Herewith some idiosyncratic, perhaps eccentric, observations on the electoral contests so far in this presidential cycle. 1. Turnout is down. In the first five contests — the Iowa and Nevada caucuses and the New Hampshire, South Carolina and Michigan primaries — Republican turnout was down ...

As the pre-trial hearings in the case of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and others who are charged with masterminding the 9/11 attacks proceed at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba, the government continues to stumble with its own witnesses. In hearings last week, government lawyers tried to ...

America is celebrated for its economic dynamism and ample and generously paid employment opportunities. It's a nation that attracts immigrants from around the world. Yet Americans are bummed, and have been for a while. They believe that life was better 40 years ago. And maybe it was on some ...

My income tax is due in a few weeks! I hate it. I'm pretty good at math, but I no longer prepare my own taxes. The form alone scares me. I feel I have to hire an accountant, because Congress, endlessly sucking up to various interest groups, keeps adding to a tax code. Now even accountants ...

My ancient history professor, Martin Ostwald, taught me all about Athens in the golden age, the fifth century B.C. — and more. Somehow he circled back to me early in the year 2024 A.D. His seminar of four students met once a week, Thursday afternoons, for time travel that raced like ...

"Sometimes the more absurd the lie, the more effective it is," observed a former United Nations official in "Kiss the Future," the new documentary produced by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck about the resilience of Sarajevo's residents under fire from Serbian strongman Slobodan Milosevic's killers ...