23 Minneapolis, Target Center
Sep. 25 Milwaukee, Bradley Center
Oct. 22 Pittsburgh, Mellon Arena
Nov. 13 Miami, American Airlines Arena
Nov. 25 Ottawa, Corel Centre
Nov. 26 Montreal, Bell Centre
Dec. 17 Salt Lake City, Delta Center
Dec. 07 Hartford, Civic Center
Dec. 09 Buffalo, HSBC Arena
Dec. 10 Cleveland, Gund Arena
Dec. 14 St. Louis, Savvis Center
Dec. 15 Omaha, Qwest Center

articles 3/11

NewsFactor
Why Women Leave I.T.
Women represent nearly half the workers in the U.S. -- 46.6 percent. However, they always have been underrepresented in I.T. Even more discouraging is the fact that the percentage of women working in I.T. jobs is not growing but dropping. That is bad news indeed for employers seeking hard-to-find technical candidates and the women who might otherwise fill those well-paying jobs.

WSJ
Trophy Overload
An award just for showing up? Sorry, kid: Sports teams are getting tough. Nancy Ann Jeffrey on trophy backlash -- and how it's playing out with families.

WSJ Editorial
Virtually Home Alone
Why don't parents control their kids' media consumption?

WSJ
Seven Types of Ambiguity
Why do Americans loathe Jacko? Because he is deeply fuzzy.
by Tunku Varadarajan

WSJ Editorial
Rendering Al Qaeda
So how is the CIA supposed to squeeze terrorists?

Thinking of Jackasses
The grand delusions of the Democratic Party
by Marc Cooper

Reuters
Bono Not in Running for World Bank-Lobby Group

ESPN.com
Q&A: Congress, Steroids and Baseball

The Economist
The Neo-Conservatives Rise Again

Will George Bush's Legacy Be a Democratic Majority?
by Carroll Andrew Morse
Will President Bush's small-d democratization efforts help build a majority for the large-D Democratic party?

Syria, Leaving with a Bang?
by Olivier Guitta
Why verbal support for the courageous Lebanese opposition might not be enough...

On the Edge of Innovation
by Dominic Basulto
The pace of innovation does not have to be dependent on federal government dollars flowing to centralized research...

Marxism of the Right?
by Max Borders
Does libertarianism unleash "sadomasochism" and other caligulan horrors?

Thou Shalt Not Create
by Charles Krauthammer

Lebanon's Next Steps
by David Ignatius

W. Post
Blogging Clicking With Colleges
Blogs are now morphing into the next big thing on campus: wikis.

Neverland is online too
by Rebecca Hagelin
The bottom line is, just like the parents who gleefully sent their kids to sleepovers at Neverland and never bothered to ask too many questions, most parents would rather ignore what their kids are doing online. The mindset is the same.

Danny, ye hardly knew ye
by Jonah Goldberg
In a perfect world, Dan Rather would have left his CBS News studio, and with his crowd of well-wishers and supporters in tow, walked up to the roof of CBS headquarters to board a helicopter to whisk him away from the national stage.

NY Sun
Clinton Presidential Bid Bolstered by Appointment of Ickes

The Beirut Wall Isn't Falling
Why Berlin 1989 isn't the right analogy for today's Middle East.
By Fred Kaplan

W. Post
Americans Treated Yushchenko
Secret team of doctors helped find dioxin poisoning after family requested help.

Good riddance to Rather
by Thomas Sowell
Ordinarily, the retirement of a TV newsman would be something to be more or less passed over in silence by friend and foe alike.

St. Petersburg Times
Bumper sticker evokes road rage
Her Bush-Cheney sticker sent him into a tirade that led to a dangerous car chase through the streets of Tampa.

Baseball under siege
by Marvin Olasky
Baseball needs to put the steroids era behind it by having and enforcing tough rules against all kinds of artificial advantages, so that spring can return.

The Beuruit Tea-Party
by Thomas Freidman

articles 3/10

NY Times
Data Lacking on Iran's Arms, U.S. Panel Says

NY Times
When Torment Is Baby's Destiny, Euthanasia Is Defended
Babies born into what is certain to be a brief life of grievous suffering should have their lives ended, according to two Dutch doctors.

Surprised?
by Pejman Yousefzadeh
The incipient spread of democracy in the Middle East may be many things. "Surprising" is not one of them.

The Science Behind Common Sense
by S.T. Karnick
Can things be true even if we can't prove them?

Must-see TV, and much ado about ... what?
by Jayson Stark

Who Is a Journalist?
Anybody who wants to be.
By Jacob Weisberg

Social Security crossroads
by Robert Novak
Sen. Robert Bennett, the chief deputy majority whip and one of the wisest Republican heads in Washington, has quietly entered the Social Security maelstrom with a thoughtful compromise that puts his party at a crossroads.

The Civil Rights Commission
by George Will
In contemporary American politics, as in earlier forms of vaudeville, it helps to have had an easy act to follow. Gerald Reynolds certainly did.

The advance of freedom
by Cal Thomas
President Bush's speech to the National Defense University in Virginia Tuesday was a first-rate definition of what freedom means to the West.

Defense Begins at Home
Freedom may be on the march, but America is still vulnerable to attack.
by Peggy Noonan

Wrong from the Beginning
Even in 1963, Dan Rather was a poor excuse for a newsman.
by Philip Chalk

High noon for judges: Part III
by Thomas Sowell
People who complain about the frivolous lawsuits that have outraged some and ruined others financially need to connect the dots to the present Senate controversy over the confirmation of federal judges.

articles 3/9

Atlantic Monthly
Inside Out
Why it's so hard to infiltrate al-Qaeda

Saigon's Sharansky
Will Vietnam be the next Iraq?
by Claudia Rosett

The Overclass Under Duress
Ross Douthat has written a flawed but lyrical Harvard memoir.
by Noah Oppenheim

We Need Spy Blogs
An Army officer calls for better information gathering.
By Kris Alexander

The Real Myth of Motherhood
Reconsidering the maternal memoir-cum-manifesto.
By Ann Hulbert

Atlantic Monthly
The Air America Plan
Liberal talk radio is off the ground. Will the electorate turn blue, or just red in the face?

Getting Out Right
Warnings from many experts went unheeded before we entered Iraq. Let's listen as we prepare to "shape the exit"
by James Fallows

President Discusses War on Terror
National Defense University
Fort Lesley J. McNair

Democrats fall on the ball
by Tony Blankley
Partisan politics in Washington this season are getting interesting, as a few Democrats are cautiously beginning to challenge their leadership's strategy of total opposition to major Bush initiatives.

High noon for judges: Part II
by Thomas Sowell
One of the big confusions in the impending Senate fight over the confirmation of judicial nominees is that this is an issue about 'liberal' judges versus 'conservative' judges.

More Social Security deceit
by Walter E. Williams
A fortnight ago, I explained some of the congressional deceit that has become part and parcel of Social Security.

Upholding Kennedy's brain
by Jonah Goldberg
Imagine you were asked to protect, uphold and defend the framfra of the United States of America. Or ask yourself, What if you were appointed to faithfully execute the queenestray of the land?

Seeking sanity on Planet Massachusetts
by Kathleen Parker
There was a time not so long ago when a sane person could say, 'Children need a mom and a dad,' and the townspeople would yawn, roll their eyes and wonder why some folks insist on sharing such prosaic insights.

RealClearPolitics.com
The Arab Street Rises - With Women

Giving Wolfowitz His Due

By David Brooks
March 8, 2005

Let us now praise Paul Wolfowitz. Let us now take another look at the man who has pursued - longer and more forcefully than almost anyone else - the supposedly utopian notion that people across the Muslim world might actually hunger for freedom.
Let us look again at the man who's been vilified by Michael Moore and the rest of the infantile left, who's been condescended to by the people who consider themselves foreign policy grown-ups, and who has become the focus of much anti-Semitism in the world today - the center of a zillion Zionist conspiracy theories, and a hundred zillion clever-Jew-behind-the-scenes calumnies.
It's not necessary to absolve Wolfowitz of all sin or to neglect the postwar screw-ups in Iraq. Historians will figure out who was responsible for what, and Wolfowitz will probably come in for his share of the blame. But with political earthquakes now shaking the Arab world, it's time to step back and observe that over the course of his long career - in the Philippines, in Indonesia, in Central and Eastern Europe, and now in the Middle East - Wolfowitz has always been an ardent champion of freedom. And he has usually played a useful supporting role in making sure that pragmatic, democracy-promoting policies were put in place.
If the trends of the last few months continue, Wolfowitz will be the subject of fascinating biographies decades from now, while many of his smuggest critics will be forgotten. Those biographies will mention not only his intellectual commitment but also his personal commitment, his years spent learning the languages of the places that concerned him, and the thousands of hours spent listening deferentially to the local heroes who led the causes he supported.
To praise Wolfowitz is not triumphalism. The difficulties ahead are obvious. It's simple justice. It's a recognition that amid all the legitimate criticism, this guy has been the subject of a vicious piling-on campaign by people who know less than nothing about what is actually going on in the government, while he, in the core belief that has energized his work, may turn out to be right.
I've had only two long conversations with Wolfowitz. The second was the day after the Iraqi vote. I figured that would be an interesting day to get a sense of his mood.
He wasn't nearly as exuberant as I expected him to be, in part because, like everybody in government, he's busy with the constant flow of decisions. He said he spent 75 percent of his time on the Pentagon's budget and administration.
He deflected all my Oprahesque attempts to get him to open up and describe what it's felt like to be him for the past few years. Our tissues remained dry.
But he was eager to think ahead. "It's fascinating how many echoes this is going to have," he said. "The Iraqi election is an inspiration. It's going to be a real challenge to all absolute rulers."
He went on to suggest that American democracy-promotion could now get back onto its preferred course. Iraq, he said, was the outlier. "Iraq is exceptional because of the use of the U.S. military," he observed.
Normally, the U.S. plays the supporting role. For example, Americans can usefully raise the profile of dissidents so dictators feel less inclined to kill them. Wolfowitz was the first U.S. official to meet with Corazón Aquino. The U.S. can use its access to dictators to pressure and annoy them. Wolfowitz worked with George Shultz in the testy exchanges with Ronald Reagan, who was less inclined to ease Ferdinand Marcos out the door.
The U.S. can spark debates, but it cannot conduct them. When he was ambassador to Indonesia, Wolfowitz gave a speech calling for political "openness." He was careful not to use the words "freedom" or "democracy" because under Suharto, Indonesians might have felt inhibited about talking in such bold terms. But they were comfortable with openness, and it became the subject of magazine cover stories and a great national discussion.
Wolfowitz doesn't talk like those foreign policy blowhards who think the world is run by chessmasters sitting around at summits. He talks about national poets, national cultures and the power of people to bring sweeping change. His faith in people probably led to some of the mistakes in Iraq. But with change burbling in Beirut, with many young people proudly hoisting the Lebanese flag (in a country that was once a symbol of tribal factionalism), it's time to take a look at this guy again.
E-mail: dabrooks@nytimes.com

articles 3/8

NY Sun
A Clash in the Senate Likely on Nomination of Bolton to the U.N.

NY Times
Why is the NAACP against Social Security reform?
by Star Parker
The NAACP has weighed in on the great Social Security debate. And its predictable stand tells us, yet again, how out of touch this organization is today with the needs of African-Americans.

LA Times
Spy Agencies Fear Some Applicants Are Terrorists
Counterintelligence officials are concerned that Al Qaeda operatives may have tried to get jobs at the CIA and other agencies to spy on U.S. efforts.

NY Times
At a Suit's Core: Are Bloggers Reporters, Too?

WSJ Editorial
Tough Love for the U.N.
Moynihan, Kirkpatrick and now John Bolton.

LA Times
Advertisers: Their skin is available
The man who sold ad space on his forehead isn't alone. Others are willing to tattoo body parts with company logos for a price.

End of Another Era?
The Democrats' welfare-reform pitfall has lessons for the GOP on Social Security.
by Brendan Miniter

CBS, What Is the Frequency?
What the network should do in the post-Rather era.
By Jack Shafer

High noon for judges
by Thomas Sowell
It is painfully ironic that we should be promoting the spread of democracy abroad when democracy is shrinking at home.

In Our Name, Not In Our Image
by Andrew Apostolou
Yet again, the US appears to be facing a setback in Iraq. Iraqi Arabs voted not for liberals but for Islamists, while the minorities opted for nationalists. It looks like "blowback" all over again. But to eulogize an Iraqi liberalism that never was, is to misunderstand the US role in Iraqi domestic politics.

Interest Factors
Alan Greenspan looks at growth, housing, and oil as he decides what to do with interest rates.
by Irwin M. Stelzer

NY Times
Close Doesn't Always Count in Winning Games
Social scientists say that decentralized groups (like the Yankees) are more resilient than tighter-knit ones (like the Red Sox).

articles 3/7

Ari Fleischer’s life in the hot seat
In ‘Taking Heat,’ the former White House press secretary recalls his days as the President’s spokesperson. Here’s an excerpt.

USA Today
Study: A happy marriage can help mend physical wounds
A happy marriage apparently is good medicine, but hostile spouses may be harmful to one another's health. Couples in conflict-ridden marriages take longer than the happily married to heal from all kinds of wounds, from minor scrapes or athletic injuries to major surgery, suggests a study out over the weekend.

Four score and two
by Michael Barone
1933, 1861 and 1789 were all turning points, moments when men mattered.

WSJ Editorial
The Byrd Option
The former Senate leader knew how to break a filibuster.

'Thanks for Sowing the Seeds'
A roundup of the past month's good news from Afghanistan.
by Arthur Chrenkoff

Promises to keep?
by Janice Shaw Crouse, Ph.D.
The U.N. claims that the U.S. has 'betrayed Beijing,' but it is the U.N. that has betrayed women.

Wired
Mind Control
Matt Nagle is paralyzed. He's also a pioneer in the new science of brain implants.

Wired
The King of Thrones
The turbo-flush, hands-free toilet is here! (Wipe that smile off your face.).

Ari Fleischer's View From the Briefing Room
By Howard Kurtz

Arm Sales Begin At Home
by Thomas Friedman

RFID Invades the Capital
In May, Homeland Security employees will begin using an RFID-equipped ID card. Some say the device will create thousands of new opportunities for hackers and snoops.

Syria's Road To Freedom
by Amir Taheri

Specter Validates GOP Fears on Judges
by Robert Novak

Why Give Ballots to Felons?
by George Will

Why Hillary Clinton Wants to Let Criminals Vote
by John Fund

The "M" Word
The Boston Globe makes an issue of Mitt Romney's religion.
by Dean Barnett

A Government of Men
Justice Kennedy changes his mind. Amazingly, he found that the Constitution changed with him.
by John Hinderaker

Why Your Broadband Sucks
Telecom toadies (ahem, state officials) stifle competition to keep prices high.

Time
When History Turns A Corner
People power is changing the face of the Middle East, but the democracy deal isn't sealed—yet

NY Post
Secrets & Lies of 'Normal' Guys

articles 3/6

Happy Birthday, Ben!

Good Collateral Damage
by Brian Preston
Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Egypt, Saudi Arabia... and the Democrats?

Lebanon; Canada
A bag of Smarties
We need a leader
by David Warren

The Best Thing That Has Ever Happened to Journalism
by Ralph Kinney Bennett
A 40-year veteran journalist says blogs are forcing the journalistic priesthood out of the temple. It's disconcerting. It's fun. And it's good, real good.

Darwin's War on Political Correctness
by James Pinkerton
Reality is still our best true friend. Jim Pinkerton on PC in the age of epidemics old and new.

USA Today
Business bows to an unlikely oracle: British boy wonder
Author speaks like a dream, so you'd never guess …
'The One Thing' to become the best of the best

A Crack in the Sphinx
Will Hosni Mubarak bring Egypt into the community of democratic nations?
by Saad Eddin Ibrahim

U.S. targets spy services abroad
By Bill Gertz

What Hath Ju-Ju Wrought!
In the Middle East, the democratic genie is out of the bottle.
by Reuel Marc Gerecht

The Road from Damascus
Will the Cedar Revolution spill over into Syria?
by Marc Ginsberg

The Face of Iraqi Terrorism
A new study shows where the foreign fighters in Iraq are coming from. Care to guess?
by Stephen Schwartz

Assad's War
Syria's dictator is in retreat, but he's unlikely to go quietly.
by Michael Young

Hosni Mubarak
Elections or no, he's still Pharaoh.
by Tamara Wittes

Defense Procurement Follies
Do we really need all these new weapons systems?
By Fred Kaplan

Newsweek
What Bush Got Right
Freedom's march: The president has been right on some big questions. Now, if he can get the little stuff right, he'll change the world.

The Sharansky moment?
by Caroline B. Glick
In the history of Israel's relations with the US, there has been no precedent for the influence that Israeli Minister-without-Portfolio Natan Sharansky has had on US foreign policy.

The Right Side of History
by Mark Steyn

40 Years of Character
by David Brooks

Inside Report: Rudy's Roadblocks
by Robert Novak

The Least Bad Iran Option
by Jeffrey Bergner

NY Times
The Most Expensive Album Never Made
Fans may hope and record executives may pray, but after 11 years and $13 million, Guns N' Roses' next CD is still at large.

CNet
The Coming Crackdown on Blogs

What Ever Happened To the Most Important Story on Earth?
by Jonah Goldberg
Remember al-Qaqaa? This was the massive cache of explosives that American forces failed to secure after the fall of Saddam.

The March of Freedom
by Charles Krauthammer
Revolutions do not stand still. They either move forward or they die. We are at the dawn of a glorious, delicate, revolutionary moment in the Middle East.

Potemkin Nonproliferation
Helping Iran’s nuclear-weapons efforts.
by Henry Sokolski

Zamboni'd
Pro hockey's ailments go well beyond a lost season. Here are three ways NHL bigwigs can improve their league.
by Duncan Currie

W. Post
Credit Card Penalties, Fees Deluge Debtors
U.S. Senate poised to vote on bill that would make it harder for consumers to wipe out debt through bankruptcy.

W. Post
Evangelicals Find Spiritual Home on the Hill
Lyric and Jeff Hassler join new wave of religious conservatives who find Washington life welcoming.

Rolling Stone
The Online Insurgency
MoveOn has become a force to be reckoned with

Oregonian
"What the hell happened? Why am I not dead?"
Oops -- the doctor-assisted suicide didn't work out quite right. The guy survived 13 more days.

Business 2.0
Where Are the Hottest Jobs?
Which employees are getting the pay raises this year? We found dozens of jobs where pay raises are well into double digits. In our survey of the hottest jobs, we've also found the cities where employees are turning the tables on employers and calling the shots.

Ex-Korn Guitarist Baptized in Jordan River
Former Korn guitarist Brian "Head" Welch was baptized Saturday in the Jordan River, just weeks after quitting his band, drug habits and rock-and-roll lifestyle for religion.

Interference.com
Rumor: U2's Third Leg Dates Leaked?

‘Magic and Mystery’
‘When I get in there with them, we have fun.’ No-one’s been in the studio with U2 more than Steve Lillywhite. It is ‘magical and mystical’ he says. Part One of our exclusive interview.When he first met U2 to record ‘Boy’, Steve Lillywhite had already worked with Ultravox, Siouxsie and the Banshees, the Psychedelic Furs, Peter Gabriel and XTC… Today, he is one of the most sought after producers in the business. Brian Draper visited him at home in London for U2.Com, to talk about his role as the main producer on ‘How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb’.
Second part of our Steve Lillywhite interview

NL still runs through St. Louis
By Peter Gammons

Modern Reformation
Using the Gospel to Share the Gospel
A Discussion Between Michael Horton & Rico Tice