Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., is, once again, proposing the reinstitution of a military draft. It’s once again embedded in the context of Iraq and the supposition that the ill-advised invasion of that country might not have occurred had “members of Congress and the Administration thought that their kids from their communities would be placed in [...]

President George Bush’s answer to the question of whether the experience in Vietnam offered lessons for Iraq is worth contemplating for what he didn’t say. He didn’t draw any parallels between Gulf of Tonkin subterfuge and cherry-picked intelligence on Iraq as reasons worth going to war for. Neither did he cite the untenable position of [...]

*Latest tactic among Palestinian women protecting besieged gunmen and trapped militants: offering themselves as human shields. Implicit is this message: “We trust you (Israelis) will observe rules of engagement that we are free to disregard.” *If the wearing of the Muslim veil is a really, really controversial issue in places such as Muslim Egypt and [...]

Say this for shrilly partisan Speaker-elect Nancy Pelosi, especially in the aftermath of the ham-handed fiasco of backing the ethically-challenged Jack Murtha for House Majority Leader. It’s obvious why she didn’t make a career out of her pre-politics calling: public relations consultant.

The only thing more disgusting than the News Corp. O.J. Simpson book “If I Did It” and the scheduled interview on the Fox Network was Fox’s disingenuous spin that the system works. As in, when the people speak out, Fox is doing its job by listening and responding accordingly. Hence the cancellation of plans by [...]

Democrat Christine Jennings, the Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador of the 13th Congressional District, won’t concede anything – including, it would seem, being a poor sport. She lost her House race to Vern Buchanan – by about 400 votes – and that was confirmed by manual and machine recounts. Now she’s suing everybody but Katherine Harris. [...]

According to an annual survey by the “Chronicle of Higher Education,” presidents of some of this country’s biggest public universities are now closing the salary gap with their private school counterparts. In fact, the number of public university presidents earning more than $500,000 has nearly doubled to 42. Not part of the survey: the degree [...]

Last week the University of South Florida’s Lecture Series brought in Aaron McGruder, the creator of the controversial comic strip/cartoon “The Boondocks.” McGruder, who spoke to a gathering of approximately 500, gave no prepared speech – instead engaging the crowd in a question-and-answer session. A more typical “lecture” presentation, especially those that command $25,000 fees, [...]

For too long Americans were insulated by two oceans and spoiled by the good fortune of the rest of the world coming to us after World War II. As a result, Americans have never made foreign languages and world geography a priority. By-the-numbers diversity celebrations and affirmative action quotas don’t count in a global economy. [...]

So, Mel Martinez for chairman of the Republican National Committee. The timing, to be sure, couldn’t be better. Chairman Mel obviously needs another challenge, and fortunately he has time to spare. It’s the sort of national responsibility you undertake after a classy senatorial win over Betty Castor; two seamless years learning the Senate ropes; an [...]